It's not like we weren't warned...

To all those Labour MPs and supporters who are struggling to understand why their party is now trailing the Conservatives by 15-20 points in the opinion polls, can I direct them to the diaries of Chris Mullin?  Lets look at the man you bundled into office without a competition, and expected the British public to fall in love with…

Sitting on the terrace, I was joined by a member of the Blair inner circle. Conversation turned to Gordon. I mentioned that, following my departure from government, I had received a handwritten letter from Gordon saying how much he had enjoyed working with me. It seems every former Minister has received an identical letter. He must have been up half the night writing them. Gordon's machine churns night and day. My friend was scathing. 'He's mad, quite mad.'

 
'What do you mean?' 'Gordon is obsessive, paranoid, secretive and lacking in personal skills. He's been responsible for two absolutely mad privatisations - air traffic control and the London Underground - and all this talk about privatising the NHS is coming out of the Treasury - I'd probably pack it in if Gordon became leader.'

There we have it: obsessive, paranoid, secretive and lacking in personal skills.  Does that sound like an election-winning combination?