On the Pat and Mick.

And from Drumlanrig yet again, "Gordon Brown's management style (e-mailing staff at 5am, raging at officials over why certain tasks have not been performed, demanding everyone work as crazily hard as he does) was not enjoyed by civil servants in Whitehall. It appears that Brown's former staff at the Treasury are now happier under his successor Alistair Darling. Figures last week showed the number of working days lost at the Treasury in each of the past 24 months due to "stress-related illness". Under Brown's tenure, the average monthly figure came in at 130 days a month. Under Darling, however, despite the traumas of the credit crunch, Northern Rock and a collapsing housing market, the figure has fallen to 106 days a month. None of those crises, it appears, is half as tough as working for Gordo."

Move over Darling.

So, "ALMOST half of voters think Alistair Darling should be replaced as Chancellor of the Exchequer following his difficulties over Northern Rock, Capital Gains Tax and the taxation of wealthy foreign 'non-doms', according to a poll released today. By a margin of 44% to 27%, people taking part in the YouGov survey said that Darling should be removed from the Treasury ..."

Mr Smith recognises that YouGov polls can be rather dubious, but given the decision yesterday of the Treasury to nationalise Northern Rock, a decision that came after the poll was produced, the pressure on the Chancellor has probably increased even further. But given his close connections to PM Gordon Brown it is very unlikely he will be made to walk the political plank.