Gavin’s Gaily Gigest

The curse of Robinson strikes again. Barely 24 hours after this:

BBC News political editor Nick Robinson says the reshuffle will be very limited and not a “dramatic shifting of the chairs at the top table”.

We’ve seen the return of a former Cabinet minister who has resigned twice before in disgrace*, the return of a former Foreign Secretary (Margaret Beckett), the departure of two Cabinet ministers (one of which, Des Browne, appears to be forced), the creation of an entirely new ministry and a new chief whip. Make no mistake, this is a major reshuffle.

And what does Mystic Nick have to say about this?

“I’m gobsmacked.”

Don’t worry Nick, not like it’s your job to know about this kind of thing. Just go back to repeating verbatim what anonymous press officers tell you.

One final revelation from the BBC today, “cabinet enforcer” is now a proper noun (and so presumably an official job title):

PS. Nick Robinson’s prediction has mysteriously disappeared from the original BBC story.

* My favourite reaction to this news comes from Chicken Yoghurt: “Peter Mandelson: was Darth Vader busy?”