It makes one realise how thin the resources were at Tony Blair's disposal.

Danny Finkelstein doesn't appear to have a great deal of time for Stephen Byers

I had always had the view -that Byers was a pretty bright bloke, one of the circle of people really innovating. I have a high view of Alan Milburn and lumped Byers in with him.
Now it turns out that Byers is comically dumb.
Honestly I think my 9 year old might have figured those people were from the Sunday Times.

before he adds

It makes one realise how thin the resources were at Tony Blair's disposal. He had all his talent in the backroom and very little indeed in Parliament. And this was a problem he failed to rectify over a very long period.

Another Sunday,another set of bad headlines for Brown

It is almost becoming boring now when you open the Sunday papers and see the lastest bad news for the government.

The Mail on Sunday kicks off with a poll at Crewe and Nantwich which suggests

The Tories are poised to achieve their first parliamentary by-election gain since the heyday of Margaret Thatcher, dealing a hammer blow to Gordon Brown's hopes of survival.
That is the remarkable finding of the first opinion poll conducted in the Labour stronghold of Crewe, where a by-election to be held in 11 days' time could seal the Prime Minister's fate.
The ICM survey for The Mail on Sunday puts the Tories on 43 per cent with Labour trailing on 39 – a dramatic ten per cent swing in the Cheshire constituency since the last General Election.

The Observer follows with its unique survey which says

Gordon Brown has suffered a devastating collapse in his public standing, according to a new survey published in The Observer today which will put his leadership under intensified pressure.
As the Prime Minister begins his fightback with new proposals entitling mothers to more flexible working hours, the research shows that only one in five voters thinks he is doing a good job. He is rated worse than David Cameron on every key leadership quality, including competence, decisiveness, fairness, likeability, trustworthiness and strength.

And more revelations in the Times this time from John Prescott's forthcoming autobiography which says

he urged Tony Blair to sack Gordon Brown at the height of their frequent rows – but the former prime minister was “scared” of his chancellor.
He says he also urged Brown to resign and fight Blair from the back benches, but Brown, then chancellor, shrank from such a bold gamble.

As well as a report from Stephen Byers who

accuses the prime minister of being “distant and uncaring” and manipulating the tax system for “tactical advantage”.

and says

The electoral clock is ticking for Gordon Brown. The next few months will be make-or-break time.” Byers criticises Brown for abolishing the 10p income tax band which has hit 5.3m low-paid workers and urges him to carry out a “fundamental rethink” of taxation policy, leaving “no area off limits