Hoon's on the move

Hoon's going to transport.

For a man who felt the need to say he wanted to stay in Government a week a go, he'll be content to have a department back.

The chief whip's job can be a thankless task, particularly when you are trying to keep such disorderly troops in line.

The wider reshuffle is bigger and more surprising than many thought. Peter Mandelson's return could be a plot-line from a film that goes on too long.

Is Hoon the new Kelly?

A long awaited reshuffle was expected sometime today.

But contrary to original whispers it seems it's going to be a small one - maybe just replacing Ruth Kelly.

After the Labour Conference last week Notts MP Geoff Hoon, along with two other cabinet members, sparked suspicions of cabinet unrest when they publicly said they wanted to stay in Government.

Hoon's name was linked to the soon-to-be vacant EU commissioner position - now it seems "they" are saying he may be given Kelly's old job at the Department of Transport.

Joseph Watts
Parliamentary Correspondent

Ole, Ole Ole Ole...

Absolutely no triumphalism allowed at the end of Tory party conference. That was the rule for Team Dave.

Ironically the message may have got lost on the way to the communications department.

Journalists in the press room were offered free red footballs with "give Labour the boot printed on them."

At least Dave's speech stayed on message, to read about how it and the conference went pick up a copy of Friday's paper.

Joseph Watts
Parliamentary Correspondent

Practical jokes...

Smug Tories have been handing out free computer memory sticks at their party conference.

The nifty little sticks carry a warning in red print reading, "WARNING: To avoid data loss keep out of reach of Labour."

Other smug Tories haven't laughed so much since yesterday, when boxes of free bananas were given away to delegates.

The boxes were placed underneath life size cardboard cut-outs of David Miliband standing in his now notorious banana pose.

Joseph Watts
Parliamentary Correspondent

Interest rates...

Cameron did well to get some sort of speech on the financial crisis out this morning as it is now overshadowing his party's conference.

His team fears the key-note speech scheduled for tomorrow will not get as good a showing in the media as it would have done had things been more stable.

A number of journalists from the press room have already packed their bags and gone back to London to watch the markets fall apart.

Joseph Watts
Parliamentary Correspondent

Don't come back Ken

It was like a bizarre pantomime, but with the editor of the Telegraph Simon Heffer instead of Widow Twanky.

With his oddly coloured hair darling-of-the-right Heffer got on stage at a conference fringe meeting and bemoaned the handover of power and sovereignty to Europe.

Sitting a little to his right, in both senses, was UKIP leader Nigel Farage.

It was only a few minutes before he mentioned our very own 'big beast' Ken Clarke to grumblings, boos and hisses from a Tory crowd frustrated with Cameron's cuddly Conservatives.

Ken of course is one of the few openly pro-European Tories - and he had, according to Heffer, extracted an assurance from the Tory leadership that the party would not withdraw from the right-of-centre group in the European Parliament.

If in doubt about why the Tories are still in Europe, Heffer's line of argument seemed to be, blame Ken.

The Rushcliffe MP's name, mentioned on at least two other times in Heffer's speech, was met with more grumbles or rapturous laughter.

We'll see whose laughing if Mr Clarke is recalled to the shadow cabinet in the weeks to come.

Joseph Watts
Parliamentary Correspondent

Cameron

Emergency legislation on the financial crisis? It seems to be the first time anyone has talked about that seriously.

Either way by altering the programme of his conference and making a speech on the growing crisis, Cameron has thrown Brown a difficult conundrum. Possibly even a no-win situation.

Speaking to him in a side room at the conference before his speech Cameron let slip that he had been on the phone with the PM last night, as well as the head of the Financial Services Authority.

It may have been that he was truly trying to hammer out a cross party deal on emergency legislation - perhaps it was knocked back by the Government. If it was, then Cameron's pledge today to support legislation is throwing down the gauntlet to Brown. If it wasn't then Cameron has stolen Brown's thunder.

If the Labour leader does now bring forward legislation, with or without Tory support, he risks making it seem like Labour is following the opposition's lead.

If he courts Tory support that risk grows - it may even feel as though the Government 'needs' the Conservatives to move forward.

If Brown refuses support and brings forward a bill he may look as though he is playing party politics with the most important piece of legislation in a generation - playing into the "irresponsible" tag put on him by Cameron previously.

The third option, not bringing any legislation forward, will make him look like he is doing nothing - the worst possible outcome.

While Cameron called for a stop to the jockeying for position that led to the failure in American politics this weekend, he was actually doing just that.

But looking beyond the sly move made by the Conservative leader, there is something else here.

If Cameron, Brown, or both think that emergency legislation to stop banks going under is necessary - doesn't that mean they strongly expect more to go down? Watch this space.

Joseph Watts
Parliamentary Correspondent