It tells you something about the febrile state of British politics that a barely audible remark made by Tony Blair in an interview on Australian radio was enough to send Westminster into a paroxysm of conjecture and rumour. What Mr Blair said, before being interrupted by his interviewer, was that it might after all have been a mistake last year to announce his intention not to fight another election. Paranoid Brownites immediately suspected the prime minister of trying to wriggle out of his promise. Aides in Number 10 rushed in to explain that what the prime minister had meant was that he had been wrong to think his original announcement would dispel speculation about his retirement. They added that he had a timetable for departure in his head. Some MPS demanded that, if so, Mr Blair should reveal it.
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