My position on the Brown leadership is clear, but I have watch the Milburn story with real interest and today it became beyond the joke.

It wasn't long ago that numerous sources have recently suggested that Milburn could be brought back into the fold, under Gordon Brown. The suggestions were that Brown could make even make him Chancellor and has had many discussions with him in recent months.

This is clearly Brown (or his people) using Milburn to try and appease the Blairites and steady himself. Since then Milburn has rejected this approach stating he would be "mad to accept a job in browns cabinet".

Now following Milibands step-up, stories are emerging that Milburn will be Miliband's Chancellor (from who we wonder). Brownites are trying to suggest that him offering Milburn a cabinet position is - to quote Browns friend Geoffrey Robinson - "its a thought, i'm not sure its a very good thought." Suffice to say no such comment was made when Brown floated the idea. Why was he good enough when Brown wanted help?

Peter Kilfoyle has come out to say that the wheels are coming off the Miliband campaign (reported here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/2512007/David-Miliband-and-Alan-Milburns- leadership-plot-backfires.html) as the Milburn suggestion has been met with "alarm the majority of the PLP" and that it showed Miliband was a "political lightweight". Again, no such objection was made public when Brown was floating the idea.

The question is why has a man that Gordon Brown wanted in his cabinet, now become so objectionable to Brownites. If he was offered Chancellor to Gordon Brown and took it - I guarentee the Robinson's and Kilfoyle's would be saying how great Gordon Brown is that he is willing to work beyond factions etc.

My sense is that he was wanting to subdue the Blairites by offering Milburn a job and now more than happy to rubbish him that he rejected it.

You either like Milburn, or you don't, you think he could do a good job or not. You cant say that he is bad for Miliband but wouldn't have been for Brown. Will Geoffrey Robinson say that it wasn't a good idea for Brown to approach him? I think not.

I am not the biggest fan of Milburn. He did a pretty good job at health (GP contracts aside) communicates well and can run a department. So I wouldn't have any objections to him back in the fold. He is after all Labour and despite the slurs against him, isn't any worse than other ultra Blairites such as Blears. It also wouldn't hurt for Gordons Treasury control to be reduced - which is not going to happen under Darling.

This sycophantic criticism of him is because he rejected Brown. To me it is complete hypocracy on the part of the Brownites that are currently briefing against him furiously, Kilfoyle and Robinson included.

Desperate times seem to be calling for desperate measures.