Odds on

While his unlucky seat-hunting exploits have had a fair amount of attention, Labour's further and higher education spokesman Bryan Davies still has a better chance of becoming minister for further and higher education after the election than the Conservative incumbent, and not just because of the opinion polls.

Nice chap, safe-pair-of-hands and all that he might be, but surely John Major, assuming he survived the shock of still being in power on May 2, would not entrust the post to hereditary peer Lord Henley with Dearing about to give it an extremely high profile?