Cheryl in peril and Puss in Whitehall
Cheryl Gillan's absence from the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Wales Leaders Debate has fuelled about her future should David Cameron win power tomorrow.
Ms Gillan took part in Sky News and ITV Wales debates but opted to attend a campaign event with her party leader in North Wales rather than attend the Pontardawe hustings.
Her seat was taken by the Tories' leader in the Welsh assembly, Nick Bourne.
"She was subbed," insisted a very senior Welsh Labour figure. He then conspiratorially suggested that her job in government would go to Jonathan Evans, the former Welsh Office Minister standing in .
This may be a conspiracy theory but it reveals two points about Welsh Labour thinking - they don't expect to hold Cardiff North or hold on to power.
One change the Tories have promised, if not in their manifesto, is to change the name of the Wales Office to a "less colonial" Welsh Office. Given recent Conservative criticism of spending on new logos, they would presumably allow the stationery to run out before ordering new supplies at the taxpayers' expense.
Perhaps they are planning to change some job titles too, judging by the grade inflation used on their website. The Conservatives say David Jones is their
The job of "Deputy Secretary of State for Wales" doesn't exist - yet. David Jones shadows the less grand-sounding Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales.
Given that role's Whitehall acronym - PUSS - you can sort of understand why an ambitious politician would be keen to change the public profile.
Hello. I'm David Cornock and I'm parliamentary correspondent for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Wales. This is the blog for the latest news and gossip from the Westminster village - with a Welsh accent.
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