By Simon Carr

It was a question to file away in the back of our minds. Bob Marris asked it of Alistair Darling on Monday. The Royal Bank of Scotland was worth a lot less than £20 billion in total. Yet the government paid £20 billion for less than two-thirds of it. Why was that? There must be an answer: suggestions on a postcard to the Treasury, 11 Downing St, SW1A 2AJ.

By Simon Carr

Now that the Government isn't going to have another go at getting 42 days without charge on the statute book - where does that leave the deal with the DUP? There was all that talk about Northern Ireland being promised £200m worth of surplus Ministry of Defence property in return for their party's votes (indeed, the Bill wouldn't have got out of the Commons without them). Do they still get their share of pork from the
barrel?

This was supposed to be the end of "the something-for-nothing" society. It hasn't got off to a very good start.

By Simon Carr

Adonis to Transport? Why didn't he resign? How can he swing in the wind there and watch his life's work in Education being unpicked stitch by stitch? Whenever our leaders say that policy not personnel is the important thing we shouldn't believe them. Adonis has driven the Academies programme since the beginning and without him it will wither.

By Simon Carr

Hedge funds are raiding financial institutions and the government is liable for the losses if the institutions go down. That’s Vince Cable's proposition. The raiders are "betting against the taxpayer".

In effect, it's Black Wednesday, but weeks, months and possibly years of it.

By Simon Carr

As everyone says, a coup is the only way of removing Gordon Brown from office. But the mechanics are as difficult as a formal challenge would be, within the Labour party rules.

There has been much talk of "cabinet greybeards" giving the bad news to Gordon Brown. The two old beavers in question are Jack Straw, and Geoff Hoon the chief whip. But neither is in a position to deliver this coup de grace.

By Simon Carr

Expect a new era of certainty from Gordon Brown – at last he has what he really needs: a rival. This will give him a burst of confidence because now, in every situation, he'll know what to do. It'll be like old times.

He will instinctively support the things his rival doesn't want to do. He will instinctively dismiss anything his rival does want to do.

By Simon Carr

Jack Straw's proposition to members of the rising generation is this: "Put me in as a caretaker leader. I will take the party into a general election - which we will lose, and after which I shall resign. But remember, we will do far better now than in two years time. The country is fed up with us now - but it's not sick to death of us as it will be in two years time.

By Simon Carr

There must be at least one shadow passing across David Miliband's sunny uplands. He must be asking himself one profound question to which no one knows the answer, least of all himself. The question being: "Am I up to it?"

By Simon Carr

In the PM's statement on Iraq there was very little mention of oil. That's odd, isn't it, considering its central importance to the world economy?

Conspirators may yet make a perfectly good case it was always all about oil. Oil owners invaded Iraq, not to seize the oil fields for themselves - but to close them down and watch the price climb. Try a thought experiment: if George Bush’s personal fortune depended on getting oil pumping out of Iraq – do we think the flow would be higher or lower than it is today?

By Simon Carr

Maybe it won't happen, maybe it's too hard, but the logic is
interesting. Some Special Advisers are kicking it around in quiet
conversations. Here's the short version.

A new Labour leader is installed by a cabinet cabal and immediately
calls a general election knowing they'll lose.