MacShane goes

Denis MacShane has been sacked as Europe Minister in Tony Blair's post-election reshuffle. This is what happens when a British politician gets a full-page feature in Le Monde (2/3 May, about two-thirds of a page actually). Or perhaps, as Anne MacElvoy said, he was just unceremoniously heaved out to make room for a Brownite.

Also, the DTI has gone anyway, or maybe it's just been renamed.

Update (9 May): more on the general situation. I know there is an argument that, with Iraq out of the way, Labour could win a fourth term with an even larger majority. However, we seem to face a period of party squabbling and weak government. A number of Labour MPs have called for Mr Blair to step down more or less immediately. Even in purely tactical terms, this is surely wrong. Blair needs to stay on in case the European constitution referendum is lost (if there is one in the UK).

Then, there was the Sun, in its famous 'red smoke' edition, deciding to give Labour 'one last chance'. I did happen to see a copy of the paper on May 5th and, although its front-page header had 'vote Labour', its editorial inside could be summarised as: vote (and vote for anyone but the LibDems).