Cardiac Consequentiality, Consciental Clarificality

The Deputy Leader of the Commons, Nigel Griffiths, has resigned over the Vicar of Downing Street's devilish Trident - an action that under different circumstances might be mistaken for a symptom of incipient backbone. However, Griffiths' voting record speaks, or rather scrapes, for itself. Given that he has been "very strongly" in favour of such characteristic Blairite triumphs as foundation hospitals, top-up fees, the Surveillance Makes You Free Project and the Iraq adventure, while "quite strongly against" any investigation of the last, it seems unlikely that Griffiths' new-found vertebrae would retain much rigidity if Tony's coalition partner, Daveybloke, were suddenly to rediscover the wonders of Punch and Judy politics and place the Government in danger of losing the vote.

As Michael White points out, in his best gossip-column style, Griffiths represents Edinburgh South, which is rather nearer than London is to all those submarines. As one of Alasdair Gray's more disenchanted narrators somewhere points out, one of the reasons why a limited nuclear war might be rather advantageous for the great and the good in Westminster is the fact that the main targets are conveniently located at the other end of the country. As of 2005, Griffiths represents Edinburgh South with a majority of just over four hundred, and has evidently calculated that, as Michael White says, "he would prefer to remain an MP on the backbenches than be a minister at greater risk of losing his job".