Clinging to the wreckage

Alan Johnson, Our Man in waiting, was first out of the traps on this back in May.  Now the Indy is reporting moves are afoot to have a referendum on our electoral system on the same day as the general election.  Brown’s latest great dividing line has been prompted by Labour’s private polling:

The driving force for the last-minute push by Labour after 12 years in power is the expenses controversy. The party's internal polls show it remains a huge issue for the public.

"Two things matter on the doorsteps: the economy and expenses," one Labour adviser said last night. "The expenses row means people are not listening to us on the economy. So we have to try to restore trust, and one way is to change a discredited voting system."

Of course, Brown’s latest non-strategic move is nothing to do with constitutional reform or the expenses row and everything to do with isolating the Tories and cosying up to Clegg.  Anyway, he may get bounced at the party conference:

Many Labour MPs oppose reform and grassroots activists who want to keep the present system are calling for a debate on the issue at the party's annual conference in Brighton this month.

Stand-by for initiatives galore from Brown over the next few weeks.  We will become overwhelmed and pushed to remember any.  While people are losing the jobs in droves and household wealth falls at an alarming rate, is this latest wheeze really going to excite anyone?  Not with Brown in charge, but with Our Man at the top it may, but that is a different story.