Labour cabinet member resigns - in Haringey

Labour cabinet member Matt Cooke has resigned, it emerged on Wednesday, as he’s to become a Special Adviser in ‘Dah Biz’ – the new mega-government department for Business, Innovation & Skills under Peter Mandelson (DBIS).

As he was only in the job a few weeks, I’d hesitate to say Matt was irreplaceable. Yet it must be true, as I'm told there’s unlikely to be a new Cabinet Member for Regeneration. This is good in one sense - Lib Dem Leader Robert Gorrie has been arguing that there are far too many councillors in the Labour Cabinet, and it needs slimming down. I'm not sure this should have been the first post to go.