Alex Massie

In the grand scheme of things there are few less important things than the Shadow Cabinet. Nevertheless it's the only toy in town today and so must be chewed until something fresh and shinier comes along. Poor Ed Miliband, however, was in a lose-lose situation. Appoint Ed Balls to the Treasury brief and risk looking weak and in thrall to an over-bearing Shadow Chancellor; appoint someone else to the job and look weak too, scared of your erstwhile rival and a certified "Big Beast". Nevertheless, looking for a compromise candidare was reasonable. But choosing Alan Johnson (rather than, say, Jim Murphy) is a blunder. By his own admission Johnson wasn't up to the top job, so what makes anyone think he's up to the second most important job in the Shadow Cabinet?

There were moments, I confess, when David Cameron's speech to the Conservative party conference this afternoon was oddly, disconcertingly reminiscent of George W Bush's second inauguration speech. Each address was soaring, passionate and heroically optimistic. Bush foresaw a world transformed; at least Cameron's ambitions are limited to remaking this sceptered isle. If Bush serves as a warning that words are not enough it might also be said that words are still required. There was, as Andrew Neil immediately pointed out, little that was new in the Prime Minister's address but, frankly, after the child benefit hash that was no bad thing. What we heard, however, was perhaps the most coherent - certainly the most passionate - declaration of Cameronism yet.

David, while one should never discount incompetence as the guiding force behind anything the Scottish Conservative & Unionist party proposes in this instance I fancy indifference - rather than self-interest or incompetence - is behind Aunt Annabel's apparent admission that the party won't take a view on the Alternative Vote. At present elections in Scotland are run using four different electoral systems: FPTP (Westminster), Additional Member System (Holyrood), Single Transferable Vote (council elections), Party List (European Elections). In other words, there's precisely nothing sacrosanct about FPTP and, indeed, the case against it has been conceded at both the Holyrood and council level.

Blimey. Here's a turn-up for the books: in a bid to avoid being thought Europe's Most Useless Political Party the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party has done something sensible. They have decided that running an election campaign with the unofficial slogan Vote for Us, We're Only Interested in Opposition is a dumb idea. Hence, as Scotland on Sunday reports, the party is preparing (albeit and as usual tentatively) to take the bold step of declaring that they will countenance the idea of serving in government at Holyrood. Of course, the Tories would still require an invitation to the dance if they're to sit in government in Edinburgh and it may well be that Annabel Goldie is no-one's idea of a good date.