First Secretary of State (some history)

That is Peter Mandelson's new title today.

Of course, the title was given to Michael Heseltine - as First Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister in the reshuffle following a long meeting between the two on the morning of July 4th, as the voting took place in the "put up or shut up" leadership contest, in which John Major challenged himself and had the offer taken up by John Redwood.

It was widely rumoured - though officially denied - that this was part of deal which led to around twenty Heseltinians pulling back from abstaining and voting for Major instead. Major's vote was deemed to have met the threshold for survival, closing the question of the leadership. Heseltine never got to wear the crown, but he did get to occupy perhaps the largest office ever seen in Whitehall.

The previous holder prior to Michael Heseltine was Rab Butler, given the role by Harold Macmillan in 1962.

Perhaps that was a consolation prize for Butler being pipped to the premiership by Macmillan in 1957, before being famously stitched out of it by Macmillan's machinations in the extraordinary Tory leadership crisis of 1963. It was Enoch Powell - who refused to serve under Alec Douglas Home with Iain MacLeod - who stated that they had but a revolver into Butler's hands but that he had refused to pull the trigger.

There are several angry newspaper commentators portraying either David Miliband or Alan Johnson for failing to play their allotted part in assassinating a Prime Minister today.

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