Only a few weeks ago, Gordon Brown made the faux pas of allowing himself to be compared to Heathcliff. I don’t know what version of the story he is familiar with, but frankly, it’s not a flattering comparison.

Now Brown has drawn another strange comparison, this time from John Prescott, who was apparently trying to help the Prime Minister … by comparing him to Captain Smith – last command, RMS Titantic!

On his blog post over at Labourhome, Prescott wrote: “But it wasn’t the Captain that sank the Titanic – a ship they claimed was unsinkable – it was the iceberg. The best way to avoid disaster is to manage your way around the problem.”

In fact, the Titanic would have been less likely to sink if she had just been sailed straight into the iceberg, rather than trying to port round it, but that’s by the bye. And the wisdom of sailing 'full steam ahead' through an ice field might also be questioned.

But the point is that, given the stormy seas on which Mr. Brown is adrift at present, a comparison to the Captain of the Titanic is quite unfortunate – because the immediate thought that pops into your head is that the Titanic sank.

And reports today that the Prime Minister is considering a cabinet reshuffle are in danger of continuing the theme: the futility of re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.

That Milibandʼs article in the Guardian was intended to set out his stall as a potential leader seems clear, despite his later attempt at back-tracking.

But I’m not sure how much of an appetite heʼll find among his colleagues for removing Brown.

I would be interested to know whether there is any precedent for a government changing its leader twice in two years without going back to the electorate. Of course, technically, we elect a party to lead us, rather than its leader, but in reality, the electorate votes for a prime minister. Tony Blair, remember, was elected on a promise - among others - to serve a full term. I think we are entitled to be somewhat indignant if the party changes leader again.
Iʼd like to think that any new prime minister would have the decency to go to the country, but I wonder whether it would happen.

I have been seriously unimpressed by the recent conduct of politicians during the expenses debacle. I find it difficult to believe, on the evidence of that unedifying spectacle, that Miliband or any other ʽyoung pretenderʼ will be able to whip up support for a move that would probably result in MPs losing their seats 18 months earlier than if they just stick with Brown to the bitter end in 2010.

Read Matt's blog on Miliband here.