Following the Prime Minister’s failure to declare an election date last weekend, the Parties have started without him.

The Slog’s Tenmole has been keeping its head down of late. This is a polite way of saying that our source in the Bunker regards further speculation about Gordon’s choice of date as “a total waste of time”. The PM had supposedly reached a firm decision last Thursday, but the man who declares himself to be The Special One for those tough decisions backed out again late Friday.

Ed Balls informed the media yesterday that he was ‘working on the basis of May 6th’, which The Slogger understands hides a multiplicity of frustrations. But when pushed, our Tenmole admits that this is now the favourite. Until tomorrow.

Elsewhere in the Corridors, despite a venomous denial from Tory HQ, there was widespread speculation yesterday that the Cameroon inner advisors are rethinking their approach.

“There’s been a blast of heat from the grassroots” confirmed one Commons source, “Basically pointing out that we look flat-footed”. The Slogger would argue that this is being unkind to people with flat feet, but there you go.

Meanwhile, over in Bucks the locals are bracing themselves for new revelations about The Speaker and his mysterious ways. We understand that these will focus on his vivacious wife…but fear of injunctions forces us to wait for the evidence re this one.

The other main gossip-topic involved that of Sarah Brown’s chilling response to being described as Mrs Goebbels. Allegedly Sarah thinks she is prettier than Hedda Goebbels…in which case, she too may be opthalmically challenged: Goebbels’ wife was a former film-star, und sehr fit.