A question was asked this morning about why Strictly Come Dancing ahs been such as sucess. Is it not because it is one of the few middlebrow light entertainment shows left on terrestial tv?

Media people may have moved on to such cult obsessions as Little Britain but the majority of the viewing public have not.

Is this not reflected in the fact that a repeat of the Two Ronnies is to be broadcast on Christmas Day? When the Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise were originally shown on that day, TV programmers would have been sacked for contemplating showing repeats.

Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, has been hailed in some quarters as the most successful chancellor of modern times. Downing Street and the rest of the government are acknowledged as masters of spin. Why has Brown been exempt from being tarred with the same brush and his dour, lengthy and statistic filled utterings not exposed as the spin they really are.

He inherited a thoroughly good economic situation which he left largely alone for two years. Since then by shifting goals, by removing spending into public private partnerships and by the clever using of statistical mirrors he has been able to maintain a sense of good management. In reality the economy has been on a steady downhill track with large deficits looming in the not too distant future.

Will Tony Blair rescue Brown's reputation by resigning in time for the next chancellor to be blamed for the inevitable mess the economy is heading for?