WHAT ABOUT HARTLEPOOL?

Tony Blair is about to shatter Peter Mandelson’s European dreams by ruling out sending the twice-sacked former minister to Brussels as Britain’s European commissioner.

Party insiders are already worried about losing Leicester South next month, and are braced for a tough fight in Hodge Hill in Birmingham.

Parliamentary rules mean that at least 16 days must pass between a member resigning a Commons seat and a by-election being held. That would mean that Mr Mandelson would have to be confirmed in the Brussels job by Tuesday in order for Hartlepool to vote on the same day as Leicester South and Hodge Hill.

Although the Prime Minister is understood to be holding off on making a final decision about the commission nomination, Downing Street advisers have recommended that he seek a less controversial candidate than the former Northern Ireland secretary from outside the Commons.