MAIL COMMENT: The Foreign Secretary's flights of fancy

The Foreign Office itself is a treasure-house of Victorian imperial splendour, built to symbolise the might of a global colossus.

Yet it is an illusion. There is no power in those majestic corridors. Prime Ministers tend to take over the important and urgent parts of foreign policy, and much of the rest of the job consists of attending dull European Union committee meetings.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband is happy to take centre stage in world politics - but does he think he's more important than he is?

The chief executive of a major local authority probably has more real power, and a bigger budget.

So it is hard to see what would justify David Miliband's generosity to himself when it comes to using what remains of the Queen's Flight - itself much reduced after many years of defence cuts by both parties and the slow whittling away of Royal magnificence in the same period.

According to the strict rules, a strong case needs to be made for preferring the RAF over normal scheduled flights.

Given the Government's noisy commitment to windmill-building and green policies, it is also hard to see why more use is not made of the excellent highspeed train services that now connect London with the continent.

Unless Mr Miliband can provide satisfactory proof of his need for Royal luxury, many will be tempted to conclude that (as his political rivals already claim) he just thinks he is more important than he is.

Gangs of Westminster

Tit-for-tat? Following a long tradition by ex-Prime Ministers, Blair's sticking the knife into Brown

Tony Blair is now said to be joining in the chorus of those damning the Prime Minister and preferring him to resign. No surprise there. Nor should anyone feel sorry for Mr Brown, who spent years stabbing Mr Blair in the back.

It seems to have become a new tradition of British politics that ousted leaders devote their declining years to destroying their successors and indirectly helping their official opponents.

To begin with, this was a Tory problem. Ted Heath lived long enough to rejoice at the fall of Margaret Thatcher. Lady Thatcher did much to wreck John Major's premiership, ably helped by Mr Major himself.

Now Mr Blair, along with much of the Parliamentary Labour Party and most of the new Labour media squad, appears to be undermining Gordon Brown. The chief beneficiary of this is David Cameron - who has recently quietly admitted in a new book to having said he is the 'heir to Blair'.

All this is great fun for those involved. But what does it mean for the people of this country, so starved of good or even competent government? Politics is reduced to gang warfare among a small group of professionals.

They pretend to be divided at Election time but are actually agreed on almost all major issues, which is why they don't mind helping their official rivals.

Heath

It could also be why government runs in such narrow channels and is so closed to the radical ideas which might solve many of our current problems.