Out of the Shadows?

Margaret Beckett is said to be drawing up a scheme to replace Shadow Cabinet elections with appointment by the Leader, or with a 50/50 arrangement, but either way with a quota for women, such as already exists. Either intriguingly or insanely, I am not sure which, there is also talk of a directly elected Chief Whip.

Where would this leave the practically guaranteed Labour candidate for this new seat as created by the impending boundary changes: the youngest but also the longest-serving of the MPs in question, the only one to have been a Minister, by far the best connected in the Labour Party and the unions, and in fact, for all his many and very serious faults, tenacious in his pursuit of Luke Coffey? He was also practically guaranteed election to the Shadow Cabinet. But he nominated Andy Burnham, whom one wishes were better than he is, but who is not, so he is not going to win.