Close shave for power-mad James Purnell

When politicians shave off their facial hair, they are up to something - usually a grab for power. They want to be more acceptable by becoming less noticeable. A case of the bland leading the bland. Peter Mandelson took off his tash when a Cabinet position beckoned. Ambitious Alistair Darling, the smooth chinned Chancellor, washed off his baby-hair beard. And now James Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has shaved off his sideburns. Mostly. To get rid in one go would have smacked of real nerve, when he's still hesitating about a coup against Gordon Brown. Little Jimmy, 38, who boasts the finest lip-curl at Westminster, is touted as Labour's last hope if Grim Gordie falls under a Number 11 bus. But that doesn't stop him inviting a posh newspaper into his political boudoir to say: "I really admire people who have made money." You bet he does, especially while looking in the mirror. And he thinks nobody has a right to benefits - not even people who have paid taxes for them, presumably. This is the future planned by the lost tribe of the Blairites, still wandering the wilderness after Tony's departure but hoping to make a comeback if it's a disaster for Labour in the forthcoming Glasgow East by-election. Mirror.co.uk