Good morning Ashfield...

We pondered here whether the Labour party was parachuting someone into Geoff Hoon’s Ashfield seat – the Mail on Sunday yesterday claimed they are.

The would-be Labour MP that party chiefs want to take up the party’s candidacy is Gloria De Piero, GMTV political editor.

Lobbydog can confirm she is definitely in the running with the national party’s backing. But she is apparently keeping quiet, as all candidates are required to do under Labour rules until a certain point in the selection process.

It’s going to be a tough sell for the journo. I doubt there is a constituency Labour party anywhere in the UK more fed up of being sidelined by their MP’s ambitions, than the one in Ashfield.

The feeling was that Hoon delayed announcing his resignation not because he wanted to fight on for the electorate, not even because he wanted to rid the country of Gordon Brown, but because he hadn’t found another job yet.

If there is any feeling that De Piero wants to be the MP because she wants into Parliament, rather than because she wants into Ashfield, then she and her national Labour backers may well find Ashfield a cold, unwelcoming place.