THERE is clearly a lot of rubbish being spouted about Tony Blair's timetable for leaving Downing Street.

We saw it last week with the laughably over-the-top reaction to North-East Labour MP Ashok Kumar's article in The Northern Echo, calling for a rapid handover to Gordon Brown.

There are plots everywhere you look, with the latest suggestion over the weekend being that Gordon Brown is facing a definite leadership challenge from Darlington MP Alan Milburn.

Given that it was Mr Milburn who left his Cabinet post because it was making him "deeply unhappy" and preventing him from seeing his family, it is hard to see him suddenly deciding to pitch for the top job.

We also think he is far too smart to take on someone with the powerbase Mr Brown has acquired.

It is simply the kind of baseless guesswork that used to be reserved for the sports pages.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain - tipped to be a future Deputy Prime Minister under Mr Brown - has urged behind-the-scenes briefers to get on with their jobs.

That is like asking for the tide to be held back, or for the world of football to fall silent over Sven-Goran Eriksson's successor as England coach.

Ever since Mr Blair confirmed that he would not lead Labour into a fourth general election campaign, speculation about the timing of his departure was bound to increase week by week.

And the longer he delays the announcement, the more fevered - and distracting - it is going to get.