This separation has Alistair Campbell's (that's British English for Carl Rove's) fingerprints all over it. They've already said it's a temporary arrangement. They'll get back together when the heat is off (or whenever darling hubby is released from an Italian jail, if it comes to that).

Politicians can't actually be blamed for what their spouses turn into, but with the kind of company that they keep, it's hardly surprising that NewLabour people end up brown-nosing the likes of Ecclestone and Murdoch to such an extent that their field of vision becomes, shall we say, somewhat restricted.