Will he, won't he

The big question over the forthcoming Labour leadership race, will or won’t John Reid stand?

He is clearly testing the water, with speeches like the one today and other speeches which cover a much wider scope than his current Home Office portfolio.

I still think it is too early to tell John Reid’s true intentions. I think he wants to stand, but there are two problems. The first is can he beat Gordon Brown, which I’m not sure he can. The second is, he can’t appear to be making his pitch for the leadership until Blair announces a clear departure date. Otherwise he will appear to be undermining Blair’s leadership.