A Clayton's resignation

Many readers will be old enough to remember Clayton's; the drink you have when you're not having a drink. It spawned a legion of sayings, generally referring to things that were not quite as they seemed, or which were pale imitations of the real thing.

Now, we don't know whether Darren Hughes has ever drunk Clayton's or not, but he obviously knows the legend. For, as the Herald reports, his resignation last Friday has yet to materialise - check this out:

Darren Hughes has told his party he will formally resign before Tuesday, when Labour Party MPs will meet for their first full caucus since news broke about a police complaint against him by an 18-year-old student.

Mr Hughes announced last Friday that he would go but insisted he had done nothing wrong and would clear his name. Police are still investigating.

The office of Speaker Lockwood Smith yesterday confirmed he had not yet received a letter of resignation. A resignation is effective the moment the Speaker receives written notice of it, unless an MP states in the letter that it will take effect on a future date.

A Labour spokeswoman said Mr Hughes intended to have his letter with the Speaker before Tuesday, when MPs would return from a week-long recess.

That Parliament has been in recess this week is irrelevant, in our ever-humble opinion. Phil Goff made much of Hughes' integrity when announcing his decision to resign last week; now he's hanging on for as long as he can. We wonder if he is hoping that the Police will conclude investigations before Tuesday, and rescind his decision if no charges are laid. It all sounds a little Clayton's to us.

And in the meantime, Phil Goff has some more explaining to do - read on:

Labour leader Phil Goff has confirmed he will attend a meeting of the party's national council this weekend and expects to face questioning about his failure to tell president Andrew Little about the police complaint against Mr Hughes.

Mr Goff has previously said he withheld the news from Mr Little because he considered it a "caucus matter". However, the president has rejected that, saying anything that could damage the wider party is not solely a caucus issue.

Although the two have spoken since, Mr Little has refused to comment further.

We doubt that the Labour Party's national council will be as friendly towards Mr Goff as the gathering of senior MP's that was held in Dunedin on Tuesday. The unconditional support that Goff received there is perceived by most commentators to have been less than sincere. It is apparent that the only reason that Phil Goff remains in the role of leader is because no-one else is prepared to pick up the leadership this side of the election.

Despite all this, Phil Goff insists that his position has been strengthened. Does anyone really buy that? His handling of the Darren Hughes incident has been woeful, and the political judgment of BOTH men is open to question. And all the while, Judith Tizard lingers as next on Labour's list, unable to announce her decision until a resignation is actually lodged with the Speaker of the House.

Darren Hughes' Clayton's resignation merely adds to the perception of a messy saga which would have been shut down far, far sooner by someone with the ruthless political skills of Helen Clark.