One of the most enduring frustrations during my time as a regional lobby journalist was the way in which the New Labour spin machine systematically cut the regional press out of the loop when it came to the dissemination of government information, doutbless aware that we tended to be rather less biddable than our national counterparts.

So nothing gives me greater pleasure than to see a regional political reporter scooping the nationals to the big political stories.

David Ottewell of the Manchester Evening News is one of the best young political hacks in the business and he has now beaten the nats two days on the trot, securing the first exclusive interviews with both James Purnell and Hazel Blears since their Cabinet resignations.