The other Saint Margaret

Being in opposition has brought the best out of some Labour MPs but none more so than Margaret Hodge.
No one ever doubted her ability in government but it is as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee that she has become a real force at Westminster.
She has brought out a string of reports each one of which drives a dagger into the fluttering heart of this incompetent administration.
The two catch-all criticisms of the coalition are a) it is absurdly and needlessly ideologically driven; and b) utterly useless.
It is not the business of the PAC to investigate the first of those but by highlighting the lack of planning and hopeless managerial ability of the government, she is doing it more damage than the Official Opposition.
Today's sally on what is happening to universities is what Labour should have been doing. Not on a political or ideological level but simply pointing out that the plans, like most coalition policies, seem to have been drawn up on the back of an envelope after a long lunch.
The government never appears to understand the consequences of its policies or the impact they will have. That is why George Osborne is going to be in such trouble, despite his crowing over yesterday's IMF support (anyway, since when has the IMF done anything but support right-wing economic policies?).
Not only does Margaret Hodge's committee tackle critical issues and produce enlightening reports, she follows them up by gonig on the airwaves and giving a lesson to other politicians in how to handle interviews.
Unfortunately, most of the media takes no great interest in the PAC. But its evidence is stacking up and will eventually play a key role in holding this government to account.