Elections may come and go in Europe but they disappear, largely ignored by the denizens of London SW1.

BBC: Will UK politicians read too much into how Obama won?

Much of the gossip in the Westminster village is just that, gossip, of no interest to anyone outside of SW1 in central London.

BBC: Welcome to my new page

As it happens, Bob Diamond's note of his conversation on October 29 2008 with Paul Tucker, deputy governor of the Bank of England, implies he was having similar conversations with the ministers and officials of SW1.

BBC: The elusive truth about Barclays�� lie