No one has yet been able to tell if he has the stomach for this fight.All that said, however, the one issue that is virtually guaranteed to split Labour and that could provoke a real leadership crisis is Iraq. No one believes that military intervention is likely before the Autumn, but Mr Blair should be in no doubt that his backbenchers will need some very convincing evidence to persuade them that Iraq represents a threat to Britain if they are to back him. The idea of Mr Blair being out by Christmas is still laughable; but the past few weeks suggest that British politics is entering a more unpredictable and capricious phase.. Few of us, it would seem, can resist the temptation to play God, even if it is only one a computer. The Sims has become the best selling PC game ever, shipping 6.3 million copies only two years after its release.

They cannot, it appears, get enough of artificial life.It is easy to see the attraction. Unless we’re Peter Mandelson or Jo Moore, we cannot manipulate real people’s emotions and actions; the Sims, of course, are much more pliable. Except that, as in the forerunner game SimCity, the assumptions built into the programming are distinctly free-market, indeed materialist. SimCity, as players soon discover, rarely thrives on income-tax rates in excess of 5 per cent; the Sims like to have big televisions, new mobile phones and plenty of other gadgets.The gap in the market, then, is clear; socialist SimCity and the Third Way Sims with programmed communitarian tendencies, a civilisation of people like Mr Blair Our mice can’t wait.. Once you get past the hackneyed title, “A safe bet for success”, the Government’s White Paper on liberalising gambling has much to recommend it. We – at least some of us – already derive pleasure from plenty of things that are risky: drinking, smoking and dangerous sports, to name but three.

There is no reason why that list should not include gambling and why the experience should not be made a good deal more pleasant – and possibly, even, profitable. That, however, is a matter of personal responsibility, and many “problem” gamblers already find ways to feed their habit – the higher spenders by crossing the Channel or Atlantic, where casino gambling has long been more accessible than it is here. The internet offers further, fast-growing opportunities.Overall, the benefits from loosening the current draconian regulations far outweigh the dangers. Gambling has come a long way from the furtive betting shops of the recent past, but the time is long overdue for those inclined to have a flutter to be able to do so in convenient, civilised and comfortable surroundings. Once the requirement is dropped that casinos operate as private clubs, the number of such gambling halls is likely to soar, along with the profits, the tax revenue and the winnings.Declining seaside resorts are banking on a revival led by new casinos and related facilities, such as hotels, restaurants, theatres and spas. The experience of France and parts of the US that have liberalised gambling supports their optimism. There is money to be made and money – now untapped – that can be put to good use, as the National Lottery has shown.No one pretends that gambling is an especially honorable pastime It is a vice.

The soullessness of many gambling establishments, especially those dominated by one-armed bandits, may repel many people who are drawn to casinos for the first time. They are not places for children – and the proposed stiffer rules on the admission of minors even to amusement arcades are all to the good. Adults, though, should be able to decide for themselves when, where and whether to gamble. The job of the Government is to stay out of the way, keep crime at bay – and smile all the way to the bank..