The government is under sustained attack, though the weight behind the criticisms levied vary in significance. The Home Office may well be "unfit for purpose", but the media furore over the issue has masked governmental successes in other more serious areas. After all, the premature or undue release of foreign prisoners is limited in number to several hundred; comparatively, pensions policy – over which, since Blunkett’s resignation in November 2005, John Hutton has presided – has massive fiscal implications for the very long-term.

It is in this context that John Hutton is worthy of much praise. In six months as work and pensions secretary, Mr Hutton has had to tailor the government’s response to Lord Turner’s radical proposals, while seeking to reconcile the prime minister and chancellor over the link between the state pension and earnings (see article). Short- and long-term pressures have been addressed with remarkable success. As this week's Economist notes, effective long-term policy-making is alien to a government far too comfortable with armchair politics, preferring knee-jerk responses to longitudinal action.

Gradually increasing the retirement age in line with life expectancy makes demographic sense. Clearly it is a pity that certain areas in Glasgow currently have a life expectancy less than the proposed retirement age of 68 (introduced incrementally by 2050), but regional discrepancies should not dictate national policy. The severage of the link between earnings and the state pension has proved a disincentive to save, while the national scheme of retirement accounts will re-introduce personal saving to a generation broadly averse to thriftiness.

John Hutton delivered these commendable proposals to the House with characteristic charm. In an age of media-driven politics, Mr Hutton's quiet astuteness - he was previously a law lecturer - is well-received. That the government's proposals enjoyed a broad consensus in the Commons was due to the prevailing political climate on this issue, but Mr Hutton's diplomatic mannerisms no doubt helped. Though suggestions that John Hutton could be Blair's successor are misplaced, it would be a great pity if this policy-making and -selling asset of government were to lose out under a Brown administration.