Pandora: Last Post sounded for Huhne when ballots arrived late

As Chris Huhne breaks for Christmas and contemplates a second failed bid to become leader of the Liberal Democrats, he will have good reason to reflect on what might well have been.

Huhne came agonisingly close on Wednesday to upsetting his highly-fancied opponent, Nick Clegg, falling short of victory by only approximately 500 votes.

It could well have been closer still. According to a Lib Dem source, a "sizeable number" of postal ballots arrived at the party's headquarters which narrowly missed last Saturday's voting deadline.

Although there is no suggestion of an X-Factor-style scandal (deadlines are deadlines, after all) the strong support shown for Huhne late on in the contest is likely to prompt speculation that it was he who stood to gain the most if the ballots had arrived on time.

"This always happens with elections, but deadlines are set and that's the rules," says the Lib Dem peer Lord Rennard, who acted as the leadership contest's returning officer. "Members are given three weeks to send their ballot papers back, so this easily allows for people who have taken a fortnight's holiday.

"We don't count the late ones, but they are opened as the envelopes sometimes contain cheques for party funds."

It's tough on Huhne, who can also be forgiven for feeling that some of these late voters were unlikely to have taken into account the slow- moving post during the Christmas period.

Savannah's night off from her own designs

Sienna Miller's elder sister Savannah has an equally beady eye for style, but she doesn't seem to share her sister's canny talent for self-publicity.

Savannah, who is an accomplished fashion designer in her own right, recently attended a London party to promote a new fragrance by the designer Donna Karen. According to a press release for the event, she agreed to wear an outfit for the evening designed by her host's label, DKNY.

Call it naivity, call it modesty, but it was a surprising move, since Miller only recently launched her own clothing label, Twenty8Twelve, just three months ago.

"It's quite normal to do that," says a spokesman. "Most models and actresses that we deal with do tend to wear the designer whose party they are going to."

Maybe, but I doubt you'd catch many designers handing free publicity to someone else's togs.

'Thunderbirds' aren't go

The BBC has announced a special night dedicated to Thunderbirds in the New Year. As hard as it may be for some to believe, it could well make pretty lively viewing.

As part of the evening, BBC4 will be screening an hour-long documentary on the cult TV show featuring interviews with its creators, the former husband and wife Gerry and Slyvia Anderson.

The pair have barely spoken since their frosty divorce more than 30 years ago, after which Gerry sold the (now lucrative) rights to the show to Lew Grade. Sadly, it appears the documentary has failed to spark any reconciliation.

Says a Beeb spokesman: "Gerry and Sylvia were interviewed separately. They won't be appearing together."

Ungodly row

The celebrity atheist Richard Dawkins is used to trading insults with the Church of England, although he is currently at the centre of one petty row that appears to be none of his doing.

Christian leaders have spoken out against the high-street bookstore Borders, which is issuing copies of Dawkins' controversial book The God Delusion with a Christmas card that reads: "Oh come All Ye Faithless."

"I would have hoped that, in a society in which we are seeking to show respect to all people and beliefs, we might have grown out of this kind of nonsense," says Reverend Jonathan Edwards, of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.

A terribly highbrow spokesman for Borders says the gimmick is just a "continuation" of the atheism debate.

Home truth for Wayne (and his coffee machine)

Tradesmen are baffled by Coleen McLoughlin's stocking present to her fianc, Wayne Rooney.

This week, it was reported that Coleen had splashed out 3,000 on a Caftisse 110, a coffee machine that she apparently spotted in Manchester Airport. According to York Coffee Systems, a leading stockist of the brand, this particular model is designed for commercial purposes and is not meant for home use.

"It's not a domestic machine in any way, shape or form," I'm told. "It's very quick at making coffee, that's why you have it in airports, but the coffee it uses is frozen. You'd be much better off with one of the smaller and cheaper models. I think young Rooney has wasted his money."

pandora@independent.co.uk