The political season kicks off

Today has been quite a day. Gordon Brown has burst back onto the political scene with an agenda-setting appearance on the Today Programme, a march into Conservative territory in The Daily Telegraph and a speech announcing the new politics which contained some very old fashioned points scoring. In Iraq, British forces have pulled back to Basra airport at the same time as George W. Bush has arrived to demonstrate his continuing support for the surge; illustrating just how much British and American strategies are diverging. While in London, Boris Johnson has launched his campaign for mayor. August is definitely over.

Another poll will be out tomorrow that shows, according to Ben Brogan, Labour ahead by just a point. This will pour further cold water on talk of an autumn election. But there is still a huge amount to play for over the next few months.

One of the big questions is has the Tory’s sounding of more traditional themes, which as former Conservative spin doctor Nick Wood notes in his new Conservative Home column—which promises to be a weekly must read—has delighted what used to be called the Tory press, undercut David Cameron’s carefully crafted more moderate image. I think not as, with the exception of immigration, Cameron hasn’t offered any huge hostages to fortune. Cameron’s new line on crime doesn’t sounded like a call to bring back the birch and all will be well. Indeed, if children getting killed in pedal by shootings and witnesses feeling too scared to testify against a teenage killer isn’t anarchy in the UK then it is pretty close to it.