The psychology of this conference is like no other I’ve experienced. Having mastered walking, the Cameron Conservative Party believed it had a couple of years in which to get on top of this running business. No such luck. Gordon Brown’s very public toying with a snap election has compelled the party to unveil a larger tranche of hard policies than it had hoped to do at this stage of the electoral cycle.
So Michael Gove and George Osborne had to look this morning as if they were capable of being Schools Secretary and Chancellor respectively in a matter of days. It is to their immense credit that each (in my opinion) passed this test. To listen to Gove this morning—a debating master who wisely played it straight—was to hear someone self-evidently more than capable of running a big department. And who can seriously doubt that Osborne would be a more vigorous Chancellor than Alistair Darling? Which is fine. But in a quasi-presidential system the question that matters will not be answered till Wednesday pm.
All the gossip, meanwhile, focuses on election practicalities, not least because the activists gathered in Blackpool are the people who will be expected to pound pavements this month if Gordon goes to the country. The latest potential hiccup is the capacity—or potential incapacity—of the Post Office to handle an election in late October or early November at such short notice, not least at a time of industrial unrest in the postal service. “The Post Office could sabotage democracy,” in the words of one Shadow Cabinet Member.
If the PM doesn’t go for it, expect a lot of “Brown the Bottler” campaigning from the Conservatives. You can hear it already this week: “We’re ready, why isn’t Gordon?” As ever in politics, the truth is otherwise. The Tories are far from ready. But you can’t help admiring their pluck.
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