What I would do if I were Gordon

Everyone is very upbeat this morning, despite the fact that I have yet to speak to anyone who got to bed before three am. There is a real buzz that if Brown does call an election we have everything to fight for; especially if we close the poll gap this week following some good gritty announcements.

Brown is supposed to make a statement today on Iraq. If I were him, I would be worried about the fact that Cameron is going to have a blinder of a week, and, as we all know, is going to deliver the speech of his life which will throw raw meat to the electorate in the form of fresh policies, and when the comparisons are drawn, will highlight how poor, stale and re-hashed Brown’s speech was.

Brown will be worried. If I were in his shoes this is what I would do: re-announce (because that is what he does best) phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq.