Skipper

Maybe all that stuff about possible drug taking worked to his benefit after all. It put him at the centre of the spotlight; it showed him to be resolute in sticking to his guns; and it showed it didn't really matter anyway as he is such a charming kind of guy. I hesitate to say that, if the accusation had not come up, he would have asked someone to make it but you see my point. The size of his final vote was about as expected; also the vote for the rightwingers but it's interesting that the combined total of the latters' votes exceeded that of the modernizer winner. The Tories still have a way to go to catch up with Labour and make the necessary changes to their party.

What next? Anything could happen of course. Davis will possibly do better as the underdog and Cameron cannot have too many slip-ups or even embarrassing revelations. Davis's rightwing message might begin to make more headway once he is out there campaiging-they all agree with him after all- but I would expect 'Dave', now exalted by televisual fame, to maintain a goodish lead until he wins in December. But Davis is right to keep going: it's by no means over yet. Liam Fox did reasonably well though-even though he is touted a 'kingmaker' I don't see how a Westminster based MP can influence the rank and file all that much.