Skipper

Well, was that speech good enough? I'd award it 9.5 out of ten for memorization(Dave must have taken one of those miracle courses), 8 for performance(maybe a tad 'Blairlite', like most of his sppeches) and 6.5 for content. Given the anodyne, rhetorical quality of conference speeches, it was better than most: the sections on devolved local control and education were quite good for example, but only because, I suppose, they resonated with my own thinking just a little. But will it dissuade Gordon from launching the election race?

Of course, I don't know. But the delegates at the conference seemed in very good heart- overall they've made a decent fist of appearing to relish an election. But in reality the party chiefs are hoping Brown will row back and decide to wait at least until next spring. Whether public opinion has been shifted sufficiently to make the snap election a gamble not worth taking lies in the hands of the private pollsters no doubt already posing questions as I write this.

I always take the opinions of my current affairs class seriously- two dozen senior citizens who share some of my fascinations with British politics. At our first meeting this morning a big majority thought Brown would not take the gamble. I'm not so sure. Gordon has allowed the speculation to continue to such a pitch- he could have squashed it days ago-and has taken other apparently preparatory steps like bringing announcements forward. I can't see him backing down now without losing an unacceptable amount to face. I think the election is still on.