So, the conference season

Could you raise any enthusiasm about it?

My thoughts....the LibDems appear still to have no real reason for existing. Under Charles Kennedy they had carved themselves a place to the left of Labour, and that would be very welcome now - but under Clegg they appear to be unsure of what they are for other than to sound like David Cameron. Should there be a hung Parliament I would be surprised if they managed to hang together. There are some who are aching to join the Tories in government, others who wouldn't touch them with a bargepole

Labour appeared tired and resigned to defeat. Its not really surprising. Their problem is first, that people appear to want to be 'led' and Brown isn't that sort of inspirational figure. and that their recent past means that it is harder for them to be as critical as they should be with regard to the market.

But the Tories - well, they make the right noises, and the gloss is there, and the electoral cycle means they are buoyant. Inevitable. However, they have two glaring problems. First, that their economic policies would be a disaster. Monetarism should be utterly discredited yet they are still angsting about the debt and suggesting cuts - the fast route to stagflation. The second is that they rant on about big government whilst praising both SureStart and the NHS, two products of it - remove government and they seem to be under the illusion that somehow Something Would Turn Up. I don't think it would. In my experience people like the idea of community participation as long as its others who actually do it. Too often initiatives end up being taken over by a small, unelected and unrepresentative group, such as our local residents association which appears to be entirely self selecting. No doubt the Tory plans will give them encouragement but I'm not convinced.