Eleven months to run till the election.

If we look at the latest revolt from the Labour Party, Brown must have been gratified to win with a decent majority. It is as if the parliamentary party, tired of defeats and rifts, decided to toe the line before the summer recess. After the whole Parliament was discredited, we have a final few weeks where the normal rhythms of governing hold sway again. A whiff of Mandelsonian populism pervades the air with prestidigitatory announcements on unpopular policies that promise much and deliver nothing. A spat on public spending demarcates further lines between the two parties, as 'investment versus cuts' is traded for 'honesty versus deceit'.


The myth that the public understand the need for cuts to public spending still needs to be tested, though this is the new consensus, so it is undoubtedly wrong, in whole or in parts. Now, all would-be kings gingerly step forward armed with polls, looking for landmines that will weaken their parties. Naturally, Brown is now on stumps.

The most interesting change channels through the Liberal Democrats. Squeezed more than any other party, their distinctive voice waning, they have been carried by a genuinely popular face, who is not their leader.

Without the febrile crisis, we may sit back and see a few months of political shallows before the autumn rapids of conferences flood the media again. For now, it looks like a clear run to an election, only for now.