Cameron has learned from Blair’s failure to use his mandate and to command Whitehall

James Forsyth reviews the week in politics

The Tories go on holiday this summer knowing that it may be the last proper break they get for five years, or possibly longer. Once in government, taking the whole of August off won’t be a possibility for either ministers or special advisers: the pace of events won’t allow it. Indeed, one of the few things cheering people up on the Labour side at the moment is telling their Tory opposite numbers — or their spouses — just how crushing the workload in government is.

No one in the Cameron circle wants to be publicly caught talking like the election is in the bag: complacent talk costs seats and all that. But in private, conversation has moved on to the two ‘M’s: what mandate is the party looking for and how can it make the machinery of government work for it?

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