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[/audioplayer]No one goes to Birmingham to revive a marriage. But that is what David Cameron and the Conservative party must do next week at conference. They must find a way to put the passion back into their relationship, to learn to trust each other again ahead of the general election. For neither can win without the other next May.
That election is there to be won. The Labour gathering in Manchester this week was not one of a party convinced that it is going to surge to victory in a few months. The atmosphere was subdued, bordering on depressed. Thoughtful Labour frontbenchers wandered around fretting about how there was nothing in the programme to expand the party’s appeal. Unlike last year, Ed Miliband failed to make the political weather with his speech. By forgetting to talk about the deficit and immigration, he omitted the two most important issues in British politics — the ones that matter most to the voters.
Three issues most determine general elections: the economy, leadership and how unified a party is.
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