Is Finkelstein fighting the last war?

Few columnists in Britain provoke as often or as brilliantly as Daniel Finkelstein does. But I think Danny reveals himself to be fighting the last war in his piece today. He argues that the Tories should not differentiate themselves too much from Brown as that would be an electoral risk. He writes that:

“The only way of satisfying the demand that [Cameron] stands for something would be to leave the centre ground. He is better off leaving that demand unsatisfied.”

This suggests that Danny does not believe that there is an electorally popular, reform Conservatism that can be sold to the public. To my mind, this is both defeatist and wrong.

The polls all suggest that the public believe that Labour has not delivered and will not do so. The public would now be receptive to Tory messages. I’m not suggesting promising bumper tax cuts or anything like that — those who don’t want the Tories to be bold have an infuriating habit of claiming that the only way the Tories can be bold is to return to the old tunes — but making the case calmly and with appropriate emphasis for new polices on education and the like.