Only literary theory can explain the life-changing success of David Cameron

MPs returned to Westminster this week during a spell of hot, sultry weather more characteristic of late July than mid-October. They sweated up in the corridors, mopped their brows in the chamber, sat in shirtsleeves on the Commons terrace (apart from the Liberal Democrats, who at first did not return at all; the recall of Parliament at the end of a 10-week break was a therapeutic ‘away day’ for party spokesmen. To be fair to Charles Kennedy, his absence was barely discernible).

Tony Blair added to this troubling sense of unreality. President Talebani of Iraq has been in town. The Iraqi President and the British Prime Minister called journalists to Downing Street to provide reassurance that British troops will stay ‘as long as it takes’ and Iraq was en route to a secure and prosperous future. The Talebani visit was a reminder of how readily two parallel worlds can co-exist: the official narrative set out by politicians in documents and public utterances, and the lives people actually live.