The Cameron era has begun

Power, or the expectation of it, has a transformative effect on political parties. It was draining from the Labour party at its conference in Brighton last week, just as obviously as it was rushing towards the Conservatives in Manchester this week. Gordon Brown sounded angry and shrill, saying nothing about how he would tackle the deficit. His was a strategy for opposition. The Conservatives provided leadership — talking about public sector pay freezes. They were listened to with the respect afforded a government-in-waiting. This was the objective of the conference, and it was clearly achieved.

What we learned in Manchester, primarily, was the way in which a Conservative government will set about remedying the public finances. George Osborne made clear that the perception of his cuts agenda is crucial to its success. The slogan ‘we’re all in this together’ has become a fiscal strategy: whatever happens must be seen to be fair.