The Spectator’s notes

David Cameron was in a tight spot because of the floods. He had arranged to address the Rwandan parliament, and this fitted with his wish to proclaim his welcome interest in development issues and his party’s new document on the subject.

David Cameron was in a tight spot because of the floods. He had arranged to address the Rwandan parliament, and this fitted with his wish to proclaim his welcome interest in development issues and his party’s new document on the subject. He could not convincingly have told the Rwandans that the rains forced him to stay in Britain. And yet his absence has been a mistake. ‘Middle England’, as well as being a political concept, is a geographical reality, and this week half of it has been under water. It was a unique moment when the leader of the opposition could have been visibly helping — getting wet, getting muddy on the ground while Gordon Brown was safely in the skies above, getting coverage.