Tories at Westminster are filled with optimism, much of it misplaced

There is a substantial monograph to be written on the relationship between the Prime Minister and Margaret Thatcher. It began with abject, one-sided adoration. Colleagues recall Tony Blair, as a youngish MP, meeting Thatcher. They say it was embarrassing, the look of dog-like devotion he gave her.

The second stage came when Tony Blair was leader of the opposition. He did everything he could to suck up. He told her ardent supporters on the Tory Right — above all the group of Eurosceptic death-squadders whose hatred of John Major was so intense that they favoured anything else, including a Labour government — how much he admired her. These conversations were part of a conscious strategy to give out the impression that Blair was Thatcher’s real successor.

This was not quite as cynical as it seemed. Tony Blair really believed it himself. So, come to that, did Margaret Thatcher. Once New Labour was in power, Tony Blair invited her to Downing Street, and sought her opinion on how to govern the country.