William Hague’s warming warm-up speech

He listed his own achievements in the party, and praised George Osborne for ‘completely’ turning around the British economy, an interesting line not just because the Chancellor has missed his own targets, but because until recently ministers were still giving out lines to the effect that there is a great deal left to be done. This new tone – one James picked up in his interview with Michael Fallon last week – suggests that the Tories are content to bank the recovery now. A retiring darling of the party was always going to receive a warm welcome, but Hague’s speech about his values, his achievements and his hope for the party was timely and a good start to the conference.