Right on the mark

Dear Bruce Anderson,

I find it very hard to disagree with your analysis of Gordon Brown’s state of mind with regard to a possible autumn election.  As the title of your article suggests, he has every reason to call an election and yet he still might not take the plunge.

The polls are still behind Brown, albeit with slightly different assessments of the margin of victory he might hope for.  However, there is plenty of opportunity for the Labour boat to be rocked, with the EU referendum still on the agenda (which Cameron would stick to in the event of a General Election) and the tough times facing UK farmers remaining a possible source of further discontent.  The unions may yet give Brown a frosty reception at the conference, and yesterday’s speeches by Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling were by no means dazzling.  David Cameron and the Conservatives are going to put their policies together for the Conservative Party conference and if they are astute in picking the best policies from their six working parties they could put together a strong case to the voters, whereas Gordon Brown has little new to offer.

Calling an election before the Conservative Party conference may sound great, but it gives the opposition the first chance to draw blood in what will be an ugly and short-lived battle.  I’m not sure Brown is convinced, and the final sentence of your article sums it up quite brilliantly:

Yet the words on [Gordon Brown's] political memorial may still read: “Here lies the man who underestimated David Cameron.”

Yours with respect,

A.Tory