Gordon Brown ought to be jeered for apparently allowing electioneering to dictate the terms of his Iraq policy. Brown has presented himself as the anti-Blair, a man free of spin and guile, but it is clear that when it comes to Iraq, Blair was much freer of spin and guile than Brown could ever hope to be. The Conservatives have every right to deride the Prime Minister’s brand of cynicism and John Major’s critiques are very well taken.

Of course, the Conservatives seemed to feel it necessary to cynically abandon their constituency by promising–through David Cameron–not to “lurch to the right.” For “lurch to the right,” of course, read “return to the principled and winning ways of Thatcherism.” I doubt that British voters will feel compelled in any way to vote for the Tories when all they appear to be is Labour Lite.