Plus: May needs Johnson. My election predictions. Strange selection decisions. And: why I decided not to put my name forward for the seat in which I grew up.
His great achievement two years ago was to sever the head off the Liberal Democrat snake – and most of the body too. Now he must defang it again.
As a party known for strong economic management, we must work doubly hard to avoid appearing to know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
“I think you can argue that between February and the start of July, every single decision that Michael Gove made changed the course of British history.”
It’s predominately a tight-knit group of former staffers who’ve worked together before. No change there. But it has a more provincial and state school feel.
The new Government can’t realistically aim to target its programme on everyone. To govern is to choose.
An awesome responsibility will greet the eventual winner. The new Prime Minister must rise to the greatest national challenge since that which confronted Churchill.
A tale of fatal misunderstandings, tensions and deep differences – and of a potential cycle of grievance which all the leadership candidates must stop before it starts.
This negative Toryism can eke out victories against average opponents, but it is no guide to winning well – or at all at a time when capitalism is being questioned.
What the claims and post-mortems will look like – and, either way, there will be at least one Commons by-election.
Plus: Obama: so that went well, then. Scotland: will it go well for Davidson? Wales – it may go well for Neil Hamilton (remember him).
Plus: The ludicrous Evan Harris. My broken mobile. The menace of TTIP. The smears of Yvette Cooper. And: why Polly Toynbee swiftly changed the subject.
Four reflections on the campaign so far and things to watch for as the campaign intensifies.
If he decides for Brexit, he could frame the debate.