Apparently, all Labour have to do to please the pundits is to bring Mandelson, Campbell and Blair back and dig up some dirt on the Tories. Columnists and news reporters already seem to be declaring the rise of new New Labour.
This takes two forms, of course – assuring us that Labour is coming back, or assuring us that the Tories have to redouble their efforts. Iain Martin falls into the first camp, writing that Team GB is back on top form, While into the second camp fall Iain Dale’s call for the Tory attack dogs and Tim Montgomery, who is searching for reasons to be cheerful
Labour haven’t done anything differently, they haven’t changed their attitudes, they haven’t altered their policies, they haven’t shown contrition bringing us to the worst possible position for entering a recession. Yet already their chances are being talked up all over the shop, they’re considered likely to win the Glenrothes by-election (considering the 10,000 majority they bloody well ought to be likely to win the Genrothes by-election) and the Tories are being sagely advised to buck up their ideas.
The really scary, horrible thing about all this is that it’s just Old New Labour all over again. Having repeated the mantra for the last four years that Britain won’t be fooled again by the cynical politics of spin, here these columnists are jumping off the cliff in series, just exactly the same way that lemmings don’t.
Labour aren’t recovering. The Tories don’t need to do anything differently – except maybe organise their holidays a tad better. Keep those attack dogs on their leashes, ignore temporary changes in polls, avoid complacency – this has been the cornerstone of Cameron’s style since he became leader. Until Gordon Brown calls a general election (which you can bet won’t be until the last possible moment) the Tories are under no obligation to do anything but sit quietly and wait.
The end of the politics of spin. That worked out well for all of us, didn’t it.