THE BRIT CW

Talking with British friends and reading the papers, the new conventional wisdom is that Blair may do much better today than was expected even a week ago. I’m still unconvinced, but since I’m not there, I may well be wrong. If Labour’s majority goes below 100 seats, it will be a good night for the Tories. I wish the Tories had offered a more decisive alternative to Labour – especially on taxes and spending. They’ve botched several elections without even laying down a clear ideological direction for the party. And the trouble is: their ranks are thin. The younger generation of potential Tory MPs have either emigrated to America, or gone into the private sector, or become depressed about future prospects as a Tory back-bencher, or moved into the Labour camp. The remainder tend to maintain, I’m told, an upper-class aura that still rankles in class conscious Britain. I hope the new CW is wrong – not least because governments with huge majorities often get lazy and undisciplined; and because Britain needs a good opposition, especially if Gordon Brown drags Labour back to the left. Check in later today for reax.