After Gordon Brown invited comparisons with a brooding, intense Heathcliff, David Cameron is positioning himself as a modern action hero, albeit one 10 years out of date. In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Cameron likened his political task to that of Lara Croft in the video game Tomb Raider .

At first glance, he appears delusional. After all, one is tall, agile, with freakishly large breasts; the other is a weak-chinned leader of the Conservative party. But their backgrounds contain similarities. Both were born in the late 1960s into a wealthy family. Both can claim aristocratic stock: Mr Cameron is a direct descendant of King William IV; Ms Croft is the 11th Countess of Abingdon in Surrey. Both went to schools that count royalty as alumni: he to Heatherdown Preparatory School and Eton, she to Gordonstoun. Both studied at Oxford University, although there is some doubt whether Ms Croft actually completed a degree. She is athletic and he likes to pootle around London on a bicycle.