Politics gets interesting. It seems that Tony Blair’s long goodbye may prove shorter than we (he?) thought. Gordon Brown could well arrive at Number 10 to find he has bequeathed himself a less than vibrant economy. A Conservative party led by David Cameron has a plausible chance of persuading us that it has come to terms with the culture and aspirations of modern Britain.

There are two assumptions here, of course: the first that Mr Cameron beats David Davis in the Tory contest to emerge as leader in early December; the second that Mr Brown succeeds Mr Blair. To borrow a phrase from Washington, there are no slam dunks in politics. But these two are about as close as you get.