So, the middle ground of politics has come back into fashion. David Cameron, barely two months into the job of Conservative party leader, has begun with the help of a group of close colleagues (who seem both normal and likeable) to haul his party back from the fringe of politics where for too long it has been camped, bedraggled and forlorn.

What does the oft-used metaphor "middle ground" really mean? Does Tony Blair have the titles to it? Is it unchanging? How should Conservatives try to shift it today? The phrase does not signify much more than the prevailing political consensus, with which unsurprisingly most voters feel comfortable. This majority is not left or right in the sense of supporting a sharply defined ideological agenda. Ideology may have infused part of every voter's political thinking but, by and large, popular common sense suggests that simple, dogmatic answers rarely explain everything. Moderation rules most heads as well as hearts.