“They’ve got the last president of the United States; we want the next one.” There was more than one-upmanship to David Cameron’s welcome for Senator John McCain at the opening of the Conservative Conference in Bournemouth. If Bill Clinton cheered the spirits of Labour activists in Manchester last week, Mr McCain’s presence among the Tories offered testimony that they are once again a party to be taken seriously.

It is not that so long ago since George W Bush made it clear that Michael Howard, Mr Cameron’s predecessor as Tory leader, would not be welcome at the White House. The party struggled to find even third-ranking politicians from overseas to pay it any attention. Mr McCain may or may not win the Republican nomination for the presidency, but by any standards he is in the front rank of politics.