Tories move up a gear

If you're a Tory looking in this evening then I should congratulate you on what has been a highly successful day in Blackpool. Your activists, delegates and speakers did you proud.

From Liam Fox, who reminded the conference that Gordon Brown had only said 126 words about Iraq, Afghanistan and our Armed Forces during his "self-indulgent plagiarised, 67 minute speech last week - one word for every two service men or women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan."

To David Davis's call for Gordon Brown to have the courage to run on his record, instead of trying to run away from it:

   "Is the Chancellor who smothered public services with targets really the Prime Minister to free the police from all that red-tape? Is the Chancellor who refused money for prison places really the Prime Minister to deal with the failure of our criminal justice system? And is the Chancellor who controlled social policy for ten years really the Prime Minister to tackle soaring drug abuse and family breakdown?"

And finally to Ian Duncan Smith's showstopping speech on social justice. Take it from me, I didn't time the standing ovation IDS received but Cameron will be lucky to match it, let alone beat it.

Will Ian's impassioned plea to mend Britain's broken society make the headlines? No. The conference will be remembered for pledges on tax cuts. But from what I've seen today at least one thing is certain: The Conservative Party is alive and kicking. And whenever the election is called, I doubt it will be the one-sided contest the polls suggest.