Blah Blah Flowers

Last year, when Iain Duncan Smith characterised himself as 'The Quiet Man', impressionist Rory Bremner riffed from this into Iain Duncan Smith saying he was quiet like a ghost, and then that he was Casper The Friendly Ghost, as last year was also the year the Tories wanted everyone to think they were lovely. I didn't want to say anything about his speech until I had a chance to see at least highlights on telly last night but it was fairly appalling. It certainly reads well, though opposition party leader's speeches tend to suffer as the leader doesn't control everything as such, so all they can do is talk about their record (if they're in power) or criticise the others (if they are not). Labour have been in power foralmost seven years and still people have't forgotten what a shower the Tories were when they ran the roost. But IDS... He just doesn't seem to have any skill at delivering speeches. When he had to sound angry he sounded mildly petulent, about as emotional as the shipping forecast. He did a little better with a few ad libs and jokes, but when he was attacking Blair over the Kelly Affair he didn't sound as though he believed what he was saying. No wonder Michael Portillo has risen to take a pop at him...

Otherwise, read Simon Hoggart's impression of the speech: It was like being lectured for more than an hour by a very angry Dalek... His message was clear. "Tony Blair is a liar. Tories trust the people. I can't climb stairs."