I do take your point though, it’s a tabloid and the right aren’t always whiter than white. It’s a failing of mine that I always think we should do better and big nationals really should be trying to raise the level debate. I know The Sun is no better, and despair at The Daily Mail and Express.

The HRA is a policy you have a good point on. Of course the idea is to get us out of the ECHR and have a ‘British’ Human Rights Act which keeps the good bits and loses the barmy bits. I think it’s healthy to have some scepticism as to how well that will work (and can’t imagine a good Conservative not having some scepticism about it).

Having said all that, I have far more trust in the Conservatives on this sort of issue than I ever can with Labour, who really should have known much much better. Then again, I would say that, wouldn’t I?

I can understand why they ran it: the whole “tough choices”, “cuts” thing clashes somewhat with champagne but to pretend people won’t have a glass or two (or maybe expensive malt?) at party conference season is nonsense.

But if you want a serious issue to debate on: what about the Conservative pledge to get us out of the Human Rights Act? Surely this is throwing the baby out with the bathwater… there’s a lot of good come from the HRA, even if it has also caused some problems.