The Prime Minister conjures up conflicting emotions in me. I teared up when I saw him in Congress after 9/11 and the President said, “Thank you for coming, friend.” I get all misty eyed when I hear his speech to the Labour Party that year where he emphasized the human tragedy of 9/11. On his day, he can be the most powerful moral force the war on terror has. Yet at other times, he reverts to type; beside John Howard the other day, he looked weak and mired in politician-speak until Howard pulled him out of it.

When it comes to his domestic policies, anger and other negative emotions grow. If I had to ask myself which of Tony Blair and George Galloway had done more to destroy the Britain I grew up in, the Britain of fine institutions, a country distinct from Europe, one that Edmund Burke and George Orwell alike would recognize, I know what my answer would be. A degree of distaste is definitely involved.