Well, I was going to tackle, dread task, the formidable combination of Mark and Iain, but, thank heavens, John O’Sullivan has done all the work for me. Turning to a few of the smaller points, however, I’d like to say that the replacement of Blair by Gordon Brown is not something that fills me with much enthusiasm, to put it mildly. With Blair’s connivance, Brown has been a profoundly destructive finance minister, with only two real achievements to his credit, granting independence to the Bank of England and, ironically, stopping Blair from dragging Britain into the Euro. The prospect of Brown unleashed is nothing to look forward to, but the sooner it happens, the greater the (still remote) chance of an eventual Conservative victory. It will be the end of the beginning, as Churchill once said in a very different context (and no, Jpod, just to reassure you, I’m not comparing Tony Blair with the Third Reich).

As to whether Brown (often described as something of an Atlanticist) would be more or less pro-American than Blair, I’d say the jury is out. He’d be less effusive in his displays of affection certainly, but then he’s a dour fellow at the best of times . It may be that Brown, who is better liked in his party than Blair, would be better placed to deliver effective (if lower key) support than the weakened Blair.

On Mark’s “one big question” point, it’s absolutely true that Blair “gets” the danger from Islamic extremism, at least so far as its international dimension is concerned, but, as Mark knows, look closer to home (where Blair’s approach to the extremists has often seemed more Chamberlain than Churchill) and the picture becomes far murkier. It’s also worth noting that Blair’s policy on Europe cannot be split off from any assessment of his contribution to the Anglo-American alliance. Deeper entanglement within the EU (and its growing defense ambitions) is inconsistent with a close alliance with the US. When it comes down to it, Blair has put Britain in a position that mean that, within a few years, when the hard choices come, it will have to opt for Brussels over Washington.

And, finally, on the topic of Matthew Parris, sure he’s not always right, particularly on the geopolitical front, but I’ll stick with “respected”.