Four Seasons

Gordon will have to use the R-word

Before the Prime Minister can begin to take the initiative, he has to talk openly about the recession

The bounce may not be enough

The PM is now in a stronger political position than even a few weeks ago. He has earned a second chance

Not a war Cabinet, but still important

The new National Economic Council must come up with proposals to ease the burden of the credit crunch and the recession

Labour ambitions and Tory hopes must wait

All hands on deck? Classic ambiguity

Mandelson's return to Cabinet is a response not only to economic turmoil, but also to Gordon Brown’s precarious position

Brown binds in the Blairites

Return of Peter Mandelson will help Gordon Brown to heal his rift with the Blairites and add some weight to his team

After the parties will words translate to action?

This was a sober, mainly harmonious, conference season in which the party leaders had mainly to respond to events

Time to worry is when they start agreeing on policy

Bipartisanship sounds fine in theory but it can often be unworkable and even damaging in practice

Osborne prepares Tories for age of austerity

The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer deserves two cheers for preparing his party for the grim realities of power

Cameron faces battle to gain voters' trust

Polls suggest Tory leader is right to be cautious — he has yet to persuade public about his alternative

Echoes of 70s may begin to get louder

The Blair and Brown eras succeeded in making conferences largely irrelevant. That could be reversed if Labour loses power

Best performance heralds worst times

Gordon Brown bought himself time, but he did little to resolve either his or his party’s long-term future

Shuffling may be risky deal for leader

The first big test of Gordon Brown’s political authority after the Manchester conference will be whether he changes his team

Admit your unpopularity before a counter-attack

Given the current turmoil, it makes political sense for Mr Brown to concentrate on what the Government has done and is doing

Only 6 out of 10 at best under the turmoil test

Nick Clegg does not have the authority or instinctive feel on financial matters of Vince Cable

Saving £20 billion is all about redistribution

So many figures, policies and semi-policies have been floated by leading Lib Dems that it is all rather confusing

Clegg drowned out by Labour's civil war

Populus poll shows that the public likes the image of the Liberal Democrats, but does not take their policies very seriously

Wanted: a clear sense of direction

Gordon Brown should, oddly enough, feel reassured. Not only is there no assassin, but there is no obvious replacement

If only he'd stuck to being Chancellor

Seldom has disillusionment been so quick and so complete. But is there any hope of recovery before the next election?