1. Duffy. Much (too much?) has been written about Gillian Duffy in the past week, as she re-emerged to pester Nick Clegg. But let’s remember where the Duffy journey began: Brown’s grumpy whisperings in the back of the car (poor Sue Nye); Duffy’s expression of indignant horror when the “bigoted woman” line was revealed; the sight of a nation’s media camped on a front lawn, cameras pointed at a front door and the collective sinking feeling on realising that this was going to be the “big story” of the election.
2. “I agree with Nick.” My colleague George Eaton has already written about the importance of the TV debates, but let’s recall some of the details. Cameron getting oddly red and tetchy as he realised doing the debates was the Worst Decision He’d Ever Made. Clegg’s brilliance at remembering names of audience members and staring down the camera, in true boy-band style. Brown like a bear in a cage, lashing and griping. Clegg must look back at those golden days and weep (while listening to music).
3. Celebs. Gordon Brown appointed Duncan Bannatyne his “seaside tsar”. David Cameron launched a national music competition with Gary Barlow (Gary Barlow!). These are the lengths our great leaders will go to. Clegg, meanwhile, wiped the floor on the celeb front, having tea with Colin Firth. But oh, how life changes. Now Colin has an Oscar and Clegg has Cameron.
4. Wives. Remember Sam Cam’s weird video about drinking tea with “Dave”? The wives all excelled in wifeliness: pretty dresses, hand-holding, demure glances at their clever husbands. Moral of the story: “Wives! Stop being so wifely!”
5. Blurb. They all had their own slogans, like pets. Cameron had the big/broken society, depending on his mood. Brown had his manifesto written in the “future tense” because it was all about the future, obviously. And Clegg, with his “pledge” on tuition fees. Hollow, hollow laugh.
What have I missed?
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