The sheer audacity of Team Brown is breathtaking. Are they really trying to portray him as the heir to Thatcher? It is all very well claiming to be a conviction politician, but what if they are the wrong convictions?

Remind yourself of just two examples of when Gordon was on the wrong side of a big battle born of conviction.

Facing down Soviet Communism – Brown was opposed to installing the Cruise and Pershing missiles that the Soviets feared most and could not afford to match. This brought them to the negotiating table.

Miners Strike – the crucial and decisive battle for the economic well being of the country – at the time he opposed Thatcher’s determination to end once and for all Scargill’s blackmail. He never supported the rights of working miners who faced harassment and violence. When David Wilkie was killed by striking NUM miners there was no condemnation from Gordon Brown.

The list is long. Team Brown is doing this not out of conviction, but for pure spin…