STAGE-MANAGED though his reception clearly was, there can be little argument that Tony Blair can look back on conference week with more satisfaction than was widely expected.

Gordon Brown laid claim to his crown at the beginning of the week, only for a polished Mr Blair to make it clear he couldn't have it.

The Prime Minister intends to press on the accelerator regardless of what his critics might think about the war in Iraq, foundation hospitals and top-up fees.

Whether it was wise openly to declare that he doesn't have a reverse gear remains to be seen, because they can be pretty useful in a tight corner and there are plenty of those ahead.

The lack of the traditional pre-briefing to journalists on his speech was a promising sign that lessons have been learned on the perils of spin, but the pre-planning of the ovation was a backward step.

Nonetheless, the honourable member for Sedgefield has come through the minefield of a potentially explosive week remarkably unscathed.

So what of the Tories who begin their conference on Monday? Mr Blair's great fortune as Prime Minister is that his time in office has coincided with a woefully weak opposition.

Is Iain Duncan Smith the right leader? What does the modern Conservative Party really stand for? Will he get to the end of next week looking like an alternative Prime Minister? Will the stage-managers of the Tory Party be able to pre-arrange a longer standing ovation than Tony's?

With the scrapping of top-up fees their only headline-grabbing policy of note, the truth is that Tories have to make an impact on the public consciousness - starting next week.