Sunnily extolling the virtues of free trade, Mr Weld has led a dozen Massachusetts trade missions to places like Japan, Israel, Ireland and China.

ECONOMIST: The Helms-Weld war: In the same party, you said? | The

Mr Brown seems to be fighting the last war: fear-mongering claims about spending cuts which worked in 2001 and 2005, when money was cascading into the Treasury and voters viewed the Tories as malign, are less persuasive at a time of record borrowing and sunnily rebranded opponents.

ECONOMIST: Gordon Brown's latest relaunch