Take a proper holiday, Gordon

I don't often agree with Stephen Glover. But his plea to the PM - presumably written with some encouragement by Brown's friend Paul Dacre - to take a proper holiday is spot on.

This time in 12 months we could well have another prime minister. That thought should not galvanise Mr Brown into still more intense feats of activity. It should make him pause and reflect. A holiday properly spent gives one a sense of perspective on one's problems, and can put oneself in a stronger position to address them......The odd thing is that, unlike many observers, I believe there is still a lot to play for. The die is not irrevocably cast in favour of the Tories. They are not bound to win by a stonking majority. If only Mr Brown could summon the energy and calmness that one needs before a great battle, he might yet put in an impressive performance.....

It is not impossible that by early next year Gordon Brown will have a positive story to tell - namely that he and the Chancellor, Alastair Darling, took measures, largely opposed by the Tories, which enabled Britain to emerge from the global recession earlier than its rivals. But if Mr Brown is going to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in recent political history, he will first have to inspire and reenergise his party at its autumn conference, and then convince a battered, surly and cynical electorate that Britain really has turned the corner as a result of the Government's policies. And he won't have the slightest chance of achieving this enormous task as long as he resembles one of the living dead in a late-night horror movie, making us feel uncomfortable just to look at him. He needs to bound back with all the self-belief and sense of hope he exuded when he took over from Tony Blair just over two years ago.