Conservative PPC for Pontefract Nick Pickles writes about Saturday's events at the Tory party spring conference in Brighton.

A great deal has been said and written about this Spring Forum, whether in the talk of hung Parliaments or the questions about which policies will form a Conservative manifesto, so to finally be at the last major event before the general election in some ways has come as a relief.

William Hague set the scene, pondering during a barnstorming speech whether Gordon would finally visit Buckingham Palace during David Cameron’s speech tomorrow. Nobody here is afraid of an election it seems, whatever the polls say.

Hague’s barnstorming opener was followed by Andrew Lansley’s speech on the NHS — a clear indication that there has been no shift whatsoever in the campaign’s number one priority. Another tell-it-like-it-is speech from George Osborne pulled no punches in pinning responsibility for the current mess on Mandelson, Darling and Brown. Osborne once again did not skirt around how hard he sees the times ahead of being. The assembled party faithful now clearly agree and believe that poverty, enterprise and the tax system are all fundamentally connected and each must be taken on with equal vigour.

Yes, Gordon Brown’s record will be a central theme of the election campaign. As will the nation’s debt and the burden now borne by businesses and families. But today saw the Conservative Party making clear to the public, in perhaps a relentless way not seen before, exactly what will happen if, as I hope, change will be the choice of the electorate.

The only champagne corks popped belonged to the Sun’s headline writers, after hearing Charlotte Vere describe her seat as an all-female three way, and Labour’s stunt aimed at George Osborne was literally missed by pretty much everyone. Poor old David Blunkett can’t have had much success with the begging letters he sent out on Friday judging by the paultry effort.

While not the message being repeated across the bars of Brighton this evening is clear: we’ve spent four years trying to get rid of this government, the public want change, but we can’t rest yet. Oh, and we can’t go on like this. But I suspect that one will be saved for the northerners like me who still gasp when asked for £4 for a pint.