According to one of the DPM’s closest allies: “The true purpose for Nick in Brighton will be to make the party believe again in the Coalition and its achievement both in bringing economic stability to the country, providing the majority for some very ambitious public service reforms, and keeping the Tories decent.” The Tories, of course, would strongly deny that they needed the Lib Dems’ help to remain “decent”. But Clegg’s pitch to his own party will be to remember what they have accomplished by joining forces with the Old Enemy: lifting millions out of taxation altogether, the pupil premium for the neediest children, pressure on universities to admit more candidates from less affluent backgrounds, protection of civil liberties. Again, there is much in this that the Tories would challenge. But that is not the point. We are talking about a party leader’s relationship with his tribe: a bond which, in its way, is as private and mysterious as a marriage.