It's a quiet revolution.  Nick Clegg does not appear to be a noisy man.  But the Liberal Democrats have now embraced the 'choice' agenda in healthcare, essentially taking on the Tories' old 'patient passport' scheme.  They have abandoned their call for free personal care for the elderly (a policy they were so proud to have enacted in Scotland when they were part of the government) and there have also been changes in tax policies - away from taxing the rich.

The centre-right in British politics is getting awfully crowded.  Yet look at polling evidence on the issues (as opposed to how people self-define their politics) and it is clear that many of these centre-right policies are not remotely popular.   It is a hugely dangerous thing when all the main political parties propose frighteningly similar policies; all the more dangerous when they all propose unpopular policies.

If you take the 2006 Yougov poll on increased competition in the NHS, 74% either disagreed or strongly disagreed with more competition in the NHS.  Yet now 100% of main-party front benches support it.

To a certain extent, Liberal Democrat opposition to the war and some progressive-sounding tax-and-spend policies have allowed them to become something of an 'acceptable' protest vote for disaffected Labourites.  This conference should have put an end to that.  On that, at least, we can be thankful.  But it should lead us to take a strong look at our own position.

The truth is that Cameron, Brown and Clegg are huddling together on a piece of political territory where many people don't want to follow.  I'm not just talking about Labour left-wingers, the old SDP and positive-liberal Lib Dems and right-wing Tories, I'm talking about huge numbers of people who do not immediately place themselves on a left-right spectrum but have clear views on politics and clear wishes with regard to political outcomes.  Somebody will no doubt reply to this post with a poll stating that most people consider themselves to be 'moderate' or in the 'centre'.  But, truthfully, these terms are of limited value: ask people about policies and most do not neatly fit into a defined modern ideology, but on many of the key issues a lot of people are a long way from what is now presented as being the 'centre ground'.  Now on some issues I understand they might be even further from the left, and I don't believe in a politics that is just about giving the people what we think they want.  If we think something is right then we should go out and argue for it.  But too often this crowding to the centre-right has been presented as being psephological expedience: running to the votes.  I contend that it is not pragmatic vote chasing, but ideologically-driven realpolitik.

Do we want to push and shove Clegg and Cameron?  To be a misfit in the Clone Wars?  Or should we leave them to this tired bit of political territory that it seems none but the 'political class' really want?  Perhaps it's time to start making the case for being Labour, and making that case strongly and unapologetically.