Dave pleases the faithful – but is the country listening?

David Cameron dispensed with the oratorical tricks that helped him win the Tory leadership three years ago to deliver a sober address with one message in mind: I am a prime minister-in-waiting.

His closing speech to the Conservative conference came after a difficult week in which the party's annual gathering has been eclipsed by the global financial crisis and Gordon Brown's efforts to minimise the impact on Britain. Its entire thrust was to counter the accusation that he lacked the experience and character to deal with tough decisions on a turbulent world stage.

So much of the speech was about his style and skills that it contained almost no policy detail. The only substantial announcement was that the Shadow Cabinet would conduct a fresh review of Whitehall spending in an effort to identify further savings.

He pressed all the buttons that get Tory activists going: pledging a referendum on the Lisbon treaty, attacking politically correct "nonsense" and standing up for the family. But he also had tough messages for the party faithful - taxes were unlikely to be cut and locking up more offenders wasn't the only answer to cutting crime.

And he warned them against unreasonable expectations of a Cameron government. As he put it: "I'm a man with a plan, not a miracle cure."

In the Symphony Hall they loved it and left for New Street station and the M6 reassured (if they needed it) that they had the right man to take on Gordon Brown. But were they listening outside? After just five minutes of post-conference analysis, BBC News 24 switched to Washington and Wall Street for the latest updates on America's financial meltdown.

The Tories now wait anxiously for this week's opinion polls. The Mole's bet is that there is no Cameron bounce.

THE MOLE: CAMERON SPEECH

FIRST POSTED OCTOBER 1, 2008