If the Gang of Four had stayed with Labour, would David Owen have become PM?

The 25th anniversary of the Limehouse Declaration this week has recalled to mind a conversation I had with Dr David Owen at a lunch in Westminster a few years back.

Asked whether he thought that he would have become Prime Minister had he stayed in the Labour Party, he replied: "Oh, there isn't a shadow of doubt about that."

You have to admire the man's self-belief, but I think in this instance it was misplaced. Owen may have been a Blairite before Blair - but Blairism's time had not yet come.

I look at the history and legacy of the SDP in greater detail in this column.

Cheers Iain!

Practically everyone rates Iain Dale's Diary as one of the top political blogs around - so it's gratifying to find he's named this blog among his Top 25!

Apparently I'm "the political journalist who tells it like it is." Well, that's what I've always tried to do.

Iain's unique selling point is slightly different from mine as he is a Tory insider and veritable fount of gossip about what's going on in right-wing circles. His current obsession is the possibility that up to three Lib Dem MPs might defect to the Tories.

I'm not convinced about it myself - but since I readily accept Iain knows more about this subject than me I'm open to being proved wrong!

Huhne campaign launches Bloggers4Chris

Chris Huhne may only be recognised by three percent of voters, but he appears to be the favoured Lib Dem leadership candidate of the blogosphere.

Now his campaign have launched a new website entitled bloggers4chris.org and those of us who think Mr Huhne might make a half-decent leader are invited to display its logo. Happy to oblige.