We sometimes forget that politicians are constantly making an impression on those to whom they’re talking, which has an eventual consequence at the ballot box. Sometimes politicians forget this, as Alan Duncan did recently.

Mike Smithson, of the influential Political Betting blog, attended a Cameron Direct town hall meeting in Bedford last night and gave his impression. Mike’s impression, not from the perspective of a jaundiced whizz-bang mainstream media commentator, is an honest appraisal of Cameron’s performance. You can see, from Mike’s words, his mind calculating, ‘Could I vote for this man?’, ‘Do I trust him?’, ‘Is he prime minister material?’

Mike’s future comments on Cameron’s electability will, I feel sure, be viewed through the prism of his experience last night. The significance of this is that having made a judgement on a person from careful personal analysis, it’ll take a lot of effort to change it. And that’s why Gordon Brown cause is so hopeless, people have come to a settled view on him, and are not minded to reconsider.

Commonly understand by sales people is that ’people buy people first’. Never truer than could be read from Mike’s honest appraisal.