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So ends the third of three rather flat party conferences. Once again, the delight of a party back in power was dampened by the economic situation it has inherited, and the annual Tory gathering was overshadowed by events offstage. George Osborne left Manchester for the real scene of the action – the meeting of European finance ministers in Luxembourg – and the Prime Minister rose to speak just hours after the latest growth figures were downgraded.

Party conferences are meant to give political parties a boost. Not so with Labour’s conference this week. Most pundits viewed the Conference as flat and Ed Miliband’s speech as even flatter...

If the Lib Dem conference is a mark of things to come, this is set to prove one of the most downbeat conference seasons in years...

Tomorrow, David Cameron will have been Prime Minister for a year. Our observations on the lie of the political landscape, and the impact of last week's elections and referendum, are as follows...

“My centre is giving way, my right is in retreat; situation excellent. I shall attack.” General Foch, 8th September 1914 during the Battle of the Marne.

The end of the party conference season marks the end of the phoney war. On October 20th, the Comprehensive Spending Review will unveil the full horror of the cuts to come, sparking one of the most intense political battles Britain will have seen for decades.

The one thing that the Treasury has been spending more money on is red ink. The £81bn of cuts outlined in today’s Spending Review are the largest and most sustained since World War Two. Even though, at the end of the process, the government will still be spending (as a percentage of GDP) what it was spending in 2006; and even though the departmental cuts are not as severe as forecast in July (19% on average, as opposed to 25%), Britain needs to brace itself for a period of pain - and intense political debate.

The Oldham and Saddleworth by-election was the first electoral test for the Coalition government. As a three way marginal – with the contest triggered by the unusual removal of previous MP Phil Woolas – the poll had the potential to start 2011 with a bang. In the event, the result appears to have done little to alter the political dynamics.

Labour, and particularly Ed Miliband, are the clear victors. The party comfortably held the seat with a bigger majority than in May 2010 and an increased share of the vote. The result will dampen down murmurings in Labour ranks about Miliband’s leadership and with further gains expected in the local council, Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament elections in May, it should buy him ample time to clarify his as yet uncertain political strategy. The danger for Miliband is that comfortable election victories in 2011 – at a time when the Coalition was always going to be very unpopular – will foster complacency about the size of the challenge to win the next election.