IF you wanted to gauge the gulf between Britain's two main political parties, ignore the opinion polls and don't compare the leaders' conference speeches. Just contrast the company they keep.

Two years ago, global hero Nelson Mandela wowed the Labour Party conference. This year charismatic ex-president Bill Clinton and his film star pal Kevin Spacey have brought glamour and statesmanship to Blackpool.

The Tories will struggle to match that at their conference next week. Mind you, they have booked the Mayor of Bournemouth to host a civic reception on Monday.

Updated: 11:28 Wednesday, October 02, 2002