I wonder how David Cameron would assess his first year in Government. Not in the sense of a verdict he'd give to the media, but an honest opinion of how he thinks he's doing.

There are many negative feelings one might reasonably have towards Gordon Brown - pity, disappointment or even anger - but hatred? Pure, visceral, unadulterated hatred? I'm not sure where that comes from - but wherever it is, it's a dark and unpleasant place indeed...

It is true to say that the European Union is in one hell of a mess. The credit rating agencies have downgraded Ireland's debts to junk, the Greeks are defaulting, the Italians are in chaos and rumours are abound about the possibility of a massive constitutional change in order to defend its dreams.

The author of Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne, once said that 'organising is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up'. This coalition government has demonstrated a boldly pragmatic and non-ideological mindset since taking office. Nevertheless, there is a danger that on planning, the Government is ideologically dismissing an integrated approach in favour of extending responsibility to communities. Localism is great for running a local park, but it cannot provide integrated national solutions to the big environmental challenges facing the UK.