Tory MP Nicholas Budgen presents his end-of-term report - and says his party is in fine fettle, well organised and full of resolution. A long campaign should also help.

WHAT was the mood of the Tory MPs as they left Westminster yesterda? A short description is variable, but that there was no general despondency.

I do remember the Tory Party in very different moods. For instance in 1979 when we went to the country we knew that there was a general mood which rejected Labour and that we had won the battle of ideas. The Tories' time had come and there were few who denied that this was so.

Today we know that many people speak of wondering whether they want to change. However, there seems no great tide in favour of Labour. The main attraction of New Labour seems to be as an apparently alternative Tory Party.

As I sit writing this in the tea house of the House of Commons there is no mood of general disarray. We are all well organised and we believe that we have a substantial case to put forward, particularly upon the economy.

Why are we well organised? First, because I have never known Tory Central Office so well disposed towards the individual constituency parties. There is always a tension between the demands of those who believe in lots of national and very expensive advertising and those who believe in helping the individual constituency. I have no idea what money is being spent on national advertising and I certainly do not know where the money comes from. However, I do know that money has been put into the provision of good agents and good equipment for canvassing and the recording of votes.

Tory candidates always prefer this expenditure to the less identifiable national poster campaigns.

Second, there are always advantages in knowing when the date of the election will be. We are all prepared in our different ways. There is nothing worse in life than failing through factors over which we have control. We each go into this contest, knowing that we've had the opportunity to prepare and improve our personal and constituency performance. At least if we fail, we shall not spend the rest of our lives kicking ourselves for our failure to take all necessary steps.

The mood of individual resolution is also justified by the knowledge that, whatever may be the general swing and the general mood in the country, there will be considerable and significant regional and constituency variations. I do not pretend to be an expert on the fortunes of the Tories in Scotland. It said that New Labour is not so popular in Scotland as it may be in the south. It is also said that Michael Forsyth and the Tory team have shown that, even in these days of presidential politics, the actions of individuals still count.

We also believe that the actions of individual candidates count in England. The party professionals dourly tell us that the personality and campaign of the individual candidate does not count for much. Well, maybe, but it may make two or more thousand votes' difference and in a very high proportion of constituencies two or more thousand votes makes the difference between victory and defeat.

There are two further encouraging factors. First, it is clear that something like 30% of the electorate have not made up their mind. We believe that time will lead to disenchantment with Labour and that we have everything to gain by a long campaign. We were not dismayed by a recent interview between Mr Paxman and Mr Blair on television. Only in an election are the weaknesses and uncertainties of the Leader of the Opposition revealed. However, when the House is sitting the Prime Minister is under constant criticism.

Second, no one quite knows what will happen to the Liberal vote. It is said to be crumbling in England. However, no one knows how much it will crumble and in whose favour it will crumble. The process can be different in each constituency.

Third, the polls are a good guide but not a perfect guide. The 1992 result was a triumph for the Tories over the polls.

So where does this leave individual candidates? For the Tory candidate is back to the streets. We can forget the details of the Maastricht Treaty. We can forget the money supply. What we need to master is the details of our canvassing and to organise the tellers and the cars. We are mere colonels in loose command of volunteer regiments. We are the poor bloody infantry and we are proud to recollect that the small advances made by the infantry made all the difference in the great struggles of our history.

Nicholas Budgen is MP for Wolverhampton South West.