Clinton address says more than he said

Bill's speech to conference wasn't really a political speech - more of an academic address. Drawing on world politics, international development, scientific endeavour, and bringing it all home to voters in Labour heartlands, Clinton showed some of his best old magic and his best new thinking.

Labour's achievements didn't happen by chance, he said. They happened through the conscious choice of the Labour Party. He warned of the dangers of the Tories. There's no guarantee that future politicans of a different party, however alluring they sound, however much they smile, will do things in the same way. Years of advancement, years of alleviating poverty, years of progress across the arc of social justice can all be swept away - by just a few ballots in a few marginals. 'I know that,' he said, to a ripple of applause in the audience.

Then, looking up and seeminly staring every delegate direct in the eye, he paused, smiled, winked, and said 'yeah', as the audience realised just what he meant and just how much it meant.

Investing money in education now will stop extremism and terrorism of the future. Tackling poverty now will save the world in the future. Addressing AIDS in Africa now will protect out plant in years to come. There is a link, he said, between what happens in a school half a world away, and what happens in every village in England. "In an interdependent world, there is no possiblity of divorce. You just can't do it".

Looking older and more composed than his final days in the White House, he counselled the world to focus on what unites us, not what divides us. It is a message which is important and urgent.