Much has been made this week of Gordon Brown’s convictions, not least by the prime minister himself. This is not a man, it seems, who wrestles with existential angst at three in the morning. I have convictions too, and not just for traffic offences. Most of them, I think, have served me well enough – the belief that life has purpose, that human beings are intrinsically valuable, and that our achievements are measured not by what we gain but what we give. But that’s the easy bit. You can have convictions coming out of your ears and still never get off your backside.