Was the 2005 election worth losing?

TB just spotted this very

interesting piece

from the Telegraph. TB isn't sure he agrees with exactly how Iain Martin imagines things playing out but fascinating none the less... 

"In the flat of No 10 in early 2009, the Prime Minister poured himself a drink and lay down on the sofa: what a horrific week. Could the economic data be any worse? Which bank would collapse next? What, thought Michael Howard, had he done to deserve this?

It had shocked pundits when the results came in on election night 2005. Yet, the only man not surprised that Tony Blair had been defeated was Howard, confident leader of the Conservative Party."

Things could have been very different.