Ain't No Party Like a Party Conference

Now the Party Conference season is over and MPs and delegates are flooding back from Brighton (Lib Dems), Manchester (Labour) and Birmingham (Conservatives, by the way, Birmingham? Because that’s not a transparent attempt to connect with the average voter. I guess the Conservatives couldn’t find room in Bath), I thought I should take a look at some of the points that came out of the annual love fests.

Liberal Democrats.

What most people will remember about this conference is not the actual conference itself, but the video that was released immediately before it, the one with Nick Clegg apologising for the Lib Dems actions over tuition fees. I’ve already covered that video in this blog, but really it set the tone for the whole conference.

The Lib Dems have been having a difficult time of it recently. They were badly hurt at the local elections back in May, and their prospects don’t seem too good for the next general election either. Despite all the good that they have done in this Parliament, in the media, and in the eyes of the general public, they are seen as traitors to their cause and subservient to the Tories.

So the point of this conference was to try and revitalise a despondent base and party.              It was a chance to point out all the good that they had done in this parliament – especially with regards to environmental legislation – and a chance for Nick Clegg – whose chances of retaining the leadership are looking very shaky indeed – to not only shore up his own position, but that of the Lib Dems as a whole.

Most of the new policy positions were related to trying to set themselves apart from the Tories, especially one concerning a mansion tax. Whether that will actually go anywhere remains to be seen.

Conservatives.

Again. Birmingham? Really? I mean the Tories went to Birmingham. I’m surprised they made it out alive.  The Conservative Conference was an interesting study in contrast, and showed the definite split between the left and right wings of the Party. One the one hand you had  David Cameron in his keynote address attempting to reclaim the One Nation, Compassionate Conservative, label, talking about working with all people to improve everyone’s lives and declaring that the Conservatives are, “a party for everyone. Black, white, straight or gay, northern or southern.”

On the other hand you had George Osborne talking about cutting ten billion pounds from the welfare budget, at the expense of housing and child benefit, and the new Justice Secretary Chris Grayling, announcing that they are looking into making it legal to stab burglars.

 As mentioned above, this demonstrates even more starkly the divide between the two wings of the Conservative party.  Mr Cameron’s job – especially if he wants to secure a Conservative Majority in 2015 – will be to bring together these two wings into a cohesive whole. A harder job than it sounds.

The other notable thing about this conference was the appearance of Boris Johnson . Everyone’s favourite Tory – and he has to be to win the Mayoralty in a city which is traditionally Labour dominated – his popularity both inside and outside the Party, will be making the PM very nervous. He knows Boris well enough to know that despite his promise to fulfil his term as Mayor, if the Party wants to make him leader, than he will find a way to do it. Boris may not make a great PM, but a lot of people, think he’d make a better one than Cameron.

Labour

This Conference was typical Labour fare in most aspects. A mix between moderate centrists, and the unions and left wingers who wish to blame the Tories for everything. Now I may not agree with everything the Tories are doing – see their ten billion welfare slash above – but the demonization coming out of Manchester from certain quarters of the Party is exactly why people don’t like politics and politicians. You can disagree with someone, without painting them as Satan’s school chum.

But the highlight of the conference was Ed Milliband’s tour de force speech. Not only did he speak without notes for an hour and a half – having apparently spent the previous few days memorising the whole thing – and reach levels of oratorical skill that many thought he was not careful of, but he stole one nationism – the centrepiece of compassionate Conservatism – right out from under the Tories nose, and explained how it was a much better fit for Labour.

The brainchild of Benjamin Disraeli, Britain’s first and only Jewish PM – which may be why Milliband likes him and his ideas – one nationism states that societies grow and evolve organically, and that everyone has a part to play in creating and maintaining them It also states that those at the top of the social hierarchy – the upper classes – have a duty and obligation to help those at the bottom. While Disraeli was a Conservative, it is easy to see how the idea that everyone has an obligation to look out for one another coheres with the socialist aims of the Labour Party.

What was also impressive was how for the first time Milliband showed Prime Ministerial qualities. A lot of the criticism he has received has revolved around how he is too aloof and intellectual to appeal to people, that he doesn’t have the charisma necessary to be Prime Minister. This speech showed that he does.

Not a lot of policy came out of any of these conferences but it rarely does. They are about rallying the faithful and urging them to remain true to the party cause. But now as the MPs return to Westminster, the idealistic dreams have to be packed away and the work of Government has to begin again.