CONSERVATIVE PARTY CONFERENCE 2016 Conference OVERVIEW So there we have it, this week in Birmingham three months of dramatic Party in-fighting, Shakespearian back-stabbing and ministers squabbling like school boys over who gets to use Chevening on the weekends, was finally put to bed as the Conservative Party collected itself in time to set out a plan for running the country. We were promised a departure from Cameron’s “glitzy PR show” and if No. 10’s aim was to deliver an ordered, serious Conference they certainly delivered. In truth the atmosphere teetered dangerously on the dull as relaxed special advisers and bored hacks swathed apathetically through a sea of notably older, predominantly male, Conference attendees. The expertly timed Brexit announcement served its purpose as attendees were robbed of the anticipated source of gossip and in its absence there was seemingly little to talk about. As the editor of one Sunday paper put it, it wasn’t clear whether Ministers were doing a better than usual job of staying on message or if they just didn’t have anything interesting to say if they weren’t. Fleet Street’s disappointment is of course Downing Street’s relief and No. 10 will this week be celebrating a successful Conference that finally allowed them to put more flesh on the bones of what is meant by “a country that works for everyone”. In an attempt to appeal to everyone the Prime Minister today warned politicians and commentators not to dismiss the
average voter’s concerns about immigration; in the same breath she called on the Party to steal the centre ground by building a society based on compassion, fairness and opportunity. The Party Membership may have been won over but there were grumblings from some ghosts of Cabinet past that good politics shouldn’t just mean appealing to the lowest common denominator either. Nicky Morgan and Anna Soubry have both put their heads above the parapet as two women who won’t be making May’s wafer thin majority any easier. In the absence of any credible opposition, those who have been banished to the backbenches will be responsible for holding the Government to account and May should beware of antagonising them too quickly. On the fringes, business looked on from a greater distance to that which they have become accustomed. There was a palpable sense of concern about what the new relationship with Government would be. Behind the scenes at the “Business Day”, the Prime Minister was taken to task in a heated exchange with one industry representative over the suggestion that elected Parliamentarians know best how to steer the country through uncharted Brexit territory. The question of MPs’ involvement in the triggering of Article 50 and how much of a say Parliament – with its built-in Remain majority – will have in the EU negotiations is but one of the battles that lie ahead for the new Prime Minister. Don’t be fooled by the calm waters of Party Conference, it won’t all be plain sailing from here.
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