I am at the Tories’ party conference in Manchester this week, so it’s a quick Tuesday blog. Why am I here, you might ask? I grew up near Manchester, and I like the city. It is booming, no thanks to Andy Burnham.
As for the Tories, they are almost endearing… a small, actually quite happy band of people who are luxuriating in their irrelevance. Bars are mostly half empty, hotels are easy to book, and commercial stands at the conference are sparse, but the vibe is, well, comfortable.
In terms of hard politics, there isn’t any. Most think Badenoch will be gone by May. James Cleverly seems to have missed his chance, and that just leaves Jenrick as the next leader, giving a slightly weird speech today in his desperate need for the top job. He is clearly a fraud who will drive the few remaining moderates into the arms of the LibDems. But nobody seems to care. Who has heard of any of the other front benchers?
Mel Stride, the decent Shadow Chancellor, has managed to persuade his colleagues that it is the economy, stupid, but his policies are drowned out by immigration. The Tories now advocate leaving the ECHR and mass deportations. Hopeless.
A Reform-lite approach is a road to nowhere. Add to this, you now can’t be a parliamentary candidate unless you believe this rubbish. What happened to freedom of thought/speech so beloved of the hard-right? The circular firing squad is now fully in place. A recipe for mediocre candidates, the quality of which is already in decline, advocates of policies which either repel, or in some voters’ eyes don’t go far enough, is now being served to the electorate.
A once great party humbled, in a deep hole, handing out shovels to its few remaining supporters to keep digging. Never mind. it is easy to get to a bar and order a drink at conference nowadays. Happy irrelevance indeed…
Inside Right Politics 