Blackpool Conference Diary
Some notes on the 2005 Conservative Party Conference ...
I arrive at the Blackpool conference determined to be on my best behaviour – I don’t want to get the Conservatives the kind of bad publicity that the Labour party got for throwing out 82-year old Walter Wolfgang.
I needn’t have worried. I don’t know how badly you would have had to behave to get thrown out of this year’s tory conference, but it would have been difficult. Walter Wolfgang was the constant spectre at the conference as every platform speaker found a reference to him irresistible, from Francis Maude’s opening remarks (“I don’t want to encourage heckling” … laughter … “but if you do we won’t throw you out.”) right through to Michael Howard at the end. For all the flak thrown at David Davis, he probably put this point best: “We do need laws to detail those who represent a genuine terrorist threat – we don’t need laws to detain an 82-year-old refugee from Nazi Germany who has the temerity to disagree with the Foreign Secretary.”
Francis Maude made a very brave opening speech. He gave a painfully honest assessment of the way politicians in general and the Conservatives in particular are seen by the public and the reasons we did not manage to defeat a government which two thirds of the public detest – but a third of whom still prefer to us. Considering the amount of uncomfortable truth in the speech, it was well received – indicating an acceptance that “one more heave” will not enable us to be seen as an alternative government.
The most notable event of the first day was a very strong speech from Malcolm Rifkind. He was called in late afternoon to address a conference which seemed half asleep, but at the end everyone jumped to their feet enthusiastically to give him the first standing ovation of the conference. I said to my neighbour that if all five leadership contenders made speeches that good, it would be a very entertaining week.
On Monday evening I attended a reception given by the Indian High Commission which, to judge by the number of other people crowding in, was the place to be that evening. The speeches and presentations we were shown amounted to a very powerful demonstration of how far the world’s largest democracy has come over the past thirty years – reducing poverty, reforming their economy, and doing so in the context of a democratic system in which they have to win consensus for reform. It was very clear from the speeches of both British and Indian speakers that there is immense goodwill between Britain and India –and that co-operation between our two countries has enormous potential to benefit both. Although I would not suggest for an instant that the British Raj got everything right, we can be proud of the fact that sixty years after the end of colonial rule there is still great affection for Britain in India.
On Tuesday morning we had the health debate, during which I made a contribution about the current problems in Cumbria, including concerns about the actual and threatened changes at West Cumberland Hospital, and the impossibility of finding an NHS Dentist. Andrew Lansley, shadow health secretary, made a very positive speech about the need to address the real needs of patients, and mentioned his visit to Whitehaven during the speech.
Tuesday also saw probably the best two speeches by leadership contenders – Cameron in the morning and Clarke in the afternoon. Both were superb, and both were received with wild appreciation by the audience. The media have made much of Cameron’s performance and the momentum it gave him – and it really was as good as everyone made out – but actually Ken Clarke was every bit as good, and I personally think the warmth of his reception was significant. Not since Michael Heseltine’s speech to the 1991 conference have I had such a palpable sense, from the warm response to a platform speaker, that the Conservative party was determined to put internal faction-fighting aside and to do whatever it takes to win.
I had already come out in support of Ken Clarke before the conference and have seen no reason to change that view but David Cameron also impressed me. Both men clearly understand that we need to demonstrate that we care about and have policies which will help everyone in Britain, and a narrow appeal will not get us anywhere. And that however proud we are of the things we achieved when last in government – and if we hadn’t achieved anything Tony Blair would not have copied so many of our policies – we will not get back into government until we show that we also understand what we didn’t get right.
On Wednesday the remaining leadership candidates made their platform speeches. Both the Conservative party and the media love to trip up front runners, and both decided to savage David Davis. His speech was rather better than anyone who missed it might have presumed from the TV and newspaper headlines – but if he does come through and win after the flak he took, he will have demonstrated resilience and a capacity for comeback second only to that of George W Bush. I did regret that one of the reasons he was attacked was that he allegedly annoyed some right-wingers who had previously been minded to support him by reaching out to the centre. Whoever gave that line to the media, (I suspect one of the rival campaigns,) anyone who imagines that the Conservatives lost the last three elections because we were not perceived as right wing enough, needs to meet a wider range of ordinary voters. It is a mirror image of Tony Benn’s idea that Labour under Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock lost elections for not being left wing enough.
I read in the media that Liam Fox’s speech was regarded as successful. He was a good co-party chairman, and as a candidate I felt that he gave me strong support. If he should become leader, he too will need to reach out to the centre to have any chance of becoming prime minister.
After Liam Fox had spoken, William Hague made the best speech of the week. He was obviously aware of the risk of eclipsing the leadership contenders, and went out of his way to praise all five of them. This was a useful reminder to anyone in the hall who might have forgotten it that brilliant speeches are not enough to win. However, if we had not made the mistake of electing William as leader too early, he would have been an excellent candidate now.
The conference closed with Michael Howard’s valedictory. It will probably be remembered for his joke in which he pretended to be about to announce who he wanted to succeed him: the man he wanted to be leader of the opposition was – Gordon Brown. Hear hear !
I arrive at the Blackpool conference determined to be on my best behaviour – I don’t want to get the Conservatives the kind of bad publicity that the Labour party got for throwing out 82-year old Walter Wolfgang.
I needn’t have worried. I don’t know how badly you would have had to behave to get thrown out of this year’s tory conference, but it would have been difficult. Walter Wolfgang was the constant spectre at the conference as every platform speaker found a reference to him irresistible, from Francis Maude’s opening remarks (“I don’t want to encourage heckling” … laughter … “but if you do we won’t throw you out.”) right through to Michael Howard at the end. For all the flak thrown at David Davis, he probably put this point best: “We do need laws to detail those who represent a genuine terrorist threat – we don’t need laws to detain an 82-year-old refugee from Nazi Germany who has the temerity to disagree with the Foreign Secretary.”
Francis Maude made a very brave opening speech. He gave a painfully honest assessment of the way politicians in general and the Conservatives in particular are seen by the public and the reasons we did not manage to defeat a government which two thirds of the public detest – but a third of whom still prefer to us. Considering the amount of uncomfortable truth in the speech, it was well received – indicating an acceptance that “one more heave” will not enable us to be seen as an alternative government.
The most notable event of the first day was a very strong speech from Malcolm Rifkind. He was called in late afternoon to address a conference which seemed half asleep, but at the end everyone jumped to their feet enthusiastically to give him the first standing ovation of the conference. I said to my neighbour that if all five leadership contenders made speeches that good, it would be a very entertaining week.
On Monday evening I attended a reception given by the Indian High Commission which, to judge by the number of other people crowding in, was the place to be that evening. The speeches and presentations we were shown amounted to a very powerful demonstration of how far the world’s largest democracy has come over the past thirty years – reducing poverty, reforming their economy, and doing so in the context of a democratic system in which they have to win consensus for reform. It was very clear from the speeches of both British and Indian speakers that there is immense goodwill between Britain and India –and that co-operation between our two countries has enormous potential to benefit both. Although I would not suggest for an instant that the British Raj got everything right, we can be proud of the fact that sixty years after the end of colonial rule there is still great affection for Britain in India.
On Tuesday morning we had the health debate, during which I made a contribution about the current problems in Cumbria, including concerns about the actual and threatened changes at West Cumberland Hospital, and the impossibility of finding an NHS Dentist. Andrew Lansley, shadow health secretary, made a very positive speech about the need to address the real needs of patients, and mentioned his visit to Whitehaven during the speech.
Tuesday also saw probably the best two speeches by leadership contenders – Cameron in the morning and Clarke in the afternoon. Both were superb, and both were received with wild appreciation by the audience. The media have made much of Cameron’s performance and the momentum it gave him – and it really was as good as everyone made out – but actually Ken Clarke was every bit as good, and I personally think the warmth of his reception was significant. Not since Michael Heseltine’s speech to the 1991 conference have I had such a palpable sense, from the warm response to a platform speaker, that the Conservative party was determined to put internal faction-fighting aside and to do whatever it takes to win.
I had already come out in support of Ken Clarke before the conference and have seen no reason to change that view but David Cameron also impressed me. Both men clearly understand that we need to demonstrate that we care about and have policies which will help everyone in Britain, and a narrow appeal will not get us anywhere. And that however proud we are of the things we achieved when last in government – and if we hadn’t achieved anything Tony Blair would not have copied so many of our policies – we will not get back into government until we show that we also understand what we didn’t get right.
On Wednesday the remaining leadership candidates made their platform speeches. Both the Conservative party and the media love to trip up front runners, and both decided to savage David Davis. His speech was rather better than anyone who missed it might have presumed from the TV and newspaper headlines – but if he does come through and win after the flak he took, he will have demonstrated resilience and a capacity for comeback second only to that of George W Bush. I did regret that one of the reasons he was attacked was that he allegedly annoyed some right-wingers who had previously been minded to support him by reaching out to the centre. Whoever gave that line to the media, (I suspect one of the rival campaigns,) anyone who imagines that the Conservatives lost the last three elections because we were not perceived as right wing enough, needs to meet a wider range of ordinary voters. It is a mirror image of Tony Benn’s idea that Labour under Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock lost elections for not being left wing enough.
I read in the media that Liam Fox’s speech was regarded as successful. He was a good co-party chairman, and as a candidate I felt that he gave me strong support. If he should become leader, he too will need to reach out to the centre to have any chance of becoming prime minister.
After Liam Fox had spoken, William Hague made the best speech of the week. He was obviously aware of the risk of eclipsing the leadership contenders, and went out of his way to praise all five of them. This was a useful reminder to anyone in the hall who might have forgotten it that brilliant speeches are not enough to win. However, if we had not made the mistake of electing William as leader too early, he would have been an excellent candidate now.
The conference closed with Michael Howard’s valedictory. It will probably be remembered for his joke in which he pretended to be about to announce who he wanted to succeed him: the man he wanted to be leader of the opposition was – Gordon Brown. Hear hear !
