Manchester Diary

Up before the crack of dawn to reach Manchester for the 9.30am “National Conservative Convention” which precedes the Conservative party conference. This body consists mostly of constituency chairmen, with a few others such as area and regional chairmen added, and is a key part of the party structure.

The convention heard a brilliant speech from David Cameron; if his speeches later to the public sessions of the conference are anything like as good as this speech delivered in private, it will set the tone for a good conference.

The main conference session started in the afternoon. The attendance is good and the mood is buoyant but the weather has been diabolical. So much so that I had to put a good cumbrian cagoule on for protection from the rain. Seeing me donning this garment one policeman said to me:

"I see you’ve been to Manchester before, sir!"

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