5 thing I’ve learned at Tory conference (so far)

I’m almost 24 hours in to my first Tory conference, which is a strange experience for a Labour-supporting blogger. It’s a little like being a Cold War era spy (blending into the background, nodding a lot at things you don’t understand), except the Tory Party know I’m here and I’m wearing a big name badge that says “LabourList”. Here are five things I’ve learned so far:

1. Cheery resignation: If last week’s Labour conference was a bit flat, this week’s Tory conference certainly has more energy. That said, I’m not sure it’s in any way a positive energy – much of it is being expended on either attacking UKIP defectors or attempting Inspector Clouseau style to determine who the next one is. The mood isn’t downbeat though, I’d call it “cheery resignation”. Labour conference was a party worried that it’s about to mess up a chance to win, Tory conference is a party that sense it may, if it’s lucky, have a chance of winning (although they think they probably won’t). The Tory Party has put on its collective suit and tie, and is putting a brave face on the matter. You’ve got to admire that in some ways.

2. Move over Boris, it’s Theresa Time: Remember when the Boris Johnson speech would overshadow Cameron’s in a pantomimic Echo of the Brown/Blair years? No-one is talking about the Boris speech now – put people are still talking about Theresa May. Her speech wowed conference goers, and suddenly she looks like the heir apparent. As the Spectator put it:

“Theresa May turned up to a knife fight with a sawn off shotgun. Boris brought a spoon.”

And no, no-one knows why he was waving that brick here either…

3. Message discipline, message discipline, message discipline: It’s impossible to go anywhere at this conference without being confronted with the Tories key messages, targets and achievements. And even though I think some of these are undesirable or abject nonsense, they’re effective. Last week you could’ve walked around Labour conference all day and not known what the party’s policy platform was, here you’re confronted with it at every turn. It’s just one sign of what is a more expensive and slicker conference. However, message discipline cuts both ways – this bit of signage for example looks ludicrous after Osborne cut £500 work from in work benefits:

4. Lobbyists not activists: I keep on seeing people I recognise at Tory conference – because I saw so many of them last week at Labour conference. lobbyists, campaign groups and those with corporate stands make up a huge proportion of conference attendees, not just here but at Labour conference too. These are money making opportunities more than political events these days. I’ve managed to speak to the occasional activist but they’re few and far between – and those who are here have paid top whack. Conferences in security bubbles full of lobbyists seems to be the wrong answer to the problems of British politics.

5. Leadership hubris: Whilst the Tory grassroots and MPs seem to be doing cheerful resignation, the Tory leadership seem to be ploughing away at hubris. The Osborne pledge to save money by hitting millions of families was described to me by one tired looking Tory as “a shot directly in the swing votes”. Cameron’s pledge to protect NHS spending which he’ll make today looks like a defensive move rather than an offensive one. And Lynton Crosby was at a fringe last night attacking Labour for not holding seats across the country – which is a bit silly, when you consider the huge swathes of the UK that are a wasteland for the Tories.

The footsoldiers may fear defeat – but there’s no sense that the Tory leadership are trying to pull things out of the fire. The focus (so far) appears to be more of the same…