A festival for the political class

When you get on a train on a Sunday and find First Class is more full than the cheap seats, it can only mean one thing: a political party conference is starting. The Tories starts tomorrow – but still, folk travel up today. Why a Monday start? And why Manchester? The seaside resorts were chosen when party conferences were rallies of the grassroot members, and venues were chosen for their supply of cheap (usually B&B) accommodation. Now, most people who attend are the new breed of political professionals who are not paying their own hotel bills. Lobbyists, quangocrats, NGO advisers, journalists, the whole lot. And they come to meet each other, not really watch what’s going on. Newspaper editors bring their deputies and most senior aides to spend the week in an exhaustive line-up of coffees, breakfasts, lunches etc with politicians. The fringe events are more of an attraction than the stadium speeches – each of these finge events has a sponsor.