How the Tories plan to avoid a cultural beating

James Forsyth reviews the week in politics.

Mud sticks. In politics everyone remembers the charge and not the denials — something Labour has exploited for years. Typically, it would denounce the Conservatives for being heartless, privileged bigots who care nothing for the poor, eat foxes and have no place in modern Britain. But that doesn’t work anymore, as people have stopped listening to Labour. So Labour has had to pin its hopes on independent left-leaning groups hurling accusations and making people think that the Tories are still the nasty party, whatever David Cameron says.

This new lie of the land could be seen at Conservative conference where the most damaging blows to the party did not come from Labour but from two outside groups. Ben Summerskill, who runs the gay rights group Stonewall, pulled out of the Gay Pride event complaining about homophobes from the European parliament being given a platform at conference.