Penny Mordaunt to woo the Thatcherites

Throw a right-wing political shindig these days and you’re guaranteed to make a splash. Last week it was Suella Braverman at the National Conservatism conference; before that it was Priti Patel at the ‘Borisfest’ in Bournemouth. And now Mr S has two more dates pencilled in his diary for potential mischief-making: the Northern Research Group (NRG) conference in Doncaster on 9 June and the Margaret Thatcher conference at the Guildhall three days later.

And it’s the line-up of the latter convention which has caught Steerpike’s eye. Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary and dark horse leadership candidate, is due to give the opening address – an opportunity to burnish her credentials as a Thatcherite success story. And Penny Mordaunt, the perennial contender and Excalibur queen, is also due to be speaking at the conference, hosted by the Centre for Policy Studies. It will give the Leader of the House the chance to expound on matters beyond her normal brief and no doubt show attendees what her party missed out on twice last year.