Tory conferences don’t have to be dull

The former Tory MP Christopher Hollis wrote for The Spectator in 1960 that ‘a Conservative conference is, and is intended to be, the dullest thing that ever happened. Party members come not to hear their leaders but to see them. One sometimes wonders if it would be best to cut out the speeches altogether.’ Hollis duly recalled the view of former Tory leader Arthur Balfour, who claimed he would sooner take the advice of his valet than that of a Tory conference.

Among academics, the Balfour-Hollis view is generally endorsed. Compared to the annual conference of the Labour party, which officially ‘makes’ Labour policy, the Tories’ own gatherings have generally been portrayed as sterile affairs, comprising bland speeches from bored ministers and lengthy ovations from supine activists. As such, some predict that this year’s Tory conference will be relatively interesting: a four-day festival of dissent, perhaps, starring jilted supporters of net zero, tin-eared defenders of HS2 and a manically re-energised Liz Truss.