Why Tory members are deserting the conference hall

One of the stories of this Conservative conference is the contrast between the crowd and atmosphere in the main conference hall, and the popularity of the fringes elsewhere. In previous years, the party has suffered stories about how corporate the whole event is, with members deciding not to bother with the expense of the whole thing. But this year, while there are more members turning up, they’re finding very little to keep them in the hall.

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Yesterday, a speaker in the hall inadvertently offered an explanation for this. The party has been doing more to increase contributions ‘from the floor’, she told the audience, saying it was important to involve members more than in the past. She then invited the next group of speakers ‘from the floor’ up to speak. What then followed was not what a delegate at Labour conference, for instance, would deem a ‘contribution from the floor’.