More notes on the Tory conference:
1) Boris on Fire. His speech was excellent, pledged not to increase tax, defended the City and pointed out that the Masters of the Universe may be unpopular but there are plenty other parts of the universe they can relocate to if they are over-regulated. He again almost apologised for describing the “broken society” theme as ‘piffle’ saying that he wouldn’t let Labour spin a split on this (Boris’ remark was mentioned frequently in Manchester last week). Boris said no matter if you call it “broken, chipped or mildly fractured” there’s plenty to fix. Cameron (“where’s Dave?” says BoJo from the stage) was chortling away in the audience.
2) Cameron on form. His opening remarks were excellent. As he spoke, listing his priorities, I was mentally ticking off the list I’d laid out. He promised not to rail against the City, he put debt centre-stage (making the point about the toxic mixture of state and household debt) and said he’d address concerns about the cost of living. He mentioned examples: the young man he met who took out a mortgage for £700 a month and found himself on £1,100 a month. Cameron is focusing the party on problems in the specific, not the abstract.
3) Flying the Flag. One of Andy Coulson’s bugbears, even before he joined the Conservatives, was the absence of a Union Flag on the conference stage. He’ll be happier this year as it’s being used to frame the stage. You can only see it when the camera pans out, though.
4) Texting Tories. There are posters asking people to text Cameron, so he can get their phone number. This is an Obama tactic. Obama needs the under-35s to win and the Democrats have research showing people are something like 40% more likely to vote if they are texted a reminder that morning. The Denver conference was full of scams to get everyone’s mobile number on file.
5) The Oprah effect. Another tactic borrowed from Obama was having “ordinary people” give speeches saying why they’re looking forward to a new government. George Osborne played Oprah Winfrey in an afternoon sofa session on the economy. The Tories were talking to “ordinary people” who said how they’re looking forward to lower fuel prices, scrapping HIPs, etc. Good: he’s keeping the focus on the practical. Early on, I wondered if we’d get a old-fashioned Tory spat about the economy and tax and thought what a nice change that would make to Labour’s come-to-worship-the-Gord setup. But this Tory conference does not, so far, engage the audience save for taking one or two questions. They’re there to clap. Perhaps this is why even in the smaller hall and on a Sunday, at least a third of the seats were empty.
6) Hawkish Fox. Liam Fox played Oprah too, hosting a lengthy sofa session on defence and at the end got up to do his speech, and he was on full-blooded form. “Once again our values, security and our very way of life are under threat” – language you don’t hear at Labour conferences. Indeed, in Manchester last week where there was not the slightest indication that it was the ruling party of a country fighting two wars. Frederick Forsyth said to Fox from the podium that he was glad his ‘military covenant’ review didn’t have to deal with wrangling extra money, because what’s needed isn’t cheap. Fox gave a wry smile. Negotiating that budget will be his biggest headache.
7) Letting people speak. Boris, Simon Weston and Freddie Forsyth have spoken for longer that the 420-second maximum Brown imposed on his Cabinet. The result is to give the impression that Cameron has more talent and a more complete team. So far no one has pulled a banana.
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