Ping! An email arrives in Steerpike’s inbox. Some happy news for headline-starved hacks at last: the National Conservatism conference is back! After last year’s Westminster offering brought with it quotes galore from Miriam Cates and Suella Braverman, this year’s event in Brussels promises more of the same. For Braverman is now being billed as the ‘keynote speaker’ alongside one other name: controversial Hungarian premier Viktor Orban.
The two-day jamboree begins on Tuesday 16 April: just two weeks before much of the UK goes to the polls in local elections across England and Wales. And Labour will no doubt be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of Braverman’s jibes against Rishi Sunak, since he liberated her from high office back in November. A snazzy online video from the NatCon conference berates the European Union as a ‘combination of an oligarchy and a tyranny of the majority’ while quotes from the accompanying press release give a taste about what to expect. According to Anna Wellisz, conference chair:
For too long, EU officials have been abusing their power to control rather than serve the nations of Europe. Unelected bureaucrats and their international tribunals are now dictating how nation-states should think, conduct policy, and even vote to silence opposition, they accuse dissenting individuals and groups of being ‘anti-democracy’ or ‘semi-fascist. We aim to empower European citizens to make sure their voices are heard, despite the smears they face when they stand up for national interests.
Get the popcorn in…
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