Every time I come to Manchester for a conference, the perimeter fence guarding the politicians seems to shrink, retreating further towards to the garrison complex. There is something allegorical about this: the debate inside the conference is narrowing, appealing to a bunch of political nerds talking about ‘pre-distribution’ or the ‘big society’. And outside there is real, raw anger from the voters. The closest the general public get to party conferences nowadays is the Victoria Derbyshire show on Five Live, where 250 random people are invited to meet those politicians who dare venture outside the security-sealed conference bubble. The result is discussion quite unlike anything you’ll hear from a stage-managed conference floor. Today was no exception, and I went along to watch.
The session kicked off with at least two audience members describing Ed Miliband as a “shambles,” one of whom formed the impression after spending ten minutes talking to him ( “wimpy handshake” and a “lack of credibility”).
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