Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Theresa May exorcises her Tory conference speech demons

Theresa May appeared comfortable on the conference stage today for the first time. It wasn’t just her Dancing Queen entrance or her references to the various nightmares that beset last year’s address. It was also that she was able to defend what she was doing with real passion and conviction. 

She also offered a good dissection of the Opposition, claiming that it wasn’t Labour but “the Jeremy Corbyn party”, and contrasting the approach of today’s frontbench with that of Labour’s greatest figures such as Attlee and Callaghan. Similarly, her section on national security didn’t just include her arguments in favour of the decisions she has taken over the past year, but also a glimpse into what it is like for her personally to have to take those decisions. 

That personal touch was evident again in one of her main announcements, of a new Cancer Strategy.

Isabel Hardman
Written by
Isabel Hardman
Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.

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