Let's Get Political - Alex Palmer

It cannot have escaped the attention of anyone with a political ear to the ground (after all it happens for a few weeks in the autumn every year) but this September party conference season finally returned in-person, to a much-anticipated buzz. Hordes of identically besuited party members descended upon conference venues across the country to vote on policy, listen to their favourite politicians’ speeches, and eat those stale hotel sandwiches that always seem to be provided at this sort of event.

So, for the uninitiated, here’s a quick rundown of what a party conference is. “Conference” is, at heart, an event to showcase both new policy ideas and for party leaders to show their political mettle to the Nation. Manifesto policy is sometimes set by party members in attendance, sometimes voted upon as guidance to the leadership, and sometimes just revealed by that leadership to the (hopefully) adoring applause of members. Conference also features debates and fringe events run by many and various organisations seeking to gain attention or influence.

This year, however, conference formats are different. As society slowly figures out how to host large events safely, some parties have adopted a more cautious approach by moving entirely online or providing hybrid options. The Conservative and Labour Parties along with the Scottish Greens delivered their 2021 conferences in-person, as will the Green Party of England and Wales. In contrast, the SNP appear likely to utilise the online option; a move already taken by the Liberal Democrats (save for a small gathering of delegates in London).

Other than a flurry of headlines at the time of the conferences themselves however, it’s certainly not the speeches, nor the endless policy that sticks in the minds of the electorate— For better or worse, it is undeniably the more “unusual” goings on that find their way onto social media and into column inches: the politicians out partying, the speeches gone wrong, and the cringeworthy PR stunts.

If, unlike me, you don’t have a mild-verging-on-being-a-problem Twitter habit, you may have been spared the horror of the blurry images of a slightly worse for wear Foreign Secretary out clubbing whilst at the Conservative Conference in Manchester, or perhaps the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions trying her hand at Karaoke.

‘They fashion the policies you are asked to vote on at an election, allow disparate local parties and members to congregate and be introduced to views other than their own, and, by the looks of it, allow some politicians to finally let their hair down and show their human side— and after all, why should they be any different in that respect?’

Most of these moments seem to arise from the seeming suspension of social norms that arise at these events; courtesy no doubt of the industrial amounts of alcohol freely available. Others have worked their way into tradition. Each year on the last night of their Federal Conference, for instance, a few hundred of the supposedly meek and moderate Liberal Democrats get together to sing bawdy,

More prominent still are the moments where the careful scripting of the Conference falls apart as everything just goes wrong. Who can forget Theresa May’s ill-fated 2017 speech, during which she was handed a P45, had a coughing fit, and the backdrop fell apart behind her? Mrs. May (ever the fount of political memes) also provided us with her infamous “MayBot” dance onto stage to ABBA during her 2018 address, while Liz Truss will be forever remembered for her now infamous ‘cheese speech’ in 2014. If you ever thought you might have sounded a little awkward delivering a presentation, just give that a listen.

Unless you’re a policy wonk or keenly interested in political speeches, these small, but entertaining, excerpts may well be the only interaction you have with any political party conference at all. However, these events remain fundamentally important political moments. They fashion the policies you are asked to vote on at an election, allow disparate local parties and members to congregate and be introduced to views other than their own, and, by the looks of it, allow some politicians to finally let their hair down and show their human side— and after all, why should they be any different in that respect?

by Alex Palmer.