Conservative Conference was buzzy and busy - but fuzzy on policy direction

In the run up to it, I was wondering what we’d face in Birmingham at the 2024 Conservative Party Conference this week. Would it be a morose, hand-wringing affair about missed opportunities and the long years ahead in the political wilderness? Would conversation linger on the unfair hand dealt by Covid, global events, and party in-fighting?  

The reality was something quite different. This was a buzzy and busy party conference. Overall attendance was good, the mood surprisingly forward-looking - driven in part by party members out in force to show their support after the General Election loss, and in part by the large number of business delegates and representative bodies, without affiliation, who made our way to Birmingham to network and identify future collaboration opportunities. 

All that said, there was little in the way of actual policy happening at this conference. That’s not a surprise for Conservatives – which traditionally uses conference as a forum for convening and engaging members, rather than policy development or pronouncements. It was also a necessary constraint given the party has another full month to go until it elects a leader.  

Having said that, a high number of the Party grandees and MPs present made a point of saying how important it is that they form a strong Opposition and hold accountable the new Labour Government. There were frequent mentions for the Conservatives being the party of business, the party of fiscal and economic responsibility, and the party for social justice – levelling up and devolution were mentioned in nearly every fringe event I attended.  

But surprisingly little was said about the engine of our growth as an economy – the UK workforce. The notable exception to this was former Minister and now Shadow Minister for Business and Trade, Kevin Hollinrake MP, who gave an excellent input at the REC's joint business reception with the CBI and other leading business organisations. He spoke about the vital importance of freeing business to grow, the value of the flexible labour market but he agreed with parts of the Labour narrative that one-sided flexibility at the expense of the worker is a social injustice – as would we.  

The best conversations at conference were the ones that took a particular area where good policy intervention can help drive bigger and better outcomes – such as in the NHS, encouraging inward investment, and net zero. But too often, these things were discussed in terms of what hasn’t been right so far, rather than on concrete solutions to drive big change. I was left with the perennial “it’s complicated” overview - which leaves me with the strong impression that it is business that needs to come up with the solutions. But I also left conference with surety that there are a high number of MPs who understand their role as public servants and are willing to ask the tough questions of the new government, something we will no doubt need to do as an Employment Rights Bill is laid before Parliament in the next few days.