Prime Minister’s Farewell Tour? REC at the 2023 Conservative Party Conference

When even the protestors outside the Manchester Convention Centre seem lacklustre, you can tell something is amiss for the Conservative party. And that mood continued into the conference itself with a notably quiet and subdued atmosphere at points. During certain panel discussions, there was even a sense of resignation (by some) that the Conservative’s time in government is coming to an end.

Within the conversations that did take place at fringe and networking events, there was plenty to take away in terms of policy recommendations and priorities for this government or the next. REC was involved in a number of panel events and roundtables, most notably our packed-out event with the Social Market Foundation, where Rt Hon Chris Skidmore and Employment Minister Guy Opperman, joined the REC’s Neil Carberry to talk about green skills – a recurring topic at the conference. We also participated in events on labour market participation, youth unemployment and the wider skills agenda. These conversations were largely apolitical and the importance of the threads and ideas that were discussed in these events can continue regardless of the colour of the party in power.

The real winners of the fringe events, however, were the caterers who put together a truly remarkable set of nibbles. The perception of the Conservative party has often skewed toward a particular demographic, and the duck liver parfait with fennel biscotti and port jelly has done nothing to change that. A far cry from the mixed selection box of biscuits offered out at many an REC event!

Nibbles of private conversations with MPs around the conference show an appetite for reform of welfare to tempt people back to work, tax reform to stem the recent fall in numbers of self-employed, and some better careers advice for pupils and those in work. A fireside interview with the Chancellor suggested a government that hopes, if it’s not yet betting, that technology and AI will alleviate labour and skills shortages in the UK. The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, meanwhile, declined to throw any sweeties to conference attendees about what to expect at the Autumn Statement, perhaps an indication of a quiet one. There was just the sprinkling of insinuation from MPs that something more substantial on childcare to help the labour market could be on the menu in the Autumn Statement. Whilst others sought to grab attention for themselves, with Theresa May commanding a lengthy queue for a book signing, Liz Truss doing Liz Truss things and Nigel Farage belting out “Can’t take my eyes off of you” at the GB News party, it was Rishi Sunak himself who really drew the crowds. The Prime Minister’s closing speech proving such a hot ticket that one commenter likened it to a Taylor Swift concert, and many having to watch it live-streamed in the overspill auditorium.

Sunak set out his stall early in his speech framing the party as the party for long-term change vs the apathy and stagnation of Starmer’s Labour party. Net Zero remained a clear priority for Sunak, but with a newly established “pragmatic, proportionate and realistic” approach. Perhaps the biggest breaking news announcement from the speech was the confirmation that the HS2 network to Manchester would be scrapped – instead using the £36 billion this would have cost on the newly announced Network North. This is the government's plan to revitalise the North with improvements to trains, roads and bus networks creating a connected Northern England that isn’t reliant on London to do business.

Speaking for just over an hour, Sunak’s speech touched on all the major issues that he announced in his previous 5 plans. Inflation (cut it), small boats (stop them), smoking (ban it), A-Levels & T-Levels (combine them) all featured heavily and there was even time to bash virtue-signalling to whoops and cheers from the audience. Starmer and the Labour party were recurrent characters in the speech, with Sunak repeating the adages that Labour is out of touch with the country’s values, can't be trusted with the country’s finances, and aren’t a party of business. No mean feat for a party that’s spent 13 years in government!
 

With additional reporting by Hamant Verma, Communications Manager at REC.