What is it with politicians and dancing? Priti Patel with Nigel Farage at a Tory conference, Angela Rayner on the decks in Ibiza, Michael Gove, tieless with his spectacles a little askew throwing shapes in a Scottish bar and, this week, Emily Thornberry and Anas Sawar strutting their stuff to Uptown Funk at Labour’s conference in Liverpool. Anybody would think they were enjoying themselves.
Party conferences are often trailed as a challenge to the leadership, a rift within the party, significant announcements set under a whiff of scandal. In reality they’re rather dull except for when things don’t go according to plan – Theresa May’s coughing fit beneath a collapsing logo with some bloke delivering a P45 to her on stage, Keir Starmer showered in glitter which was good for him but a shocking security breach.
For those not aligned to any political party, it’s easy to forget that conferences bring together like minded people. Yes, they may have their difference on policy and personalities, there’ll be policy wonks and procedural pedants, there’ll be some bad behaviour and lots of gossip, good and not so good speeches, fringe meetings and sponsored events, long queues for usually bad food and overpriced drink and a strange detachment from the world outside – rather like going to a football match in that it’s a shared experience, supporting your team even if that team’s better on paper than on the pitch.
Liverpool was neither the exultant celebration of a Labour government after 14 years that it might have been but nor was it the shambles overshadowed by rows over Sue Gray’s salary or who paid for which outfit which some sections of the media had predicted – and probably hoped for. Sharon Graham, the impressive leader of Unite was passionate in articulating real anger and concern about the winter fuel fiasco, Wes Streeting continues to be unbowed in his fierce determination to change the NHS, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s speech about radical reform of women’s custodial sentencing was under reported and Rachel Reeves can be permitted her 1000 watt smile at being the first ever female chancellor. But that smile might be dimmed because it is she who will unlock the next step in this somewhat faltering government with her budget next month. So much is riding on whether the government can move beyond blaming the Tories and come up with meaningful financial plans that will deliver real benefit, hope and belief that things truly can be turned around. All the rest of them have to do is to get a grip on the appalling communications vacuum that’s been filled by missteps of their own making. The Prime Minister says quite rightly it’s his “job to do something” about damaging leaks coming from government. The real job is to stop there being anything to leak – get the crap about clothes, holidays, cronies and freebies out in the open and get on with running the country. Then we all might feel more inclined to dance.
