Political conferences rarely alter much in the world beyond their policed nylon barricades and beer-scented fog of ambition. But sometimes they mark a turn: a movement collapsing or reviving; a leader learning to lead, or a leader losing the plot. Think Neil Kinnock against Militant in Bournemouth in 1985; or Margaret Thatcher not turning in Brighton five years earlier; or Theresa May’s surreal car crash in Manchester in 2017. Well, the Labour conference in Liverpool this year is up there in terms of significance.
It was a display of discipline, “God save the King” patriotism and a quiet lust for power, topped off by one of the best leader’s speeches I have heard from any side for a long time. What did we learn,or have confirmed? That after a dozen years Labour is almost certainly heading back to power.
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