Morning after the night before
Thursday, October 5, 2017 at 9:23 
Events have rather overtaken the Forest/TMA drinks party in Manchester on Tuesday night.
I was driving out of the city yesterday morning when Theresa May began her speech. Even before the interruption by a so-called comedian and the repeated coughing fits, it was a car crash.
'The British Dream'? WTF is that? We're British. We don't dream, we muddle by.
The subsequent annoucement of a series of Ed Miliband style policies on housing and energy prices only made things worse. Is this the best the Conservatives can do?
But you'd have to have a heart of granite not to feel for someone dying on their feet. Even while I was driving I was holding my head in my hands muttering, "Oh my God, oh my God."
It was so painful I wanted to turn the radio off but I couldn't.
Outside the Westminster bubble you may be wondering what all the fuss is about but the clips shown on the news last night only hint at the tortuous nature of May's unfortunate performance.
I've previously defended not her policies but her apparently genuine sense of public duty and I do so again, but as others have commented you need luck to be a successful general and May is currently having no luck.
The letters dropping off the staging behind her back was another thrust of the political dagger.
In the light of all that our 'drinks party' (how quaint that sounds) seems light years away. In fact it was quite a success with Conservative MP Nigel Evans giving a rip-roaring speech that could not have been more appropriate to the drink-fuelled nature of the occasion.
"This is the best event at conference," declared Nigel boldly, "because people are allowed to do as they want."
I wouldn't go as far as that but guests were certainly allowed to eat, drink, smoke and vape (at the same time!) so that was probably unique.
Officially we were limited to 120 guests but there were many more than that. The heated, covered terrace was packed and the lounge was pretty full too.
The first guests arrived at 7.45 (the event was billed to start at 8.30), and the last left at 12.15.
Around 10.00 we ran out of booze (we'd pre-ordered cockails, beer and prosecco) and had to order more.
Sadly the only thing most people will remember about the 2017 Tory conference is the PM's speech the following morning.
C'est la vie.
Below: Nigel Evans MP addresses guests at the Forest/TMA reception. Alongside him are fellow MPs Craig Mackinlay and Gareth Johnson.
Reader Comments (5)
So, non smokers cough uncontrollably? Who would have thought it. According to the puritan phobics in public health and ASH, the only people who cough smoke, the only people who are ugly and stupid are smokers, so the question has to be - Has Mrs May taken up smoking again or does public health lie in pushing scaremongering and abusive nonsense about smokers for money?
I think we know the answer.
Who cares what May said or did or what letters fell off the board behind her. What was the most heartwarming of all was her husband's support.
Despite pandering to the thugs in public health and allowing her ministers to hammer smokers just because they can, I found something human in our PM yesterday. Here's hoping she finds a little humanity somewhere for the smokers of this country who are not only people but voters too.
This event was possible was more organised and better run than the Tory conference itself. Good to see Gareth Johnson there he's my MP and does believe in choice we have spoken about this subject before.
I think you have to wonder at the competence and vision of a government which in the face of huge issues such as Brexit and terrorism considers that presumed consent of organ donation is a flagship policy worthy of announcement by the PM in her keynote speech at conference.
I found the prankster incident interesting. It was designed to sabotage. Was he a lone wolf or put up to it - and if so was it Labour or May's 'friends' in her own party?
On the face of it Jay, I have no problem with the organ donation policy - however, how long after its implementation before smoking, drinking, and consumption of sugar are illegal on the grounds that we have a social duty to look after our organs because children might need them in future.
Smokers are called selfish partly because they are accused of dying early and leaving greiving families behind. Imagine the public health propaganda when it becomes normal for us all to accept that our bodies and our organs could ultimately belong to someone else?
After watching May's speech (rather than just hearing about it on the news) I actually warmed (slightly!) to her. True, the speech itself was, as others on here have pointed out, rather "lightweight" in and of itself - a criticism which May herself has in the past received, and not, in my opinion, entirely without justification - but she certainly handled all the unfortunate incidents in this speech with unflustered calmness which is at least one element of her personality which is in her favour. Whether that will prove to be the only one remains to be seen as Brexit (and other political challenges) unfold over the next few months/years. I hope not, but who knows ...