Labouring in Liverpool

Just back from the Labour conference in Liverpool.

Not much to report, if I’m honest. I was there on Monday and Tuesday but Monday was a bit of a washout - literally.

The heavens opened and I got absolutely soaked walking from one venue to another.

I had intended going to a couple of fringe meetings outside the conference zone but it was raining so hard I thought better of it.

On Monday the atmosphere matched the weather. Considering that Labour won a landslide victory in the general election barely seven weeks ago, things were pretty muted.

The weather was better on Tuesday but it was Kier Starmer’s speech that seemed to change the mood, briefly at least.

I watched it on a big screen on the upper floor of the Arena and Convention Centre (ACC).

Initially it sounded pretty dull and formulaic to my ears, and most of the people around me were more interested in looking at their phones and tablets.

Eventually however the PM got into his stride and the speech came to a rousing climax, with party members in the main hall cheering and appluading.

By now those around me had stopped staring at their own screens and were watching Starmer on the big screen above us.

After the speech ended and delegates starting pouring out of the ACC, there was a noticeable buzz and energy that hadn’t been there before.

I had arranged to meet some people in the Pullman Hotel (within the security zone) and the atmosphere in the coffee lounge/reception area had changed considerably from earlier in the day so it would be ungracious, and wrong, to say the speech didn’t deliver on some level.

The target audience, though, was clearly those present in the hall - loyal Labour Party members - so I suspect that any boost to the Government will be short-lived unless the PM actually starts delivering on the enormous list of promises he made.

I had gone to Liverpool hoping that one or two fringe meetings might address, even in passing, the generational tobacco ban, but the only one I attended that did was a meeting organised by Total Politics (supported by JTI) that featured a panel of retailers and one MP.

The problems that already face small shopkeepers – notably shoplifting and the threat of violence, and the lack of action from the police – was pretty hard to listen to.

Adding to these issues by expecting them to enforce a generational tobacco sales ban is beyond belief, and that came across loud and clear.

As for the Government’s widely publicised plan for an outdoor smoking ban, there was little or no mention of it in any fringe meeting that I was aware of.

Had the idea been included in Labour’s election manifesto we would have organised our own fringe meeting to discuss the issue, but the plan was only leaked four weeks ago and the deadline for fringe events was the end of July.

Addressing delegates yesterday morning, however, health secretary Wes Streeting repeated his pledge to consult with the British public on banning smoking in beer gardens, whilst also confirming his commitment to eradicate smoking by ‘helping’ smokers quit.

Speaking to a number of delegates at conference it was clear that an outdoor smoking ban is not high on their list of priorities - in fact, it’s not on their list of priorities at all - but although some are strongly against the idea I suspect that very few are willing to oppose their own government so soon after the election.

One person I didn’t expect to see at a Labour conference was Matthew Elliot, founder of the TaxPayers’ Alliance and Big Brother Watch, chief executive of Vote Leave, and now (thanks to Liz Truss) a Conservative peer (Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell).

He explained that he has launched a new charity, the Jobs Foundation, 'that champions the role of business as a force for good'.

I wish him luck, especially under a Labour Government that wants the state to control large chunks of our lives, and whose supporters cheered lustily when their leader announced that Britain's trains would be brought back into public ownership.

I bumped into Lord Elliott at the top of a crowded escalator, which brings me to something else.

In my view the conference venue was too small for an election-winning party, because finding a quiet corner or somewhere to sit down and work was quite a challenge.

The public areas in the two hotels within the secure zone were too busy, and there were not enough seats in the ACC so people were forced to sit on the floor or, if a meeting room (or pod) was full, stand.

I know conference venues have to be booked years in advance so perhaps Labour didn’t expect to be in government in 2024.

Either way, and aside from the filthy weather on Monday, it made my two days in Liverpool a rather uncomfortable experience.

Anyway, the political circus moves on to Birmingham next week when the Conservatives are in town, and I suspect that finding a seat or a quiet corner in the International Conference Centre (ICC) won't be a problem, to say the least.

PS. During Keir Starmer’s speech on Tuesday no-one around me seemed to notice his ‘sausages’ gaffe in real time.

It was only when we saw it mentioned on social media - and subsequently confirmed by those who could replay the moment - that we were aware that anything untoward had happened.

It was however a rare humorous moment in what, for the most part, was a professional but surprisingly sombre conference.