meted. The leader’s personal standing with the public is poor. The policies the party has supported, notably of course on tuition fees, are alien to the very fabric of the Liberal cloth, and yet in government they continue to sup- port the Conservatives on an economic strategy of the Chancellor’s choice. Advance opinion from the commentariat was, not surprisingly, that the conference would be highly uncomfortable for Nick Clegg and his fellow ministers, that they would face howls of hurt protest from their wounded foot soldiers, that the Liberal Democrats’ role in the coalition would be challenged in the name of political purity, and that the leader himself might find his position at risk. But, ah, the intoxication of power! After 100 years of having no influence at all on anything, it seems that the party rather likes being able to call a few shots, claim that it is a restraining influence on the worst excesses of Conservatism and assert that its authority is significant. Those who fixed the agenda did their best to ensure that the political temperature was kept low, and even on the fringe there was little sign of much more than a nervous restlessness. The Liberal Democrats have learned to behave.
T
he prospects for the most interesting conference this year, certainly the best business for the media, rest on next week’s Labour meeting in
Liverpool. The Labour conference has changed more than any other in modern times because, contrary to its historic place in the party rule book, it no longer fulfils its main purpose. The conference is meant to be the supreme policymaking forum of the party. Its authority, backed, of course, by the votes of the trades unions, is meant to be at the apex of the party structure. Issues are raised at local parties, resolutions are submitted for discussion at conference, composites of all the main topics are drawn up and the dele- gates vote. Policy is made. It was this which gave the Labour conference the edge for polit- ical passion in years gone by. Democracy is a dangerous thing in today’s Labour Party, though. Policymaking has been pushed off to a “forum”, the power of the unions has been eroded, and under the leadership of Tony Blair (and the management of Peter Mandelson) the event has been turned into a public parade with a vast ancillary marketing fair running in parallel. It is largely politics-free, although last year’s leadership election of the unex- pected Miliband was a welcome diversion. It is the absence of politics on public display that has always marked the Conservative con- ference. Theirs has traditionally been a rally for their loyal supporters who loyally support all that is put before them. The alarming thing for the party managers is that the loyalists are increasingly outnumbered by trouble- makers. Behind the scenes, meanwhile, mostly in the headquarters hotel, a second informal conference occurs at which the raw politics of rivalry is played out to the press. And that is something that will never change.
■Julia Langdon is a political journalist. (See Books, page 21.)
The Tablet Lecture 2011
The Most Rev Vincent Nichols is the Archbishop of Westminster, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
“Holiness Today: The Formation of the Human Heart”
An exploration of the models of and quest for holiness in contemporary society.
Thursday 20 October 2011 at 6.45pm at Westminster Cathedral Hall
Nearest Railway/ Underground station: Victoria Admission is by advance ticket only at a cost of £15 (£12 concessions) and includes entry to a Tablet drinks reception
To purchase, please call: 020 8748 8484 or email:
sblackburn@thetablet.co.uk
24 September 2011 | THE TABLET | 13
Tickets selling fast!
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