With an election looming next year, this year’s Tory party conference should be an opportunity for Rishi Sunak’s outfit to show this country just how united it is.
If only politics were that simple. Almost every year, party conferences are places for parties to air their dirty laundry and have it out with each other.
Here are a few good reasons to think that this year will be no exception for the Conservatives.
The Independent‘s revelations on HS2 have been leading the news agenda in recent weeks and Tory conference should be no exception.
Threatening to cut a rail line to Manchester just before holding your party conference there is certainly a brave move.
The feeling in Westminster is currently that the prime minister won’t make an announcement on the railway while he’s in town. But expect plenty of dissent nonetheless – from within his party and without.
The prime minister put his net zero policies on the agenda last week with a speech outside Downing Street.
He’ll be facing pressure from both sides of his party on the matter. The PM’s decision to row back on several climate commitments has certainly got its detractors in the Tory party, many of whom will be happy to put the boot in on the fringes of the meeting.
But for those with leadership ambitions and hunting for the affections of unrepresentative Conservative members, the opposite is more likely to be true. Expect someone to bring up the perennial right-wing demand of a referendum on net zero – or something similar.
Leadership bids
The question of who will succeed Rishi Sunak is likely to be an overarching theme – or underlying subtext – of many of the rows that emerge at conference.
On the one hand, those hoping for the top job will be trying to stand out. But on the other, those making too much noise are bound to irritate other Tory MPs looking to maintain a united front ahead of the battle to keep their jobs next year.
Not every Conservative will have appreciated Jeremy Hunt’s decision to rule out immediate tax cuts earlier this month.
Expect leadership candidates to seek an opening here, trying to curry favour with the Tory right.
The prime minister may have something up his sleeve during his speech for party management purposes (remember that briefing about inheritance tax?). But whatever taxes he promises to cut, there’s always going to be someone asking that he goes further.
Small boats, ECHR and immigration
The perennial Tory issues of immigration and Europe are bound to come up. Suella Braverman has already gotten a head start here, having a go at refugees.
Her rhetoric on LGBT people seeking asylum has already been branded “inhuman” by some campaigners – expect someone to try and one-up her, or for her to simply escalate on her own accord.
