Oct 8
Oh what a (conf.) week…
The Conservative Party conference this year was a rather odd animal. It was the most laid-back and enjoyable one in a very long time. And the reason why this state existed was that no one, not even the most enthusiastic, thought that the Tories are going to win the next election (barring a total Labour meltdown). Most I talked to freely admitted that it would be better if it were not a close run thing as that might cause a Lib-Lab pact, which would be the worst of all worlds.
The Tories finally realise that if they arent careful there will be a realignment in the right in the UK, and they may not be a part of it in their present form. There was even talk of a re-branding of the party into something less stuffy and more apt for the modern state of the party.
The laid-back, realistic nature of the conference meant that most activists and politicians were actually willing to discuss policy and the future direction of the party. There was much less sticking to the party line than any conference I have ever attended. But neither were they ashamed of being Tories, unlike the year that May made her idiotic “nasty party” comment.
One the most amusing things about this conference was the fact that it was the most honest about the number of gay men in the Tory Party. Rather than in the past when there were a great deal of men running around supressing their true self, gay men were out and obvious. Gay men would frequently be seen kissing each other when meeting and being “obviously gay”...more power to them. The “Absolutely Equal” event was almost too popular with conference goers, several gay wags complained to me that there more straight men there than gay men. You see, it has developed such a reputation that sensible single folks go to chase after the straight women who go to dance. The day after I had several amusing conversations with gay Tory friends of mine who felt there might need to be another “secret” party, just for gay men. I suggested it be called the “Toryman’s Other Ball”.
Another welcome development is the fact that many Gay Tories are now much more confortable supporting other “non-standard” types who are part of the party. Instead of viewing them as a threat for attention, there is more of a “more the merrier” approach. A conference acquaintance of mine of several years described me as part of the “bohemian wing” of the party, and then to the shock of the PPC we were talking to, suggested he was part of it as well. To add to the feeling for us bohemians, the main hotel bar actually had some real ale on offer from the local Ringwood brewery. The service after 11 was still crap and relatively costly, but at least the beer was better.
I want to thank Cuthie and Cllr John Harrison for spending much of their time at conference with me. Cuthie, now a veteran of the conference scene, can be seen to strut around with confidence and aplomb, putting to shame some of the much older CF members who seem perpetually lost. Cllr Harrison and I are working on several projects which will hopefully begin to evolve over the next few months. Course any Tory councillor who listens to Pantera and Anthrax, driving around in his Subaru rally-street version, can’t be all bad now, can he?
And lastly, I want express my sheer disgust and sympathy for what happened to a certain Asian CF member. Some factionalist CF member sent a rather unflattering picture of him to the Daily Mirror (from a CF night at Stringfellows).
A report on the European aspect to conference can be found in an upcoming issue of The Sprout.
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