the tory party conference is more like a bleak seaside arcade than a carnival

Shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly tries out one of the funfair-style games in the exhibition centre (Picture: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

On a quick wander around the exhibition centre at the 2025 Tory party conference,one woman’s face seems to appear everywhere you look.

But it’s not current Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch – in fact,it’s hard to track down anything at all featuring her face in the vast main hall of the Manchester Central Convention Complex.

No,it’s the late Margaret Thatcher. The 1980s PM pops up on Christmas baubles,whisky tumblers,cardboard cut-outs and – most impressive of all – a mosaic made up of hundreds of attendee headshots.

There’s a good reason for this: next Monday marks the 100th anniversary of the Iron Lady’s birth,and there are a bunch of events taking place to celebrate.

The sheer scale of the Thatcher-fest this year throws up an interesting question,though. What would this conference look like without it?

It’s difficult to miss the bleak atmosphere at this year’s Tory gathering. What should be a carnival of conservatism is more like a depressing seaside arcade,where people shuffle around without enthusiasm.

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Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight,walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here.The hall is quiet,much quieter than any of the other three party conferences I’ve attended in the past month.These sorts of events are always just for the party faithful. But this year,it’s the most faithful of the faithful – the ones who deliberately chosen not to switch allegiance to the soaring Reform – who have made the trip.A couple of the stall spaces on the floor are unfilled by businesses or campaign groups,so they just feature Conservative branding and a few seats.Some of Thatcher’s most famous outfits are on display at the conference (Picture: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)Thatcher Toby jugs and whisky are on sale at the merch stall (Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)This for a party which – let’s not forget – was still in government with a huge majority less than a year and a half ago.Not to say there isn’t space for a bit of fun. Last night’s annual GB News bash was attended by figures including Robert Jenrick,former Australian PM Tony Abbott,and Dame Priti Patel.Dame Priti,the shadow foreign secretary,was tearing up the dancefloor to a live band playing wedding disco favourites as the crowd waved Union flags that were handed out on arrival.Then there was the late-night Maggie’s 100th Birthday Disco at Cloud 23,one of Manchester’s swankiest cocktail bars with an astonishing view over the city.@alrightgov There’s nothing else that needs saying… Attendees of the Conservative Party Conference let loose at a party to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher’s birth. And yes,that is the song that was playing on entry. #tory #toryparty #thatcher♬ Footloose – Kenny LogginsBizarrely,there were noticeably fewer Thatcher tributes at that bash than many of the other events happening around the place.Yes,there were one or two Margaret masks and some memorabilia,but it was largely just eighties bangers and young Conservatives dancing with their ties either done right up or tied around their heads.It seemed as if the Thatcher connection was tacked on in an effort to attract more people along and raise more badly needed funds.And maybe that goes for the conference as a whole.Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and her husband Hamish at the conference (Picture: James McCauley/Shutterstock)As the Conservatives struggle to set themselves apart from Reform on several key issues like immigration and climate,they’re pushing ever more heavily on the party’s heritage.After all,if there’s one thing the Tories have that Farage’s outfit doesn’t,it’s a long and uniquely successful history – and the party is keen to hammer home that fact.Handy,then,that Thatcher had the foresight to be born exactly 100 years before one of the most dire and nervy periods her party has ever experienced.