It’s safe to say that this year’s Conservative Party conference was one of two halves. After the jovial buzz and optimism of the Labour conference, expectations were low in Birmingham. Although the main hall was quieter than usual for some Cabinet keynotes, the ICC was brimming with people, fringes were well attended, and for regular attendees the scene in the Hyatt Hotel felt remarkably similar to years gone by. 

The REC co-hosted a panel event with World Skills UK to discuss the case for the skills economy. Despite the early Tuesday morning slot, the event was well attended and there was some excellent discussion and engagement from the audience. Although train chaos left the REC’s Kate Shoesmith trapped in Euston, I was able to step in! 

The panel talked about the importance of investing in skills to attract inward investment, the importance of better collaboration between schools, colleges, business and government, the value of lifelong learning and future workforce planning. It was also a great opportunity to talk about our Overcoming Shortages report and the REC’s Manifesto for Growth, which sets out the our manifesto asks to all the political parties in anticipation of the next election.

Away from the well-attended and diverse range of discussions at fringe events there was also plenty of political drama. After the fallout of the ‘mini budget’, the prime minister was expected to have a difficult conference. On Sunday night, rumours of U-turns began to circulate. The initial view seemed to be that this would be a political disaster… [former PM] Boris Johnson’s administration was dogged by U-turns, and MPs wanted the new leadership to be different. However, by Monday morning the U-turn was inevitable. Accusations began to fly about who was really behind the policy change, and after scores of MPs made it clear that they’d vote against the Chancellors’ growth plan, PM Liz Truss had to turn. The home secretary called it a coup, but the markets breathed a sigh of relief as the pound recovered, bouncing back to its pre-mini budget level against the dollar. 

Despite the comms chaos, put very accurately by Leader of the House, Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP at a midnight drinks reception, the overall mood of conference certainly wasn’t the muted affair many expected. Most conversations began with a quip about how well things were going and there was an overall feeling that Tories should be making the most of the next two years.

Some ministers, it seems, are planning to keep their heads down and immerse themselves in their portfolios, away from the No.10 machine – perhaps that’s good for policy making (enter the REC Campaigns team) but it’s clear the Conservative Party is now split between ideological Conservatism and political Conservatism. 

In any event, the PM put on a united front in her maiden conference speech, even in the face of hecklers from Greenpeace – AKA the “anti-growth coalition”. She spoke to a full hall, despite concerns about the mass exodus of conference goers on Tuesday, desperate to avoid travel disruption. The PM reaffirmed her commitment to levelling up the country “in a Conservative way to ensure everyone, everywhere can get on”. She took a more personal tone claiming (inaccurately) she was the first PM to attend a comprehensive school, had been treated differently as a woman throughout her life and was very much on the side of the people. 

Sticking with the growth theme, the Truss declared: “I love business, I love enterprise.” However, to achieve the growth she wants, we need the right people, with the right skills. It’s little wonder then that the topics of so many of this year’s fringe events centred on that. It was encouraging to hear so much agreement from business and industry about what we need from policy makers to achieve that – from Apprenticeship Levy reform to flexible working, childcare and social care investment to an immigration system that responds to labour market needs. 

Samantha Beggs is campaigns and government relations manager at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation.

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