The final conference of the season. The Tories are in Birmingham…
MAIN SPEECHES
The set pieces are in Symphony Hall, with policy sessions on the main stage in Hall 5.
Sunday
2pm. Welcome to conference, Alex Burghart and the Scottish and Welsh leaders on the Union, then Kemi Badenoch. Symphony Hall.
Monday
9:45am. Andrew Bowie on energy.
10:30am. Richard Holden on transport.
11:15am. Damian Hinds on AI and the NHS.
12:15pm. Andrew Griffith, Helen Whately and Laura Trott on getting people back to work.
2pm. Griffith, Richard Fuller, Katie Lam and Julia Lopez on the economy. Symphony Hall.
Tuesday
9:45am. Katie Lam on local government, billed as “the frontline of Burnham’s agenda”.
10:30am. Laura Trott on school standards.
12pm. Rebecca Paul on Great British fashion.
12:30pm. How To Get Britain Growing? Andrew Griffith with Growth Commission’s Chairman Shanker Singham.
2pm. Burghart, Tom Tugendhat, James Cartlidge and Helen Whately on defence. Symphony Hall.
Wednesday
10am. Kevin Hollinrake on going “From Party to Movement“, then Chris Philp and Nick Timothy on borders and crime. Symphony Hall.
Then Kemi’s speech.
WHERE TO GET DRINKS
Sunday
3:30pm is the CWO welcome drinks.
4pm. The Spectator’s Coffee House Shots welcome reception.
5:30pm is the Local Government Drinks Reception, with the CCA Awards.
6pm is the Gibraltar reception.
6pm. CCHQ Alumni drinks. A big room, after 2024…
6pm is the Eastern & Midlands Reception.
6:30pm. Conservative Friends of the NHS champagne reception.
7pm. The party’s pub quiz.
7pm. Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) Drinks Reception.
7pm is the Rally for Hospitality, with Andrew Griffith.
8pm. Politico’s ‘Speakeasy’
8:30pm. Countryside Alliance and Conservative Rural Forum drinks, with Victoria Atkins.
8:30pm is the Welsh Conservatives reception.
9pm is the Northern Reception.
9.30pm. 1922 Committee & ConservativeHome Reception. Invites needed…
10pm. Britain Remade drinks, with Katie Lam.
Monday
5:30pm is Business Day drinks.
6pm. CEN’s big pub quiz.
6pm is the ConservativeHome Pride Reception.
6pm. Telegraph’s drinks.
6pm is the Southern Reception.
7pm. Exhibitors’ drinks in the Blue Room. Invited guests only.
7:30pm. is the Onward Reception, with Alex Burghart.
7:30pm. Young Conservatives at Barbara’s Bier Haus. Open bar, DJ, MPs and a photo booth. In that order of appeal…
7.30pm. UK Music/TikTok party.
7:45pm. More in Common reception.
8:30pm is the Conservative Friends of Israel reception.
8:30pm. Prosper UK, with Andy Street and Ruth Davidson.
8:30pm is the CBI business reception, with Griffith.
9pm is the London Reception.
9pm is the GB News ‘Celebrate Britain’ party. Invites required…
9pm. The Silent Disco.
9:15pm is the Total Politics reception.
9:30pm. AQA’s Gin Parlour at The Distillery.
10pm. Green Groups Reception.
10pm. Sky News reception. Invites, invites, invites…
11pm. The TaxPayers’ Alliance, with Griffith again, the TRG Midnight Reception and the councillors’ late-night do.
Tuesday
1pm. The EU Ambassador’s Reception. At Tory conference…
4:30pm is the Conservative Friends of Pakistan reception, with James Cleverly.
5:30pm. Small Business Day drinks.
6pm is the Street Party.
6pm. Irish Ambassador’s drinks.
7pm is the Conservative Friends of India reception, with Chris Philp.
7:30pm. The House magazine’s reception.
8pm is the Adam Smith Institute’s Rally for Liberty, with Philp.
10pm is The Spectator’s bash. Invites required…
The rest of the information can be read below:
WHERE ARE THE WONKS
Guido has ranked them by events hosted:
Policy Exchange, the IEA and the Centre for Social Justice are not hosting a single event. The Prosperity Institute, which was all over Reform’s conference last month, has two. The Tony Blair Institute also has two, with one speaker listed simply as “Chief Economist”.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
More in Common asks “Can Badenoch turn the Conservatives around?” at 4:15pm on Monday. Be a bit awkward if the answer is ‘no’…
The Express asks “How does the Right unite to defeat Labour?” on Tuesday lunchtime. At 6pm Esther McVey’s Blue Collar Conservatism discusses “Winning Back the Trust of Reform Voters” over a pint.
Andy Street and Emma Best ask whether the Tories can still win under First Past the Post at 6pm on Sunday.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance asks “How to get the debt markets off our backs?” at 4pm on Sunday. Timely, with 30-year gilts at 6%…
The Centre for Policy Studies has a panel titled “From Boriswave to brain drain” on Monday afternoon. The Prosperity Institute asks whether the EU reset is “Rejoin by stealth?”
British American Tobacco sponsors Onward’s “Nudge, Ban or Tax?”. Juul Labs sponsors the CPS’s “Policies for a healthier Britain”.
UK Music has brought “Manchesterism” over from Labour. The Spectator’s “War on Fun” is on tour too, and Heathrow has rebuilt its airport-style lounge.
David Starkey, who did Reform’s conference last month, does the double with the 92 Group at 8:30pm on Tuesday.
CCHQ’s commercial brochure invites reception hosts to send in their “shadow ministerial wishlist”.
Guido is making additions. The conference tip box is always open: team@order-order.com
Green Deputy Leader Rachel Millward said:
“The reality is that it’s Zack Polanski who brought the nation, Andy Burnham. And if we hadn’t had the success of the Green Party in this last year since Zack’s been leading, which has been unprecedented, phenomenal success and a growth from about 60,000 members to 230,000, if we hadn’t had that much pressure on Labour, then we’d probably still be in the Starmer regime, which was pretty much ushering in a Reform government with its lurch to the right. So actually, what we’re seeing now is that we’ve set the political agenda and the government is picking that up.”