TheConservative Party Conference (CPC) is a four-day national conference event held by theConservative Party in theUnited Kingdom. It takes place every year in October during the Britishparty conference season, when theHouse of Commons is usually in recess. The event's location has alternated between Birmingham'sInternational Convention Centre (ICC) and Manchester'sCentral Convention Complex since 2008. Previously, it had alternated betweenBlackpool,Bournemouth and Brighton.[1] In contrast to the Liberal Democrat Conference, whereevery party member attending its Conference, either in-person or online,[2] has the right to vote on party policy, under a one-member, one vote system,[3][4] or theLabour Party Conference, where 50% of votes are allocated to affiliated organisations (such as trade unions), and in which all voting is restricted to nominated representatives (known as delegates),[5] the Conservative Party Conference does not hold votes on party policy.[6]
The conference, which consists of fringe events, receptions, and speeches, gives Conservative Party members, the press, and the public a chance to learn about the party's ideas and policies for the year ahead.[7] The focal event is the leader's speech, which is given by the incumbentLeader of the Conservative Party at the end of conference. In some special circumstances, the leader will make a speech at the opening of conference.[8] An exhibition area is also featured every year allowing businesses and Conservative Party-affiliated organisations to promote their brands and messages from exhibition stands throughout the conference period.[9]
The chairman of the Conservative Party Conference is always the current president of theNational Conservative Convention, the parliament of the Voluntary Party. The National Convention meets twice a year—its Annual General Meeting is usually held at Spring Forum, with another meeting usually held at the Party Conference.[10] Since 2017, theDemocratic Unionist Party has hosted an annual reception at the conference, owing to thealliance between the two parties in the 2017–2019 parliament.[11]
The 1953 conference took place inMargate.Winston Churchill's speech took place on 10 October. He had recovered from an acute stroke in June of the same year;Anthony Eden wrote in his diary that Churchill intended to use his speech at the conference to "try himself out," before he returned to work in Parliament. He had initially written an hour long speech of 4000 words, but reduced this to 50 minutes following advice from his doctorCharles Wilson, 1st Baron Moran, who also prescribed him either Edrisal orDrinamyl tablets. He was also given throat spray before the speech.[12]
At the 1977 conference, 16-year-oldWilliam Hague made a speech, stating that young people like himself wanted to see taxes cut, union power curbed and the frontiers of the state rolled back.[13]
The 1980 conference was headed byMargaret Thatcher inBrighton. Her speech on 10 October included the line “you turn if you want to.The lady's not for turning!”[14]
During the 1984 conference, held in Brighton, theProvisional Irish Republican Army targeted the government in ahotel bombing on 12 October. While it did not kill any Cabinet members, it killed five people and injured thirty four.[15] Despite this, Thatcher insisted the conference begin at 9:30 a.m., and in her speech she stated "this attack has failed. All attempts to destroy democracy by terrorism will fail."[16]
The 1992 conference followed a surprise victory in the1992 general election. In his speech which promised that the government’s welfare reforms would stopbenefit fraud, social security secretaryPeter Lilley adapted the “little list” song fromGilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado.”[17]
John Major spoke about returning "back to basics", and called for a return to "decency" and "courtesy" in his speech at the 1993 conference.[17]
The Conservatives were projected to lose the next election in 1995. In his speech at the 1995 conference, defense secretary and leadership hopefulMichael Portillo said in his speech that "TheSAS has a famous motto:Who dares wins. We will dare, we will win.”[17] This was disliked by the wider public, and Portillo later said the reference "was ill-judged".[18] The Conservatives later lost the 1997 election and Portillo lost his seat.[17]
At the 2003 conference inBlackpool, party leaderIain Duncan Smith stated in his speech; "to the prime minister, I say this: the quiet man is here to stay, and he's turning up the volume!"[14] This line was not successful.[17]
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron headed the 2015 conference in Manchester. On its opening day, a protest of up to 60 thousandanti-austerity protestors marched in Manchester, with a small group of protestersegging a young Conservative member attending the event.[19] Party chairmanAndrew Feldman had emailed members to remove their Conservative Party branded identification badges when outside the venue.[20]
Theresa May made her speech on 6 October,[21] and Cameron made his speech on 7 October. During his speech, he attacked Labour for not helping working people, labelledJeremy Corbyn as soft onISIS andOsama bin Laden, addressed a "refugee crisis," and made a defence ofEU membership.[22]
At the 2016 conference in Birmingham, Prime Minister Theresa May addressed the conference on its opening day in her speech "Global Britain: Making a success ofBrexit."[8]
At the 2017 conference in Manchester, May suffered from a combination of a prankster handing her aP45,Philip Hammond giving her alozenge for a hacking cough, and a letter on the set falling off behind her during her speech.[23][14]
At the 2018 conference, May danced onto the stage for her speech on 3 October toABBA'sDancing Queen in reference to her previous dancing during a visit toSouth Africa, and also made reference to the letter that had fallen from the backdrop at the 2017 event.[24][25] During the speech, she made several policy pledges including the end ofausterity, lifting caps on local authorities borrowing to build newcouncil houses, setting new targets for earlycancer detection and continuing the freeze onfuel duty.[26]
Kong Linlin, a Chinese state journalist withCCTV+, was charged withcommon assault after an incident at the conference during an event on the “erosion of freedom” ofHong Kong; the case was discontinued on the advice of theCrown Prosecution Service and theEmbassy of China in London commented on the incident.[27] An app developed for the conference, announced by party chairmanBrandon Lewis as "the first 'interactive' conference app", led toleaks of members' phone numbers including that ofBoris Johnson.[28]
The 2019 conference was held in Manchester. Parliament voted to reject the government's request for the traditional three-day parliamentary "conference recess" by a margin of 17 votes due to opposition parties refusing to back any suspension of parliament until the potentialno-deal Brexit on 31 October was averted, meaning that the conference clashed with the sitting of Parliament for the first time.[29]
At the conference, on 1 October, Conservative MPGeoffrey Clifton-Brown was removed from the event after attempting to bring a person without a relevant pass into the lounge and arguing with a member of staff.[30]
Boris Johnson's speech at the conference had Brexit as a central focus. During the speech, he stated that "we will under no circumstances have checks at or near theborder in Northern Ireland. We will respect the peace process and theGood Friday Agreement." He suggested that his proposal for a Brexit deal represented a compromise from the government to the EU, and that the alternative would be ano deal Brexit, stating that Parliament "refuses to deliver Brexit, refuses to do anything constructive and refuses to have an election." He called Labour a party of "fratricidalantisemiticMarxists".[31]
The 2020 conference was initially intended to be held in Birmingham. In July 2020, the party announced that it would be held in an online format due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, with key events livestreamed.[32][33]
Johnson's speech was held on 6 October. During the speech, he refuted rumours concerning his health, stated he would "fix the injustice ofcare home funding," and "fix ourbroken housing market."[34]
The 2021 conference, held in Manchester, was also headed by Johnson.[35]David Frost told the conference that Britain would trigger Article 16 safeguard measures in theNorthern Ireland Protocol if theEuropean Union failed to agree to changes to smooth trade with Northern Ireland.[36] Iain Duncan Smith was allegedly assaulted on the way to the conference by a group of five protesters using atraffic cone.[37] TwoWindrush campaigners were refused access to the conference on 4 October due to concerns that they may protest in the venue.[38]
In his speech on 6 October, Johnson announced fewer policies than usual, instead signalling a new philosophy in response tosupply chain problems and labour shortages.[35]
Liz Truss' speech at the 2022 conference at theICC Birmingham lasted 35 minutes, shorter than usual for speeches by party leaders at the conference. During the speech, she stated that she would bring the country through "stormy days" and oppose the "anti-growth coalition," which she said included opposition parties,unions andenvironmental campaigners. The speech was interrupted byGreenpeace protesters.[39][14]
Mel B appeared at the conference to appeal for support fordomestic abuse victims.[40]
The 2023 conference was held inManchester from 1 to 4 October, and was the first to be held withRishi Sunak as leader of the party.[41] Prior to the event in July 2023, conference organisers dropped plans to charge journalists £137 each to attend, following a letter to the party signed by news organisations protesting the change.[42] In September, theAssociated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen announced train driver strikes targeting the conference on September 30 and October 4, as well as a ban on drivers' overtime work on September 29, and between October 2 and October 6.[43]
Discussion of the Manchester leg of theHigh Speed 2 (HS2) railway was prevalent in the conference due to leaks that its cancellation was under review.[44][45] A speech by former party leaderLiz Truss on 2 October, described byThe New York Times as "well-attended", argued thatcorporation tax should be cut.[46] During a speech bySuella Braverman, elected ConservativeLondon Assembly member andLGBT+ Conservatives patronAndrew Boff was removed from the conference by security staff and had his pass withdrawn after interrupting the speech by stating that "there's no such thing asgender ideology", after Braverman had described "gender ideology" as "poison".[47] Boff said that "trash about gender ideology is making our Conservative Party looktransphobic andhomophobic."[48][49]Nigel Farage attended the conference for the first time since 1988, prompting consideration on whether he would re-join the party.[50]
Sunak's speech took place on 4 October, and was an hour long. He announced the cancellation of the West Midlands to Manchester leg of HS2, stating that "the facts have changed." He also announced that £4 billion in funding would be reallocated from the railway to other transport schemes in sixnorthern city regions, and confirmed that the planned HS2 line would run intoEuston railway station.[51] Sunak also announced plans to scrapA-levels and replace them with an "Advanced British Standard" qualification.[52] He also positioned himself againstgender self-identification, stating "a man is a man, and a woman is a woman".[53]
The 2024 conference was held in Birmingham from 29 September to 2 October,[54] and followed the defeat of the Conservative Party at the general election of July 2024, and the resignation of Rishi Sunak as the party leader. The conference was used by leadership hopefuls in the2024 Conservative Party leadership election as a 'beauty parade' for the candidates.[55][56]
The 2025 conference was held inManchester from 5 to 8 October, and was the first to be held withKemi Badenoch as leader of the party.[57]