The joy of conference season

IT'S AUTUMN and for the British political establishment that can mean only one thing party conference season. 

As politicians and party members meet for the last time before next year's General Election MP's are feeling the pressure to reassure people that they will be fighting fit for the campaigns ahead of them. The conferences are politicians opportunity to try out new ideas before committing to them in their manifestos. It is the equivalent of Paris or London fashion week for political junkies as they get a peek at the upcoming policies on offer. 

This year has been no different as the key parties look back at the mistakes and successes of the past year and lay out their future plans. 

For Prime Minister David Cameron it is an opportunity for back slapping over the debatable success of the Scottish referendum. For Labour it was a chance to prove that they had moved forward from its defeat at the last General Election and was ready for a new future. For the Liberal Democrats it is a time to demonstrate that they still exist, something which hasn't always been obvious since it joined the coalition government. 

As always though it is the crackpots and cranks which lead the way and monopolise the news cycle, which could explain the amount of coverage given to the UKIP party conference despite it having no MP's in Parliament.

It also a chance for individual politicians to flex their muscles and attempt to stand out from the crowd. It was no surprise to many that London Mayor Boris Johnson was among the forefront of this particular group.

In true Boris style he managed to someone try and stabilise the Conservatives and reaffirm his support for Mr Cameron while stealthily positioning himself as the saviour of the party.

Speaking at a fringe meeting ahead of his formal speech on Tuesday Mr Johnson demonstrated this ability with his usual panache.

"It is only if the great conservative family unites and we stop Ed Miliband seizing back control of this country that we will be able to deliver the referendum that this country wants and deserves," Johnson told activists.

"I say to the quitters, the splitters and the 'Kippers, there is only one party that can sort out the European issue."

"When you look at the vast leads that this party enjoys on the key questions of the economy and prime ministerial qualities, I think they (voters) will come over in droves," he said.

Being entirely honest though, while there is a certain interest in hearing plans for the future and debating which ones may actually make the grade, it is for the blunders which many will get the most entertainment. Staying true to form Labour leader Ed Milliband provided the greatest faux par so far by forgetting to mention the deficit in his speech, after all who would think the economy would be an important point.

With the Tories suffering body blows from defections and resignations, Labour trying to persuade people that Mr Milliband isn't completely incompetent, the Liberal Democrats pleading for someone to throw them a life ring and UKIP posturing on its overblown ego if the conference season is a good opening to the political season then the election campaign should be interesting to watch at the very least.

Clean sweep for Cameron

David Cameron's highly anticipated cabinet reshuffle is starting to looking more like a clearing of the old guard than a change for the better. 

Just as Tony Blair tried to reinvent his party into New Labour Mr Cameron's changes are being seen by some analysts as a clean sweep to try and change the party and recoup ground after recent humiliating losses to UKIP and over Europe.

The two most notable scalps to step down are Ken Clark and William Hague.

Known eurosceptic Phillip Hammond is expected to leave his post as defence secretary, leaving space for Ian Duncan Smith to move out of the Department for Work and Pensions, where he has had a controversial time as the minister.

Despite reflecting a rise in Eurosceptic ministers the real focus of the reshuffle is the increase in the number of female members of the cabinet. It seems unlikely that Mr Cameron will meet his 2010 election pledge of having a third of his cabinet as women, however, this could represent the greatest move to equality in government for some time.

Explaining his decision to step down as foreign secretary Mr Hague said: "By the time of the general election next year, I will have served 26 years in the House of Commons and it will be 20 years since I first joined the cabinet. In government there is a balance to strike between experience on the one hand and the need for renewal on the other, and I informed the prime minister last summer that I would not be a candidate at the next general election.

"Accordingly I am stepping aside as foreign secretary, in order to focus all my efforts on supporting the government in parliament and gaining a Conservative victory in the general election – after four years in which we have transformed Britain's links with emerging economies, significantly expanded our diplomatic network and the promotion of British exports, restored the Foreign Office as a strong institution, and set a course to a reformed European Union and a referendum on our membership of it."

Ahead of official announcements analysts have predicted that  Esther McVey, the employment minister and former breakfast television presenter, Liz Truss, the childcare minister, Nicky Morgan, the women's minister, Amber Rudd, the whip, Anna Soubry, the defence minister, Priti Patel and Margot James, members of the No 10 policy board will all be given key places on Mr Cameron's cabinet.

Mr Cameron is known to have avoided too many significant reshuffles during the government's time in power, preferring instead to promote an idea of stability in his leadership. The change in so many key figures ahead of the general election next year has created some concern among political observers though.

Commenting on a report published today Emma Norris, from the Institute for Government think tank warned that the reshuffle was "ill advised" with so many big policy announcements due before May.

"Any new minister has a big learning curve to climb – and if moved into post in July 2014, not long to climb it. The prime minister needs to balance the desire to refresh with the need to hang on to those who are at the forefront of overseeing his key reforms," she said.

"With the long-awaited reshuffle imminent, there are likely to be several changes among junior ministers. While this may or may not make for good party management, it threatens to disrupt policy implementation at the point when stability and focus are needed most."

Mr Cameron's new cabinet may play well with female voters, concerned about the lack of representation in government, and the increasing number eurosceptics. The loss of so much experience with the replacement of the Tory old guard, a continuing dominance of middle aged, affluent white men and a preponderance of 'yes men' in his inner circle could mean that Mr Cameron's ostensibly cynical electioneering gambit may backfire though as he fails to govern effectively over the coming months.