Conferences 2011

Manchester 2011: What the Conservatives are thinking

Here's what was going through their heads at Manchester '11

The natural party of government appears to have its swagger back.

Birmingham 2011: What the Lib Dems are thinking

Miliband conference speech 2011: Reactions

Harriet Harman's 2011 conference speech in full

Conference speech sketch: Centre-ground Cameron's theatre of deception

He looked like a Thunderbirds puppet. But it was David Cameron pulling the strings

It sounded right-wing, so the Tory party fell about in adoration of their leader. Didn't they notice his speech was all about retaking the centre?

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Clarke shrugs off PM's cat jokes

Ken Clarke has not taken the prime minister's jibes to heart he insists.

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Cameron speech analysis: 5 key moments

Cabinet secretaries watch Cameron's speech, which spent some time mocking them.

Five key moments from today's conference speech and what they tell us about David Cameron and the Conservative party.

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'Between honesty and optimism': Cabinet praises Cameron speech

Cameron's speech attracted fulsome praise from those in the hall

Iain Duncan Smith and Ken Clarke have praised the prime minister for a speech which struck the right balance between "truth, honesty and optimism".

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Final recognition? Tory conference cheers gay marriage

Proposal to legalise gay marraige recieves warm reception at conference

Gay marriage was the surprise crowd pleaser of the Conservative party conference, as delegates cheered the prospect of legalising same-sex marriages.

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David Cameron speech in full

David Cameron: 'Next year let’s make sure we back Boris, beat Ken and keep London Conservatives'

Read David Cameron's keynote conference speech in full, on politics.co.uk.

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Slip-ups, GDP and poll ratings threaten to derail Cameron speech

Cameron was forced to tweak a line in his speech today.

A slip-up over credit card debt, poor GDP figures and some gloomy poll results all conspired to derail David Cameron's speech to conference this afternoon.

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William Hague speech in full

William Hague: 'When the hour of crisis came, our prime minister had the steel'

Read William Hague's speech to the Conservative party conference in full, on politics.co.uk.

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Liam Fox speech in full

Liam Fox: 'It is these things that make Britain great'

Read Liam Fox's speech to the Conservative party conference in full, on politics.co.uk.

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Bad timing: UK growth revised down before Cameron speech

Critics suggest that subdued spending under austerity will affect UK growth

David Cameron's attempt to outline an optimistic vision for the British economy was marred by depressing GDP figures today.

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MPs 'drinking heavily' before votes

Knocking them back: Many MPs drink wine in the afternoon before voting.

MPs are often so drunk they can barely stand up while voting in the Commons, an MP has admitted.

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Cat-gate continues: Downing Street backs May

Clarke's suede shoes sit beside May's animal print high heels during happier times

Downing Street has decided to back Theresa May in her spat with Ken Clarke, despite widespread reports suggesting her speech contained factual inaccuracies

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Andrew Lansley speech in full

Andrew Lansley: 'We all of us know how much NHS staff do for us'

Read Andrew Lansley's speech to the Conservative party conference in full on politics.co.uk.

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'Cat-gate': May's speech rubbished for false claim

Theresa May was the butt of conference jokes today after her speech lambasting the Human Rights Act was found to be inaccurate.

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Cameron: I agree with Ed Miliband

Cameroon and Miliband share views on business ethics - but not solutions

David Cameron agreed with Ed Miliband's assessment of business ethics even though he questioned his prescriptions, the prime minister has admitted.

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Boris promises arrests for swearing at police

Boris Johnson's speech was attacked by Labour

Action will be taken so that police can arrest members of the public for swearing at them, Boris Johnson has promised.

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Comment: It's unpatriotic to ban swearing at police

Ian Dunt: 'It’s quite plain that were this law to be actively enforced it would contradict free speech.'

Boris Johnson's quest to ban swearing at police is wrong, short-sighted and counter-productive.

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Theresa May speech in full

Theresa May: Police officers aren’t social workers, they’re there to stop crime

Read Theresa May's speech to the Conservative party conference in full on politics.co.uk.

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Comment: Boris' jokes face a serious test

Boris Johnson's handlers could allow him more free rein in 2012

Boris' ability to make people laugh is a formidable, if unusual, political weapon. The way he wields it in next year's mayoral election will be a critical test.

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Latest News

Pressure, not wrongdoing, forced Hunt ex-spad Adam Smith's resignation

Adam Smith quit as Jeremy Hunt's special adviser over his 'inappropriate' contacts with News Corp's Fred Michel

Failing hospitals test gets go-ahead

Family and friends test to be put to all NHS hospital patients from April 2013

The memo that brings Hunt scandal to Cameron's door

Reason to be concerned? The memo raises problems for Cameron.

Confirmed: Double-dip recession even worse than feared

Chancellor George Osborne faces a double-dip recession

No 10 unleashes Tory gay marriage opposition with free vote move

New York has already opened its doors to gay marriage

No eurozone answers as crisis drifts on

David Cameron wants 'decisive action soon'

Must try harder: £35bn remains in uncollected tax

HMRC: Are spending cuts becoming self-defeating?

Leveson vs Paxman: 'You could become an irrelevance'

Paxman: "Your challenge will be to stop yourself becoming a total irrelevance."

Cameron lashes out: Ed Balls branded a "muttering idiot"

Balls managed to rile up the prime minister today

Special event coverage

Festival of Social Sciences: Celebrating the Social Sciences

Evidence-based policy should not be a radical concept. It needs to be celebrated.

Festival of Social Sciences: 2 languages: 2 brains, 2 minds, 2 cultures?

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, the Deafness Cognition And Language Research Centre (DCAL) hosted an event exploring the powerful benefits of bilingualism in spoken and sign languages, for hearing and deaf people alike - benefits that reach hearing and deaf people alike.

Opinion Former Events

Voice: Feeling stressed? Understand yourself? Now, move forward Conference

Application forms are now available for an exciting conference in Manchester. The fun-packed day will give you practical solutions and advice on managing stress and time to help you achieve a work/life balance.

BHA: The Marriage Debate - ‘This house would legalise same-sex marriage in England and Wales'

Two weeks before the Government’s consultation on same-sex marriage draws to a close, Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association is participating in a debate hosted by Catholic Voices on the motion, ‘This House Would Legalise Same-Sex Marriage’.

BSIA: Information Destruction Exhibition and Conference

This one-day event is targeted at professionals operating in the information destruction industry, and aims at keeping delegates updated on recent developments in their sector, providing an opportunity to network with fellow professionals, whilst offering access to an informative exhibition and a comprehensive conference programme.

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