Podcast Summary

Podcast: LSE: Public lectures and events
Episode: Analysis of the Party Conferences 2013
Date: October 3, 2013
Host: LSE Film and Audio Team
Guest: Professor Tony Travers

Overview

This episode features Professor Tony Travers analyzing the 2013 UK party conference season, focusing on the three main parties: the Liberal Democrats, Labour, and Conservatives. The conversation explores each party's strategies, standout moments, and the wider implications for British politics leading up to the 2015 general election. The episode also addresses the external controversies that overshadowed the conferences and considers their impact on party fortunes and the broader relationship between the press and politics.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Importance of the 2013 Conference Season

• (00:15) Professor Travers notes that while party conferences are often dismissed as staged political theater, this year’s conferences "did change the political weather, however slightly."
  • Quote: “It's very easy... to say, oh, dear, we've got to go to the party conferences. They're all staged. It doesn't make any difference. But actually... it did change the political weather, however slightly.” – Tony Travers (00:15)

2. Liberal Democrats: A Campaign of Differentiation

• (00:53) The Liberal Democrats focused on distinguishing themselves from their coalition partners, the Conservatives, ahead of the 2015 general election.
• They began “to look to separate themselves out” with the goal of being able to claim both achievements and differences from the Conservatives.
• The party’s positioning suggested readiness for coalition with either major party in the future.
  • Quote: “They've begun to flesh out for themselves a position of saying, well, we can control the Conservative Party, we can control the Labour Party.” – Tony Travers (01:24)

3. Labour: Headline-Grabbing and a Leftward Shift

• (02:01) Labour’s conference was seen as the most impactful, largely due to Ed Miliband’s strong speech.
• Miliband faced pre-conference criticism over the party’s direction, but his announcements on freezing energy prices and cutting small business rates both clarified Labour’s position and shifted it slightly to the left.
• Labour positioned itself as the “party of the many against an imagined few,” seizing the political initiative that “set the weather” for the season.
  • Quote: “He set out a position... trying to position Labour as the party of the many against an imagined few, real or imagined few. And I think that worked.” – Tony Travers (02:58)

4. Conservatives: Unity in the Face of External Pressures

• (03:25) The Conservative conference was notably unified, despite the presence of Nigel Farage and UKIP.
• Farage’s attendance arguably “pushed the Conservatives closer together, made them more disciplined.”
• David Cameron’s speech responded to Labour’s leftward move, warning against a return to “the Labour Party of the 70s” and its associated difficulties.
  • Quote: “I think all Tories know that Nigel Farage is... one of the most likely instruments to get Ed Miliband into Downing Street.” – Tony Travers (03:39)

5. External Issues Overshadowing the Conferences

• (04:52) Key external events affected both Labour and Conservative conferences.
  • Labour: Damien McBride’s memoirs were a “nasty moment” but did not derail Miliband’s successful speech.
  • Conservatives: The US government shutdown and the Daily Mail’s attack on Ralph Miliband (Ed and David Miliband’s father) overshadowed proceedings.
• The Daily Mail episode allowed Ed Miliband to appear strong and drew rare support from some Conservatives, helping to humanize him and unite the political class against the press.
  • Quote: “[The article] did overshadow the Conservative Party Conference... gave Ed Miliband an opportunity to look strong and to appear to be in a much more powerful position.” – Tony Travers (06:29)
  • Quote: “In fairness to a number of Conservatives, they have come to his support, I mean, quite strongly recently.” – Tony Travers (06:46)

6. Long-Term Impact: Politics and the Press

• (07:39) The spat between Ed Miliband and the Daily Mail is likely to influence the broader debate on press regulation and the post-Leveson landscape, affecting the “mood music” and potentially changing the politics-press relationship.
  • Quote: “There's no question that it will affect the mood music.” – Tony Travers (07:43)

Memorable Moments and Notable Quotes

• Ed Miliband’s Conference Performance:
  “It reinforced the idea that Miliband can make a good speech and... set the weather for the rest of the conference season.” – Tony Travers (02:13)

• On Nigel Farage’s Impact:
  “If anything, [Farage’s presence] pushed the Conservatives closer together, made them more disciplined.” – Tony Travers (03:32)

• Daily Mail vs. Miliband:
  “Gave Ed Miliband an opportunity to look strong and to appear to be in a much more powerful position than he'd been seem to be hitherto.” – Tony Travers (06:29)

Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------| | 00:15 | Significance of 2013 conference season | | 00:53 | Liberal Democrats’ strategy and conference highlights | | 02:01 | Labour’s conference and Ed Miliband’s impact | | 03:25 | Conservative unity and response to Labour | | 04:52 | External controversies overshadowing conferences | | 07:39 | The changing politics-press relationship |

Conclusion

Professor Tony Travers concludes that the 2013 conference season was notably more consequential than many expected. Labour set the political terms with high-impact policies and a strong leader performance, while the Liberal Democrats sought distinction from their coalition partners, and the Conservatives displayed unity. External dramas—from political memoirs to media attacks—altered the mood and provided unexpected platforms, especially for Ed Miliband. These events are expected to reverberate, influencing both the lead-up to the 2015 general election and the ongoing debate around press regulation.