Given that bombing London turned out to increase its long term GDP by improving density, I do wonder if we might persuade the Luftwaffe to engage in some targeted destruction of the worst brutalist carbuncles in recompense for their past misdeeds. Arriving in Birmingham, I quickly realised just how cruel the ‘dump’ jibe had been looking at the rows of concrete, I could see this was a city that had clearly suffered cruelly at the hands of the German bombers.Īnd indeed it did, but as Ed West and John Myers have pointed out much of the damage was done by post-war planners. While I was safely wondering how to respond to a Queen’s pawn opening. As an added bonus, Berry had told interviewers that people feeling the pinch should simply cut spending or get a better job, while a young Tory had got himself into trouble by describing Birmingham as a “dump”.Īll this meant that the atmosphere around the Conference was nicely febrile that morning. Unfortunately, nobody appeared to have told Party Chairman Jake Berry, who was busy threatening to withdraw the whip from MPs who voted against it. Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng were starting to think that cutting the 45p tax rate might not be the best idea. Meanwhile, events at Conference were proceeding in fine fashion. If only he knew someone who had a chance to improve British infrastructure over the last decade! While I played chess with friends from the Spectator, a former Cabinet Minister sat opposite grew steadily more frustrated before bailing out to get a taxi from the next station. Then they threatened to send us back to the previous station, before eventually going forward again. ![]() First we were kicked off the train and shuffled onto a new one. Or I would have been, if not for the delights of British rail. Swept from the concourse to a seat, I was at least on my way. A football away day, but for politics nerds. The crackling of the tannoy was followed by a stampede of bespectacled men, like a tanless version of the Lion King. Instead, you want to watch out for the mad rush that follows them. If you are going to Conservative Conference, you don’t need to pay attention to the platform announcements. My first observations were made at Euston station yesterday afternoon. These are my notes on this most peculiar tribe. The sort of person who willingly drags themselves to Birmingham to spend three nights in a vastly overpriced budget hotel despite train strikes and screaming protestors is a special sort, rarely found in normal society. ![]() ![]() As a first time Conservative Party Conference attendee, there are more than a few anthropological oddities on display.
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