In a stale, windowless room in the ACC Liverpool last night, Labour ’s ruling NEC met after Keir Starmer ’s conference speech.
Instead of the spats that once dragged on for hours, a source said the meeting lasted about 40 minutes - and even left-wing members clapped the leader.
“Those meetings are usually nice these days,” said a loyal ally of Starmer. “But this one was *very* nice.”
Of course, the Labour left - supporters of Jeremy Corbyn, who once held a knife-edge balance of power on the NEC - have been decimated in the two years since Keir Starmer took power.
Rule changes, suspensions and expulsions - some over anti-Semitism allegations, but some branded arbitrary by those on the receiving end - and others throwing in the towel have chipped away at membership figures.
But the result was an atmosphere so calm that one Starmer ally branded it “unnerving” - while, all the while, financial markets collapsed in London after Kwasi Kwarteng ’s Tory mini-Budget. One of few blips was Rupa Huq, suspended for saying the Chancellor was "superficially black".
“I’ve noticed a lot more Tory lobbyists - the sort of people who are normally outside the Red Lion [a pub next to Parliament],” said one Labour figure.
“They’re really keen to engage with the Labour Party, especially given what happened on Friday. They think the Tories have lost their marbles.”
We spotted far fewer T-shirts, more turtle-neck sweaters, and even pinstriped suits. A lobbyist who has attended years of conferences told the Mirror it felt more “professional”.
“We’re telling our clients to prepare for Labour to be in government in some form – most likely a hung parliament – so they need to start getting closer to the party,” he said.
“The business forum sold out far in advance, and they’re holding a business conference later in the year.
“It shows businesses are realising they need to care about what Labour is saying now, and try to influence it.”
Baffled Tories are sitting in London agog at how the economy is collapsing.
Some letters of no confidence have gone to the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, but a challenge can’t be launched until September 2023.
“She's crackers but it would be crackers to defenestrate another one so quickly,” one Tory said. A Tory in government until recently said: “It’s going to be a s***show”.
A senior Tory source told the Mirror: “I’ve already refreshed my five year plan with my family. It feels like the end days.”
Even Iain Dale, a former Tory candidate turned broadcaster who’s voted Conservative for 12 years, told a conference fringe: “My vote is up for grabs.”
“I kind of want him to try and drag me in,” he said of Keir Starmer.
Against all this, the party leader gave a speech on Tuesday that declared 2022 a “Labour moment” - just like when Tony Blair took power in 1997.
A labour frontbencher told the Mirror: “I can finally breathe again.
“Watching Keir make his speech, I know he definitely believes that he can become Prime Minister… even though it’s taken some time. We’re finally ready.”
A Labour source in true red Liverpool was less hopeful, warning there are two long years to go before an election and seat selections could spark internal warfare.
And a source close to the leadership warned the “electoral map is very, very tough”, with Labour - still trailing third in Scotland - needing a bigger win than Tony Blair’s first landslide.
“We want to be in government and we’ve started to have a chance to be heard but there’s absolutely no complacency,” they said.
Many issues still haven’t been sorted out.
A former shadow minister said: “How can Labour be in power when labour doesn’t even have a plan to tackle anti-black racism? This problem will not go away.”
And for critics, the peace and unity in the halls of power has come at a price of internal democracy.
When delegates backed a £15 minimum wage and a landmark switch to proportional representation this week, Keir Starmer’s office suggested he will simply ignore it.
A furious campaigner told the Mirror: “They can’t just ignore hundreds of local parties. If that’s what they plan to do, then they’re even more stupid than I thought”.
The left-wing group Momentum - set up to back Jeremy Corbyn, who is still suspended from the Labour whip over comments about anti-Semitism - is claiming partial victory.
A source at the group claimed some key polices were “borrowed from the Corbyn playbook”, like public ownership of rail or a state-owned Great British Energy firm.
But sources also accuse the leadership of “pursuing factional warfare” (something each side is eternally accused of by the other).
Privately, left-wingers appear to admit their recovery could take many years. One pointed out they had an array of youth leaders.
“The pendulum will swing back to us in time,” they said.
As a 2024 election creeps closer, delegates should get used to the sight of the windswept, clean and modern but bleak conference centre in Liverpool.
A source said the venue has been blocked out for three years in a row - 2022, 2023 and 2024 - after years ping-ponging between Brighton and the banks of the Mersey.
After that, some in the party have looked at taking the gathering to Blackpool or Newcastle. One described the idea as still being “on the shelf” - given facilities in Blackpool might not be big enough for the number of delegates.
Sources say next year’s gathering is being pencilled in for mid-October - weeks later than usual and, crucially, after the Tory conference.
While a source said it was done with Jewish members in mind - not for the first time, this year’s conference clashed with the Jewish new year - it will also have a publicity benefit.
“It will definitely reinforce that image of a government in waiting before the 2024 election,” a source said.
The people running the Labour Party aren’t daring to dream just yet. But for the first time in a while, they’re daring to dare to dream.
