For much of this Tory conference in Manchester, the world’s oldest and once most successful democratic party looked like it was teetering on the edge of oblivion.
Key shadow ministers were delivering their speeches to empty seats, people slept in the main hall, corporates had deserted in terms of stalls, and there were vast open spaces in a sparsely attended Manchester Central conference centre; the buzz of previous years replaced by an echoing despondency.
