Hope, it seems, springs eternal in Tory breasts. No matter how disastrous the outlook might appear for their party, members can always cheer themselves up by exercising their right to choose new leaders, in the full knowledge that within months they will be plotting against them for not being “conservative” enough.
This time around, morale was boosted even more because a crucial stage in the usual post-disaster leadership battle coincided with the party’s annual conference. Conservatives like to feel noticed, and despite distracting happenings in the Middle East, the beauty contest staged in Birmingham was sure to win a place in the headlines.
