The thick of it

The prime minister has attempted to appeal to young voters by changing her policy on tuition fees, but it turns out to be more of a tweak than a revolution.

The Conservative Party has arrived in Manchester for its annual conference. When the venue was booked sometime last year it was no doubt supposed to resonate with David Cameron’s and George Osborne’s ambitions for a Northern Powerhouse and plans to make headway into Labour’s crumbling heartlands.

One year later, the Conservatives look like a party out of place. Surrounded by multiple protest marches and with cabinet ministers on manoeuvres in a seemingly endless leadership contest, the Tories looked as if they were at risk of toppling over in the autumn winds that swept through the city yesterday.