Conference bubbles, policy vacuums and fringe benefits

The party conferences were disappointingly light on policy detail, but good conversations took place outside the main halls, says Nick Hillman.

There is an episode of the classic sitcom Yes, Prime Minister called The National Education Service. It is about pretending to do something while actually doing nothing. After the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, that seems fitting.

The headlines might have been about the lack of clarity over the party’s stance on Brexit—Labour wants an election, and would accept another referendum, but cannot decide exactly what it should be about. I, however, spent most of my time in Liverpool attending events on the party’s proposed National Education Service. Even so, I did not learn anything specific about the NES.