Image: PA
The second day of the Conservative Party Spring Conference started with a more sombre and serious tone than yesterday. With atrocities still being committed in Ukraine by Russia, a day of standard domestic announcements have rightly taken a backseat.
The events to the East of Europe were brought home by the standing ovations given to Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UK who joined the audience to listen to speeches from the Defence Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister.
As Cabinet Ministers made their speeches, each paid tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian military and the defiance of their people against Russian incursion.
Brexit:
The morning started with a speech by Environment Secretary, George Eustice who paid tribute to Ukraine farmers who are still trying to plant their crops as missiles fly overhead. There have been plenty of videos circulating on social media showing how Ukraine farmers have been playing a defiant role – including those towing abandoned Russian tanks away in the face of collapsing moral amongst Russian forces.
“Peace, freedom and justice are only to be found where people are prepared to defend them”
Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace
However, it couldn’t be a Party Conference without the “B” word cropping up. The Secretary of State for Environment and Farming, George Eustice told the conference that UK farmers were already reaping the benefits of Brexit. He cited the example that farmers had become less reliant on chemicals, “every farmer knows that a healthy crop requires healthy soils.”
This was criticised on social media given the recent sign off by Ministers to lift the ban on the use of neonicotinoids to save the sugar beet harvest. Experts believe this will have a significant impact to the British bee population – killing thousands of bees.
Later in the morning, the Foreign Secretary even brought up the Northern Ireland protocol – calling for more flexibility from the EU. She said, “we will do what it takes to ensure all people in the United Kingdom are treated fairly.” Expect choppy waters in the weeks ahead.
Defending the impossible:
The Home Secretary was on combative form, defending the delay on the programme to approve the new community visa scheme for Ukraine refugees fleeing the conflict.
Priti Patel has been under significant pressure in recent weeks from backbench Conservative MPs on the speed and scale of the Government’s response to the worst humanitarian crisis since the 1940s. Standing up for freedom – a consistent theme of the morning, she told delegates “we will always stand for freedom and the values that are fundamental to our way of life.”
However, arguing in defence of the delay she told a silent audience that she was adhering to security advice. Citing this intelligence, she said there are people who would come to the UK that would harm our way of life and that it is right that appropriate checks were undertaken.
The hero of conference:
The conference hall filled for the man of the hour, Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace who opened his speech with a standing ovation for the Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK, who was in the audience.
Wallace told delegates that the invasion of Ukraine was not going to plan for President Putin. He said, “the Kremlin assumed that Ukraine would fall and the west would split – they didn’t.”
He promised that the UK can and will do more to help Ukraine and will be providing anti-aircraft missiles. He said there were now 450 UK soldiers in Poland and a battle group in Estonia. Typhoon jets have now been stationed in Romania and Bulgaria to fortify the Eastern border, should the Kremlin decide to attack Nato.
Praising the extra £24 billion for defence spending, he said many of the reforms that are underway within the Ministry of Defence “are right for the competitive age.” With calls by many Conservative MPs for an increase in defence spending following the invasion of Ukraine, the Defence Secretary was keen to highlight the £6.6 billion that is being invested in R&D that will help develop “world-class defence.”
As a Lancashire MP and as a nod to the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda, he also announced the new home of Defence Business Services will be based in Blackpool.
Ambassador to the UK. Image: Sky News
With the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War this year, Mr Wallace ended his speech with the famous phrase once given by the then Prime Minister, Mrs Thatcher. “Peace, freedom and justice are only to be found where people are prepared to defend them – that remains the case today. Freedom prevails. Slava Ukraini!”
A solemn tone:
Following a lengthy standing ovation, next up was the Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss. It is always hard to follow a good speech at conference – particularly when it is sandwiched between Ben Wallace and Boris Johnson. In a solemn tone, Truss told delegates “We’ve stepped up by leading the global charge on sanctions that fund Putin’s war.”
Many in the room raising an eyebrow at how long it took to get the Government to act on dirty Russian money flowing through London.
In the hope of a rapturous applause from the audience waiting for the Prime Minister, she said “We stand up to bullies, we fight for freedom and we galvanise our allies around the world.” As solid clap came when she said, “we cannot rest until Ukraine’s sovereignty is restored.”
She ended by telling conference in a defiant tone that “Putin must loose in Ukraine and with Britain at the forefront we will ensure he does.”
Culture Wars:
In one of the most shocking statement of the conference, Minister for Equalities Liz Truss told delegates “We must end the culture of self-doubt” claiming that we have an over reliance on pronouns. This isn’t the first public attack on the trans community by the Minister, but it was certainly the first at a party conference. It used to be the case that support for equal marriage received standing ovations at conservative party conferences, now attacks on pronouns do.
Truss’ position on trans rights have come under scrutiny for several months now and has resulted in party members calling for more dignity and respect.
sovereignty is restored.” Image: Sky News
It’s a choice between freedom and oppression:
A Conservative Party Conference traditionally finishes with an upbeat speech by the Leader of the Party and this conference was no different. This time however, the eyes of the world are watching. Boris Johnson is not normally careful with his words, and the hall knows it. One wrong phrase could cause significant escalation in the conflict and relations between the West and Russia.
Boris Johnson opened his speech calling the Russian invasion of Ukraine “A vicious and barbarian attack,” the likes which we haven’t seen since the 1940s. To strong applause he said we stand with the Ukrainian people.
The Prime Minister said, “it is clear that Putin has made a catastrophic mistake.” He believes that Putin fears the Ukrainian example, their free press and democracy. In a warning to the West, he said a victorious Putin will not stop in Ukraine – “it is so important that it fails.” In a sobering statement to be made at Party Conference, he said that if Putin is not stopped, it will be the green light for autocrats everywhere calling it “a turning point for the world.”
Highlighting eight of the Shadow Labour frontbench who voted for the scrapping of a nuclear deterrent, the Prime Minister told conference, “With every day that passes, Putin becomes an advertisement for the system he despises.” He said, “everyday it becomes more important that we stick up for freedom under the law.”
On domestic affairs, and with Covid cases soaring he committed to rolling out a fourth vaccination booster campaign, “because you’re going to need it.” He also said that the Government will do all they can to help people with cost-of-living by building a strong economy – repeating that the UK is the fastest growing economy in the G7 following the pandemic. This statement has been widely panned by economists explaining that the UK economy shrunk the most during the pandemic.
Using that all too often used phrase, the Prime Minister said it is time to “take back control” of our energy supplies and committed to setting out a British energy security strategy. He said Rishi Sunak will offer some help to people with their energy bills in the Spring Statement but promised not to abandon commitments to renewable targets following the UK’s Presidency of COP26. This was in stark contrast to the Party Chairman’s speech on Friday where he called for an end to “Net Zero dogma.”
Final Thought:
The theme of the two-day conference was set out in one statement by the Prime Minister “It’s a choice between freedom and oppression.”
This was a sombre conference for dangerous times, Boris Johnson was even a little serious at times.
Party members had clearly stayed away, just look at the empty seats in the hall yesterday. This is likely down to booking a conference for a Friday and the anger of party members at Downing Street Parties, but today there was one seat notably filled.
Speeches in front of the Ukraine Ambassador in the audience highlight the dangers facing the world today. The UK has delivered significant support for the Ukrainian people, but as the reaction to the Home Secretary’s speech showed, Conservative Party members will not accept dither and delay.
It was only a few weeks ago that Boris Johnson was likely to lose his job. Putin’s invasion has not just unified the West but led to the unification of the Conservative Party in support of the Prime Minister.
A week is a long time in politics, but after Ukraine, Boris Johnson is now almost certain to lead the Conservative Party into the next General Election.