Conference season draws to a close... with perhaps the most explosive fireworks saved until last

For years, hardline Eurosceptics kept their spirits up at fringe events, and were marginalised by the leadership. In a remarkable turnaround, they are the Tory establishment now

Confused message: letters fall off the backdrop as Theresa May speaks during a Tory conference (Getty)

The annual conferences of the political parties have become increasingly stage-managed during the 39 years I have been covering them. But they still have the capacity to go very wrong.

Although the party machines go to great lengths to head off disasters under the media spotlight, the best-laid plans often go awry. Labour spent months drawing up a raft of policy initiatives, but some were overshadowed at its conference by infighting sparked by the left’s botched attempt to abolish Tom Watson – well, his deputy leader’s post anyway. Sometimes, conferences can be eclipsed by events elsewhere; the Supreme Court ruling against Boris Johnson united Labour and it left Brighton on a high.

On Sunday, the Conservatives gather in Manchester for what Team Boris wants to be a shameless pro-Brexit rally with the simple but effective slogan “Get Brexit Done”. The traditional set-piece speaking slots for cabinet ministers have been pared back to just four – Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid, Priti Patel and Gavin Williamson – before Johnson’s closing speech, due on Wednesday.