By GB News (Politics) | Created at 2026-10-05 15:31:48 | Updated at 2026-10-05 17:12:45
2 hours ago
Rewind three years ago, and Nigel Farage was a fan-favourite at the Conservative Party's annual jamboree.
The ex-Brexit Party leader, who admittedly was once a card-carrying Conservative, was dancing the night away alongside then-Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel.
They say a week is a long time in politics, but making it all the way to 2026 shows just how fragmented the Right of British politics has become.
Reform UK continues to secure dozens of bolts from the blue, including four in the House of Commons since the 2024 General Election.
Traipsing around the conference hall shows there is little appetite to engage with the former Tories, notably referred to as "turncoats" in Birmingham this weekend.
A Conservative veteran told GB News: "All of the people who made it difficult last year have buggered off now and we are much more united than a year ago."
They added: "It's a proper fight now and, frankly, I couldn't care less about the £72million donations. We are up for it."
That view is also shared by Kemi Badenoch herself. "I’m not worried about that £72million," Mrs Badenoch told the 1922-ConHome Party last night.
"Michael Bloomberg spent a billion dollars on his presidential campaign and he didn’t even get the nomination."
It still did not stop some Reform UK troublemakers from briefing out that Shadow Housing Secretary Katie Lam had been mulling over a defection after meeting with a close ally of Mr Farage last year.
Ms Lam, who was earmarked as a key defection target, denied any suggestion that the meeting was about her political future.
However, the Weald of Kent MP failed to kill off all speculation after opening the door to doing a Brexit deal with Mr Farage himself.
The Conservative Party is selling items at the conference centre
GB NEWS
Stitched up: Nigel Farage, GB News and Labour's woes woven into Tory tapestry
But perhaps the place where the disdain for Mr Farage was most clearly on display was on the so-called "Birmingham Tapestry".
The Clacton MP appeared repeatedly on the Tories' 88-foot-long mock-up, including in a scene showing his by-election showdown with Count Binface in August.
Other big beasts in Reform UK also made the cut, with both Robert Jenrick and Zia Yusuf making an appearance.
And GB News stars Christopher Hope, Tom Harwood and Keith Bays also featured on the eleventh-century mock-up.
The "Birmingham Tapestry" was intended to portray the story of Mrs Badenoch's rise as Tory leader.
However, it was much more about Labour's failures.
The main exhibition hall was significantly smaller than both Reform UK's and Labour's
GB NEWS
From the Chagos Islands to the Lord Mandelson scandal, Sir Keir Starmer's legacy was left in tatters.
Andy Burnham, who only became Prime Minister in July, did not escape the medieval mockery either.
It will come as no surprise that Labour's very own mischief-makers were up for a fight with the Tories.
A rival mock-up served as a not-so-friendly reminder to the Tories about the party's final days in power.
Boris Johnson's partygate antics paled next to the digs at Liz Truss's mini-budget and the lettuce that outlasted the former South West Norfolk MP.
The 'Birmingham Tapestry' depicted Nigel Farage against Count Binface
GB NEWS
Lost in Birmingham: Youthful cheers and Disraeli at the silent disco
The mood is certainly more upbeat in Birmingham compared to the Tory Party's wake in Manchester last year.
"It is fantastic that this year there are 50 per cent more young people attending our conference," Mrs Badenoch beamed to a chorus of youthful applause.
However, scratch beneath the surface, and the mood music still fails to take the Conservative Party back to where it was under Boris Johnson.
The main hall and exhibition space are undoubtedly quieter compared to Reform UK's Birmingham bonanza last month.
GB News is set up in the middle of the ICC
GB NEWS
But the ICC's sprawling and spiralling layout hardly makes for an accessible conference venue.
"I'm just trying to find where the f**k I am going," one regular attendee told GB News.
Another veteran visitor argued the legacy of one of Britain's greatest Prime Ministers was reduced to a quiet corner of the ICC.
"I feel like Disraeli deserves more than that," they said. "The grandfather of modern conservatism finds himself consigned to a tiny corner and a silent disco."
"Never complain, never explain," as the great man supposedly advised Queen Victoria.
What would Churchill do? ECHR rebels refuse to go quietly
It was a year ago to the day that Mrs Badenoch announced anyone backing the European Convention on Human Rights would be barred from standing as a Conservative candidate.
"If you do not agree with leaving the ECHR, then you should not and cannot stand as a Conservative candidate at the next election," she told GB News.
She added one caveat: ECHR supporters could still remain party members.
The announcement sparked a string of U-turns from ambitious MPs keen to keep their path back to Westminster open after 2029.
Tom Tugendhat, appointed Shadow Foreign Secretary in Mrs Badenoch's recent reshuffle, had to backpedal on his blunt rejection of leaving the Strasbourg court in 2024.
A four-part pamphlet was distributed featuring Winston Churchill's face
GB NEWS
But former ministers Tobias Ellwood, Sir David Lidington and Sir Robert Buckland were among those at the ICC who still want Britain to remain part of the ECHR.
A leaflet bearing a black-and-white image of Winston Churchill sought to convince Conservative members that Mrs Badenoch was wrong.
The four-point pamphlet talks up Britain's role, claims the ECHR does not require open borders, stresses parliamentary sovereignty and highlights the value of an international guarantee.
Not every moderate in Birmingham has given up on a return to Westminster, however.
Penny Mordaunt, who once declared that trans women are women, was also at the ICC and is confident she can still stand at the next election.
Over in Gibraltar's corner of the conference, the Rock's annual Reception was packed to the rafters
Malbec on the Rock: Gibraltar toasts Tories with Argentine wine
Over in Gibraltar's corner of the conference, the Rock's annual Reception was packed to the rafters.
Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia thanked the Conservative Party for its longstanding support, saying Gibraltar had "for decades counted on the support of the Conservative Party", whether in Government or Opposition.
He also praised the new UK-EU Treaty, signed in July, for bringing greater certainty to people and businesses on the Rock.
Dr Garcia was clear that the agreement does not touch Gibraltar's sovereignty and he even extended a hand to his cousins on the Falkland Islands.
However, guests reaching for a top-up may have raised a few eyebrows.
Among the drinks on offer was Project Malbec, a red wine from Mendoza in Argentina.
Sovereignty may not be negotiable, but the wine list clearly is.
