Number 10 will breathe a sigh of relief that the Conference went, mostly, without the usual dramas and distractions. Yes, the Mayor of Manchester dominated by-lines about a potential run for the top office at the start, but he was high-tailing it back to Spinningfields by the time Starmer stood up to speak and decry the “politics of division”. And although David Lammy’s references to the Hitler Youth had to be quickly clarified, they have been quietly ignored by Reform in favour of other retorts.
Like any hangover, though, only after the proletarian prosecco corks popped in the Pullman hotel bar, problems began rearing their heads. The behaviour of Labour’s conferencing team, and whatever Svengalian figures lurk behind them, will prove to dominate Labour’s new interpretations of civil liberties. Passes revoked mid-conference, democratically elected Mayors denied entry, and panel attendees harangued into cancelling events by organisations that receive taxpayer funding. It does not bode well for a Renewed Britain.
Owen Jones, formerly the doyen of the Corbynite media circus and prolific vox-popper, had his pass revoked as soon as he arrived on station. Sure, Owen was there to be a rabble-rouser — his thoughts on Keir Starmer and his government aren’t exactly opaque — but the Party has decreed that the Labour Conference would be a good time for those attending, and that’s the final word. It is, as one journalist remarked to me, a holiday away from the dire realities of SW1.
Then comes poor Matthew Tobitt, the former Labour adviser and popular media commentator for new-right media platforms such as GBNews, TalkTV, and other platforms. He’s Blue Labour to his core, and was at a GBNews party until he tried to move back into the conference area for another reception, only to find his pass revoked. This has come as a shock to many in commentary circles. Matthew had only been speaking on a panel earlier in the day, praised by popular Labour MPs, and soon found himself stranded amongst Shouty Steve the Brexit man and other protestors.
Japan Tobacco International, the makers of Benson & Hedges, experienced similar tactics
Democratically elected officials were also at the mercy of the Labour Party’s questionable freedom of speech approach. Paul Bristow, the former Conservative MP and freshly elected Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough found his pass to be revoked on entrance to the secure zone. But as readers can tell, a pattern is emerging — if the Party assumes there is an agenda, then there is a course for action.
These revocations were issued, from what we know, on safeguarding grounds — another nanny state vaguerism to cover all sorts of haram behaviours. Whether it’s puffing on a cigar in an adults only cigar lounge, or having a gamble in an adult gaming sector, or even heinously watching a recording of a protest which could offend the Online Safety Act. These perversions of state-control ideology are indicative of a wider strategy at play — nothing is sacred and to be upheld if it is perceived to cause harm, real or otherwise.
Even for corporate sponsors of Labour’s expensive shindig, free-speech remained a failed shibboleth. Japan Tobacco International, the makers of Benson & Hedges, Amber Leaf, and Nordic Spirit, and a company which props up corner shops and the Exchequer with its products, experienced similar tactics. A Police and Crime Commissioner, MP, and Council Leader had accepted invitations to speak on a panel to discuss to discuss the future of the British High Street, when the nanny-state lobby group Action on Smoking and Health (which recently called for additional cigarette-style regulations on alcohol) began aggressively pressuring these speakers into withdrawing. Phone calls, emails, an arsenal of public affairs intimidation were used to achieve their aim. The Labour Party did nothing to stop this — and allowed an event to be closed at the behest of an organisation which takes £83,000 a year from taxpayers to lobby the government.
When Keir Starmer pushed back against criticism of the Online Safety Act from concerned parties, he argued that Britain “fiercely” protects Freedom of Speech. But this conference shows that this is all talk and no walk. Whilst my own organisation enjoyed a standing-room only panel on energy policy (ably assisted by The Spectator’s own Michael Simmons), the general perception of this Government’s understanding of Freedom of Speech has been greatly shaken. Starmer, Hermer, and the other ministers who occupy Whitehall would remember the foundations of Labour lie in the freedoms to associate, speak, and apply one’s thoughts, however provocative and disruptive.
