I swear that every year the introductions to leaders’ speeches at party conferences become more and more of a circus. Gone are the days of a weird music hall song by Jim Callaghan or a butchered Python joke by Mrs Thatcher, today we get a whole cavalcade of strangeness before the leader has even stepped on stage. So it was today as Mrs Badenoch addressed the Tory faithful.

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We were treated to Chris Philp and Nick Timothy as a sort of Tory Home Affairs Bill and Ben. Then a shadow cabinet beauty parade; an oxymoron for the ages, up there with ‘the integrity of Lord Mandelson’. As they all trooped out one by one, there were huge cheers for newcomer Katie Lam and for unlikely conference darling Lord True. 

While this protracted set of introductions was somewhat tiresome, it was quite helpful to be reminded who on earth some of these people were. Even the woman calling out their names seemed occasionally unsure. I’m pretty sure the shadow defence secretary isn’t actually called ‘Errrr James Cartlidge’, but it was thus that he was introduced.

Then came the national anthem. Just the standard opening verse; no mention for ‘Popish tricks’ (though they might have been appropriate given Andy Burnham’s plans for the Church of England) nor for Marshal Wade and crushing rebellious Scots. Given the party’s hopes to be number two to the SNP north of the border again, that was probably wise. This Scots focus........

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