Labour MPs Say There Is A "Strange" Mood At Conference Despite Historic Election Victory

The mood at last year's Labour conference was one of giddy euphoria as the party had an elusive election victory in its sights. But despite finally returning to power in July, the atmosphere in Liverpool this time around is described as subdued.

One Labour MP toldPoliticsHome there was a "strange" and "tense" feeling in the air on Liverpool's dockside where the party is holding its first conference since winning the election.

On 4 July, Keir Starmer led his party to one of the most remarkable victories in UK political history, returning to the House of Commons with a 167-seat majority. The party's wait to defeat the Conservatives at a General Election was finally over after nearly twenty years.

A celebratory conference two months later surely awaited.

But ministers and MPs in Liverpool say that hasn't quite been the mood in Merseyside.

“There’s an element of real world about this conference,” one minister told PoliticsHome.

They added that near constant rain in Liverpool, which resulted in one of the conference lounges being flooded, has done nothing to lift spirits, and that the party is feeling fatigued after a relentless few months starting with the six-week General Election campaign at the end of May.

 “One is the weather is shit and two is everyone is knackered," they said.

A Labour MP elected for the first time in July agreed that people are “exhausted”. They added it did not help that many new MPs were still preoccupied with looking for staff to fill their offices, or trying to find accommodation to stay in while working in Westminster.

Other attendees feel that the heavy corporate presence at Labour conference, coupled with a fall in the number of signed-up party members, has taken some of the energy out of the affair.

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