‘Nothing Left to Lose’: Britain’s Conservatives Are Surprisingly Upbeat

Europe|‘Nothing Left to Lose’: Britain’s Conservatives Are Surprisingly Upbeat

Britain’s Conservative Party suffered the worst election defeat of its modern history less than three months ago. Yet one would be hard pressed to find much evidence of it at the party’s annual conference in Birmingham, where the drinks flowed, conversation crackled and the mood could be only described as light.

Unburdened by government, energized by a lively leadership contest, and gleeful at the bumpy debut of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government, the Conservatives gathered to plot their future, with some members expressing relief rather than frustration at being thrust into the opposition.

“I was expecting something a little more gloomy, seeing as we had been defeated,” said James Paterson, a party member from Hinckley, in the East Midlands. Instead, he said: “It’s really positive, it’s buzzing. The way the Labour Party have made such a mess of their first few months is making it easier.”

The upbeat atmosphere was a stark contrast to Labour’s conference last week, which was clouded by anxiety over news media reports about freebies accepted by Mr. Starmer and other senior Labour politicians, as well as the general weight of running the country after being out of government for 14 years.