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Both Sir Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson are quietly heaving sighs of relief that the Labour and Tory party conferences won’t happen this year. The Zoom speeches might as well be podcasts

emailed to all party members. Keir will be spared the anger of the Corbynite / Momentum base of the Labour Party. He will also be saved from the trade union leaders who would invariably give

speeches attacking his ultra cautious approach of saying as little as possible beyond attacking Boris Johnson as unfit for purpose. According to opinion polls, this studied almost

apolitical moderation is paying off, both in terms of voting intentions and Keir’s personal ratings. Boris Johnson will be spared the fury of the Tory activists who resent his Stasi-like

restrictions on family gatherings. They are also furious at the terrible damage that’s been done to small businesses that have been hit hard by Covid restrictions and worry that things will

get worse when government support is withdrawn next month. In addition, Johnson does not have to listen to hardcore pro-Brexit enthusiasts demanding the crash-out Brexit which will turn the

M20 through Kent into a lorry park. Starmer will be just as happy not to have Brexit raised in the conference hall, as it has been the most divisive issue for Labour since 2015. So both

Johnson and Starmer will not mourn a year without conference. But isn’t it obvious now that the annual early autumn party conference is now past its use-by date? They were inventions of the

early 20th century — a week by the seaside on expenses, and a chance to hear and see party bigwigs in the flesh. Arthur Balfour famously said he would no more take advice from Conservative

Party delegates than he would from his valet. Labour leaders paid lip service to the conference and then went back to the Commons to do as they pleased. Conferences now have become parodies

of real politics, as hordes of lobbying firms descend to pay for fringe meetings, pour drink down the throats of delegates and journalists, and take party grandees out for expensive dinners.

They are fun for the denizens of the Westminster bubble, journalists, broadcasters, special advisers, press officers rushing around looking important. But they have no influence on party or

government. All parties of right or left in other democracies have such national gatherings every two, three or four years. It would be better for both the Tories and Labour to have smaller

regional or themed conferences to discuss issues of the day. Politics should be about educating both political activists and the public about hard choices and priorities. There is plenty of

room for stirring speeches and building networks to campaign for policy change, or for ambitious politicians to make a splash and win followers. It just doesn’t need to happen in a giant

annual alcohol-infused outing for corporate lobbyists which each year gives democratic politics a bad name.