Attendances may be down and genuine debates a thing of the past, but party conference season is still a major focal point on the political calendar. This weekend the Liberal Democrats gather in Brighton while Ukip host their get-together in Birmingham (the parties are polling neck-and-neck in a recent YouGov poll).
They'll be followed by Labour's conference in Manchester the following week as Ed Miliband attempts to bridge the gap between his party's soaring popularity and his own more modest personal ratings.
Then David Cameron will round off the season with his closing speech to the Conservatives in little under four weeks' time. But will his conference have already been overshadowed by trouble-making Boris Johnson?
In the studio to decipher it all: Guardian columnists Martin Kettle, Seumas Milne and Polly Toynbee.
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