I suppose it's appropriate. The party of the free market and consumerism has turned its conference into a glorified shopping opportunity.
There are always exhibitors at party conferences. Outside the main conference hall, there's a space where organisations can set up stands, buttonhole passersby and hand out leaflets. Normally the exhibitors are quangos or trade associations who want to lobby political parties.
They're all here in Manchester, as usual. But, in what I think is a conference first, the Tories have also invited a series of retailers to set up stalls, turning Manchester Central (the conference venue) into a mini-shopping centre. There's Marks and Spencer, selling shirts and a few other items of clothing, Asda, selling some food, Blackwell, with a good selection of political books, and even a Harvey Nichols. They seem to be attracting a lot of interest.
When Andrew Marr wrote his history of post-war Britain, he concluded that the real story of Thatcherism was the triumph of shopping over politics. If he's still here in Manchester, he will find that the Tories have embraced his theory with enthusiasm.
