Why does Reform seem unassailable? Because this is party conference season, when politicos always lose the plot | Simon Jenkins

They wrote off Margaret Thatcher in 1981 when the SDP – like Reform today – was ascendant. They were wrong about her; they could also be about StarmerParty conference time is when British politics goes berserk. Leaders soar and crash in a morass of cliches. Polls go mad and cataclysm always delivers the best copy.Thus, back in 1981, Margaret Thatcher was at her Blackpool conference, two years into office. Brixton was rioting, inflation was 11% and the Tories were polling at 23%. The Labour opposition was faring as badly, also at 23%. Meanwhile, a third force, the Social Democratic party (SDP), in alliance with the Liberals, was running at more than 50% and dominating the news. Continue reading...

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