Theresa May chucks the word Chequers - but not the policy
The prime minister does not use the word Chequers once - but despite the apparent re-brand there is no backing down on policy.
Wednesday 3 October 2018 17:21, UK
Imagine being a fly on the wall the moment one of Theresa May's aides floated the idea she do a robot dance as she walked onto the conference stage.
Imagine the looks when the suggestion of making that entrance to the tune of ABBA's Dancing Queen was put forward.
It's about as unlikely a plan as one could fathom when it comes to Mrs May, but given how wrong things went last year, perhaps the sense was - what have we got to lose?
The answer, of course, is a lot.
But once the self-deprecating opening was out of the way the prime minister moved on to addressing the major challenges she faces.
The messages about ending austerity, tackling the pressures of the rising cost of living and fixing broken markets were a return to the "burning injustices" theme she identified as her priorities when she first became leader.
Her attacks on Labour, and Jeremy Corbyn in particular, reflected increasing concern that what she described as the opposition's "bogus solutions" are being taken more and more seriously by voters.
And yet it was always going to be her comments on Brexit, the internal party divisions and torrid negotiating process that would be listened to most keenly by those in the hall.
Given Boris Johnson's interventions against her strategy, and the rapturous applause he received from a packed fringe auditorium on Tuesday, the pressure for Mrs May to dump her Chequers plan is genuine and intense.
Despite all the demands, Chequers wasn't chucked.
But in a sign that there may be a re-brand on the way, it was noticeable the word "Chequers" didn't get a mention..
And yet, if the name is going to change, it was clear the policy itself was not.
Once again Mrs May set out how it was the only option.
She explained she could not accept either a Norway-style Brexit, which keeps the UK under EU rules, or the Canada-style model, favoured by hardline Brexiteers, because it would require what would amount to the constitutional separation of Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
But the real message to Brexiteers was that they risk no Brexit at all if they fail to back her at this point - asking them to put what she described as the "national interest" over eurosceptic ideological purity.
An open acknowledgement that a "no-deal" Brexit would be a "bad outcome" also represented a shift in tone, from the "not the end of the world" comments she's made recently.
And there was a clear pitch too for moderate Labour MPs to do the same - portraying Mr Corbyn as an extremist, and urging them to ignore his orders and vote with their consciences if and when she returns from Brussels with a deal.
The aim of all of this was to turn the tables on those trying to shift her position and attempt to force them to take some tough decisions too.
It's the same tactic she's adopting with negotiators in Brussels.
Ultimately, it is about buying time in a situation where there appears to be deadlock in her party, in parliament and in negotiations.
For a prime minister whose time appeared to be up after last year's general election, it's a strategy that is proving effective, at least in terms of keeping her in Number 10.
Mrs May has weathered a conference in which her former foreign secretary was set on making things as difficult as possible, and many activists arrived deeply uncertain about the prospects for her Brexit plan and her political longevity.
She leaves Birmingham bruised but with her position in the party marginally stronger than when she arrived.
But the underlying problems have not gone away.