Hello and welcome to The Rundown, a podcast from Politics Home with me Alan Tolless.

And this week, we've again got something a little bit different for you.

After I headed up to Manchester, a Conservative Party's annual conference, so what you're

about to hear is my dispatch from the four-day event, finding out what the mood is like among

the Tories as I settle into the long slog of opposition.

I spoke to MPs, pollsters, academics and my poll home colleagues to assess whether there is still life left in the party,

what their plan is to get back into office, and whether it will be Kemi Badnock who tries to lead them there.

So sit back and enjoy the story of this year's conference.

Right, here we are again, another Sunday lunchtime, another arrival at party conference,

this time at the Manchester Central Convention Complex. I've just got through security and I'm entering the main exhibition hall and you're immediately greeted by a lot of Margaret Thatcher-related materials. There are a number of her kind of famous outfits, say, a Maggie Mosaic. I'm not quite sure what that is, but it appears to kind of all be in aid of this week celebrations of what would have been the former Prime Minister's 100th birthday. I have to say, it's quite full on. I mean, it's understandable for a party no longer

in power to want to hark back to better days, but it's quite the genuflection to Mrs. T,

there's sort of a full-on museum towards Thatcher, though I'm sure the party will attempt to make

comparisons with their current uncompromising female leader as the week goes on. I'm walking through

the MCC to try and find the media zone.

I know it's only day one, but it does feel very, very empty in here. And certainly if you compare it

with this time last week at Labor, it's not much of our buzz. There really is not many people here.

And for those who know this building, which was called the GMEX for many years and was originally

an extremely grand train station, it's quite a cavernous building, and the Tories are only using about half of it. I mean, perhaps it will get busier as the day goes on. Kemi Badock is giving a speech a little later to kick off the conference. But it does feel like one of the main themes of this conference is just how dead it's going to be, not

just compared with Labor, but also the Reform Conference last month too, so definitely something

to be keeping an eye on. One of the main stories is the threat to Can Baynox leadership,

with one of the potential contenders to replace her, shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick,

speaking at an event later, but first one of the others who stood against her last year, the former Foreign and Home Secretary James Cleverley, who is now back

...