In Liverpool, the Labour Party hoped the country would finally see them as a government in waiting, but this was in large part achieved by settling old intra-party battles. The new Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss had hoped her first conference as leader would be a chance to pitch her new economic plans to the UK – instead, rebellion from her own MPs would instead set the tone for perhaps the most tumultuous Tory gathering in a generation.

Despite the theatre, one thing is certain: party conferences really matter. As tempting as it is to dismiss the intrigue as clashes of personality or power grabs, the battle of ideas and policy is most often at the root of it. Away from the set piece speeches in the main hall, hundreds of ‘fringe events’ give public affairs types (including your PPA correspondent) the opportunity to question ministers and swap ideas with policy wonks from influential think tanks. Government policy is interrogated in the presence of those who have devised it, and is defended with a depth and frankness not often heard on the Today Programme.

However, speeches in the main hall are still an important indication of a government’s priorities. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Michelle Donelan used her conference address to commit to reforming GDPR and promising to focus the Online Safety Bill on protecting children, whilst also protecting freedom of speech. Her Labour counterpart Lucy Powell observed that ‘platforms wield the power, shaping what we think, buy, work and how we access services’, committing to ‘world leading regulation’ to unlock the power of a digital revolution.

The conference also offers a chance to speak to MPs one would not normally encounter, and in settings far more conducive to building relationships than the greenhouse-like atrium of Portcullis House (the disappointingly modern building across the road from parliament where most MP meetings take place). You can sidle up and pick the brains of a minister who it might take weeks or months to meet if you go through the Department. Perhaps even more importantly, there is a chance to speak to the special advisors who are the ministers or shadow ministers’ eyes and ears.

There are some clichés of conferences which will never fade: the wine will be warm, many attendees will be stricken with illness (a ferocious brand of political ‘freshers’ flu’), and the train back to London will be so preposterously packed as to spur talk of renationalisation amongst the Labour delegates. But beyond the trivialities, this year’s gatherings told a compelling story about the state of UK politics ahead of the next election. Clear dividing lines have been drawn between Labour and Conservatives on the economy, and the lack of political honeymoon for Liz Truss has given Kier Stammer a concerted spring in his step.