Blackpool turns blue

TO mark the opening of the Tory conference last night, Blackpool Tower was illuminated in blue, presumably a symbolic gesture that in the heart of Labour territory, there are no no-go areas for David Cameron.

And the Tories still have much work to do to convince the north of England that they can trust David Cameron. Blackpool has two marginal Labour seats, which if the Conservatives are to have any chance of making the election a close-run affair, the Tories must win.

The usual eve of conference jollity was a late night, alcohol fuelled bash at the Imperial Hotel, but the outward good humour hid nervousness in Tory ranks at their disastrous slump in the opinion polls. Cameron has decided to go on the attack - Labour tried to destabilise the Tories last week by talking up the chances of a snap poll, this week Cameron will attempt to force the issue by calling Brown a chicken if he does  not go to the country.

Yesterday's journey from Felixstowe to Blackpool was not as torturous as feared, although having to change trains at Manchester Piccadilly meant sharing the carriage with excited Manchester City fans on their way back to Lancashire.At least I and most other journalists got to Blackpool before most Tory MPs. 

At 10am today, the media centre in Blackpool's Winter Gardens was packed. This year's conference marks a shift to debates on a Sunday, which seems quite popular with the 8,000 or so Tory delegates, exhibitors, and journalists. But given that this is a Conservative conference, there's plenty of time for everything to go pear shaped.  

And Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, shadow minister for community cohesion, has set the tone for a boisterous conference by indication that the far right British National Party has "very legitimate views on immigration." Oh dear!