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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Charlotte Hawes

Maddest moments from past Tory conferences - Theresa May’s P45 to Truss' pork markets

The Conservative Party Conference kicked off in Birmingham on Sunday, October 2, this year, with the annual get-together one of the biggest political events in Europe.

During the event, members of the Conservative Party will come together to discuss policies, with the latest conference being Liz Truss's first as prime minister after she was voted in last month.

The new prime minister took over from Boris Johnson in September after he resigned from the role back in July following scrutiny over the Downing Street parties and a lack of confidence from his peers.

The four day event's location has alternated between Birmingham and Manchester since 2008, and over the years there have been many mad and controversial moments that have taken place during the conference.

Here's a list of the maddest moments from past Tory Party conferences, from Theresa May's prank P45 to Liz Truss's "That is a disgrace" speech.

Tory MP struggles with national anthem

Over the years, sports fans have watched athletes butcher the national anthem just minutes before an important match, however, one Tory MP made a lasting impression when he struggled with the Welsh national anthem back in 1993.

Tory MP John Redwood, who was Welsh secretary at the time, sparked huge mockery for appearing not to know the Welsh national anthem at the party's conference.

He noticeably struggled through each verse while seemingly miming the words and bopping his head to the beat.

The awkward singing attempt was watched by hundreds in the conference hall and millions at home as TV cameras caught every second of the embarrassing encounter.

Liz Truss' cheese speech

The now-prime minister made a memorable speech back in 2014 at the Tory Party Conference.

Ms Truss, who was Environment Secretary at the time, led the speech on the UK's food industry which saw her to go off on a tangent about cheese.

She said in the speech that she wanted to see households "eating more British food" before launching into the bizarre outburst that was widely mocked on social media.

She continued in a clipped voice: "We import nine-tenths of all of our pears.

"We import two-thirds of our cheese.

"That. Is. A. Disgrace!"

Her glassy-eyed gaze as she stared expectantly at her audience was enough to make the clip go viral.

Theresa May and the P45 prank

Theresa May was handed a mock P45 at the 2017 Conservative Party Conference (Getty)

Theresa May faced a tough time at the 2017 Conservative Party Conference, making headlines when she received, on camera, a fake P45 which was delivered by a prankster on the "orders of Boris Johnson".

In the video, comedian Lee Nelson, whose real name is Simon Brodkin, interrupted proceedings to hand the PM a P45 slip.

He told reporters as he was escorted out the building that Mr Johnson, who was at the time a potential successor to the PM, asked him to do it.

The mock P45 listed the ‘reason for termination’ as ‘neither strong or stable’ and ‘we’re a bit worried about Jezza'.

Theresa May's cough

Theresa May battled through coughing fits during her speech at the Conservative Party Conference in 2017 (Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

It seemed to go from bad to worse for Ms May at the 2017 conference.

Not only was she handed her P45, but she also experienced a tickly cough throughout one of her speeches.

In the middle of her coughing fit, she almost spat out the water she had been desperately sipping in the hope to subdue the cough.

The circumstance also saw then-chancellor Philip Hammond sprint on stage and offer her a cough sweet.

The pesky coughing incident was only made worse when Ms May ended her disastrous speech with: "The test of a leader is how you respond when tough times come to you.

"When faced with challenge, if you emerge stronger. When confronted with adversity, if you find the will to pull through."

Security blunder

Boris Johnson fell victim to the security blunder at the 2018 conference (Getty Images)

At the conference in 2018, a major flaw was found in the conference app which meant that anyone could temporarily log in and view the personal details of others using it, including cabinet ministers.

Journalists attending the conference discovered the flaw, with numerous MPs reported to have received prank calls due to the data breach.

Members of the public soon leapt at the chance to cause a stir, with Boris Johnson’s ‘position’ quickly changed to ‘tw*t’ and Michael Gove ’s profile picture was replaced with one of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Therese Coffey's karaoke gaffe

Current Health Secretary Therese Coffey caused a stir at last year's Tory conference after video footage of the then-chief of the Department of Work and Pensions emerged in a Mirror exclusive.

The video showed the Tory member singing a rendition of I've Had The Time of My Life at a post-work event.

At the time of the performance, she had just slashed Universal Credit benefits by £20 a week.

Boris Johnson's keynote speech

Boris Johnson made a number of embarrassing jokes during his 2021 keynote speech (Getty Images)

At the 2021 conference, former Tory leader Boris Johnson appeared to have added numerous gags to his keynote speech.

In the speech, he referenced Michael Gove’s infamous Aberdeen night out, where he was seen dancing alone in a nightclub.

Mr Johnson said: “Let’s hear it for Jon Bon Govey, living proof that you – we – represent the most jiving hip happening and generally funkapolitan party in the world.”

The former PM then went on to attack the "loony left" as he said:

“I read a learned article by some lawyer saying we should not bother about pet theft.

“I say to Cruella de Vil QC – if you can steal a dog or a cat then there is frankly no limit to your depravity,” he said to an obediently clapping audience.

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