The British online news site "Independent" has calculated for the Tories ever, how long they need from the conference center in Manchester to the parliament in the capital. By car: three hours and 53 minutes. By train including metro and footpath: two hours, 37 minutes. It's quicker by helicopter: one hour and 35 minutes.
Since last Thursday, the question of the fastest way is far more than just a mind game. For perhaps the leading conservatives have to commute between the place of the Tory congress and the Westminister.
In fact, it is customary for the Parliament in London to pause for the meetings of the major parties. Because these often take several days. The Conservatives start this Sunday. The grand finale is scheduled for Wednesday - with a speech by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Three days of meetings should have failed according to the will of the Tories so.
But the government's Brexit course, its aggressive rhetoric, the suppression by the Supreme Court of several weeks of parliamentary suspension have poisoned the mood. Together with the ousted Tory rebels, the opposition on Thursday rejected the government's request for the meeting break. It was Johnson's seventh defeat in his seventh vote in the House of Commons as Prime Minister.
This makes it clear that the lower house is debating, while the Tories actually 340 kilometers northwest meet.
Next major attack of the opposition?
The conservatives announced that everything should nevertheless remain the same: no changes in the plan. Instead, Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is in charge of the House of Commons Cabinet, presented an agenda for Monday and Tuesday that would provide as little as possible to attack the opposition if the ranks were sparse. For example, MEPs should deal with a law on domestic violence that is supported across party lines.
So do not talk about the Brexit mess. Or is it? There is some speculation in the kingdom that the opposition could use the Tories' absence for the next major attack on the government. For example, another emergency debate would be conceivable in which the members once again secure their sovereignty over the House of Commons. That would be the basic prerequisite to be able to bring in their own laws, which could make it even more difficult for the government to overthrow Great Britain without an agreement from the EU.
If Labor and the other opposition parties insist on it, the Tory delegates would still have to leave Manchester for a while to vote in Westminister.
Tory Party Day - Gigantic Mass
At least they would not miss important political decisions at the congress. Unlike Labor, for example, there are no personal or programmatic steps to be taken at conservative meetings. For example, the lower house parliamentary group and ultimately the base decide by postal vote on the party leadership - in this way became in July Boris Johnson Tory boss and thus automatically Prime Minister.
Rather, the Tory party congresses are a great showcase - and more like gigantic fairs. Companies present themselves, there are plenty of discussion rounds. With 11,500 participants, the conservatives advertise on their website, 500 events and 100 booths.
The many guests from the economy, it is said, also paid off financially for the party. So a short-term cancellation would have been doubly bitter for the Tories.
The Conservatives in campaign mode
Politically, too, the party convention is more about mood and outward appearance. Above all, the speeches of the stars are eagerly awaited: In addition to Boris Johnson, Brexit hardliner Dominic Raab will speak. Or the ultra-right Priti Patel. That alone shows what kind of sound is expected.
For weeks, Johnson and his people have switched to campaign mode. Regardless of losses, they align the Tories as the right-wing Brexit party. Liberal and EU-friendly politicians were thrown out of the group, the clear motto is: get out of the European Union on October 31, no matter how.
In fact, Johnson had probably early early elections before the withdrawal date in mind. They would have given him the chance to conquer a lower-house majority for the Tories, supporting his Brexit course. But it is now too late for that. At the earliest in November can be chosen. Then Johnson wants to compete as a man who made the Brexit - or at least tried everything to lead the country out of the EU.
Hardly any resistance
For Johnson it is now necessary to bring the own party on line. And the congress offers the appropriate platform for this. The agitator he already gives in his greeting in the program to the party congress. With nice words to the base, the Tory boss does not stay there long. Instead, he devotes himself above all to his opponents. Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn is a "tyrant-supporting" opposition leader, with only "more chaos". The liberal? Would be ignored in Brussels.
In any case, there should not be much opposition to the government's course in Manchester. A clear majority of Tory members voted for Johnson's election as chairman. A clear majority wants according to surveys the Brexit. Most Conservatives would therefore even accept that the United Kingdom would fall apart if they only got the EU exit.
In addition: in the face of possible parliamentary elections, malcontents usually adorn the rebellion. And the camp of moderates is weakened. Most of the 21 rebels, who now sit as independents in the lower house after being expelled from the faction, have already announced that they do not want to attend the big Johnson show in Manchester.