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🇦🇺 Australia /Culture & Society

Inside CPAC London: Charlatans, conspiracy theories and loud snoring

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in London drew sparse attendance and featured controversial speakers, including conspiracy theorists.
  • The event struggled to resonate with a British audience, with criticisms focusing on its American-style "razzle dazzle" and the low turnout.
  • Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, the event's UK chair, faced criticism for her own short-lived premiership.

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in London struggled with low attendance and featured a lineup of speakers that included conspiracy theorists and controversial figures, leaving a journalist questioning the direction of right-wing politics.

In 10 years at the ABC, I've had some strange experiences. I can now add last week's CPAC conference in London to the list, and it's going somewhere near the top.

— JournalistIntroducing the unusual nature of the CPAC London conference.

Sparse crowds were a consistent feature throughout the two-and-a-half-day event. One panel, titled "The Truth About Covid," was presented by a major anti-vaccine group. Australian senators Pauline Hanson and Bridget McKenzie also had speaking slots, but attracted only small audiences.

Couldn't run the country, and can't run a conference.

— JournalistA quip about Liz Truss's political track record.

Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who serves as CPAC's UK chair, opened the conference. She called for the dismantling of the civil service, a policy she refers to as "the blob." Truss's appearance drew attention, particularly given her own premiership lasted only 49 days in 2022, a tenure famously outlasted by a live-streamed lettuce. Her political future led her to CPAC after losing her parliamentary seat.

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was first held in the United States in the 1970s, and populist, MAGA diehards have towered over its latest iterations.

— JournalistProviding background on the CPAC conference.

The event's location in North Greenwich, described as a "soulless" industrial area, compounded the sense of desolation. Many attendees reportedly found the conference's format, with its "American razzle dazzle," unpalatable for a British audience. The lack of enthusiasm was palpable, with a muted reaction when Truss asked the crowd for their thoughts on the UK's new Prime Minister.

The UK has had seven PMs since 2016, but had Truss forgotten she was the most short-lived of them all?

— JournalistHighlighting the political instability in the UK and Liz Truss's brief tenure.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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