It has become something of a conference tradition for the Tories to poke fun at Labour from behind the bar.

We are served at the Tax & Spend pub by barmen in Ed Miliband and Ed Balls masks. The range of beverages on offer included Mililight, "weak flavour, weak leader"; Ballsberg, "probably not the best economist in the world"; and Len's Lager, featuring a photo of Unite union leader Len McCluskey and the slogan "100 per cent influence on Labour policies".

IF all that drinking left them feeling peckish, the Tory activists could also snack on Pring-Balls, with tube-shaped packets bearing a picture of the Shadow Chancellor, admitting: "Once I start spending, I can't stop!"

EVEN the beermats offered a chance for another dig at Ed Miliband's party, carrying quotes from the Labour leader: "Q: Do you accept that looking back the Labour government spent too much money? A: No, I don't accept that," and his deputy Harriet Harman: "People on middle incomes should contribute more through their taxes." Of course, champagne quaffing is strictly off the menu.

Theresa Villiers, the Northern Ireland Secretary, quipped that bicycling fever reached such heights when the Giro d'Italia 2014 came to Italy in Northern Ireland that "even the Orange Order turned out in pink for the occasion". Pink, of course, being the jersey colour won by the winner.

Not a chant you often hear but as the well-suited and elegantly coiffured delegates entered the conference hall, from behind the steel security pen could be heard environmental campaigners shouting: "Save the badger, Tories out!"