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!"
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article