Tory culture warriors at conference battle for the soul of the party

Party members, who have strong views on issues such as free speech, are trying to reshape Conservative ideology in their own image

It was near the end of a fringe event entitled Are We Losing the War on Woke? when Tory MP Miriam Cates suggested drastic cuts to higher education. Why? In part to save money. But also, she said, to stop young people being indoctrinated" with liberal ideas.

One overlooked feature of the just-ended Conservative conference was a battle waged away from the cabinet splits and the main conference hall - a concerted, if so far largely below the surface, effort to get the party fully engaged in a US-style culture war.