What Boris Johnson must do at the Conservative Party conference

The prime minister is at the height of his powers but dark clouds lie ahead. He’ll have to steady his backbenchers’ nerves, avoid Brexit and prove to loyal voters he still cares, writes Andrew Woodcock

He’ll have to prove to loyal voters that he still cares... and not mention the B-word (PA)

Boris Johnson arrives at the Conservative conference today at the height of his powers. He has delivered a Brexit deal and weathered the Covid storm while maintaining a comfortable lead over Labour and completing a cabinet reshuffle that tightened his grip over his MPs. But there are four things he needs to do at his party’s conference in Manchester.

1. Steady nerves

Tories will arrive in Manchester in a jittery mood, with TV screens filled with images of long queues at petrol stations and headlines screaming of a loss of confidence in police after the murder of Sarah Everard. Looking ahead, we will see a £20-per-week cut to universal credit, a 1.25 per cent hike to national insurance and continued uncertainty over whether shortages of HGV drivers will wreck Christmas.