Katy Balls

After a lacklustre conference and a disastrous speech, Theresa May's position within her party has never looked more fragile. But she can take heart that her relationship with the public is a different story entirely. In a sign that conference is only a headline event for politicos, it appears May's shaky performance in Manchester has meant diddly squat. An ICM poll claims the Tories have actually gained a point from the whole debacle. Even if you combine the three different polls done since the conference – they show a swing between the main parties of... zero. https://twitter.com/britainelects/status/917406487936491525 The findings will come as a blow to Parliamentary plotters such as Grant Shapps, who had hoped to use recent events to push May out.

Good news in Downing Street: Theresa May has survived the weekend. After the Shapps plot failed to take off, the new consensus is that the beleaguered Prime Minister should re-assert her authority on an increasingly unruly Tory party by reshuffling her Cabinet. Had the speech gone better, there was talk that she could have done this last week. The Sunday Times reports that a shuffle is now likely to occur after the European Council meeting in two weeks' time. If May does oblige, there are calls from within the party for her to use a reshuffle to promote younger talent – and to sack the Foreign Secretary. The latter still looks unlikely.

Boris Johnson was the star of the conference today after he gave a morale-boosting speech to a packed out hall. But if there had to be a runner-up, Priti Patel came a close second. The International Development secretary pulled out all the stops as she put in some not so subtle groundwork for the leadership. Making the most of the audience provided by Johnson, Patel proceeded to use the word 'leader' numerous times. At one point even going so far as to joke that 'some of our most successful leaders have of course been the smallest' – in reference to her height.

An insight into the problem the Conservatives face winning over younger voters can be found in this year's party conference guide. In the listing advert for an event on young people and future jobs,  a speaker is denoted as a 'young person' by way of proof that the Tories have actually managed to locate one. https://twitter.com/JohnRentoul/status/913846592658182145 Given that Labour leads by 35 points in the 18-24 bracket, it's not a laughing matter for the Tories. Theresa May's attempt to kick off conference with a bold pitch to these young voters has failed to take off.

Ukip have just announced their new leader – and it's not who you would expect. Anne Marie Waters – the far-right anti-Islam candidate – has been beaten to first place by a former Lib Dem candidate named Henry Bolton. Bolton, who won with 30pc of the vote, used his acceptance speech to make clear that Brexit is Ukip's priority: 'Brexit is our core task however, it is not the end of the line.' Outside of Ukip circles, Bolton is a relative unknown. A former soldier, Bolton is a one-time Lib Dem member who has worked as an EU common defence strategist.

Theresa May's Florence speech last week certainly prompted a warming of words from Brussels – but so far it has triggered little action. At today's press conference between Michel Barnier and David Davis to mark the completion of the fourth round of Brexit talks, the EU's chief negotiator said not enough progress had been made to move to talking about a UK/EU trade deal in the next round of talks: 'I think it’s positive that Theresa May’s speech made it possible to unblock the situation, to some extent, and give a new dynamic to the situation. But we are far from being at a stage - it will take weeks, or maybe even months - where we will be able to say "Yes, okay, there has been sufficient progress on the principles of this orderly withdrawal.

When Jeremy Corbyn gave his speech on Wednesday, the conference hall bore a closer resemblance to a stadium concert than your bog-standard political meeting. The Labour leader was given a hero's welcome from party members decked out in Corbyn fan merchandise. He received a standing ovation before he'd even emitted a word, and an impromptu chant of 'Oh, Jeremy Corbyn' soon followed. Corbyn's position has never been more secure and this year's conference has  only gone to cement the new normal for Labour – it is a loud and proud socialist party. Buoyed by the snap election, MPs and members alike have embraced Corbyn's anti-austerity narrative – no-one is having a 'friendly' debate over how best to balance the books anymore.

At this year's Labour conference, party moderates are an endangered species. A lot of centrist MPs have given the event a miss – while those that are in attendance rarely make an appearance in the conference hall. So, Tom Watson's speech today marked a turn up for the books. Labour's deputy leader was given a whole ten minutes to speak despite being deemed a Corbyn-sceptic. But much like with Sadiq Khan's speech the day before, Watson used his platform to channel his inner Corbynista. In a marked contrast to last year, Watson came across as one of Corbyn's true comrades – even embarking on a cringeworthy chant of 'oh, Jeremy Corbyn' before praising the leader for his work and role in the election. 'A time for change is upon us. The old fear is gone.

When Sadiq Khan spoke at last year's Labour conference, his speech was deemed hostile to Jeremy Corbyn. Fresh from victory in the London mayoral election, Khan managed to say 'power' a whole 38 times – in what was widely interpreted as a thinly-veiled attack on the Labour leader's lack of electoral appeal. So, what a difference a year – and a surprisingly good snap election result – makes. After weeks of rows and attempts to prevent Khan from taking to the stage this year, the Leader's Office must have today been left wondering what the fuss was all about. The Mayor of London fell into line – using his last-minute speaking slot to play it safe with a speech that praised both Corbyn and public sector workers.

Comrades, Labour conference is here. Today MPs and members descend on Brighton for four days of speeches and discussions on what Labour has to do in order to become a party of government. With the party now leading in the polls, the fringe talks on 21st century socialism, Venezuela and foreign policy at large will be watched with newfound interest from the business community. Given the trouble the Tories found themselves in last week over Europe, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Labour party by comparison is now the picture of stability and calm. But as the party comes together for the first time since the snap election, a number of battles are being fought behind the scenes.

After concerns about the Foreign Secretary's job security bumped Vince Cable's keynote leader's speech at Lib Dem conference off the news agenda yesterday, a sense of stability has been restored to Cabinet. Boris Johnson has told hacks in New York that he is not going anywhere – likening Cabinet harmony to 'a nest of singing birds'. The message from Downing Street, too, is one of quiet confidence that Johnson won't be departing the frontbench – at least, not this weekend. This suggests two things. Firstly, that May's Florence speech won't be as drastic as had first been thought. Secondly, Johnson is coming round to the idea of payments to Brussels continuing during a transition period.

Government whips can breath a sigh of relief. On what turned out to be the second late night sitting in a row for MPs, Andrea Leadsom's motion to ensure that the government has a majority on public bill committees passed at 320 votes in favour to 301 against. This means that even though the government did not win a majority in the snap election, they will have a majority on key committees which scrutinise legislation. In the debate before the vote, opposition MPs accused the Conservatives of an undemocratic power grab – with Labour's shadow leader of the House, Valerie Vaz, likening Leadsom to a North Korean news reader sent out to say everything is fine.

Usually when an official party spokesman has to issue a statement 'clarifying' what a politician meant to say in a radio interview, you can take it as a sign that something has gone wrong. However, not for Jeremy Corbyn – who appears to have mastered the art of clever* misspeaking Appearing on The World At One this afternoon, the Labour leader appeared to shed some light on his party's ever-changing Brexit position. With Labour MPs broadly united behind a transition period in which the UK remains a member of the single market, Corbyn suggested that they could go one step further: the UK could continue to be a member even after Britain has properly left the EU. Martha Kearney:  The TUC wants the UK to stay in the single market permanently.