The tension was clear from the start. Liz Truss opened the first CPAC Great Britain conference this week determined to carve out space for ideas that Westminster and much of the media have spent years sidelining.
Held at the InterContinental London hotel at the O2 in Greenwich from 16 to 18 July, the event positioned itself as a launchpad rather than a talking shop. Truss, serving as chairman, set the tone in her opening remarks. She paid tribute to Ann Widdecombe and declared that CPAC Great Britain "will not just be a conference; it will be a launchpad for the policies and leaders that will shape the future of the West."
The schedule reflected that ambition. Sessions tackled free speech, migration, defending borders, economic reform, national sovereignty and pro-growth policies. Day one speakers included Matt Schlapp, Toby Young, Andrew Griffith, Matt Goodwin, David Starkey, Iain Duncan Smith, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Suella Braverman. The gathering also marked the launch of the Atlantic Strategy Institute involving Truss herself.
Attendance in the main hall on the opening day fell short of a full house. Yet the substance on stage mattered more than empty seats. These were not fringe voices. They represented a strand of conservative thinking rooted in classical liberal priorities and institutional respect, now routinely dismissed by parts of the establishment as outdated or worse.
CPAC Great Britain aims to unite common-sense politics with a pro-growth and pro-sovereignty agenda. That simple statement cuts against years of drift towards ever-larger government, porous borders and cultural conformity. The conference offered a deliberate counterpoint, bringing British, European and American participants together at a moment of political transition in the UK.
Nigel Farage was due to address the second day, with Ron DeSantis confirmed for the third. The presence of senior American conservatives underscored the event's transatlantic reach and its focus on shared challenges around liberty and national cohesion.
