The Tories used to be the party of business. Now they’re a joke.

“What I am finding is a lot of clients are locked into events they booked pre-election, which are now difficult to come out of,” said Mitchell Cohen, head of public affairs at consultancy Lansons. “So there will likely be some interesting fringes, but not a huge amount of people attending.”

The Conservative Party did not respond to a request for comment.

Lib Dems rub their hands

Giving they’re now running the government, Labour’s own jamboree is set to be the biggest attraction for lobbyists hoping to shape the agenda.

The party launched a charm offensive with businesses before the election, and has repeatedly talked up a dash for economic growth — even as some firms remain spooked by its plan to boost workers’ rights.

Public affairs professionals are meanwhile increasingly convinced corporate attendance at the Conservative conference could fall below that of the Liberal Democrats — Westminster’s third largest party following the July election.

“If your business can be impacted by what happens in parliament, which is all businesses, then it’s important you work to eliminate any blind spots,” said Matthew Sutton, director of public affairs agency Atticus Partners. “If you’re not engaging with the Lib Dems, you potentially have 72 blind spots,” he added, referring to the party’s new tally of parliamentary troops.