This year's party conferences are almost certainly the last before a general election so it's been the final chance for leaders to show off in front of their supporters.

The two largest UK parties could hardly have had more contrasting conferences.

This week's Labour gathering was business-like, confident, assured, and tightly managed.

The party succeeded in portraying itself very much as a government-in-waiting and took great care not to put a foot wrong.

Frankly to an outside observer the conference was pretty boring - and I'm sure party bosses were quite happy about that.

It also has to be said the conference itself was overshadowed on the news agenda by the appalling events in the Middle East.

The Conservative conference, on the other hand, was a totally different creature.

It was full of energy and interest for outside observers - but it was the kind of energy and interest you get from the Destruction Derby at the end of a Banger Racing night at Foxhall!

If Labour was trying to look like a government in waiting, many Tories seemed to be preparing for opposition - and all the changes that would bring to the party.

Some cabinet ministers - Suella Braverman, Kemi Badenoch and Penny Mordaunt especially - seemed to use the conference, its fringe, and the opportunity for news interviews as a chance to stake their claim to take over from Rishi Sunak after an election defeat.

Elsewhere some of the messages seemed muddled and frankly contradictory. 

When you're leading a government that has been in power for 13 years and tell people: "It is time for a change and we are it," you really shouldn't be surprised by the looks of incredulity and derision that come from people.

The vast majority of voters who think it's time for a change will have long since worked out an altogether more obvious way of achieving it!

I was also rather disturbed by some of the language that was coming out at the Conservatives' conference.

Mr Sunak and his ministers have been talking about a "War on Motorists." 

http://

 

Is that really appropriate language? War is what is happening in Ukraine. War is what is happening in Israel. War isn't a driver feeling slightly miffed that he can't do 28mph in a residential area.

We had the Home Secretary talking about a hurricane of immigration - a comment that was compared by many, including some Conservatives, to Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech.

And there were warnings that some people felt that visiting their local town centre was like going to a foreign country.

Over the last few days I've had several Tories saying to me: "They're not words I would use but they do cut through to the voters."

That worries me.

Over the last decade two MPs in this country have been assassinated by deranged individuals who claimed to have political motives.

On both occasions there have been calls to lower the political temperature - to tone down the rhetoric.

I'm not sure whether the politicians we heard last week have forgotten about that - or whether they feel they shouldn't have to worry about it if the best way of "cutting through" to the voters is to talk about such issues.

To be honest, I don't think either party conference will have really changed the minds of the currently undecided voters that both Labour and the Conservatives will be chasing over the next 12 months.

That is certainly better news for Labour, with its significant lead in the opinion polls, than it is for the Tories.

But I'm not sure we can look forward to a particularly high standard of political debate over the next 12 months as we head to polling day.