Joes Tetlow and Callum Price are former special advisers to James Cleverly and worked on his 2024 leadership campaign.

When James Cleverly was catapulted into the lead after party conference last Autumn, many put it down to his conference speech. Weeks later, after being eliminated by secret ballot, he picked up his “Speech of the Year” trophy at the Spectator Awards and said dryly: “this award, I suppose, is a reminder that speeches really matter. They just don’t always work”.

Callum Price and I were co-curators of that speech, here are our five tips for political speechwriters ahead of Conservative Party Conference 2025.

Time with the talent is vital

Book in lots of time. We started work around three weeks before the big speech. Long storymining meetings allowed us to ask questions and find diamonds: personal history, anecdotes, principles, and humour. It may seem indulgent, but this time is critical for speechwriters to understand and shape the story early on.

Think of yourself less as a stenographer, more as an archaeologist. Every politician has hidden seams of memory and conviction; your job is to excavate them. Authenticity can’t be parachuted in at the last moment – it has to be quarried, polished, and fitted carefully into the speech.

Crucially, the speech will be better if it has significant input and direction from the talent and product you are selling: the politician. And they will (probably) deliver it better if it’s authentic – and familiar.

Round pegs, round holes

Know the strengths and limitations of your political master. Research their speeches, study their style, and steal their phrases. Don’t play a goalkeeper as a striker.

But equally, know your own strengths and weaknesses too. George Osborne’s running joke that “writing speeches for Hague was like taking free kicks for Beckham” displays a level of self-awareness that all speechwriters need. Many of the highlights of Cleverly’s speech were from him. Too many cooks spoil the broth, but consulting other trusted and talented people (as we did), adds a crucial diversity of intellectual and stylistic ingredients to the recipe.

Say something

This is the political part. Play the game. The audience is listening, so tell them something. Situate your speech heavily in the political and policy context you are making it in. Locate the speech. Anchor it. Give it identity.

Why should the journalist in Row C quote you? Why should the evening news clip you? What are you saying that your rivals would not dare? Cleverly chose “sorry” right at the top – a word politicians use about as sparingly as Trappist monks. And it cut through.

Conference is a beauty parade. And like all pageants, the crown goes to the contestant who says something arresting, risky, memorable. What is your topline, your golden thread? Too many political speeches collapse into policy laundry lists. Resist. A speech is not a Whitehall press release read aloud. It is a narrative. Take your audience somewhere.

Rhetorical devices are your friend

“Education, education, education” or “I have a dream” are both examples of rhetorical devices that have become synonymous with the speech they were in. These devices are your friend, so use them.

Once you have a draft, read it over and see where you can add in rhetorical devices to elevate, persuade, and make the speech sing. Rhetorical questions, repetition, and contrast. Emotive language, humour, and the rule of three. A speech without these will be less persuasive, thoughtful, or engaging.

Humour is perhaps the hardest to execute, so consider self-deprecation, gently undermining your opponent, or both. Think Reagan, when asked if he was too old to be President at 73: “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience”.

And there is always Luton. But the point is not stand-up comedy; it is contrast and texture, light and shade.

Delivery matters

It’s easy to forget about deliberate pause, use of hands, and pace, but with time and practice – these delivery techniques can make a difference. So ask: Are you going with or without a lectern? Will you read from a teleprompter, use notes, or memorise? What are you going to wear? It’s vital you cover these off so that the speech does not falter on delivery. Think it through, visualise the hall, and practice.

Cleverly is one of the best communicators, but he spent hours reworking delivery, so much so we were worried about his voice. Not everyone is blessed with natural speechmaking talent, but even the best practice. Churchill practiced in the bath. Obama’s team filmed his run-throughs. Thatcher lost her shrill tones thanks to a coach who had helped Britain’s top actors – and we hired the ebullient Peter Botting. Every speech is an opportunity, so why let it pass? Prioritise the speech. If it means killing that late night event, or Today Programme in the morning, do it.

The speech may live on YouTube forever, but in the room it lives only once.

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