Freeman is hoping the festival would produce a handful of credible policies that could underpin his centrist renewal movement. Listening to the speakers and talking to people in attendance, there were plenty of provocative conversations about what's wrong with the party -- and with capitalism -- that would have resonated with some Corbyn supporters. It's obvious they're a long way from finding a winning solution.



But the point of the ideas festival was more to get those conversations started, Tory MPs explained. James Cleverly told BuzzFeed News: "If we tried to come up with answers very quickly they'd probably be the wrong answers."