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Party conferences used to have a powerful influence on people’s perceptions of politics: but no longer. The public have lost interest in these annual gatherings, to the point where Ed Miliband’s speech this week, although hailed as impressive by political obsessives, will have made little impact on voters. The uninterest in politics, and a growing distaste for politicians, is both good and bad news for David Cameron. At his party’s jamboree in Birmingham, which starts tomorrow, any triumphs will pass largely unnoticed, but so too will any disasters.