Well do we have to be dictated to by political parties? We can decide what we think their conferences are about. We don't have to accept their evaluation of what they're talking about, do we?

I mean Steve's hit on the crux of the matter. Both the Israelis and the Palestinians have laid claims to a chunk of land. Ownership is an odd sort of abstract spiritual thing.

Political parties are gross materialistic devices. They're about as clever a way for divining such matters as gelignite on an ATM machine.

The party conferences have always represented worst aspects of English prejudices, as demagogues compete to think up the daftest truisms for party faithful.

Can we help it if we rise effortlessly above such utter bollocks?