What you can buy at the Conservative Party shop - and what it says about the last 14 years

It's an opportunity to promote a political party's brand in a lighthearted way - and make fun of your opponents.

But this year, the official merchandise on sale at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham is a bit... boring. In recent years we've seen Keir Starmer flip flops sold and politics-themed condoms handed out to delegates for free.

You'd expect to see the party leader's face plastered all over the conference too. But this year, things are different.

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Rishi Sunak, who is still the party's leader, hardly features at the annual event. He delivered a farewell speech on Sunday (September 29) at the conference where all the attention is on the four candidates looking to replace him.

Instead of seeing Mr Sunak's face all over the International Convention Centre, it's the faces of the Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverley and Robert Jenrick that greet you as you enter the Birmingham venue. And it's their merchandise - which includes Tughend-tan fake tan and Caffeinate with Cleverly coffee cups - making the headlines.

On sale in the official Conservative Party shop, however, is Margaret Thatcher mugs, Winston Churchill toby jugs and Harold Macmillan coasters. Notably, the faces of the last five Conservative Prime Ministers are nowhere to be seen.

It's almost as if the last 14 years didn't happen. In fact, some people at this conference may wish that was the case.

One person who rejects the view that people were fed up with 14 years of Tory government, is Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, who is now the most powerful Conservative in the country. Speaking at the conference on Sunday (September 29), Lord Houchen said that there has been a 'failure of communication' on what the Tories achieved.

However, he described the party during its final period in power as 'absolutely terrible' and 'incompetent', arguing that Boris Johnson promised 'exactly the right thing' in 2019, but blamed the government for failing to deliver on it. Liz Truss, who preceded Mr Johnson as Prime Minister, has also been cited as one of the reasons the Tories lost.

But speaking at an event on Monday (September 30), Ms Truss hit back at another predecessor, Theresa May, with a not-so-subtle jibe about her performance in the 2017 election. David Cameron meanwhile, has gone under the radar.

The four leadership candidates will have a chance to sell themselves to party members of the next few days before the list is whittled down to two. Members will then have the final say on whose face will be on next year's mugs.