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Ruth Davidson and Jacob Rees-Mogg get prominent roles at Tory conference

The Conservative conference guide has shown that activists will largely be dealing with how to win young voters back and Brexit.

LONDON — Ruth Davidson and Jacob Rees-Mogg will be in the spotlight at the Conservative conference, while cabinet ministers take a lower profile.

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The leader of the Scottish Conservatives and the backbench MP, who have both been touted as future Tory party leaders, will make a series of appearances at the conference in Manchester in October.

Davidson, MSP for Edinburgh Central, will be giving two public interviews and speaking at two receptions, including one to discuss the "future of conservatism."

Davidson has been heralded as one of the successes of the current Conservative Party, with one Scottish Tory MP telling Business Insider she "is our most remarkable politician."

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Rees-Mogg emerged as one of the favourites to be Conservative leader over the summer and is scheduled to speak at at least six fringe events, which mostly focus on Brexit.

The backbench MP, who called the use of food banks "uplifting" on Thursday, is booked to speak on panels including one dealing with the question "Is the Intellectual Momentum all with the left?"

The Conservatives released their fringe guide this week, which also shows that cabinet ministers are not making many appearances at the event, with Boris Johnson line up for just one panel.

The annual get-together will be a test of whether Prime Minister Theresa May still has the support of activists, and if not who they favour leading the Tories into the next election.

George Osborne, the editor of the Evening Standard and former chancellor, will appear at a panel on devolution in his role as chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

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Osborne has been a regular critic of May and has been attacked this week after being reported as saying he would not rest until she was "chopped up in bags in my freezer."

The conference guide also suggests that Tories will spend time debating how they should appeal to young people, and what went wrong at the election.

Education Secretary Justine Greening and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid will both appear at a session about "delivering a fairer future for young people" on the first day.

There is also an event on day one called "How should the Conservative Party tackle intergenerational unfairness," which shows how seriously the Tories are taking the threat of Labour and its appeal to young people.

The prime minister will end the conference on the Wednesday with a speech entitled "Building a country that works for everyone."

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