With Sir Keir Starmer’s first in-person Labour conference as leader drawing to a close, here is a look at what we learned from the political festival in Brighton.

– Labour remains a bitterly divided party

The resignation of a shadow cabinet minister in the middle of a party conference is not a sign of a healthy party.

Yes, Andy McDonald was a Corbynite whose position within Sir Keir’s team was something of an anomaly but the nature of his departure was timed to cause maximum damage.

Sir Keir also faced battles with the left over his party rule changes and abandoning plans to nationalise energy firms.

But the Labour leader forcefully argues that the party needs a decisive break from the past following the 2019 election drubbing.

– Sir Keir is determined to get the party battle-ready for the next election

The leader’s decision to prioritise rule changes at the conference angered some of his shadow cabinet colleagues and led to criticism that he was too focused on internal matters rather than speaking to the country.

But Sir Keir believes the changes, which make it easier for sitting MPs to be reselected to fight in their constituencies, will mean Labour politicians can go into the next election focused on the campaign, rather than worried about being ousted by their own activists.

With the prospect of Boris Johnson calling an election in 2023 rather than waiting until 2024, Sir Keir wanted to get the changes out of the way so the next conference can focus on the fight ahead.

And if it all goes wrong, the rule changes requiring any leadership candidate to have the support of 20% of MPs will at least mean whoever replaces him will have support within Parliament.

– Message discipline is a problem

Rather than hammering out messages about party policy, shadow ministers have been dragged into rows about whether Tories are “scum” and if “only women have a cervix”.

Deputy leader Angela Rayner’s tirade against the Prime Minister and his Cabinet on Saturday night led to Sir Keir distancing himself from her remarks and shadow international trade secretary Emily Thornberry suggesting the comments were made at an event “where there may have been drink partaken”.

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield’s decision to miss the conference because of fears about the abuse she has received also led to a series of uncomfortable questions for Sir Keir and his frontbench team over her comment about cervixes.

Ms Duffield has been branded “transphobic” by critics for her stance on women’s rights. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the debate had become “divisive and toxic”.

Ms Duffield turned up at an unofficial event on the conference’s fringes and told supporters of her anger at colleagues for “chucking me on the railway tracks” during the row, adding: “It’s ridiculous and nothing about me is a dinosaur.”

– Labour has “closed the door” on anti-Semitism

Sir Keir had made it a test of his leadership that he would only have succeeded in changing the party if Jewish politicians like Dame Louise Ellman felt able to return to the party.

After the conference backed a package of reforms including a fully independent complaints process, Dame Louise announced she had returned to her “political home” and Labour had a leader in whom “Britain’s Jews can have trust”.

Sir Keir said Labour had “closed the door” to anti-Semitism in the party and “turned our back on the dark chapter”.

– A leadership beauty contest

Sir Keir’s position as leader is safe – for now – as prospective future contenders flaunt their wares on the sidelines.

The mayors of Manchester and London, Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan, ensured they were highly visible throughout the conference, boosting their publicity just in case the time came to challenge for the top job.

Ms Rayner’s combative approach was also seen by some as a way of showcasing her differences from the lawyerly manners of Sir Keir.

But, barring disaster, Sir Keir will leave the conference with his position only shored up and any future contenders will have to hold off their ambitions until another day.