Theresa May's conference speech was a disaster

The address, which should have been the highlight of the four day event in Manchester, was meant to put the Prime Minister back on the front foot and make party members head home refreshed and upbeat.

But instead, Cabinet members sat gloomy faced as May's leadership appeared to crumble as the letters behind her carrying the slogan "Building a Britain that Works for Everyone" literally fell off.

READ MORE: Theresa May handed P45 during her conference speech [with video]

SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford MP has said May’s conference speech on the 'British dream' sounded more like a Tory nightmare.

"Theresa May’s speech – beset with problems and protests – proved the 'British dream' is a Tory nightmare for families and communities hit by years of endless austerity, cuts and low economic growth," he said.

"That nightmare is now compounded by the dangerous shambles of Brexit which is a threat to jobs, businesses and livelihoods across the UK.

"Tory policies are deeply damaging to Scotland – from their obsession with failed austerity to their decision to charge our emergency services VAT; the mess of Universal Credit; their deeply damaging immigration policy and the assault of the most vulnerable in society, to the point that the United Nations has described Tory policy towards the disabled as a ‘human catastrophe’."

The prime minister attempted to shift the focus from Brexit infighting to domestic policy on energy bills and council housing at the end of her party’s annual conference, but at times struggled to deliver her words as her voice faltered.

After a comedian who handed her her P45 was lead away, she appeared to struggle with a coughing fit and accepting a glass of water and cough sweet from the chancellor, Philip Hammond, May tried to relaunch her premiership with her vision for society, repeatedly telling delegates “that’s what I’m in this for”.

Later Cabinet ministers rallied round Theresa May following her dramatic speech to the Conservative Party conference.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he believed May's speech showed a "great sense of duty", adding she "did really well" to cope with a persistent cough and a prankster waving a P45 unemployment notice in her face.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove added to the Press Association: "I thought it was a fantastic speech from a Prime Minister at the top of her game."

Senior Conservative MP George Freeman, head of the Prime Minister's policy board, described it as the "most electrifying" speech and added May's "faltering" voice heightened the sense of her tenacity.

He told the Press Association: "She completely turned around that tone of the general election, of a monotone, iron lady, the Maybot.

"This was a woman showing her vulnerability, showing her frailty, and in so doing connecting with and demonstrating what is her greatest strength - a steely commitment to public service, an incredible personal sense of duty, a woman who at an age of life where many would be putting their feet up, is redoubling her commitment to the toughest job in the country.

"Strangely the faltering voice actually heightened the sense of her tenacity and her commitment to go through the adversity.

"You could feel the more she spoke, the more the mood came with her, as people celebrated the values of public service that are at the heart of Conservatism.

"You couldn't have scripted it more powerfully."

Conservative Paul Masterton, who was among the MPs selected to speak on the main stage before May's arrival, told the Press Association: "It was eventful.

"It was a clear reminder why she's the right person to be taking the country forward - a stinking cold, some idiot at the stage halfway through, and she did what leaders do."

Hunt, in a later interview with BBC Radio 4's World At One, said of May: "Well I think she came across as very human, in fairness perhaps not in the way that she had planned.

"But people up and down the country watching TV have coughs and colds and they struggle on and that's what she did."

He added: "I think people know that she has had not just an annoying cough but a very, very tough few months and what comes across about Theresa May in public now is something that I've always seen in private which is a tremendous sense of duty.

"A sense that actually you're there to do the right thing and that was in the substance of the speech but also, in a way, in the style as we saw her battling with that horrible cough.

"But I think the substance was also very, very significant, I hope that what happened doesn't cloud the substance."

Prominent backbencher James Cleverly said: "The point she made about explaining that free market economics builds prosperity, gives us the ability to pay for the public services that we require, and also the specific commitment to make sure the people that are currently struggling, people who are struggling financially, will be supported, will be helped, and that the next generation will have the opportunity to be lifted.

"I think this is a really important reassertion of the Conservative values that I think, frankly, we just forgot to talk about during the last general election."

READ MORE: Theresa May handed P45 during her conference speech [with video]

Fellow backbencher Alec Shelbrooke said it was a "one nation Conservative agenda" that spoke about helping people who felt they have been left behind, as well as delivering Brexit.

"I think when you look at the range of policies which brought that about there, the direction that is being set for this Government for the next five years, drawing on the manifesto, I think it's a positive move for Britain and I think that's what's important," he said.

Conservative backbencher Mark Pritchard expressed his support for Mrs May and called for ministers who briefed against her to be sacked.

"The Brexit negotiations should not be a beauty contest for future leadership hopefuls.

"Briefing against Theresa May is damaging to Brexit and damaging to Britain.

"Disloyal ministers should be sacked," he said.