Tories' laughable sham of conference democracy

The BBC reports of the Conservative conference:

...there will even be regular votes on the conference floor, which is a novel idea for a Tory conference, on a series of "hot topics".

Subjects to be tackled include "should marketing to children be banned?" and "alcohol does more harm than drugs".

Votes will be cast, X Factor-style, with electronic handsets, although what happens to the results once they are in is less clear.

Excellent. So let's suppose everyone votes to say "yes - alcohol does more harm than drugs".
Then what happens? And (putting aside the fact that alcohol is a drug) what about smoking tobacco, which, when I last checked, kills about five times as many people per year as alcohol?

So the Conservatives - all these wise grey haired individuals - make ponderous statements such as "alcohol does more harm than drugs". That is really worth the membership fee isn't it? Presumably the results of the votes will be written in stone rather like that "I believe" statement which Howard, or was it IDS?, came up with. Then have a ton of earth will be slung on top of the stone and it will be forgotten.

Presumably no vote will be held on the "hot topic" of some of David Cmaeron's recent announcements, for example his idea that the Queen's powers should be lessened. Now that would be a corker. I would expect the machinery to explode with indignation as the delegates pressed their buttons on that one.