Andrew Mitchell, the Tory chief whip under a cloud after his clash with police in Downing Street, will stay away - even though the conference is just up the road from his constituency.
Later, Downing Street sought to play down the Commons clash, saying that the Prime Minister had known of the impending resignation - but he believed that confirming this to the chamber would leave the party open to accusations of control freakery.
The commercial bankers' greatest fear is of repeating Credit Suisse's protracted takeover of First Boston, a Wall Street firm, which resulted in a fiery transatlantic clash of cultures and enormous losses.