Conference Diary – Part 3
Firstly, my apologies for not managing to keep up this diary every day. The reasons for this are that during Conference, I didn’t get much time to sit and write up this diary as I was kept busy with listening to very interesting & informative debates on a wide range of subjects, attending (and helping to lead one) fringe events and, of course, meeting up with friends & colleagues from across the country in the hotel bar & elsewhere. I also had to write a couple of speeches myself to deliver if I was called. I managed to deliver one of them, which you can see here, in the Adapting to Climate Change debate and here is the text of the speech I wanted to give in the Emergency Debate on the Middle East but sadly I wasn’t called.
This was my 7th Party Conference so I should have realised that I would never be able to keep up a daily diary. I didn’t even make it to every debate or speech in the main conference so the YouTube playlists of all the debates is a great way of catching up, even for those that were there. There are also videos from other parts of the main conference, speeches from ministers, various Q&A sessions, etc. If you don’t want to sit through all five days’ worth you can look at the daily highlights programs:
Part of the fun of conference, is the exhibition made up of stalls from different party groups, charities trying to explain why they need our support and corporate bodies (Trade Groups, Trades Unions, companies and even the Governments of Gibraltar & the Falkland islands) trying influence us, there is a full list in the Conference Directory. I really enjoyed going round collecting the freebies they were keen to force on us discussing issues like why build Nuclear Power Stations with EDF or if we really need more airports with Let Britain Fly. I also found out a great deal about different issues from talking to the RNIB about how we can deal with curable eye conditions with RNIB and the scourge of Fix Odds Betting Terminals and the damage they do to poor communities from Stop FOBTs as well as many others.
The third, and by no means least important, part of Conference is the fringe events. These are talks, seminars, discussions organised by party groups, charities, think tanks & others held during the lunch breaks & evenings. They give a less formal chance to ask questions and make comments on a wide range of issues, again there is a full list in the Directory. During the five days of Conference I went to a wide range of meetings about diverse issues, from Peace between Palestine & Israel, dying in the 21st Century, Climate Change, helping children of prisoners, property in politics to mental health issues. All really informative and enjoyable.
On Tuesday evening the highlight of the Fringe was the traditional meeting of Glee Club, a mixture of a social gathering, community singing (of some very funny but unrepeatable songs) and plenty of alcohol. What makes the Lib Dems special for me is that even after some very heated debates & disagreements, we can get together to laugh at ourselves (& at others) and realise that we have a common aim, a more equal country where all can live up to their potential.
Conference ended with a final speech from our outgoing Party President, Tim Farron and a rousing speech from Nick Clegg and we all are now back in our constituencies, gearing up for the elections in 7 months’ time.
The theme of Conference was not to celebrate what the Lib Dems have achieved in Government (and believe me we have achieved much, see my article Lib Dem (un)Broken Promises) but how much more there is to do to make Britain a fairer and more equitable society and that neither the Tories nor Labour are willing (or even able) to shoulder the challenge. I will try to expand on this theme in the coming weeks and months to show why the Lib Dems are the party of the future and why you should vote for us, for me here in Bassetlaw, to give a strong Liberal & Democratic voice in Parliament & in Government.
