Party Conference Season

 Party Conference season is now underway in the United Kingdom.

The Liberal Democrats held their online conference over the past weekend. Labour holds it's in-person conference in Brighton from next Saturday (25th September) until its conclusion with the Leaders Speech on Wednesday (29th September). The Conservatives have a hybrid conference (on-line and in person) based in Manchester from 3rd to 6th October. Plaid Cymru meet in Aberystwyth on 15th & 16th October. The Green Party has arranged for Workshops (online) on 18-21 October with the Main Conference (online and in person) on 22nd-24th in Birmingham. The SNP held their conference earlier in September.

The PPS Programme on Spectrumonair will be seeking to bring pieces to you about what happens at conference over the next couple of weeks.

Final Day of Conference (Belated)

It's been a very busy few hours (well 50 hours +) since the APG conference finished.

The first session was a panel on "The Discipline of Politics in America: Origins, Problems and Prospects" - an excellent title, since we covered history of the discipline of political science (and associated disciplines), philosophy and thoughts on where the subject may develop in the future. Louisa Hotson traced the development of various lines of thought, with an emphasis on Chicago - and took us through hopes and disappointment. Nathan Pinkonski discussed Leo Strauss. Stephen Welch looked at the positivist basis of American political science.

The final session included John Berg on the politics of coal - tracing the various reasons why this subject has been so important in American politics (as it has been in British). Ron Mendel discussed the Occupy Movements of 2012, while the final paper by Richard Johnson, of the University of Oxford - "Deracialisation: Re-examination of a political strategy" was of such quality that he was awarded the postgraduate prize for best paper.

It was an act of genius for the founders of the APG annual conferences to arrange them for the first days of the new year. This was my fourth conference - and each has set the new year off to an excellent start. They have been interesting and thought provoking. As an added bonus - the APG involves a really nice group of people. Fun and stimulating!

A New Year

The holidays are over - and I find myself in sunny Manchester (no kidding, it's a beautiful sunny, 'refreshing' day in the city. The Annual Conference of the American Politics Group is about to begin. As ever, there are a number of interesting papers to be presented and discussed. The nice thing about APG is that it encompasses a number of disciplines - with of course politics and history being well represented - but lawyers and economists are also here. (I'm a law and political science specialist myself, with a passion for history. Economics well! as Leo said on the Wing West Wing - Economists were put on the earth to make astrologers look good).

We are staying at the Midland Hotel - which is a delight. I normally only spend time at fringe meetings here during party conferences - and this is the place where the top people stay (I go for the cheapest place I can lay my head, for the few hours we get to rest during party conference). Thankfully we got an affordable deal! I'll be posting during the conference - I'm just off to registration & to meet old friends; At 6pm Professor Andrew Rudalevige is giving the keynote address on "The Obama Presidency and Congress: From Glory to Deadlock" - then we have the Conference Dinner.

Party Conferences

I was in Birmingham this week - though not to attend the Conservative Party Conference. I was visiting my mother and giving a law tutorial - but couldn't miss the impact that the Conference was having in the city. My buses were diverted - and whilst sitting in Starbucks, I saw many delegates walking down New Street wearing their conference passes.

But I did attend the previous week's Labour Conference in Manchester - and if you look back at previous posts in earlier years - you'll see that I have described and explained what goes on inside a party conference.

In the USA Party Conventions are held before each Presidential Election. In Britain, party conferences are held annually (and sometimes more frequently). I had the privilege of reading the earliest Labour Party Conference reports whilst I was undertaking a political history research project. Today of course, the primary audience isn't the delegates - or the other people attending the conference in person - but the wider public. It is the venue for major policy statements - and particularly in the run up to a General Election (and Britain's is due on May 7th next year) - it is the opportunity to showcase the policies which each party will be pushing during the election.

The good news - and the bad news...

The good news is that that I am entering the final stretch writing up my Ph.D. Finally the reading; the interviewing and the thinking are coming together into a single structured paper (well a very long paper!). Soon I’ll be submitting, what I hope is a readable draft.


The bad news is that it has meant that I’ve not been able to keep the Washminster posts flowing. (I hope you noticed!)

The good news is that Washminster is about to enter a new exciting period. I’ll be posting from Labour Party Conference. Because I will also be continuing to hone the Ph.D. paper, I will sadly be foregoing the pictures to accompany posts – and they may be a little raw – but I hope that you’ll enjoy the eye witness account; description and explanation of this annual politics-fest.

Then I’ll be back to the full time work on the Ph.D. and prep for the next “adventure”, which is my visit to Virginia for the last couple of weeks of the Presidential; Senate & House races in that great state. As in 2008, I hope to be posting frequently and fully while I’ll there.

So please keep visiting the Washminster blog. I’ll also be tweeting on ‘jdm_progressive’ during this period.

David

Conservative Party Conference

The final major party conference, as is the usual pattern, is that of the Conservative Party. It is being held in Manchester. Last year Labour held their conference there, and will return next year (and I'll be going!). However for 2011 Manchester hosts the Conservatives. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister will address the conference.

A Conference App is available here.

The website can be found here.

Conference Ends

Conference has now ended. The final morning session dealt with 'Sustainable Communities' and 'Local Government'. I listened in the main hall to these debates - then left to make my way to Piccadilly station, to catch the train home to Milton Keynes. Sadly, the timing didn't allow me to stay for the final speech, closing the conference, by Harriet Harman.

At home I unpacked - and added the various books I had acquired to the bookshelves. Uploading videos took a number of hours - and I shall be incorporating them into future Washminster posts over the next few days.

The final party conference begins this weekend as the Conservatives meet in Birmingham.

Conference winds down (and so do I)

The Leader’s speech has been delivered; a number of visitors have left Manchester; and there is a much thinner fringe programme. Apart from the speculation about David Miliband’s future, there has been a less fevered atmosphere than previously. Yet while it has been more relaxed, I’ve probably done more. With the pressure off to rush from event to event, more time has been available to chat with friends – and to talk about the future. So while the anticipated announcement about DM came – he will be stepping back from the frontline of British politics – at least for a while – I have been exploring a return to a more active role.
By the end of the day I had consumed more coffee than was probably good for me – but had enjoyed some good company and progressed with planning activities for future months. I also was able to pop into the conference hall to hear an impressive speech by Ed Balls. The hall outside also had many TV screens so it was possible to watch some of the floor debate – I particularly enjoyed a short speech by Stephen Pound – a serious looking man – who uses humour to devastating effect. In the afternoon session Eddie Izzard and Ed Miliband did a double act, while new members spoke of the reasons why they had come to Labour.

In the evening I went for a random walk around the great city of Manchester. It really is worth a visit. There is a vibrant shopping area – and a wide range of restaurants. Some of its magnificent Victorian buildings remain – and they are worth seeing. I passed a number of restaurants – but didn’t go in. Then on a whim I decided to eat at a Chinese buffet close to the Chinese Arch. It was a good choice – as a couple of friends from Milton Keynes were sitting in there (I’d love to know the probability of such a chance meeting!)

Packing also had to be done – as conference finishes this lunchtime. I shall be heading out soon to upload this post; read some news and have a couple of coffees. By this afternoon I should be home. First task – to book accommodation for next year’s conference in Liverpool. Then, to catch up on all the reading - I'm bringing home some excellent food for the mind!

Arrival in Manchester

Some of my friends complained to me afterwards that it was delivered like the results in X-Factor. They had made their way to Manchester to hear the result of the Labour Party leadership, but in the conference hall the announcement was dragged out. It was almost five o’clock before the crescendo was reached – and all the other “contestants” had been “voted off” that Ed Miliband was proclaimed as the new Labour Party leader.


I had already arrived in Manchester, having spent most of the day with my Open University students preparing for their forthcoming exam. The train from Milton Keynes had arrived at Manchester Piccadilly and I had taken a taxi to my hotel. Whilst checking on, the final moments of the leadership election played out on the TV in the adjacent bar.

Half an hour later I was in the conference centre listening to the accounts of friends who had spent the afternoon in the Hall. The first reception began at 6pm, hosted by the European Commission. It was an interesting reception. We were addressed by the Head of the Commission’s office in London and the leader of the Labour group in the European Parliament. Some interesting conservations with people working with the European institutions.

The second big event saw the arrival of the new leader. Ed Miliband was touring the various receptions – and the European Parliamentary Labour Party reception in the Midland Hotel was packed. He spoke about the challenge ahead – and paid tribute to the candidates he had competed with for the last four months. I had the opportunity to congratulate him in person as he worked his way around the room. The evening was also a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends: meet interesting new people and most of all to discuss the significance of political developments.

I was back at the hotel at a reasonable hour. I’m posting this at a local wifi hotspot – and look forward to updating you as the Annual Conference opens this afternoon.

Manchester

Some delegates for the Labour Party Conference (strictly, conferences - since today's is a special conference - purely for the announcement of the new leader - and their address to party members - and the world) have already arrived. Manchester Withington CLP [Constituency Labour Party - the party for a particular parliamentary electoral district] held an Eve of Conference dinner last night. Most delegates will be travelling up today - and some tomorrow.

Outside the conference hall itself - held on the site of the Peterloo Massacre - there is an exhibition area - at which various bodies and groups will be trying to get their messages across to the delegate & visitors. There is a busy "fringe" - some inside the security zone (which incorporates the Conference Centre; the Midland Hotel and the Radisson Hotel) and others at various venues in Manchester City Centre. The Town Hall is a major venue - where "think tanks" like the Fabian Society will be based.

I already have my planner for the week - there's so much on that I have selected the meetings of greatest interest to me - and listed them in order of preference for each time slot. Which I turn up to will depend on circumstances at the time. I will be posting during the conference - longer pieces on Washminster - and shorter notifications on facebook and twitter (jdavidmorgan - facebook/twitter - and WM_Alert - twitter)

Party Conferences

Today the Liberal Democrat conference continues in Liverpool. It opened on Saturday and will run until Wednesday. Further details are available here. The conference directory - which details the sessions and fringe meetings can be accessed here.

There are two Labour Party Conferences next week. The first conference will be held on Saturday, for the purpose of announcing the result of the election of the new Leader of the Labour Party. (you can sign up to get the results texted to you here.  The Annual Conference begins on Sunday.  Details of fringe events are available here. The Conference is being held in Manchester.

The final conference (of the major UK parties - smaller & regional parties also have their conferences around this time) will be that of the Conservative Party in Birmingham on October 3rd to 6th. Their fringe programme can be accessed here.