After forty years of political party membership, and having held almost every post possible in the party, from being a humble newsletter deliverer, constituency party office bearer, newsletter editor, fundraiser, party executive member at Scottish and Federal level, conference delegate for decades, Edinburgh City councillor, election agent at local council and Westminster level, Member of Parliament at Westminster for Edinburgh West (retiring undefeated) and more, I decided to continue campaigning outside the political bubble and leave party political activity behind.

Instead, I have moved on, and back, to community campaigning, where I started when I first joined the Liberal Party in 1980.

My old Council ward (where I still live) now has all three of its Councillors Liberal Democrats, my MSP, Alex Cole-Hamilton, now leads the party in Scotland, and my old seat at Westminster is ably represented by Christine Jardine with a massive majority. Forty year of hard work has helped build a solid Liberal Democrat heartland.

And so, I am busy organising a community buy-out of a local hall and bar to benefit the entire local community in the historic village where I live and used to represent on the community council, City Council and at Westminster. I’m also meeting with the Scottish Water Industry Commission and one of the world’s leading civil engineering companies and the Filmhouse cinema to discuss how best to increase the public’s awareness of a number of water related issues, both here and abroad.

Currently, I am organising a concert that follows on from the broadcast of the television programme The Piano, where one episode was filmed in Edinburgh’s Waverley station, when a young woman, who had fled from Ukraine with her baby, played at the railway station, and Mika and Lang Lang were the judges.

The pianist, Daria, moved the audience with her story about having no choice but to leave her life behind when she and her baby fled Kherson after the outbreak of war, and she dazzled the Edinburgh audience with her rendition of a tango, Libertango. She was selected from the Edinburgh heat and progressed to the final concert at the end of the series.

Immediately after her Edinburgh performance was broadcast, I tracked her down and invited her to return to the city and perform in a fundraising concert for families in Ukraine, an invitation she then accepted. You can imagine my surprise when I watched the final episode and saw my email invitation on the TV screen.

The concert I have organised will be held on 12th October in St Cecilia’s Hall, which is a lovely venue in the city centre. it is Scotland’s oldest purpose-built concert hall and home to The University of Edinburgh’s musical instrument collection. If you are ever in Edinburgh it is worth a visit. As Carol and I are covering all the costs of the concert, 100% of all proceeds from ticket sales will go to support the work of Sunflower Scotland.

Sunflower Scotland is a charity helping families in Ukraine affected by the war and which regularly takes medical and other aid to the frontline. You can see what we are doing this month, as another consignment leaves Edinburgh over the conference weekend.

So, if you’re likely to be in Edinburgh on 12 October, why not come along or buy a ‘virtual ticket’ for the event.

Although I will not be at conference, I hope you all have a great time in Brighton, and appreciate that outside the political bubble there are also many people working hard to create a more liberal society, both here and abroad.

* John Barrett was a Liberal Democrat Member for 40 years and is a former, Edinburgh City Councillor and Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West.