Author Archives: Barry Rhodes

Four conference ago, I walked into Liberal Democrat conference as a delegate. I arrived on my own, not knowing many people and not really knowing what to expect.

This year’s conference has now come to an end. It was my fourth conference overall and my third time stewarding, so I thought it was a good opportunity to reflect on what conference looks like from the other side of the barrier.

When you attend as a delegate, you naturally see the debates, speeches, motions and fringe events. What you don’t necessarily see is everything that happens behind the scenes to make it all work.

That’s where the stewards come in.

There are people arriving who need directions, rooms to check, questions to answer and all the little things that need to happen throughout the day. It can be busy, but that’s part of what makes it enjoyable. You’re part of a team and everyone is there to help make sure conference runs as smoothly as possible.

Being a steward also doesn’t mean giving up your own conference experience. You still get opportunities to attend debates, fringe events and other sessions you’re interested in. With a bit of planning around your stewarding duties, you can still get along to the things you really want to see.

That’s important because we’re all there for our own reasons. For me, there are debates I want to hear, fringe events I want to attend and, of course, people I want to catch up with.

And the people are probably my favourite part of conference.

I’ve been lucky to work with a fantastic stewarding team, led by our chief steward Jodie. She does a brilliant job of keeping everyone organised and making sure the team feels supported.

Over the three conferences I’ve stewarded, I’ve met some brilliant people and made friendships that have grown beyond the stewarding shifts. There are people I might not see for months, but when conference comes around again, it’s like no time has passed.

Sometimes the evening can be just as memorable as the daytime programme. You can sit down with friends for a chat about the day’s events and end up talking about politics, life and everything else until much later than you intended.

That’s the thing about conference. The politics brings people together, but the friendships are what make it special.