No sooner do I provide a link to the preliminary agenda than the Real Thing hits the web. No smooth behind-the-scenes information-gathering on my watch, I say!
Speaking of information-gathering: Lib Dem Voice, being as we all know cobbled together with eggboxes and bits of string a thriving liberal hub with big plans for the future, will be covering all the major debates and as many other of the 150-odd scheduled events as possible during conference, and by god we need help we have a few select positions for freelance reporters to offer their impressions of any debate or fringe event they fancy.
If you’ve already penned in an unmissable fringe event and don’t mind sparing half an hour to tell everyone else how it went, or if you’d like your take on the transport paper debate transmitted to the world**, then it couldn’t be simpler.
Drop me an email at aemortimer [at] hotmail.com or leave your email in the comments form below telling me what event you’d like to cover. We will supply you with any help you need on the day, provide a diddy laptop to create your magnum opus and then we’ll press the button that goes PING!
A veritable chocolate box luxury selection of events that may tempt you to take up your keyboard might include…
Saturday
FULL CONFERENCE:
Consultative session – childcare. Chaired by Susan Kramer.
Security & liberty in a globalised world. The motion debate on policy paper 74, moved by Ed Davey. By ‘eck, it takes up a lot of space in the agenda document. Well, it’s a big world out there.
Power to the People – the opener evening rally starring Nick Clegg as “Nick Clegg”.
FRINGE:
PR – why should we care? Making the popular case for voting reform. A damned good question.
Sunday
FULL CONFERENCE:
Mystery Urgent Issue – whatsoever it may be…
Speech from David Laws. The shadow bod for education has plenty of current material to get his teeth into – tuition fees, SATs, early years funding and the dead hand of centralisation…
Private Finance Initiatives. Ooh. Do we love them or do we hate them? Or could the sensible answer perhaps lie somewhere in the middle…
Cutting crime by catching criminals. Well, there’s a fresh approach! No, really, it is… Moved by Brian Paddick.
FRINGE:
Labour and the Lib Dems: allies or enemies? Depends which end of the creaky old two-party axis we’re currently despairing of more. Charles Clarke and David Lammy guest – what will they think?
An estate of mind – does new housing have to mean soulless neighbourhoods? You ain’t got nothin’ if you ain’t got a transport infrastructure, local amenities and access to primary education.
Who are universities for and who pays in the knowledge economy? Evan Harris hosts a session that is bound to add fuel to the fire in the debate on tuition fees. If there is a debate taking place, of course. There may not be.
Monday
FULL CONFERENCE:
Consultative session – the Party Reform Commission. Here it is – the consultation paper you’ve all been waiting for! Dem bones, dem bones…
Eco-towns. Conference believes that “new developments should be subject to the local and democratically accountable planning system, not imposed by central government.” Surely a no-brainer for liberalism and common sense.
Speech by Dr Vince Cable. Everyone’s favourite Chancellor. Funny little formality of not being in government prevents him from actually taking up office.
Make It Happen. Shall we?
FRINGE:
So you think you’re a radical? Starring Paddy Ashdown as “Paddy Ashdown”
Tuesday
FULL CONFERENCE:
A response to the housing and mortgage crisis. Our Vince shows them how it’s done.
Fast-track Britain. Debate on the policy paper – Norman Baker is the mover (hehe, geddit?)
FRINGE:
No place like home – is affordable housing now out of reach? Having heard Vince solve the current crisis in the morning (see above), at lunchtime Lembit Opik will look to the future. Hey, this is easy!
The Future of the North – hosted by the North West Regional Development Agency, One North East, and Yorkshire Forward. But I thought we’d decided to shut the north down?
And many, many more! Go to t’link at the top for the full diaries, and see what jumps out.
* Well, more “get” really.
** 14,000 people. Actually, that’s still not bad.
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10 Comments
I think the link to the Security policy paper is wrong. Try this:
http://www.libdems.org.uk/media/conference/A08Securitypaper.pdf
Alix, stick me down to fill in a gap or two if I’m acceptable. Do I have to use the LDV laptops though? I bet mine is better, more portable, and one I’m more used to…
Oh Alix…it’s so sweet how you’re so excited about conference even though you lost your conference virginity at spring 🙂
I’m still excited about conference and I’ve gone to quite a few now!
I’ll do some article’s for you..although I will as usual be spending a lot of my time at the PCA stand – hopefully showing people how to use and put their entries on Who’s wHo…yes, I haven’t forgotten about, hopefully it’ll be up nd ready in a couple of days now!
Weird, could’ve sworn I met her at Brighton last autumn 😉
It’s funny, isn’t it? If the party wanted to be really radical, it could very easily organise a virtual conference, open to participation from as many members as wanted to take part. There could be virtual debates, virtual votes, and even virtual elections to the Federal Executive.
I mean, it’s all very well to say we’re using the weekend for the benefit of those who actually work for a living, but the Monday and Tuesday aspect tends to be a bit of a killer as far as they’re concerned!
When I was young many of the debates at the party conferences were broadcast live by the BBC. Nowadays it’s a few soundbites on the evening news – provided not much else has happened that day.
But I suppose we’re just going to carry on playing the same old tunes regardless, just like the Salvation Army band in On the Beach, while we fade away gradually into nothingness …
Some of us work WEEKENDS for a living, you know.
Whereas these days BBC Parliament broadcasts pretty much all of them. Wonderful how much extra attention they give us, innit?
The last manifesto consultation did a large part online, worked OK from what I can tell, but part of the point of conference is the social aspect of it all, I want to meet face to face all the people I’ve been talking to online, etc.
MatGB
Being on a satellite/cable channel few people are watching scarcely compares with being on BBC1/BBC2 – and that was in the days when there were only three television channels of any description.
And I’m sure it’s nice for the small percentage of the members who are able to attend to enjoy the social aspect, but I was thinking it might be nice to involve the rest of the membership in some way.
@ Mat GB Bully for you! Why did she write articles porporting to be from her first conference in spring then? :@)