Next month, I’ll have been a Liberal, and then Liberal Democrat, for forty years, something I occasionally find hard to credit, but my body reminds me of from time to time. I’ve seen a lot, and met a lot of people in that time. What that means is that there are plenty of people that I run into at Federal Conference who I know, or who know me, and it’s always nice to find out what they’re up to, running councils, or doing serious things elsewhere.

But what’s noticeable is the astonishing number of people who I don’t know, and don’t recognise. And that’s a thoroughly good thing. I am slightly ashamed to admit that that includes a number of our newly elected MPs. The ALDC guide to our new MPs is useful, although a pocket-sized version would be incredibly helpful!

It acts as a reminder that political parties succeed when they evolve, when a new cadre of activists, organisers and policy specialists emerge to take on the vital work of taking our liberalism forward. And whilst it might have been “better in the old days”, the point is that tools change, society changes and the challenges we face as individuals and campaigners change.

There is a real opportunity for members and activists to influence what happens next, and it’s been noticeable here in Brighton that there has been an emphasis on listening from those in key leadership roles. The Lords Parliamentary Party event last night was a case in point. What did attendees think the Parliamentary Party should focus on over the term of the Parliament?

I was intrigued to see a number of contributions from campaigning groups outside of the Party who are clearly (a) here in strength and (b) indicate considerable sympathy for the work our Peers have done. And they, along with councillors and activists, had much to offer which sat well with our philosophical agenda and offered a challenge for our Parliamentarians to take to the Labour ministers as they grapple with their new responsibilities.

But for me, the biggest thing about Conference this time is the sheer sense of positivity and promise. Winning seventy-two seats will tend to do that, I accept, but there is a genuine hope that we can punch above our weight in Parliament, and that Labour ministers are open to liberal influence. My older colleagues will doubtless (and not unreasonably) suggest the latter as “a bit naive” but, at this stage, hope ought to spring eternal. We are, at the very least, dealing with a government that isn’t (yet) proven to be malevolent and incompetent.

And talking of the Conservatives, they’re about to face the dilemma that we faced in the last decade – what do you do when your relevance has been shredded? Reports that their defeat has been followed by an inevitable loss of key professional staff both at HQ and across local associations offers a challenge to those who remain. If there’s less money to fight the air war, and a decimated ground game, how do you rebuild?

I’ve noted a trickle of local councillor defections to Reform, and whoever eventually emerges as the new leader will be faced with balancing a membership, many of whom look longingly towards Nigel Farage, with an electorate who are increasingly liberal-minded. It’s an unenviable task and one that I hope will occupy them for a considerable time.

But there’s no time to relax. County elections next year are beginning to loom large and, with Labour likely to field more candidates and fight harder in rural constituencies they gained in July, and Reform attempting to build local campaign groups and fight more seats, there are a new set of challenges to be faced. Opportunities and challenges indeed…

* Mark Valladares is the Monday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and a member of the Party’s Federal Council.