Party Conferences

Party Conferences take place annually, with the larger political parties choosing late September/early October and the smaller ones opting for February/March/April. The timings are designed to fit in with Parliamentary closures (‘recesses’) and can give a party a boost before the new session begins. The autumn Conferences together make up the ‘Party Conference Season’ and no Conference overlaps dates with any other, by tradition.

Until recently, Conference venues have been seaside towns, such as Brighton and Blackpool, but nowadays they may be cities with state-of-the-art conference centres, such as Birmingham. With thousands of members, organisers, newspaper reporters, MPs and party representatives, a key factor is the availability of reasonably priced hotel accommodation for up to four days. A party’s requirements may also include a hall with stage, an exhibition hall, separate meeting rooms for break-out sessions and ‘fringe’ events, and restaurant facilities for informal networking.

For the Labour Party, this is a get-together with the Trade Unions, who have 50% of the votes in any policy decisions. For the Conservatives, this is an opportunity for businesses to promote their brand and their concerns. In March 2020, the Green Party was the first to attempt an online one-day Conference attended via home PCs.

(Image: Adrian Scottow at Flickr.com / CC BY-SA 2.0)