Alan Campbell MP: Party Conference season

Previously they headed to seaside towns like Blackpool, Brighton or even Scarborough; nowadays its more likely to be a major northern city with enough hotels and restaurants to cater for thousands of delegates and visitors.

This year’s conferences were different coming so soon after a general election and a change of government.

For the Liberal Delegates it was an attempt to register their presence after gains at the election.

For Labour it was in part celebratory and part an opportunity to set out what the new government will do and why.

And for the Conservatives it is an opportunity to showcase their remaining leadership candidates in front of members who will vote once MP’s have picked their favourites. The challenge for Conservative contenders is having to appeal to the party faithful by tacking right before having to decide whether to tack to the centre where elections are decided.

For winning parties conference tickets are in high demand and the stands are plentiful. For losers there’s the risk of empty halls and little interest. But there’s a shared concern by party managers that the images the viewers see shows a party united, confident of the future and with a plan of how to get there.

Parties often get a short term boost from intensive exposure over Conference week but the real test is whether it’s the foundation of future success and how enthused MP’s are when they return to Westminster.

Alan Campbell is Labour MP for Tynemouth