Every time the party conference season comes around there are always people that say that have come to their end of the natural life, that attendance does not really matter and that all business goes on in Westminster anyway.
They are wrong. The party conferences remain a mainstay of the British political system and of public affairs activity. That does not mean that organisations should always spend huge sums of money organising events, holding exhibitions or sponsoring party events but instead a carefully built and targeting conference campaign can prove useful. It's all about the right actions for the campaign or issue.
Each conference has its own way of behaving and each party its own way of policy making some involving the conferences more than others. The Labour conference used to be considered the 'parliament of the party' but it is a long time since it played that role. The main role of the Conservative conference is for party members to show their support for the leadership. The Conservative Party understood the meaning of discipline and unity long before Labour had it imposed on them by an unforgiving electorate and media. The Lib Dem conference is probably the closest there now is to democracy at a conference but being in government appears to be providing more certainty to the leadership about the behaviour, and votes, of the membership.
For those involved in campaigns the party conferences can still play an important role.
1. Communicating with a wider audience – activity at conferences offers the prospect of getting to more people and, if properly organised, building a wider basis of support for the campaign. The party conferences are not just about politicians and their advisers but party members, local councillors, trade unions, the media and other campaigning groups. These could all be stakeholders that are important to your campaign.
2. Meeting and greeting – not everyone finds themselves in London all the time and conferences offer the prospect of bumping into those that you are trying to work with. It is generally a more informal space and so even the most fleeting discussion can at least mean that a follow-up is possible. The connection may never otherwise have been made. Those that claim that more can be done in London are missing the point and are taking a very London and Westminster centric view of the world.
3. Getting involved – the political parties like to see that efforts have been made to get involved in their party processes. This has, of course, nothing to do with the conferences also being part of the fund raising efforts of the parties. Involvement in the conferences can also lead to further opportunities for participation for instance through participation in events.
4. Understanding the parties – it is very difficult to understand the parties properly if you do not attend the conferences. The delivery of effective advice makes this level of knowledge critical. Too often the emphasis is solely on Government. That may be right for some but may not be a wide enough view for other campaigns.
5. Information – attending the fringe meetings organised around the conferences offer the prospect of not only hearing about policy and ideas from the politicians but also other stakeholders. The discussions often provide an insight into future policy development and provide a welcome insight into some of the personalities involved as well.
The death of the party conference has been widely foretold but remains a long way off. There is a wide spectrum of types of involvement from attendance right through to sponsorship of party events. It is important that your public affairs campaign adopts the right actions and level of party conference activity. The party conference dates should continue to feature in your calendar.
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