Conference 2012 Diary: Sunday

Busy first day at main conference.  Mainly procedural stuff.  Highlight was the Scottish Delagation Reception and Celeidh in the evening.  Brilliant fiery speech from Johann Lamont and we found out that leader of Glasgow City Council Gordon Mathieson can hold a crowd with a Sinatra song just as well as a speech!  You had to be there.

A big theme was how united the party was. 

Made some notes at each session.  Copied them in below verbatim.

Boundary Review Briefing

From Greg Cook, Head of communications and strategy

Well attended

Assumption is that boundary changes will not happen although process continues. Boundary commissions report to parliament by October 2013.  Secretary of state (Clegg) expected to bring legislation to Parliament.  Expected there will be lots of politics around this. 

Would add 1% to swing hurdle for Labour.  Main advantage to Tories.  LibDems stand to lose up to 14 seats as well as danger to incumbency factor.

There will still be a commission after 2015 to review the size of parliament.

Impact on CLPs.

Draft proposals for England due to be published October 2012.

New boundaries would have required new CLPs to be established in advance of selections.  This plan is on hold.

Nick Clegg has said "nothing will change my mind".  And he is a man of his word.

Scottish CLPs will reorganise around Scottish Parliament boundaries.

NEC will probably wait until Boundary Commission proposals for England published (October 2012) and then agree selection plans after that.

NEC retains final authority over all Westminster selections including Scotland.

Fabian Society and ResPublica

Deepening Democracy; can parties reconnect people and politics?

Stella Creasy MP, Peter Kellner, Caroline Macfarland (ResPublica)

A lot of earnest bright young things at this one. 

Peter Kellner: ugov research.  16m people didn't vote at last election.  Not all reachable but 90% is achievable.  People don't like politicians who don't answer questions or who argue for effect rather than from passion.  Big chnage?  Open primaries would be much more inclusive.

Caroline Macfarland; read out a lot of stuff about people's perceptions of politicians but not much about what do do about it.  Academic. Party politics is important but shouldn't be prioritised over other forms of community engagement.

Anthony Rowlands; centre forum and LibDem candidate.  What a waffler. Reputation of parties tarnished by behaviour of parliamentarians.  Candidates must show they are interested and engaged in the lives of ordinary people.  Must be more representative.  Street surgeries work.

Stella Creasy; people need to sense that working together does deliver real change.. We need to engage people between elections not just at them. Relating people's lives to the changes we want to see.  Spoke really well.

The movement for change in Walthamstow.  Its not about process and structure it's about engaging people to change their own lives.

Peter Kellner says the Atticus Finch speech to jury in to Kill a Mockingbird defines what we are about.

Movement for Change

Chaired by David Milliband.  Chief Exec is Kathryn Peraras whol told us her story about engaging her community in Aylesford.  Going door to door to identify support about an issue.

There is no movement in the Highlands. They would like to have one.  Campaigns included the Living Wage, Payday Loans.

Young activists talking about their own campaign.  Mick from Swansea, Finn from Manchester. £7.20 is now the minimum wage at Manchester Uni, for paid and contract staff.  Cleaners now only need one job.

Legal loan sharking (pay day loans) : "don't mourn, get organised".  (Cobden).  Stella Creasy.  17 lenders on Walthamstow High St.  FA should not allow Wonga to advertise on Blackpool or Hearts FC.  Need legislation for a total cost cap.  Increase the roll of local credit unions. #sharkstoppers.  So many families are being held back by debt.  US companies coming here because US states have put a limit on interest rates.

Brilliant example of a "tweet action"; dozens of people in the room exchanging ideas on Twitter using the hash tag.  People committing to do things there and then.

Red Card for Wonga at Tynecastle.

Use Google Adsense to block Wonga and other adverts.

Daveid Milliband:  we may be out of power and frustrated but this movement shows we can still deliver change.

The labour party needs to be a movement not a machine. Movement for Change is about doing not talking.  It means there are no no go areas.  People support back.  It makes the party more like the country's we want to represent.  Politics is about people.

DM very supportive of his brother during his speech.