Conference season round-up

Friday, 8 October 2004 12:00 AM

The close of the Conservative Party conference yesterday has brought to an end the traditional conference season.

The TUC, Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Conservatives, as well as smaller parties like the SNP and UKIP have all held their annual conference over the past month. Though party conferences, and the contributions of ordinary members, are more tightly controlled than they were a few years ago, they normally manage to throw up a few controversies and interesting debates.

With the next general election widely anticipated for May 5th, this season had the added piquancy of being most likely the last party gatherings before the campaign starts in earnest.

As such, there was little dissent on view, with the party leaderships seeking to promote their policies and flesh out the detail of previously announced targets.

Running as a backdrop to the political season was the by-election in Hartlepool, which the Government scheduled for the final day of the Labour Party conference. Labour took the seat, albeit with a much reduced majority, with the Liberal Democrats coming in second, and the Conservatives relegated to fourth place behind the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).

politics.co.uk brought you all the key reaction from the conference floor, and today will take you through this year's key highlights.

Liberal Democrats 19th-23rd September, Bournemouth

The Liberal Democrats were eager to present themselves as a real alternative to both Labour and the Conservatives in the upcoming general election. In his speech to the conference, leader Charles Kennedy sought to define the week by insisting that the Lib Dems are moving from being a "party of protest to a party of power".

Mr Kennedy stressed that there was now an era of three-party politics in the UK, and devoted much of his speech to stressing that liberal instincts on modern Britain were increasingly best represented by the Lib Dems. Mr Kennedy was also at pains to stress that there would be no pre-election deals with the Labour Party on his party's support in the event of a hung parliament, though he did not conclusively rule out negotiations on a coalition after the election result. The party is in coalition government with the Labour Party in Scotland and holds a number of Scottish ministerial positions.

On the policy front, the environment was a strong theme throughout the week. Environment spokesman Norman Baker told the conference that the environment would "run through" all of his party's policies if in government. He pledged action on public transport, increased funding for renewable energies, and international action on climate change.

On crime, the party was keen to emphasise that they are not soft on crime but equally that the "Blunkett way is not working". Home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten suggested that communities should be given a greater say in the punishment of low level criminals, as well as more community sentences and drug treatment orders.

There were also key pledges on the abolition of council tax, a raise in the basic state pension for the over 75s, free personal care and the abolition of university fees and top-up fees.

Treasury spokesman Vince Cable was keen to emphasise that, contrary to jibes from the media and political opponents, the party's spending plans do add up.

Labour 26th-30th September, Brighton

Labour arrived in Brighton after a flurry of opinion polls painted a mixed picture of their electoral prospects. Though few commentators seriously expect the party to lose the next election, polls showed that Labour, and Tony Blair personally, had taken a big hit in support over Iraq, despite still remaining top.

One of the overriding themes of the conference was the need to trumpet Labour's record on domestic affairs, such as the creation of the minimum wage, stabilisation of the economy, low unemployment and record investment in schools and hospitals.

In his key note speech, the Chancellor Gordon Brown said that Labour has "not yet done enough" on the public services and workplace rights, and called for all in the party to reach out to those beyond the party to "unite the country behind our vision".

He promised to introduce a minimum wage for all from the age of 16, expand the provision of affordable housing, give all adults without basic skills a real second chance and fund skills education.

Though the leadership lost a vote on renationalisation of the railways, it comfortably won a vote calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of support from Iraq after it gained the backing of the main unions.

Mr Blair's speech seemed to touch many of the key buttons of the conference. In what was a departure from the evangelical style of previous years, Mr Blair sough to stress what Labour has already done to help working people, and promised that a third term would focus on power, wealth and opportunity for the many, not the few. He told delegates that Labour would help first time home buyers get on the property ladder, do more on vocational education, offer greater choice for schools and hospitals, roll out childcare for parents of three to 14-year-olds, boost pensions, beef up law and order, produce a system of ID cards for immigrants, and underscore a fair deal for all at work.

Mr Blair said: "I don't want to create a society where all succeed equally, but an opportunity society where all have an equal chance to succeed no matter what their background, class or race".

The Prime Minister, however, waited until the conference, and the by-election, was over to confirm in an interview that he was to undergo minor heart surgery, and would serve a full third term if elected.

Conservatives 4th-7th October, Bournemouth

The Conservatives came into the conference with a fourth place in the Hartlepool by-election still resonating. Party leaders put a brave face on the result, and were keen to emphasise that by-election results do not necessarily reflect the general election.

The key theme of the week was that of delivery, with Michael Howard promising a "timetable for action" to delineate exactly what an elected Conservative Party would do in power. Mr Howard stressed that "accountability and trust" should be the party's watchwords, and to restore trust in politics they needed to ensure deliverable policies.

Mr Howard said he did not have all the solutions; he would promise only what he could deliver, and give the public clear measures against which he could be judged. "There will be no wiggle room. Everyone will be able to hold us to account," he added.

Specific promises include a freeze on civil service recruitment, the scrapping of the Department for Constitutional Affairs, a raise in the basic state pension and more police on the streets.

On the thorny issue of a cut in taxation, the party refused to make any definite promises. Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin stressed that the Conservatives are a "low tax party", but said no specific promises could be made at this stage.

All were emphatic that the Conservatives could win the next general election.

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