It’s nearly over; a very late night tonight, the Leader’s speech tomorrow morning – which, of course, will be brilliant and then it’s back to Bath.
If you’ve never been to a party conference you would be amazed by the stamina of most delegates. We’re up early for breakfast meetings and from there we attend some of the main debates, maybe give a speech or two, squeezing in fringe meetings through lunchtime. Then, even more debates, meetings or training sessions until late at night and finally the partying and, as Lembit pointed out, the real political debates truly begin. So I’ll be going back to the real world with my political batteries thoroughly re-charged but in need of a rest.
At the conference you are in a strange bubble; almost oblivious to the world outside. For the past few days – as the party’s culture, media and sports spokesman – I’ve been immersed in issues as diverse as the distribution of Lottery funds, preparations for 2012, the future of ITV, the role of creativity in education and the challenges faced by our rugby clubs. But I’ve not had time to see or hear the news or to read a newspaper (except the clippings I’m handed showing only the daily press coverage of the conference). I’m out of touch with anything else. I don’t even have any idea what’s happened in the Archers.
But I do know that that we have been hitting the right buttons on issues that matter to ordinary people. Certainly our policies on tax cuts for average and low income households have been well received. So was our debate, involving Graham Le Saux, on the way football fans are losing out with the high cost of watching the game on TV and rip-off prices for season tickets.
We even debated and voted for the possible re-introduction of standing in top flight football games, subject to strict safety criteria. Our decision got generally favourable press coverage. The Sunday Express, however, did what Liberal Democrats used to be accused of doing: trying to have it both ways. The main article had people accusing me and the party of being “insensitive”, “crackpots”, “a severe embarrassment to Nick Clegg”. Meanwhile, a few pages later the editorial claims, “Liberal Democrats should be applauded for re-opening a debate that has engaged football fans for the past two decades…Shouldn’t clubs have the option of having a section of their ground for fans to stand in?”
As I drive back to Bath for a few hours sleep, I’ll reflect on how far we’ve come in developing popular, radical but realistic policies that reflect debates being held over drinks, and in living rooms, far beyond our little bubble in Bournemouth.
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