View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. Politics
17 September 2007updated 31 Jul 2023 12:44pm

Start with a run end with an auction

Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson details an eclectic day at party conference which begins with an early morning

By Jo Swinson

Greetings from the Brighton seafront – and at 7:30am this morning I literally was on the seafront, having got up ridiculously early to take part in a Sport Relief mile-long run for charity.

I have to say, many conference delegates may have stayed up a little too late in the bars last night, as it was a small but merry bunch of us braving the chill in our running kit.

I also think the course (from one pier to the other and back) was a tad longer than a mile! Still, it was a good way to prepare for a busy day at Conference, and as I am also in training for the Loch Ness marathon in less than three weeks’ time, it killed two birds with one stone. Sponsorship welcome for the Anaphylaxis Campaign.

Last night the conference rally was the event to be at, and it was standing room only to hear Ming, Nick Clegg, Philippe Sands QC and Shami Chakrabati on the subject of civil liberties.

Liberty’s director Shami was particularly superb, and I especially liked an analogy she used to describe how we are losing our civil liberties in the UK. She explained how if you put a frog in a pan of boiling water, it quite sensible jumps straight out. But if you put it in a pan of water at room temperature, and slowly turn up the heat, it will stay there until it boils to death. Little by little, we are losing our freedoms.

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

Another event of note, and perhaps of interest to readers of this blog, was the Lib Dem Blogger of the Year awards, which was won by James Graham. The list of Lib Dem bloggers grows each year.

Today a highlight is going to be a question and answer session with Ming, chaired by Sandi Toksvig. I suspect this year he may be staying away from questions about musical taste…

And then this evening I’m looking forward to a fundraising auction for the party’s Campaign for Gender Balance, which I chair. My fellow New Statesman blogger (!) Lembit Opik is hosting it, there are loads of great unique items up for grabs, and as well as raising money it promises to be a most entertaining event.

Content from our partners
The promise of prevention
How Labour hopes to make the UK a leader in green energy
Is now the time to rethink health and care for older people? With Age UK

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU