Conference Season is Open: Political discussions devolve from the chambers in Westminster to conference cities across the country

Sitting squarely between the summer holiday season and the Christmas season is the lesser-known conference season!

This Friday signals the start of the 2025 political party conference season, and it kicks off with a bang as Reform UK open their conference at the NEC in Birmingham. We can expect Nigel Farage to level his political twelve-bore at all opponents and dominate the headlines over the weekend ahead.

In the current climate, politics is associated with words like volatility, uncertainty and unpredictability as the usual stability and pendulum swings between the major parties have been replaced with talk of seven, eight or even nine parties that are planning to contest seats in upcoming elections, and so the spread of conferences extends far beyond the old groupings. 

Conference season is an important time of the year for all parties, a time to bring the faithful together with their elected representatives at all levels, to share ideas, collaborate on campaign initiatives, reboot their messaging and sell their vision to the outside world and media outlets. Quite often, conferences are also the venues for plotting, conspiracy and attempts by political leaders to say and do the right things to help preserve their authority and position. Conferences are so important to our national political calendar that we even have a dedicated Commons Recess when Parliament does not sit, instead sending elected representatives off to their respective gatherings. This year, Parliament in Westminster rises on the 16th September and gathers again almost a month later, on the 13th October.

In that time, Labour will gather in Liverpool, the Conservatives will meet in Manchester, both the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats will convene in Bournemouth (although not together), Plaid Cymru will assemble in Swansea, and the Scottish National Party will head to Aberdeen for their event. Notably all of the conferences take place during the recess period, with the exception of Reform UK – maybe the diary was full or perhaps it suits their narrative to be the disruptors and not follow the establishment norms of the other parties.

To political activists, public affairs consultants and the media, conference season is a highlight of the political calendar. You will hear some moans about fatigue, travelling around the country and burning the midnight oil discussing policy ideas, but don’t take those complaints at face value, as many of the protestors are soaking up the delights and opportunities of the conference season.

Despite the importance of the conference season and the fact that collectively, they will attract somewhere over 40,000 visitors across the parties this year, there is still a sense of them being private or internal party events and many individuals, businesses and organisations are just not sufficiently connected to the opportunities. So, why are party conferences so valuable?

Each conference represents a unique gathering of elected representatives at every level – from parish hall to Downing Street, councillors, Parliamentarians, Ministers, Peers mingle with party activists, visitors, and business leaders in an open and informal way that underpins the very best of our open, accessible and connected democracy. There is no event like a party conference for bringing all tiers of elected politicians together.

Conference is also the focus for attendance by business groups, charities, think tanks, campaign groups and other influencers, and any of the hot topics of day (and quite a few less well-considered topics) will be discussed and examined at length. While the days of government policy being voted on by the conference floor might be behind us, never underestimate the power of some of those conversations and fringe discussions to plant seeds for the policies of the future.

The value of conferences is emphasised by the informality of the event – thousands of people squeeze hundreds of events, meetings, discussions and receptions into a few days in one city. You will undoubtedly bump into people you were not expecting to meet, discuss issues that you had never intended to talk about, and come away with new insights you had never imagined you would learn. If you are there to represent a campaign, charity or a business, you have also hopefully succeeded in planting some of those ideas, insights, challenges and solutions in the minds of some of the people you have met. 

If you are a conference regular you will understand exactly what the benefits of attending are and while you might be complaining about having to pack for numerous trips over the coming weeks, you will also be looking forward to the September and October you know only too well. If you have not yet dipped into party conferences, come and talk to us about how they work, what they mean, and how you might benefit from attending.

Finally, to sum up whether political conferences are worthwhile – well, this is my 37thconsecutive year of attending (including the lockdown virtual version) so you can probably work out what I think! 

If you will be swapping the corridors of Westminster for the lobbies of the Hilton, Highcliff, Pullman or Midland, let us know if you would like to catch up. The SEC Newgate UK team will be in attendance throughout the season and look forward to seeing you over the coming weeks.