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Party conference season

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In the United Kingdom the party conference season is a period of three weeks during September and October of each year, whilst the House of Commons is in recess, in which the annual political party conferences are held.

The Conservative Party Conference, Labour Party Conference and the twice-per-year Liberal Democrat Conference, representing the three largest UK-wide political parties, in terms of seats held, hold their main annual conferences in the autumn. These occur in reverse order to this list, and remains the order regardless as to which party is in government.

In contrast to its main opponents' conferences,[1][2] the Liberal Democrats grant all party members attending its conference, either in-person or online,[3] the right to vote on party policy, under a one member, one vote system.[4][5] Among the three largest UK-wide parties, the Liberal Democrat conference is also unique in providing a ring-fenced access fund,[6] which defrays travel and accommodation costs for both disabled and low-income attendees.[7]

UK-wide political party conferences have traditionally taken place in seaside resorts, at places such as the Empress Ballroom at Winter Gardens in Blackpool, the Brighton Centre in Brighton and the Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, largely due to there being plenty of cheap accommodation available in such towns at the end of the summer holiday season. However, for the two largest parties, they are increasingly taking place in major cities with modern, purpose-built conference centres, such as the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham, the Central Convention Complex in Manchester and the Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) in Liverpool.[8]

Conferences for the devolved Scottish and Welsh parties of the UK-wide Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties are held in March, while the Scottish Green Party holds two conferences each year – a one-day policy event alongside the devolved conferences in March and a two or three day main conference during the main conference season.

There is an unofficial agreement between the parties that they will stagger the timing of their conferences such that media attention be undivided, though smaller parties do not always abide by this rule firmly. In 2012, for example, there was an overlap between the Liberal Democrat and United Kingdom Independence Party annual conferences, with the latter concluding on the opening day of the former, and in 2013 the Liberal Democrat and Green Party of England and Wales conferences overlapped by three days.

Television coverage

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Until the second half of the 1980s, with the exception of a mid-morning 25-minute break for Play School, BBC television had broadcast live, uninterrupted coverage of all of the party conferences, as well as the Trades Union Congress and the CBI conference. However, the commencement of daytime television in October 1986, and with it an extended children's programming clock, meant that the mid-morning interruption extended to 40 minutes from 1987 onwards, with the notable exception of the Trades Union Congress which was shown on BBC2 due to it taking place before the commencement of the new term's schools broadcasts. Subsequent years saw coverage continue to be gradually reduced.

1992 saw the launch of The Parliamentary Channel and live, uninterrupted coverage of the three main party conferences was broadcast, without commentary or interviews. This continued after BBC Parliament took over the service in 1998 and continued until 2019. However, cutbacks at BBC Parliament saw it drop all of its political programming in 2021 other than live and recorded coverage from Westminster and the devolved chambers[9][10] This now means that linear television no longer provides significant coverage of the party conferences, with live coverage on BBC Two restricted to just the party leaders’ speeches of the three main political parties.

Until the early 1980, ITV, and then, for a short while, Channel 4, had also shown coverage. ITV and Channel 4's coverage is now restricted to its scheduled news bulletins.

On radio, coverage was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 but was restricted to scheduled news bulletins. However, the launch of BBC Radio 5 Live saw additional live coverage, which includes the live broadcast of the leaders' speeches.

2024 conference season

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The dates for the 2024 conferences are as follows:

Party Venue City/Town Country Date
Scottish National Party Edinburgh International Conference Centre Edinburgh Scotland 30 August - 1 September
Green Party of England and Wales Manchester Central Convention Complex Manchester England 6 - 8 September
Trades Union Congress Brighton Centre Brighton England 8 - 11 September
Liberal Democrats (UK) Brighton Centre Brighton England 14 - 17 September
Reform Party (UK) NEC Birmingham Marston Green England 20 - 21 September
Labour Party (UK) ACC Liverpool Liverpool England 22 - 25 September
Conservative Party (UK) International Convention Centre, Birmingham Birmingham England 29 September - 2 October
Plaid Cymru Principality Stadium Cardiff Wales 11 - 12 October
Scottish Green Party Beacon Arts Centre Greenock Scotland 26 - 27 October

2023 conference season

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After 2022’s cancellation of the Liberal Democrats Party Conference in Brighton due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the 2023 edition of the Liberal Democrats Party Conference returned to Bournemouth for the first time, with the dates for the 2023 conferences as follows:

Party Venue City/Town Country Date Ref
Trades Union Congress ACC Liverpool Liverpool England 10 - 13 September [11]
Liberal Democrats Bournemouth International Centre Bournemouth England 23 - 26 September [12]
Conservatives Manchester Central Convention Complex Manchester England 1 - 4 October [13]
Plaid Cymru Aberystwyth Arts Centre Aberystwyth Wales 6 - 7 October [14]
Green Party of England and Wales Brighton Centre Brighton England 6 - 8 October [15]
Reform UK Hilton London Metropole London England 7 October [16]
Labour ACC Liverpool Liverpool England 8 - 11 October [17]
Scottish National Party P&J Live Aberdeen Scotland 15 - 17 October [18]
Scottish Green Party Carnegie Conference Centre Dunfermline Scotland 28 - 29 October [19]

2022 conference season

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Following the Death of Elizabeth II, the Liberal Democrats cancelled their planned conference whilst Trades Union Congress rescheduled theirs, both as a mark of respect to the Queen. The dates and locations for the 2022 conferences were as follows:

2021 conference season

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The Party conferences largely reverted back to physical attendance following their cancellation the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some parties opted to keep their conferences online and some opted for a mix of both, with the dates and locations as follows:

2020 conference season

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The dates and locations of the 2020 conferences were planned to be as follows:

However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic all the physical party conferences were moved online. The Labour conference was replaced by an online event called "Labour Connected" from 19 to 22 September,[24] the Liberal Democrat conference was rescheduled for 25 to 28 September[25] and the Conservative conference for 3 to 6 October.[26] The Scottish National Party conference was the last major party conference of the season, held online from 28 to 30 November.[27]

2019 conference season

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The dates and locations of the Autumn 2019 conferences were as follows:

Party Start date End date Venue Notes
*Trades Union Congress - Sunday 8 September 2019 Wednesday 11 September 2019 The Brighton Centre [28]
Liberal Democrats Saturday 14 September 2019 Tuesday 17 September 2019 Bournemouth International Centre
Labour Saturday 21 September 2019 Wednesday 25 September 2019 The Brighton Centre
Conservatives Sunday 29 September 2019 Wednesday 2 October 2019 Manchester Central Convention Complex
Green Party of England and Wales Friday 4 October 2019 Sunday 6 October 2019 International Convention Centre Wales [29]
Plaid Cymru Friday 4 October 2019 Sunday 6 October 2019 Swansea Grand Theatre
Scottish National Party Sunday 13 October 2019 Tuesday 15 October 2019 The Event Complex Aberdeen [30]
Scottish Green Party Saturday 12 October 2019 Sunday 13 October 2019 Eden Court Inverness [31]

As a result of the defeat for the Government in Miller/Cherry, the September prorogation of Parliament was declared void, and Parliament sat from 25 September. This meant that the Labour conference was cut short and – after failing to win a vote for a recess – that the Conservative conference clashed with the sitting of Parliament for the first time.[32][33]

The dates and locations of other 2019 conferences are as follows:

Party Start date End date Venue Notes
Scottish Liberal Democrats Friday 22 February Saturday 23 February The Hamilton Townhouse [34]
Scottish Labour Friday 8 March Sunday 10 March Caird Hall, Dundee [35]
Liberal Democrats Friday 15 March Sunday 17 March Barbican Centre, York [36]
Plaid Cymru Friday 22 March Saturday 23 March Pontio Centre, Bangor [37]
Welsh Liberal Democrats Saturday 6 April Sunday 7 April Marriott Hotel, Cardiff [38]
Scottish National Party Saturday 27 April Sunday 28 April Edinburgh International Conference Centre [39]
Scottish Conservatives Friday 3 May Saturday 4 May Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre [40]
Green Party of England and Wales Friday 7 June Monday 10 June The Spa, Scarborough [41]

2018 conference season

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The dates and locations of the 2018 conferences were as follows:

Party Start date End date Venue Notes
Trades Union Congress Sunday 9 September Wednesday 12 September Manchester Central [42]
Liberal Democrats Saturday 15 September Tuesday 18 September Brighton Centre
Labour Sunday 23 September Wednesday 26 September ACC Liverpool
Conservatives Sunday 30 September Wednesday 3 October ICC, Birmingham
Scottish Conservatives Friday 2 March Saturday 3 March Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (cancelled)
Scottish National Party Friday 8 June Saturday 9 June Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre
UKIP Friday 21 September Saturday 22 September ICC, Birmingham
Plaid Cymru 5 October 6 October Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan
Green Party of England and Wale Friday 5 October Sunday 7 October City Hall, Bristol
Libertarian Party UK Saturday 6 October Saturday 6 October MK Conferencing, Milton Keynes [43]
Scottish National Party Sunday 7 October Tuesday 9 October The SEC Centre, Glasgow [44]
Cooperative Party Friday 12 October Sunday 14 October Mercure Grand Hotel, Bristol [45]
Scottish Green Party 20 October 21 October University of Strathclyde Technology and Innovation Centre, Glasgow
Women's Equality Party Friday 7 September Sunday 9 September Kettering Conference Centre

2017 conference season

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The dates and locations of the 2017 conferences were as follows:

Party Start date End date Venue Notes
Liberal Democrats Saturday 16 September Tuesday 19 September Bournemouth International Centre [46]
Labour Sunday 24 September Wednesday 27 September Brighton Centre [47]
UKIP Friday 29 September Saturday 30 September Riviera International Conference Centre in Torquay [48]
Conservatives Sunday 1 October Wednesday 4 October Manchester Central Convention Complex [49]
Green Party of England and Wales Saturday 7 October Tuesday 10 October Harrogate International Centre [50]
Scottish National Party Sunday 8 October Tuesday 10 October The SEC Centre, Glasgow [51]
Plaid Cymru Friday 20 October Saturday 21 October Galeri, Caernarfon [52]
Scottish Green Party Saturday 21 October Sunday 22 October Edinburgh Napier University Sighthill Campus, Edinburgh [53]

2016 conference season

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Labour Conference at ACC Liverpool

The dates and locations of the 2016 conferences were as follows:

2015 conference season

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Temporary fences in Manchester during the Conservatives conference

The dates and locations of the 2015 conferences were as follows:

2014 conference season

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The dates of the 2014 conferences were as follows:

At their annual conference, the Scottish National Party held a leadership election following Alex Salmond's announcement of resignation. Nicola Sturgeon, formerly Salmond's deputy, was elected as their new leader.

2013 conference season

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The dates of the 2013 conferences were as follows:

2012 conference season

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The dates of the 2012 conferences were as follows:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Party Conferences". Institute for Government. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Labour Party Rule Book 2020 (Chapter 3 - Party Conference — Clause III - Procedural rules for Party Conference)" (PDF). The Labour Party. April 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Liberal Democrats - Spring Conference Online". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  4. ^ "How is policy decided?". Liberal Democrats. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Standing orders for Federal Conference - Glossary of terms" (PDF). Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
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  7. ^ "Why the Conference Access Fund is a good thing". Liberal Democrat Voice. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Can Blackpool ever win back major political conferences?". Blackpool Gazette. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  9. ^ Payne, Sebastian (14 July 2021). "BBC's political channel facing cuts as broadcaster makes savings". Financial Times. London. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021.
  10. ^ Green, Alex (14 July 2021). "BBC announces replacement coverage after cuts to Parliament channel". Belfast Telegraph. Press Association.
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  73. ^ "UKIP to hold its biggest ever Annual Conference at Doncaster Racecourse – as the Party goes from strength to strength in South Yorkshire". UKIP. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
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