Unfortunately the autumn politicial party conference season is almost over for another year. I say unfortunately because this season has been considered the most captivating in years.
We have seen Labour elect a new leader in Ed Milliband, after a very lengthy and high profile battle with his brother David. It has also been the first time that we have ever seen the Liberal Democrats meet as a party in government, and the Conservatives also gathered together as a party in government for the first time since 1996 , albeit part of a coalition. Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg have faced the challenge of selling the benefits of being a coalition to party members as well as keeping them onside over the coalition’s plans to cut spending.
In recent years a few things have changed. Gone are the days of party conferences being held at the seaside with pictures of party leaders and their partners tucking into fish and chips dominating the front pages. The trend has moved towards holding party conferences in major cities, with Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool playing host this time around.
It used to be that policitial party conferences were held mainly to decide what went into the manifesto for the next general election, now it is much more about grabbing headlines. Although the amount of say that ordinary party members get has always varied from party to party; both Labour and the Lib Dems do still hold votes on policy motions.
Today’s conferences are all about media coverage. This year more than ever we have winessed the media build up to the conferences, which pretty much set out the party announcements before a word of a keynote speech was even uttered. The debates ensued via blogs, facebook and Twitter as to what these ‘soon to be announced’ changes would mean for every man, woman and child in Britiain. This was, of course, all repeated when the announcements were made proper.
However the rise of digital media has meant politicians are less reliant on the traditional press and they can now publish their own stories via the internet, whenever they deem it to be most appropriate and beneficial. It could be this more ‘direct’ approach to communicating that has seen the trend shift to more open and honest answers to questions after speeches and on live webchats.
There had been talk that the conference centres would not see the media footfall of previous years as journalists had not one but two governing party conferences to attend. There was really no need for concern. The developments in social media, and the fact that political parties are embracing them, have meant that this year more than any other the media could be there, without actually being there.
We have been able to see the keynote speeches streamed live from political party websites, we have read the live blogs and tweets that are updated minute by minute, and there is an abundance of pundits who are more than willing to condense what the party leaders say and make it easier to digest. It has meant that everyone and anyone, not just the media and party members, can get involved in the issues that directly affect them, and with public spending cuts being top of the agenda this time around people are interested enough , as well as able enough, to join in the debate.
It makes me wonder what changes and developments we will see by the time the next party political conferenes come around, and in the many years to follow.
';