As the leaves began to fall, it was the time of year again for party conferences.
Party members, businesses and commercial visitors alike gathered across the country, armed with notepads and coffee cups - attempting to navigate the bustling halls of policy discussions and key announcements.
Gone were the days of Partygate, a long lasting lettuce and quick turnovers of prime ministers – this year no one knew quite what to expect.
Let us take you on a three week journey through the Lib Dem, Labour and Conservative party conferences.
Lib Dem
The Liberal Democrats kicked off proceedings in Brighton where they reminded everyone that they were back in the game and very much here to stay. Seventy two new MPs stood behind Ed Davey shining in the spotlight, demonstrating the clear success that had been awarded to them in July. And although helped by the last few days of sun, their enthusiasm throughout conference was infectious – radiating through everyone you walked past.
However, given a better result than they were perhaps expecting, the conference programme was quite lacking in some areas, most notably transport (which saw the only key sessions on transport scheduled at the same time).
The one key takeaway from a transport fringe was that the north needs better investment in supporting its transport needs. And given there are just a handful of northern Lib Dem MPs – they argued they would need to put pressure on northern Labour MPs to not be complacent in thinking they have the monopoly on the North and therefore naturally investment would come.
While focusing on just a few key policy areas like the NHS and sewage has served the Lib Dems well through the election and into conference, this approach now needs to change. If they want a proper shot at taking on the role of HM Official Opposition, they are going to have to be clearer about their stance on other policy.
There does appear to be a step in the right direction given there has been a reshuffle and an assignment of clear, concise policy briefs to MPs. But fundamental questions remain, how are the Lib Dems going to use their increased number of MPs to their advantage? What is their stance now they can no longer attack the Conservatives? And how will they hold Labour to account on key issues?
Labour
Despite being the most well-attended Labour conference to date, there was something in the air at Labour conference and it wasn't optimism.
They no longer could rally the troops with the confidence and excitement that they would win the next election – they are now in power, and although Labour are still adjusting to the machinery of government, you really felt the weight of the world was on their shoulders.
Weeks before conference haven't been easy for Labour and the media has been somewhat ruthless with their scrutiny of the winter fuel allowance, concerns over donations and briefings of senior government officials.
At conference there was a cautiousness in the air which appeared to trickle through to fringes, where it was difficult for attendees to engage with Labour and get the answers they were after. It really felt as though MPs and Ministers had been briefed not to talk – often running quickly out of events or finishing fringes early. This belief was only compounded by the headlines about Business Day.
On the whole, there was injection of hopefulness about what we could expect from transport – most notably stability, some form of nationalisation and long term commitments to ensuring public transport works of everyone. The key message of 'connectivity' was heard loud and clear in nearly every transport fringe – we must give local authorities the support and investment they need to get their local areas moving for their people. The new Chair of the Select Committee, Ruth Cadbury MP was clear that transport needed to be thought of holistically and although she will be an advocate of the sector, the committee will scrutinise effectively.
Conservatives
A remarkably positive atmosphere wafted through Tory party conference which was slightly unnerving given everyone's expectation. Perhaps it was the lack of rules that made the Conservatives relaxed. After 14 years, there were no talking points, no policy commitments, no leader – quite a refreshing change in comparison to previous years.
However, it was clear that they don't appear to have grappled with the enormity of their loss in July. There has been no autopsy on what happened and yet, the answer they seem to have come up with is...'we weren't conservative enough!'
The leadership race was very much in full swing, with bottles of 'Tugentan' and 'Bobby J caps' much sought after in the exhibition hall. With some mishaps along the way, especially for Kemi Badenoch, it was James Cleverly that appeared victorious through appealing as the moderate centre right candidate and perhaps the bigger threat to Labour.
In regards to transport, on the fringes it was clear there was support for creating a cross-party, apolitical, national transport strategy with a long term vision. This strategy would need to focus on what needs to happen and in what order. And although this type of strategy may not include glamourous, big ticket items it should prioritise upgrading what we already have.
There was also more emphasis on the current lack of vision for rural connectivity and ensuring the voice of the north was firmly heard in Westminster (echoing slightly that of the Lib Dem's criticism).
On rail nationalisation, shadow ministers emphasised the power of the rail industry to influence the legislation if there are elements they disagree with. For actual policy commitments, that of course is much harder without a leader giving direction but it definitely felt that transport would be an important player for the Conservatives going forward.
The fact is, whoever becomes the next leader has a colossal challenge ahead for 2029. How do they win back Lib Dem and Reform voters? How do they heal the wounds and distrust of politics they created? Can they persuade younger voters they are the party for them?
We all know a week is a long time in politics, but if the conferences are anything to go by – this year is shaping up to be an interesting one!
