We arrived in Brighton on Friday morning and I was soon walking along the sea front from the flat where we were staying in Kemptown to the Conference held in the Metropole Hotel.
As I walked past the pier and approached the hotel two sites became visible. Firstly Caroline Lucas was being interviewed on the sea front by a telecision company and in front of the hotel some distance out to sea stood the rusting remains of the South Pier. That vision of the South Pier stayed with me for much of the next four days, it reminded me of the current situation of the UK, rusting having lost its past position . The pier is a fitting symbol of Britain's industrial decay.
So what of the four days, Friday was dominated by keynote speeches from the party leader Natalie Bennett and later in the afternoon by Caroline Lucas and Co-chair of the European Green Party Reinhard Butikofer . While it was interesting to hear a European prospective, to me Caroline in so many ways remain the party's rudder and her speech was well received.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGdwKmnNTwA
As always at a conference decisions have to be made; What shall I attend ? What do I swerve ? Late Friday afternoon I chose a discussion regarding the " State of Nature" report. Excellent contributions from speakers from RSPB,FoE and Buglife. I will carry with me the point that one mouthful in every three we eat comes as a result of insect pollination. A timely reminder of how much we rely on bees and other insects.
Saturday morning saw a number of workshops, this being my second conference I knew what to expect. I went to the workshop on local government,followed by a discussion on High Speed Rail. After a lunch time meeting with other delegates from Essex I headed into a discussion on how Greens could learn from how UKIP have captured popular awareness. The discussion focussed on the need to explain values rather than policy. In the discussion surrounding the rise of UKIP I raise the value of having a range of morning papers supporting your agenda, something the Greens lack. That morning I'd walked into the Co-op in Kemptown and had a strange experience. In my village on Saturday the supermarket stocks 10 Guardians and 100 Daily Mail's yet in Kemptown the experience was reversed.
With the advance of UKIP still on my mind I headed to the launch of a meeting to discuss how we need to work to ensure the Green Party retains the Brighton Pavilion seat in 2015. There clearly is work to be done and I was persuaded to offer to deliver leaflets on Sunday morning, so after dinner in the Barley Mow in Kemptown and some excellent local real ale, it was an early night so I could be up early to deliver copies of Greenleaf.
Sunday morning and a chance to see a part of Brighton that most tourists never reach,the georgian crescent and streets about a mile back from the seafront. Most of the houses now divided into multiple occupanies. The leafletting took a hour or so and I met several other members out volunteering so we walked back to the Conference together discussing issues and values.
After attending a a question and answer session from Caroline Lucas , Keith Taylor MEP talked about his work in the European Parliament, and not surprisingly my mind went back 25 years to when I worked in and around that institution. How much has changed in that time , yet the more I think about it, the seeds were perhaps sown then. Labour's drift towards New Labour was brewing after the 1987 General Election defeat and my interest in green politics was at an embryonic stage as I undertook environmental research for a then Labour MEP.
In many ways Sunday evening was the highlight of conference for me, a discussion on Green Philosophy chaired by Tom Chance but with a significant contribution from Andrew Dobson. I've used Dobson's book in my teaching for years so it was an excellent experience to hear him speak and be able to ask questions relating to the development of green political thought.
I stayed for the Monday morning session attending a Q&A with the leader and deputy and then taking part in the passing of reports. At lunchtime I left the conference and made my way back to Kemptown.
Walking along the seafront I reflected upon the value of conference to me. It was my second experience, so perhaps it wasn't such a learning experience, but of more value was the opportunity to listen, think and consider. Brentwood lacks dialogue with other members, so for isolated members conference is a huge boost, it invigorates, replenishes and propels you forward over the year ahead.
