Dartford Labour Party at the Conference
Dartford Labour Party at the Conference

I was delighted to attend this year’s Labour Party conference as the delegate for Dartford Constituency Labour Party

Once again conference was in Liverpool, and was the biggest that the party has ever had.

It seems most of the main stream media must have been at a different venue, as there have been reports that Labour members were gloomy and unhappy.

That certainly wasn’t my experience. Key note speakers were received with real enthusiasm and warmth, and there was plenty to applaud.

As the only delegate from Dartford CLP I spent most of my time in the conference hall, listening to the speakers and voting on the various motions that were put forward.

The leading cabinet members all gave excellent speeches and were able to outline their priorities. As someone who has previously worked in education, I was delighted to learn from Lisa Nandy that the curriculum is being reviewed “to put the arts, sport and music back in the heart of education.”

There were strong contributions from other speakers, including councillors, union officials and representatives from affiliated organisations such as the Co-op party. I found the speech from Olympic Gold Medalist Imogen Grant particularly moving.

Keir Starmer’s conference speech on the Tuesday was confident, thoughtful and optimistic for the future. He was realistic, stating that Labour in government first needs to sort out the mess left behind by the Tories, but there are plenty of policies being proposed to improve the lot of the British public.

The fringe, as ever, gave an opportunity to find out about organisations and projects covering a huge range of issues.

A number of Dartford Labour members attended, and we took the opportunity to have a meal together on the Sunday night with our Jim Dickson. What a joy to be able to see our own Labour MP in Liverpool following the July election.

This is the third time I have been to conference, and the atmosphere was the most positive I have encountered.

For anyone who has never attended conference please consider it for next year. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet like-minded people and learn more about this great movement.

Catherine Stafford

Dartford CLP delegate, 2024

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