Maximizing Your Experience at Party Conferences: Practical Tips and Strategies
⌚ Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Tim Hutchings
Associate Professor of Religious Ethics, University of Nottingham
As part of my CAPE fellowship, I attended the Conservative and Labour party conferences in October 2023. The charity I assisted (the Religious Education Council) paid for a stand at Labour but not at the Conservative event, partly because of cost (access to the Conservative conference is considerably more expensive). This gave a different feel to each event. At the Labour conference we maintained a presence at the stand and invited politicians to visit the stand to meet us, while also attending as many Fringe events as possible. At the Conservative conference we could only attend Fringe events unless we were able to arrange a private meeting.
Each conference maintained a hierarchy of events, with some accessible only to party members, some accessible only by invitation, and some (the Fringe) accessible to anyone attending the conference. Fringe events included breakfast meetings, discussions and evening receptions and were often sponsored or organised by organisations who wanted to increase their political influence. This meant, for example, that the education-focused events were usually organised by teaching unions, education companies and thinktanks, who invited some prominent MPs to attend. The audience for these events was predominantly made up of representatives of other similar organisations, while the MPs and government ministers themselves might not actually show up.
Asking questions to raise awareness
Our purpose in attending these Fringe events was not necessarily to learn anything but to attempt to ask a question that related the theme of the event to our specific goals for Religious Education. For example, if we attended an event about youth skills training, we might summarise the valuable skills learned in RE and ask what the panellists were going to do about funding for teacher training. If we attended an event about the rise of misinformation and conspiracies on social media, we might summarise the valuable opportunities for critical thinking and intercultural dialogue provided in RE lessons and then ask what the panellists were going to do to ensure that all schools fulfilled their legal obligation to teach RE. The objective of this approach was to raise awareness of this school subject as a political priority among the audience and panellists. These fringe events were also a good opportunity to network with other organisations working in the education space.
“My colleagues were able to strengthen their existing connections, make new connections and get valuable updates on the work of other groups.”
Leveraging communications
At both conferences, we used social media and email to contact MPs and PPCs (candidates) and invite them to meet us. These contact attempts were usually only successful if we could demonstrate a connection to the constituency of that politician, either by identifying ourselves as constituents or by asking a constituent to contact the politician on our behalf. Meetings were often secured because a teacher in a constituency emailed their own MP, explained that they care deeply about education, and asked the MP to meet us. It was very rare to encounter MPs or government ministers walking around the conference venue without an entourage of aides and a carefully planned schedule, so advance contact was important to request a time and place to meet. For example, at the Labour conference I emailed all the Nottingham MPs, and they all wrote back to give a rough time when they would be able to visit our stand.
Preparing in advance
Preparation for each conference included working out exactly what we wanted to ask for and what message was most likely to impress that audience. The RE group also developed a short list of requests that they felt politicians at each conference could accomplish, such as writing a letter to the Minister for Education on our behalf or asking a question in Parliament. This ensured that we could enter each conversation with a clear, well-targeted explanation of why our subject matters to that politician and what we want them personally to do about it. It was also important to prepare for potential counterarguments and rebuttals, so we had a positive and affirming response ready even if the conversation took an unexpected turn.
“We could enter each conversation with a clear, well-targeted explanation of why our subject matters to that politician and what we want them personally to do about it.”
For example, some RE teachers who have worked with Conservative MPs have found that an appeal to the importance of Christian values and the protection of religious freedom can be effective. On the other hand, some teachers talking to Labour politicians have found that an argument focused on social cohesion, British diversity and skills training can be effective. The key point here is not to change the politician’s mind, start a debate, or show them that they are wrong. An adversarial approach would be counterproductive. Instead, teachers frame the asks of the RE teacher community as the logical fulfilment of the ambitions and values of each politician and their party. Support for RE is presented as a low-cost, high-reward way to achieve whatever that politician is already trying to do.
At the end of all conversations, we asked to take a photo and post it on social media, advertising to our own audience and also the audience of the politician that the engagement had taken place.
We also maintained a Google Doc spreadsheet throughout both conferences and entered details of every fringe event attended, questions asked, meetings, conversations and planned follow-ups. For example, if a politician agreed that we could send them a template letter to pass on to a minister, we entered that detail in the spreadsheet to make sure it was not forgotten. After the event, we then emailed all the politicians we had spoken to, reaffirmed our main ask and completed any follow-up tasks they had requested. This was particularly important because it can be difficult to persuade people to take documents, reports or flyers at the event. Collecting email addresses and sending a follow-up message is likely to be more effective.
Knowing what you want to achieve
If colleagues plan to attend party conferences in future, I recommend thinking very carefully about exactly what you want to achieve. Given the format of the event, it is unlikely that you will be able to meet important ministers or policy-makers or participate in decision-making conversations, particularly without prior negotiation. It is therefore important to plan a strategy for engagement in advance. Can you find allies who will email their own MPs and demand that they make time to meet you? Messages from constituents are essential. If you do get the chance to talk to someone with political influence, you need to be able to give them a quick, compelling summary of your message, supported by a practical request that they can accomplish. Having some supporting materials ready to send by email as a follow-up is also useful. Teaming up with an organisation with extensive experience of policy work is really valuable here, because they will be able to leverage existing connections to maximise the impact of your conference visit.