Dorothy Lever - "The 2005 Labour Party Conference - An Insider's View"

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This is the text of a report given at the Heaton & Lostock Labour Party's Branch meeting on 15th December 2005 by Dorothy Lever, Bolton West's delegate to the 2005 Labour Party Conference.

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Dorothy, who was the Bolton West delegate to the 2005 Labour Party Conference, gave her personal report (see Appendix) and this was followed by questions and answers, leading to a general discussion about the future direction of the Party.

Diane asked if Dorothy thought that the security had been over zealous. Dorothy thought it had been but realised that it was regrettably necessary. She added that the winning Olympic Games presentation had been shown and children who had taken part in it had been present at the Conference and that was wonderful.

Terry said that the Conference format has changed radically over the years and Diane asked if it is more structured. Dorothy said that a lot of the questions had been planted by the Regional Officers and others.

In response to the question "how do we win the next election?" Dorothy said that the reply had been "hard work and get the policies right"!

John H. said that when we allow democracy to be alive and the Party leadership loses surely that's not a disaster. Some people talk about a loss of "fire in our bellies" but that's just not the case.

Terry said that it's only Labour Governments that have brought about progressive change and helped the most disadvantaged in our society. The Tories have always tried to take us backwards.

The Chair thanked Dorothy for her contribution to the meeting; he and Anne were, in turn, thanked for hosting it and for their hospitality and it was declared closed at 9:35 pm.

Appendix - Conference Report 2005

Dorothy wrote:

This was to be my first conference as a Delegate and as such I was eager to understand what I had to do and why.

I travelled down to Brighton by bus and train; this proved to be at quite a reasonable cost, as I was able to get a reduced rate to London. Sadly this was due to my age but there has to be a silver lining hasn't there. The journey was uneventful and I arrived at the hotel unscathed. It was then important to eat! The hotelier advised an Italian restaurant in the centre of Brighton and it was an extremely good choice.

For whatever reason the paperwork for conference was something of a disaster and was not received by the Conference Unit. I had managed to ascertain this when I became aware that others attending conference had received all the necessary forms and passes. I therefore spoke to Sheila Murphy at Region who ensured that my name was forwarded to the appropriate place.

On presenting myself at the appropriate place on Sunday morning they said that my paperwork was not there. However, a very nice young man carrying a supplementary list came to my rescue and I was allowed in to put my papers forward. This resulted in a long wait but by the end of the day I was handed all the paperwork and the pass.

Monday morning was bright and I eagerly presented myself at the Conference Centre. The queue to get in each morning was like running the gauntlet. There was a long line of people armed with leaflets for all the fringe meetings and campaigns - on both sides of the queue - handing them out to everyone. This caused a little unease from delegates but proved to be something we all had to put up with all week.

Staff from Region found me a seat and from then on it was make sure you are where you should be and when and take your cue from other more experienced delegates. I found this to be the best way.

I knew that North East had not sent anyone but that Rosa Kay was the delegate from South East. It was only on Wednesday lunchtime that I actually found Rosa. No one else had seen her either and I was getting quite worried.

Walter Wolfgang - what can I say about that. I did realise that something was happening but not exactly what. The next day he did receive, and accepted, an apology from the platform. However Labour supporters were upset that when the press spotted Walter in his original seat they clamoured over visitors to film him. I know that one lady was outside the Centre being comforted by her husband because of the onslaught by the press.

The main hall was, of course, packed during the PM's speech and I was advised to just 'grab a sandwich' and then join the queue to get back into the main hall. Because I was a delegate there was no problem with getting in. The speech was much as expected and he paid tribute to both Robin Cook and Mo Mowlem. He related the story of Mo's first visit to Northern Ireland when she kicked off her shoes, pulled off her wig and said 'How's things Babe' or words to that effect.

But to touch for a moment on security - it was horrendous. On going into the secure area in the morning your pass was checked, and then your bags were put through the scanners. To get into the hall there was bag check. One morning I pointed out that I had an umbrella in a compartment in my handbag and it was promptly removed - I suppose they thought everyone was going to attack everyone else. I didn't mention this again and no one found the umbrella either. So much for the check. As you may have seen reported, one lady jumped on the stage and asked 'why security had taken their sweets off them that morning?' I was informed this was because they could have been used as missiles.

Every time you entered the hall there was a bag search, even if you only went to the loo!

There were reports from every delegation possible and debates on everything under the sun. During the Health debate Region asked if I would ask a question - this was provided. My question was to be about private sector involvement in the NHS. I sat, then stood, waiving my paper about until someone from Region said 'Dorothy, just stand still'. This I did and was promptly called to ask the question! After a little struggle, because I had been sent to a microphone not being used by other delegates, I put my question to the panel. I did not realise until I came home that I had 'been seen'. Therefore there is proof that I WAS THERE.

Peter Hain gave the Northern Ireland Report. It was apparent that he had not prepared properly for this as he appeared to get stuck on every other sentence. There were auto cues but he seemed to miss these frequently and he did not give a good performance.

Ruth's speech was good and she talked a lot about the good work of Sure Start. I saw quite a lot of Ruth at the conference as I made a point of attending some of the fringe meetings that she was holding, but obviously not all. One was entitled How Does Labour Win the Next Election? Not too much in that except 'hard work'. Another was the Channel 4 'Keith Richard speaks to..'. Ruth came over well during this but it was mostly the posts she had held, her rise in the party and, naturally, how she coped with four children, her home and her job.

I also saw an old friend of ours who sends his regards to everyone here. That was Steve Hines whose organisation the Law Centres Federation held a fringe meeting and also had a stall there. He had been attending one of Ruth's meetings but had been unable to speak to her because of the number of people surrounding her. He gave me an invitation to his meeting, which I attended to learn more about his organisation and to offer support and he seemed to appreciate that.

There has to be a little fun at these things and I will tell you that Romana decided at one function that she would take some flowers to the hoteliers and also some of the balloons. I was put in charge of the balloons! Have you tried to take three lots of balloons through a revolving door? When I eventually got out the other side the wind took away several balloons but I then had to get through the turnstile security gate - again I was glad that there was no camera there - but I bet that there was. The Police were certainly in evidence. I felt like Mary Poppins. Then there was the taxi and the hotel front door to navigate. In the morning the hoteliers said they had seen us come in - what an embarrassment. All the staff from Region were excellent. All the delegates and visitors to Conference were welcomed warmly. Delegates were guided to where they should be and when and they ensured that everyone had an invitation to the North West bash. One of the other regions had received complaints from their contingent saying that they were being bullied and Sheila Murphy asked if there was a complaint from the floor would I 'quick as a flash' go to the platform and say how NW Region had been so helpful. This did not happen but it would not have been difficult because no matter how many times a question was asked staff from NW Region answered politely and explanations were given as to why we had to do things in a certain way. We were all looked after very well.

Retain Labour's commitment to a universal NHS, primarily funded by taxation - For

Membership rate changes - It was carried that that subs would increase to:

I had spoken with Clifford on this previously and voted Against

People I spoke to were against this but it was still carried. Region were for it as it provided constituencies in marginal seats with backup (and kept their jobs). I had been in correspondence with Peter Whelan about this before conference and spoke to him at conference when he said there had been a big debate in the NEC but felt that they had been fortunate to keep the reduced rate at £12. My contacts with Peter were after discussions with Clifford Morris.

Pensions were not debated fully and one delegate was vehemently against the short timescale given to debate this very important subject. I voted with the Unions for this motion.

One Constituency complained that they could not find a woman to attend Conference every other year but the Chair retorted that 'If you can't find someone I'll come and find one for you'.

I had, perhaps naïvely, thought that I would have some time to look around Brighton but this was not the case. The Conference timetable was very packed and as a delegate I was expected to be in the hall most of the time. Nevertheless I did enjoy this experience and thank you for sending me.

Dorothy Lever
Delegate

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