Labour conference 2006 and fringe events
The Labour party’s annual conference is being held in Manchester for the first time this year, and will take place between September 24th and 28th.
Politics.co.uk will be there to bring you the latest news, views and debate, as well as the latest from our Opinion Formers.
Opinion Former fringe events
Sunday September 24th
Save the Children
Working together to end child poverty
Save the Children, NSPCC, Barnardo’s, NCH and The Children’s Society are holding a joint charities reception as part of the campaign to End Child Poverty.
6pm to 7.30pm
Dining Room, Midlands Hotel (in the secure area – passholders only)
Barnardo’s
Joint Children’s Charities Reception – Ending Child Poverty
6pm to 8pm
Dining Room, Midland Hotel
Speakers: Gordon Brown MP; Barnardo’s chief executive Martin Narey
National Farmers Union
British Agriculture: Beyond Price?
6.30pm to 8pm
Cheshire Room, Peter House
Chair:Charlotte Atkins MP
Speakers: NFU president Peter Kendall; Environment secretary David Miliband; Food and Drink Federation director general Melanie Leech
The Building Societies Association (BSA)
Looking out for the consumer – what financial institutions are doing for you.
A drop-in session to find out more with APACS and BSA
5.30 to 7pm
Radisson Hotel, Peel Room
Monday September 25th
Amnesty International
Breakfast Debate on the Company Law Reform Bill
8.30am to 9.30am
Radisson Hotel
Panelist: Margaret Hodge Vs Tony Juniper. Chair: Liam Halligan from Channel 4 News
Sponsored by Unity Trust Bank in conjunction with Compass
The Refugee Charity Reception
With the Refugee Council and UNHCR
5.30pm to 7pm
Friends Meeting House
Speakers: Kate Allen; Nationality, citizenship and immigration minister Liam Byrne; Maeve Sherlock from the Refugee Council; Bemma Donkoh from the UNHCR
International Question Time
6.30pm
The Comedy Store
Panelists will discuss key issues facing developing countries
Panelists: International development secretary Hilary Benn; Chair of Kenyan debt relief Wahu Kaara; Charles Abugre from Christian Aid; Kevin Maguire from the Daily Mirror
GMB
Water – An Avoidable Crisis
1pm to 2pm
The Palace Hotel, Oxford St, Manchester, Meeting Room Palace 7
Speakers: Retired Water Resources board member Barry Rydz; Charles Clarke; David Miliband MP (invited)
Chair: GMB national officer Gary Smith
New Health Network
Trust Me, I’m a Patient: Is the NHS ready for an informed public?
1.00pm to 2.00pm
Midland Hotel, Manchester
In collaboration with Asthma UK and the General Medical Council
Discusses the implications of NHS reforms on the quality of patient care, specifically the impact of patient choice.
Speakers: New Health Network chair Dr Tom Coffey
Is the NHS getting better or worse and how do we know?
7.00pm – 8.15pm Monday 25 September
Midland Hotel, Manchester
In collaboration with the Health Foundation and Bazian and kindly supported by Servier Laboratories Ltd
This fringe debates the case for putting clinical effectiveness and quality of care at the heart of NHS Reform.
Speakers: Health minister Andy Burnham
Save the Children
International Development Question Time
6.30pm (starts at 7pm)
Comedy Store Deansgate Locks, 1a-3 Whitworth Street West
Save the Children has joined forces with 15 other leading NGOs to host a panel discussion with the international development secretary Hilary Benn MP.
Mental Health Alliance
Stand Up for Mental Health
8am to 9am
Usdaw Marquee Room 2 (outside the G-Mex), Manchester
This is within the secure zone
BSA / PCS Skills Project
1pm
Institute of Directors, Peter House, St Peter’s Square, Oxford Street, Manchester M1 5AN
Invited speakers: Financial secretary to the Treasury John Healey MP; Employment relations minister Jim Fitzpatrick
Save the Children
No Place for a Child – Alternatives to detention
5pm
Mechanics Centre, 103 Princess Street
Panel discussion with the minister, Liam Byrne MP (tbc) about the detention of children for immigration purposes, organised with the Refugee Council.
Shaw Trust
Beyond Profit – Public Sector Services & The Third Sector
5.30pm
Breakfast Room of the Radisson.
Chair: Terry Rooney MP
Speakers: Catherine A’Bear of the Shaw Trust; Work and pensions secretary John Hutton MP; ACEVO chief executive Steve Bubb
National Energy Action (NEA)
Energy competition – Power to the people?
NEA, British Gas and Energywatch – the impact on fuel poverty, the environment and consumers
5.30pm to 6.45pm
Pankhurst Room, Radisson Hotel
Speakers: Energy minister Malcolm Wicks; Lois Hedg-Peth, managing director of residential energy at British Gas; Allan Asher, chief executive of Energywatch; NEA chief executive William Gillis; Chairman – David Green, chief executive of the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy.
Building Societies Association (BSA)
Who is a deserving homeowner?
5.30pm to 6.30pm
Radisson Hotel, Peel Room.
Chair: BSA – Neil Johnson
Speakers: Paul Kenny, GMB; Andy Caton, Yorkshire BS; Andy Love MP
Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union
Welfare Provision: Is the public sector the best provider?
6pm to 7.30pm on
Rochdale Room, Jury’s Hotel, Great Bridgewater Street, Manchester
We hope that the meeting will be able to examine;
– whether the public sector is the best provider of public services
– the role of the private and third sectors
– the impact the government’s efficiency programme is having on welfare provision
Chair: David Hencke, Guardian journalist
Speakers: Dan Vale, head of policy at Citizen’s Advice; PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka; Work and pensions secretary John Hutton (TBC)
Building Societies Association (BSA) and BBA
How to stop a financial hangover lasting a lifetime.
6pm to 7pm
Midland Hotel, Stanley Suite
Chair: Rachel Blackmore, BSA
Speakers: Joanna Elson, BBA; Sue Regan, Resolution Foundation; Alistair Matthews, pfeg; Barry Sheerman MP; Vernon Everitt, director of the FSA
CBI and ABI
What next for Pensions?
5.30pm to 7pm
Unison Marquee, Room 2 Radisson Hotel Free Trade Hall, Peter Street M2 5GP
Speakers: Work and pensions secretary John Hutton; CBI director general Richard Lambert; Jenny Watson, chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission; ABI director general Stephen Haddrill
Chair: Nick Timmins, public policy editor, Financial Times
Turning Point
Bottling it Up: The effects of alcohol misuse of children, parents and families
7pm – 8pm
The Crystal Suite, Britannia Hotel, Portland Street, Manchester M1 3LA.
Speakers to include: Parmjit Dhanda MP, parliamentary under secretary for children and families; Lord Victor Adebowale, chief executive of Turning Point
RSPCA
Beer and curry night
Animal welfare minister Ben Bradshaw and Jackie Ballard, director general of the RSPCA, will be discussing the future of animal welfare. Meat and vegetarian options will be available.
8.30pm onwards
Manchester Town Hall
Tuesday September 26th
Rethink and Sainsbury Care for Mental Health
Right to work – Why people with mental illness need equal access to unemployment
7.30am to 9.30am invite only breakfast
“All people share a right of equal access to employment and yet employers continue to discriminate heavily against people with mental ill health. We cannot encourage service users to return to work if we are asking them to go through a ‘locked door’.”
British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV)
Tackling extremism together – Rising to the challenge
1pm
Mechanics Centre, 103 Princess Street, Manchester M1 6DD
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