Liberal Democrat conference 2006 and fringe events

The Liberal Democrats will be holding their 2006 annual conference in Brighton from September 16th to 21st.

Politics.co.uk will be there to bring you the latest news, views and debate, as well as the latest from our Opinion Formers.

For more information, visit www.libdems.org.uk.

Opinion Former fringe events

Featured

BASC given permission to bring judicial review of Defra decision

Featured

Concern over doctors’ health needs as legislation to regulate PAs and AAs introduced

Sunday September 17th

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, BSA and FLA
7.30pm to 9pm
Library Room, Hilton Brighton Metropole

Monday September 18th

Shaw Trust
Beyond Profit – Public Sector Services & The Third Sector
6pm
The Glyndbourne Suite of the Holiday Inn

Chair: Jeremy Vine
Speakers: Catherine A’Bear of the Shaw Trust; Vince Cable MP; Jon Low of ACEVO.

National Energy Action (NEA)
Energy competition – Power to the people?
NEA, British Gas and Energywatch – the impact on fuel poverty, the environment and consumers
6.15pm to 7.30pm
Glyndebourne Room 1, Holiday Inn

Speakers: Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vincent Cable MP; Lois Hedg-Peth, managing director of residential energy at British Gas; Allan Asher, chief executive of Energywatch; Jenny Saunders, director of communications at NEA; chairwoman – Baroness Diana Maddock

Amnesty International
International Question Time
6pm to 7.30pm
Odeon Cinema Brighton

Panelists will discuss key issues facing developing countries

Speakers: Kate Allen; Institute of Development Studies director Lawrence Haddad; Liberal Democrat international development secretary Susan Kramer MP; Open Europe Director Neil O’Brian; World Development Movement director Benedict Southworth

Human Trafficking discussion
8pm and 9.30pm
Metropole Hilton Hotel

Speakers: Kate Allen; Head of Centre UK Human Trafficking Centre superintendent Nick Kinsella; Chief Executive of the Poppy Project Denise Marshall; Anti-slavery International communications director Mike Kaye

CBI and ABI
What next for pensions?
6.15pm to 7.30pm
The Library, Hilton Hotel Kings Road, Brighton BN1 2FU

Speakers: Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman David Laws MP; CBI director general Richard Lambert; Jenny Watson, chairwoman of the Equal Opportunities Commission; ABI director general Stephen Haddrill; Chair: Malcolm Dean, assistant editor of The Guardian

The Building Societies Association (BSA)
Who is a deserving homeowner?
6.15pm to 7.30pm
Chartwell Room, Hilton Brighton Metropole

Chair: Rachel Blackmore, BSA
Speakers: David Rogers, CDS Cooperatives; Andrew Stunell MP; Warren Bradley, Liverpool City Council.

New Health Network
Is the NHS getting better or worse and how do we know?
6.15pm to 7.30pm
Hilton Brighton Metropole, Brighton

Speakers: Professor Steve Webb MP

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.

National Farmers’ Union (NFU)
British agriculture: Beyond price?
6.30pm to 8pm
Noblesse Room, Thistle Hotel, Kings Road

Chair: MP Martin Horwood
Speakers: NFU deputy president Meurig Raymond; Liberal Democrat environment spokeswoman Baroness Miller; CPRE chief executive Shaun Spiers

Rethink and Sainsbury Care for Mental Health
Right to Work – Why people with mental illness need equal access to unemployment
7.15pm to 9.30pm
“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’.”

Tuesday September 19th

Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union
Welfare provision: who’s the best provider?
1pm to 2pm
Gloucester Room, Hilton Brighton Metropole
David Laws MP, Work and Pensions spokesperson and Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, debate the best provider of welfare services, and the role of the private and third sectors.

Mental Health Alliance
Stand Up for Mental Health
12.45 to 2pm
Inclusion Hotel, Chestnut Room, Quality Hotel, Brighton
This is outside the secure zone

Amnesty International
Refugee and Asylum Policy – fit for purpose?
1pm to 2pm
Brighton Thistle Hotel

Speakers: Kate Allen; Bemma Donkoh from the UNHCR; Ann Reisenberger from the Refugee Council; Baroness Williams of Crosby

New Health Network
Trust me, I’m a Patient: Is the NHS ready for an informed public?
1.00pm to 2.00pm
Hilton Brighton Metropole

In collaboration with Asthma UK and the General Medical Council
Will discusses the implications of NHS reforms on the quality of patient care, specifically the impact of patient choice.

Speakers: Liberal Democrat House of Lords health spokeswoman Baroness Julia Neuberger

Environment Agency and ABI
Tackling climate change
6.15pm- 7.30pm
Glyndebourne 1, Holiday Inn Hotel 137 Kings Road, BN1 2JF

Speakers: Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Chris Huhne MP, Baroness Young of Old Scone, chief executive of the Environment Agency; ABI director general Stephen Haddrill; Pamela Taylor, chief executive of Water UK
Chair: Sarah Mukherjee, BBC environment correspondent

NCVO
Sweet charity: Are voluntary organisations just flavour of the month?
6.15pm to 7.30pm
York Room, Brighton Hilton Metropole Hotel

Speakers: MP Danny Alexander; Peter Cardy from Macmillan Cancer Relief; David Brindle from the Guardian
Chair: Helen Donohoe, NCVO

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
8pm to 9pm
Buckingham Suite, Hilton Brighton Metropole

Hosted by FSB national chairman Carol Undy and guest speaker MP Vincent Cable

Barnardo’s
Children’s Policy: are we at a crossroads?
8pm to 9pm
Chartwell Room, Hilton Brighton Metropole

Speakers:MP Annette Brooke; Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green; Barnardo’s chief executive Martin Narey

Wednesday September 20th

League Against Cruel Sports
Snares: the silent killer?
1pm – 2pm
Ashdown Room, Holiday Inn, Brighton Seafront

Snares, indiscriminate and unnecessary. With nearly 75% of Liberal Democrat MPs supporting the prohibition of snares, can the Liberal Democrats secure a legislative end to these ruthless and inhumane killers?
Join Norman Baker MP, Roger Williams MP and Professor Stephen Harris to debate future advances in Liberal Democrat animal welfare policy. Buffet lunch provided.

Amnesty International
CORE coalition – Making Companies Accountable?
Glyndebourne II Holiday Inn Hotel

Speakers: Phil Michaels from Friends of the Earth; Ed Davey MP; Director of CORE. Chair: Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee.