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UKIP plots poll breakthrough at conference
After last year’s unprecedented success in European elections, which saw Labour beaten into third place, it isn’t really a surprise that the United Independence Party faithful were in a buoyant mood at their spring conference.
Certainly the location was unlikely to be the cause — the Jury’s Inn hotel in Milton Keynes is probably unlikely to excite many people – but among the 500-odd prospective candidates and activists there was a palpable belief their party could be about to make a breakthrough in parliamentary elections and win their first seat in Westminster.
Nigel Farage, the outspoken, colourful MEP and former leader, remains the party’s darling and cheerleader.
Like a well-known celebrity performing at a pantomime, he had his captivated audience booing the name of John Bercow (the parliamentary speaker whose Buckingham seat he is hoping to take in the election) and laughing heartily as he appealed for people “preferably with clean criminal records and of sound mind” to put themselves forward as party candidates.
from MediaFile:
Digital, Life, Design 2010 Live Coverage
DLD (Digital - Life - Design) is a three-day experience gathering 800 entrepreneurs, investors, philantropists, scientists, artists and creative minds from all over the world. With global diversity in attendees and an interdisciplinary perspective of digital, media, design, art, science, brands, consumers and society, the conference is known as the European forum for the "creative class".
Follow live coverage of the conference here
Clouds of change: Buzzwords from conference season
Opposition leader David Cameron has delivered his speech to the Conservative party conference in Manchester.******Cameron told delegates there would be “painful” cuts in public spending, promised to send more troops to Afghanistan and stressed the importance of confronting “Labour’s debt crisis.” He also pledged to modernise the pension system, “break the cycle of welfare dependency” and cut back on bureaucracy to make life easier for entrepreneurs.******Cameron’s speech brings conference season to an end. Leaders of the three main parties — Cameron, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg for the Liberal Democrats — have all laid out their plans for Britain ahead of a general election due by June 2010.******The ‘word clouds’ below have been generated using the complete texts from each of the leaders’ keynote conference speeches, in the order they were given. At first glance there are some striking similarities and fascinating overlaps — but we will leave it to you to draw your own conclusions.******How did you think each of the leaders performed? Who did you find the most convincing? Is David Cameron ready to lead the country?******Keywords from Nick Clegg’s speech:******
****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ******Keywords from Gordon Brown’s speech:******
****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ******Keywords from David Cameron’s speech:******
Live blog: Conservative Party conference
The Conservatives will get a chance to show they are ready for office at their annual conference in Manchester. After 12 years in opposition, the party could be on the verge of returning to power in an election due by next June.
Conservative leader David Cameron has said they will set out plans this week for reducing the country’s gaping budget deficit and unveil a “massive” programme to cut unemployment.
People, Britain and change – Brown’s speech keywords
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has promised to clean up politics, get tough on crime in his keynote speech to the annual Labour Party conference in Brighton. He also pledged to address the bonus culture that many blame for the financial crisis.
The ‘Word Cloud’ below (click the image for a larger view), produced by Wordle, shows the words he used most frequently.
from Matt Falloon:
Labour lays down policy gauntlet
The Conservatives might be wishing they could have held their party conference before Labour.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown's address to his party conference in Brighton on Tuesday has thrown down a flood of new ideas, policies and initiatives from faster cancer diagnosis to choosing how Britain votes in what read more like an mini-election manifesto than a speech.
Brown played to his strengths (policy) and avoided trying to overcome his well-known weaknesses (not much of a political entertainer) in public. Trying to be someone else could have been a disaster for a man way behind in the polls to the Conservatives.
Whether it will be enough to make any difference to the polls remains to be seen -- Labour needs a miracle there after all.
But, for now, going for the policy jugular seems to have done the trick -- giving his browbeaten party something to get excited about and hitting the Conservatives where it hurts.
David Cameron's Conservatives have been accused of not giving enough detail on how they would govern the country if the polls are correct and they are to win power next year.
They will have to start showing their hand soon if they are going to convince voters that they have the ideas to run the country and aren't just a vote for change for the sake of it.
Mandelson shows Brown the way
There haven’t been many highlights from the podium at this year’s Labour party conference so far, but business minister Peter Mandelson pulled the cat out of the bag.
A rip-snorting rouser of a speech on Monday — full of gags and inspirational lines — has energised the party faithful and left commentators drooling.
It was just what Labour needed given all the negativity around the party at the moment.
Way behind in the polls, scrambling for policies that will capture the public mood and seemingly doomed to defeat at the next election to the opposition Conservatives, a week-long conference in sunny Brighton could easily turn into a painfully long few days.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown takes to the stage on Tuesday and must follow Mandelson’s lead if he is to convince the doubters in his own party and beyond that he has what it takes to reverse Labour’s fortunes.
Brown is not known for his imaginative speeches but he needs to find one now.
He did it last year — when plotters in his party wanted him out.
Can he do it again?
On the road with Gordon Brown
The Prime Minister is on the move — and I will be following close behind.
I’m Sumeet Desai, Senior Reuters economics correspondent and over the next couple of weeks I will be with Gordon Brown as he travels to New York to the United Nations general assembly and then on to Pittsburgh for the eagerly anticipated G20 summit.
Then it is back to Britain — we will be at the seaside in Brighton for the Labour Party’s annual conference.
The Tory debt to Birmingham
It’s goodbye to buckets and spades, and hello to Brum.
The Conservative Party is meeting in Birmingham for its first conference there for 75 years, away from the seaside B-list of Bournemouth, Blackpool and Brighton.
The return is long overdue, says David Willetts, who was brought up in the Midlands city.
Labour aren’t singing anymore
Unsurprisingly, it’s a totally different mood at this year’s Labour Party conference in Manchester.Last year in Bournemouth, they talked about crushing the opposition Conservatives for a generation as the party celebrated a 10 point lead in the polls under their new leader Gordon Brown.
Many were urging Brown to make the most of it and call an early election before the economy turned down. He really must be wishing he had.
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The Wall
