Thursday, September 25, 2008

My Conservative Conference Diary

I've had a couple of people email to ask if I am going to be speaking at any fringe meetings at the Tory Conference. So in an effort to drum up an audience for those events, here are the ones I am speaking at or chairing. Here goes..

SUNDAY

Scot Free: What future for the union under a Conservative government?
7.30-9pm
Jury's Inn
Policy Exchange & Total Politics
Chair: Iain Dale. Speakers: David Mundell MP, Alan Cochrane (Scotland editor, Daily Telegraph), Roger Gough (Policy Exchange), Dr Charlie Jeffery (Edinburgh University)
MONDAY

Flying and Fair Trade? Should we stop buying air-freighted food to save the planet?
7.30am-9am over breakfast
ICC, Room 10A
Organised by Flying Matters
Chair: Iain Dale. Speakers Wilfred Emmanuel Jones, Rt Hon Brian Wilson, Nirj Deva MEP, Benet Northcote (Greenpeace) et al

David Davis in Conversation with Iain Dale
12.30-2pm
Austin Court Hotel
Freedom Zone & Total Politics
A half hour conversation followed by audience Q & A

Freedom & the Internet
2pm-3.30pm
Austin Court Hotel
Freedom Zone
Chair: Iain Dale. Speakers: Guido Fawkes, Phil Hendren, Chris Mounsey, Nadine Dorries

Collaboration or Control? Politics and the Internet in the 21st Century
6.30-7.30pm
Telford Room, Austin Court Hotel, 80 Cambridge Street
Organised by Centre for Policy Studies
Speakers: Iain Dale, Jeremy Hunt MP & Robert Colvile (Daily Telegraph), Paul Morris (Microsoft)


TUESDAY

Climate Change: How to be Blue & Green
12.30pm-2pm
ICC, Hall 9
Organised by the Conservative Women's Organisation & Oxfam
Chair: Iain Dale. Speakers: Andrew Mitchell MP, Peter Ainsworth, Barbara Stocking (Oxfam), Tony Hawkhead (Groundwork).

People Like Us: Is British Society fairly reflected in Parliament?
6.15-7.30pm
Jubilee & Kohinoor Room, Copthorne Hotel, Paradise Circus
Organised by the Hansard Society
Speakers: Iain Dale, Julie Kirkbride MP, Sayeeda Warsi, Eleanor Laing MP and Theresa May MP

Tories Got Talent
7.30-9pm
Austin Court Hotel, 80 Cambridge Street
Freedom Zone
Compere: Iain Dale. Judges: Jonathan Isaby & Nadine Dorries
The Tory equivalent of Simon Cowell's Britain's Got Talent. Why am I dreading this one? Must remember to hitch the trousers up...

Please also do come and visit the Total Politics exhibition stand, where we will be handing out copies of the magazine, together with the packs of the Sky News Top Trumps cards. The stand is in the ICC Hall 3, number 78.

25 comments:

Blackacre said...

So we can't expect much blogging then...

Anonymous said...

Living in Birmingham as I do, I'd like to attend some of these (particularly the two on Monday afternoon), but would I need a conference pass for this?

Tony said...

The Freedom Zone is outside the security cordon, so anyone can attend those sessions.

Anonymous said...

Brown is on Sky News now saying that it is essential that the rescue plan in the US is implemented to rebuild confidence in the US economy.

Hello Gordon! Are you on this planet? His opinion on the US economy is worthless and not worth a bucket urine. Brown's view of economics is the equivalent of Junk bonds. UK best placed to weather the economic storm blah.... blah... blah. Brown obviously thinks the whole population is as stupid as his Brown nosed, smelly breathed advisors!

Anonymous said...

Wish I could get to some.

Anonymous said...

Your hosting a session in Climate Change?

Then you should be aware of at least these two sites

http://wattsupwiththat.com/

http://www.climateaudit.org/

And you really should look into the activities of a Canadian UN apparatchik, one Maurice Strong

Ed said...

Iain, I do hope the 'Freedom & the Internet' piece on Monday will be recorded and then subsequently webcast. Sounds like an interesting 90 minutes coming up.

Also perhaps one of you guys can persuade Nadine to turn comments for her blog on.

Anonymous said...

Good Lord, man. This is a work schedule.

You will scarcely have time to drink the obligatory toasts to Danny Finkelstein

Anonymous said...

Scot Free: What future for the union under a Conservative government?
7.30-9pm,
Policy Exchange & Total Politics
Chair: Iain Dale. Speakers: David Mundell MP, Alan Cochrane (Scotland editor, Daily Telegraph)

So Iain-you think you will get any constructive comment from Cochrant??

All you WILL get will be his usual anti SNP ranting and raving!

Not a very good choice of panellists methinks??

All you will get from Cochrant is much heat and no light!

If you had some INTELLIGENT folks on the panel, I may well have listened to what COULD have been a constructive and illuminating discussion-as it is, life is too short to waste on this episode!
Try harder next time Iain!

Anonymous said...

At the Climate Change event I hope you can get scepticism a fair hearing.

Newmania said...

I wish I wish I could go . Its so frustrating but what are we workers suppsed to do.Next year maybe

Kevin Williams said...

"Scot Free: What future for the union under a Conservative government?"

That will be a short meeting then Iain. There is no future for the union under a Conservative government and I'm sure the party bigwigs are aware of this.

Why are the SNP pushing for a referendum in 2010? hardly a coincidence is it.

Anonymous said...

Conferences are a load of guff!

Anonymous said...

Any chance of downloading the Freedom Zone for those that cannot attend?????

Anonymous said...

Scot Free

Iain, I trust you must be the panelist making the case for an independent England and Scotland?

If not that meeting will be more uninspiring, boring and insipid than a David Milliband speech. A bunch of Tories agreeing how great the Union is and how wicked the SNP is. Give us a break!

Why don't you invite a Scottish Nationalist on the panel so as not to bore the poor delegates to death. At a Tory conference that is a real possibilty given your average age.

May I suggest Iain MacWhirter or Iain Bell for the panel. If not them why not Alex Salmond.

Iain Dale said...

The Scot Free meeting is organised by Policy Exchange. Total Politics is sponsoring it. I am chairing it. You know my views. I have no idea what Roger Gough's or Charlie Jeffery's views are.

Anonymous said...

"I've had a couple of people email to ask if I am going to be speaking at any fringe meetings at the Tory Conference."

And they were probably pissed.

Anonymous said...

I trust there will be a full report on the Scot Free meeting Iain. As one of the few campaigners for an English Parliament who still hopes i tmight be within the Union I am interested in the Conservative stance.If the feeling is that Scotland can yet be bought, but at an even higher price, I will probably join the English independence movement.

Anonymous said...

The Scot Free meeting is organised by Policy Exchange. Total Politics is sponsoring it. I am chairing it. You know my views. I have no idea what Roger Gough's or Charlie Jeffery's views are


Iain-It will be an utterly unbalanced set of viewpoints!

It SHOULD (as one earlier poster noted) compose of at least one SNP member-after all, the subject under discussion is their raison d'etre!

If YOU dont realise this iain, then you further undermine your credibility as someone of basic intelligence!

Anonymous said...

Would the Scot Nats argue against independence?

Anonymous said...

You may bring to David Davis's attention that those of us who donated money to his election campaign via the internet have not even had the courtesy of a thank you.

Anonymous said...

Alan Cochrane is Scotland's answer to Lord Haw-Haw. Quisling.

Fergus

Chris Paul said...

Sadly I had a bet last week that you wouldn't be speaking or chairing any sessions at conference, being a retiring sort and all.

On the question about the cordon. Is the Austin Court venue the only one outside as per Tony Sharp's reply?

Wrinkled Weasel said...

Air freighted food? 30 years ago, if you told your dinner guests that their mange tout was flown in from Kenya, they would be impressed and be on the phone to Fortnum's the next day. Actually no. In 1978 nobody had heard of eating empty pea pods. So if you said, " I have had these empty pea pods flown in from Kenya (pron. Keeen Yah) they might have thought you were a bit bacon and lentil.

So. Somebody grows these empty pea pods and puts them in a little custom made plastic tray, and shrink wraps them and then flies them over 4000 miles, (about an eight hour flight)to somewhere in the UK


I am not a sandal wearing unwashed eco warrior, but, this is a no brainer.

Chris Paul said...

Just out of interest does Martin Day want Bush to go with his instincts and let this Bonfire of the Vanities reach spontaneous combustion?

Or is he too glad there is an election on and that market dimwittery and greed is being propped up?

I'm not over the moon about it as when banks starting propping up stocks and buying currency beyond day to day norms they are gonna to be enriching, or saving from deserved penury, gamblers who got their bets wrong.

Unless they were betting on a big bail out that is.

But it does need to be done. And Brown has been looking on the money to coin a phrase.