What's going on at the party conferences 2023

Summer is over, the weather is cooling, and for public affairs professionals this means just one thing – that party conference season is officially upon us.

We kick off with the Lib Dems this weekend in Bournemouth (24-27 September), followed by the Conservatives in Manchester the week after (1-4 October), and then Labour in Liverpool the week after that (8-11 October).

As we dig out our suits and smart dresses, try to locate our business cards, and hope the train strikes don’t derail our meticulous plans, at Bond we thought we would put together a list of events that our members are hosting this year, across all three conferences.

These events are a chance to engage politicians with the incredible work done by our sector and shape policy debates about the future of international development. We hope to see as many of you there as possible.

Bond events

It would be remiss of us not to use this blog as a shameless plug for the events Bond will be hosting this year. We have four events in total spanning three party conferences:

Liberal Democrats

Sunday 24th September, 17:15 – 18:15 – Midpoint Reflections on the Sustainable Development Goals panel discussion

Location: Marsham Court Hotel, 3 Russell Cotes Road, East Cliff, Bournemouth, BH1 3AB (outside the secure zone)

Panel discussion as part of the LDID (Liberal Democrats for International Development) fringe, chaired by Paul Abernethy (Bond) with panelists Lord Oates, Lord Purvis and Lilei Chow (Save the Children UK).

Conservative Party Conference

Sunday 1st October, 20:30 – 22:00 – Bond International Development Reception

Location: Fairclough Room, Midland Hotel (in the secure zone)

An event to celebrate and reflect on the 30th anniversary of Bond and the impact of the work of our members. With Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell MP, Vicky Ford MP, and Robin Millar MP.

Labour Party Conference

Sunday 8th October, 19:30 – 21:30 – Bond and LCID International Development Rally

Location: Meeting Room 18, ACC Liverpool (in the secure zone)

In partnership with LCID (Labour Campaign for International Development), Bond will hold a rally and reception to celebrate and reflect on 30 years of Bond and our members making an impact for international development. Hear from speakers including Shadow International Development Minister Lisa Nandy MP, Lord McConnell and others, who will share their thoughts on what a vision for international development could look like under a Labour government.

Tuesday 10th October, 12:30 – Eradicating Global Poverty: What should the overseas development strategy look like under a Labour Government? Panel debate

Location: Revolution Bar – Albert Dock (outside the secure zone)

Co-hosted by the Labour Foreign Policy Working Group, BRAC, and Bond, with guest speakers such as Rushanara Ali MP, Lord McConnell, and Stephan Dercon.

Bond member events

Below is a host of activity from our members and friends in the sector.

Please note, plans can be subject to change and we can only provide the details we have, so some details may be missing. Always check the apps or conference guides for full details.

Liberal Democrats (24-27 September, Bournemouth)

Sunday 24th September

14:30 – 15:30, “Securing a Better Future Through Education” panel discussion

Chaired by: Myles Wickstead, LDID. Panelists to include: Lord Purvis. Supported by: Global Partnership for Education & Send My Friend To School.

15:45 – 16:45, “De-mining: Unlocking Opportunities for Development and Food Security” panel discussion

Chaired by: Peter Jones, RUSI. Panelists to include: Richard Foord (MP) and Lord Oates. Supported by: The Halo Trust and Mines Advisory Group.

17:15 – 18:15, Midpoint Reflections on the Sustainable Development Goals

Chaired by: Paul Abernethy, Bond. Panelists to include: Lord Oates, Lord Purvis and Lilei Chow SCF. Supported by: BOND International and Coalition for Global Prosperity.

All the above will take place in the Marsham Court Hotel, Bournemouth, with a drinks reception hosted by LDID to follow between 18:15 – 21:00.

Monday 25th September

19:30 – 21:00, Drinks reception with The HALO Trust, Blandford Room, Marriott Hotel

Hosted by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem.

Conservative Party Conference (1-4 October, Manchester)

Monday 2nd October

10:00 – 11:00, “Protecting UK Security, Preventing Conflicts Globally”, Exchange Room 2 – 3 (inside secure zone)

Hosted by: Coalition for Global Prosperity and MAG (Mines Advisory Group).

Speakers: Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP, Josephine Dresner (MAG), Ryan Baldry.

11:30 – 12:30, “Connecting the Dots: How the climate is shaping humanitarian emergencies”, Exchange Room 2 – 3 (inside secure zone)

Hosted by: Coalition for Global Prosperity and CAFOD.

Speakers: Alexander Stafford MP, Louise Abraham (CAFOD), Resham Kotecha (Candidate), Ryan Henson (CGP).

12:45 – 13:45, “In Conversation with the Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP”, Exchange Room 2-3 (inside secure zone)

Hosted by: Coalition for Global Prosperity and WaterAid.

Speakers: The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP (Minister of State for Development) and Ryan Henson (CGP).

14:30 – 15:30, “Is Girls’ Education really a silver bullet for UK Foreign Policy?”, Exchange Room 2 – 3

Hosted by: Coalition for Global Prosperity and Global Partnership for Education.

15:30 – 17:00, “Trade, prosperity and international development”, Midland, Rolls Suite

Hosted by: The HALO Trust

Speakers include: Alicia Kearns MP, Professor Dominic McVey MBE, and Chris Loughran (HALO Trust).

16:00 – 17:00, “Should UK Aid Help “Stop The Boats”?”, Exchange Room 2 – 3

Hosted by: Coalition for Global Prosperity.

Speakers: The Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP, Brendan Clarke-Smith MP, Laura Kyrke-Smith (IRC), Lis Wallace (ONE), Frances Lasok (Candidate), Ryan Henson (CGP).

19:30 – 20:45, “Ending Malaria: How British-backed science is leading the way”, Conservative Home Marquee

Hosted by: Malaria No More UK

Speakers: The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell, Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Baroness Liz Sugg, Member of the House of Lords and Board Chair of Malaria No More UK; His Excellency Johnston Busingye, High Commissioner for Rwanda in the UK; Sherrie Silver, Award Winning Choreographer and Ambassador for Malaria No More UK; Fiona Smith-Laittan, Vice President Global Health at GSK.

19:30 – 21:30, Reception – “Global Manchester: A Northern Humanitarian Powerhouse”, HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester

Hosted by: MAG (Mines Advisory Group).
Speakers include: Sir Graham Brady MP, Lesia Vasylenko.

Tuesday 3rd October

11:30 – 12:30, “The Great Aid Debate: Should charity start at home?”, Think Tent (inside secure zone)

Partner: TPA (Taxpayers Alliance).

10.15 – 11.15, “Education in Emergencies”, Youth Zone

Hosted by: Send My Friend To School.

Speakers: Campaign Champions, Vicky Ford MP, other MPs TBC.

16.15 – 17.15, “Young People and the Climate Crisis”, Youth Zone

Hosted by: Oxfam and Send My Friend To School.

Speakers: Campaign Champions, other MPs (TBC).

Wednesday 4th October

7.30, Conservative Christian Fellowship (CCF) Prayer Breakfast on Caring for Creation, Innside by Melia Manchester Hotel, 1 First Street (outside the secure zone)

Hosted by: Tearfund.

Labour Party Conference (8-11 October, Liverpool)

Monday 9th October

10:30 – 12:00, “Reconnecting Britain through Foreign Policy”, Leonardos Hotel, Meeting Room 6

Hosted by: The HALO Trust

Speakers: Catherine West MP, Fabian Hamilton MP, Maj Gen (Retd) James Cowan CBE DSO (HALO Trust), Cllr Peymana Assad (LFPG), and David Taylor (LCID)

14:30, “Re-imagining Aid and Development; new approaches or new colonialism?”, The ACC, Meeting Room 10

Hosted by: Health Poverty Action, Stop Aids, Oxfam, Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET), Christian Blind Mission, Action for Global Health

Speakers: Chair – Florence Eshalomi/ Faiza Shaheen, David Lammy MP/ Lisa Nandy MP (invited), Winnie Byanyima, UN Aids (invited), Charles Abugre, IDEAS (invited)

17:30 – 19:00, “Why Labour Needs a Feminist International Development Policy”, Hilton Hotel, Albert 5

Hosted by: Care International UK, Plan UK, ActionAid and IRC.

Tuesday 10th October

08:30 – 10:00, Lab Coat Diplomacy: “How British science can foster a new global development strategy”, Tate Liverpool (please note this event is invitation only)

Hosted by: Malaria No More.

Co-chaired by: Catherine West MP, Co-Chair of the APPG on Malaria and NTDs; Paul Nuki, Global Health Security Editor, The Telegraph.

Speakers: Dr Astrid Bonfield, CEO Malaria No More UK; Anyika Onuora, Olympic Athlete and Malaria No More UK Ambassador; Rob Yates, Executive Director of the Centre For Universal Health, Chatham House.

10:30 – 12:00, “The UK’s Global Role in Preventing Conflict and Armed Violence”, Meeting Room 10, Leonardo Hotel

Hosted by: MAG (Mines Advisory Group).

Speakers: Rt Hon Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale, Josephine Dresner (MAG), Michael Taylor (Chair).

12:00 – 13:00, “Never again: global cooperation to prepare for future pandemics”, Tate Liverpool (outside the secure zone)

Hosted by: Malaria No More UK and StopAids.

Chaired by: Sarah Boseley, Journalist, The Guardian.

Speakers: Dr Astrid Bonfield, CEO, Malaria No More UK; Professor David Lalloo, Director, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicines; Peter Sands, Exec Director, Global Fund; Colleen Wagner, Manager, Networking HIV and AIDS Community of Southern Africa; Lord Collins of Highbury, Deputy Leader Labour Lords, FCDO Shadow Minister. With light refreshments.

12:30 – 14:00, “Eradicating Global Poverty: What should the overseas development strategy look like under a Labour Government?”, Revolution (outside secure zone)

Hosted by: BRAC, Bond and Labour Foreign Policy Group.

Speakers: Panel discussion with Shadow Development Minister Lisa Nandy, Stephan Dercon, Lord McConnell and Rushanara Ali.

14:00 – 15:00, “The UK’s role in South Asia”, Leonardos Hotel, Meeting Room 6

Hosted by: The HALO Trust

Speakers: Fabian Hamilton MP, Rushanara Ali MP, and Belinda Vause (HALO)

16.15 – 17.00, “Education in Emergencies”, Youth Zone

Hosted by: Send My Friend To School.

Speakers: Campaign Champions, Lloyd Russell Moyle MP, other MPs (TBC).

17.00 – 17.45, “Young People and the Climate Crisis”, Youth Zone

Hosted by: Oxfam and Send My Friend To School.

Speakers: Campaign Champions, Zarah Sultana MP, Catherine West MP, Richard Burgon MP.

21:30 – 22:00, “What could a Labour government mean for children?”, Meeting Room 18, ACC Liverpool (inside secure zone)

Hosted by: Save the Children.

Speakers: Rachel Reeves MP, Preet Gill MP, Kirsty McNeill (Save the Children).