Party conference report part 2: Labour

Twenty-one voluntary and community organisations have the opportunity to rub shoulders with politicians and opinion formers at this year’s Party Conferences as part of NCVO's Party Conference Bursary scheme. NCVO asked three bursary winners to write a guest blog post about the conferences. Here is the second post.

Emma Nuttall

My name is Emma Nuttall and I’m the Advice and Policy Manager at Friends, Families and Travellers.  We’re a national organization working with Gypsies and Travellers, based in Brighton.

I attended the Labour Party Conference in Manchester to raise the issues facing Gypsies and Travellers in the UK today. I had a very interesting couple of days at the Conference.

I attended the Shelter Fringe meeting on the future of housing in the new political era, and raised the issue of what will happen about the provision of Gypsy sites now that the current government has abolished the Regional Spatial Strategies and the targets that they contained within them for pitch provision for local authorities for allocating land for new sites.  An estimated 6,000 new pitches are needed in England alone, which is more than the 5,000 local authority pitches that currently exist.

I also attended a round table discussion with MPs Alun Michael and Paul Goggins where all the NCVO charity bursary winners raised the issues facing their charities and communities they work for. 

In the evening I attended the Third Sector reception, where Hazel Blears addressed us, and networked with members of other charities and MPs.  I gave the late night drinking in the Midland hotel a miss though!

On the Tuesday morning I heard Alan Johnson, Diane Abbott and Jack Straw address the main conference, but unfortunately had to leave to catch my train before Ed Milliband gave his speech. 

Emma Nuttall