What I Did In Brighton

11.29.59am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 30th Sep 2006

Councillor Gordon Willey

Wootton & Stewartby Borough and County Councillor Gordon Willey shares with us his experience of our party conference this year at Brighton.

Highlight of the week was a fringe meeting on rural housing led by Dan Rogerson MP and South Shropshire District Council. They showed how a council like Bedford or Mid Bedfordshire could build houses for local people in small villages, or meet housing and social needs by allowing villagers to build new houses in places where commercial houses would not be allowed. Because such new houses must be occupied by local people and not sold on the open market, they can be built on cheaper land without paying inflated land prices.

In contrast were fringe meetings on the "West Lothian" question and the debate for an English Parliament. Why can Scottish MPs vote on English issues? Should there be an English First Minister? Is the answer more power to English regions?

For variety there was a Times Newspaper fringe meeting on opinion polls, party images and how many LibDem voters like Gordon Brown (3%).

Highlights in the main hall were Ming Campbell's speech and the tax debate. The LibDems now not only have a set of radical green taxation policies to be proud of, but also the most progressive tax policy of any party. The changes to inheritance tax and pension fund relief for higher earners are more progressive than the LibDem policy at the last general election.

All in all we had an excellent conference, the mood was fantastic, and as a party we are all moving forward together to provide a fairer, greener Britain.