Countdown to NW Labour Party Conference

Blackpool is preparing to welcome Labour’s new leader Jeremy Corbyn to Blackpool this weekend as delegates gather for the North West Labour Party conference.

The conference, which starts on Friday 30 October with a welcome dinner at the Hilton Blackpool, sees the party return to the resort for the fifth year in a row.

More than 800 delegates, including a raft of the UK’s most influential politicians including new Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn MP and Deputy Leader, Tom Watson MP, will attend along with fellow regional leaders and MPs. An additional 300 young people aged between 18 and 21 will also attend the youth conference.

The main conference and workshop events will be taking place at The Imperial Hotel on North Promenade. In addition, due to a huge increase in visitors numbers this year the leader, Jeremy Corbyn, will also attend an event at Blackpool’s famous Winter Gardens to address delegates.

The conference is an opportunity for members in the North West to meet each other, discuss policy ideas, plan campaigns and enjoy what Blackpool has to offer. 

Cllr Gillian Campbell, Blackpool Council’s Deputy Leader, said she was delighted to welcome the party back to the resort.

She said: “This is the fifth year in a row the North West Labour Party conference has come back to Blackpool.

“We’re very pleased to be welcoming the delegates back to the resort. There’s always a real buzz around the town when we attract big conferences and this will be no different.

“We are always working to promote and strengthen Blackpool’s reputation as a business destination, recently launching the latest conference brochure that showcases the range of quality venues and accommodation we have on offer in resort following its significant regeneration.”

A spokesperson for Labour North West said, “We always receive a warm welcome in Blackpool and we are delighted to be returning this year for our first conference with new leader Jeremy Corbyn. We have more members than ever before joining us in Blackpool along with a sold out Youth Conference running in parallel, so it promises to be an exciting weekend.”

Local MP and Shadow Skills Minister Gordon Marsden, said: “I'm proud Blackpool has again been given the honour of hosting our North West Regional Conference.

“Feedback from delegates coming here in recent years has always been good and both myself and our Council colleagues hope members from across the North West will have a great weekend in Blackpool."

The conference will bring Blackpool’s busiest half term week of the year to a close, as thousands enjoy Blackpool’s world famous Illuminations and our spectacular new Tower projection show LightPool.

The free displays use cutting edge mapping technology to project high definition films on to the front of the Blackpool Tower building, providing a sound and visual experience like nothing ever witnessed before in Blackpool.

On Saturday 31 October, as part of LightPool, our programme of Brilliance shows will come to a close with an open air festival of local talent.

In recent years Blackpool has seen major investment to regenerate the resort, including a huge transformation of the Promenade, the creation of a new Central Business District, significant investment in the Winter Gardens and Blackpool Tower and the creation of a host of other new features including new attractions, Illuminasia and the Comedy Carpet. 

ENDS

Photograph Credit: Sean Conboy