Every year in the autumn the main political parties hold their annual Party Conferences and as I do every year I attended the Conservative Party Conference, this year located in Manchester.
As well as the traditional speeches by senior figures in the Party, the Conference also plays host to various organisations as they set up information stalls in the main complex. During the few days in Manchester, I took some time to visit some of these stalls, including the Cancer Research UK stand where I was able to learn more about the recent developments in cancer treatment and the National Farmers Union (NFU) stand where people were able to discuss with them what farmers in the UK want from Brexit.
The location of the conference changes annually and involves a large amount of logistical planning but always brings an economic boost to any area due to the sheer volume of visitors who use the hotels and restaurants and other amenities around the Conference complex.
Conference is also used as a time to make several policy announcements and this year, amongst others, it was announced that the threshold for how much a graduate has to earn before they start repaying their student loans will be increased from £21,000 to £25,000.