When I was 13 years old (all the way back in 1999) I was told that ‘there ain’t no party like an S Club party’. Well, it’s obvious that S Club 7 had never been to a political party conference. Because trust me, there ain’t no party like a party conference.

Party conferences are a unique opportunity to lobby decision-makers, and network with politicians and other campaigners. Last month I was in Liverpool for the Labour Party conference, and then Birmingham for the Conservative Party conference to do just that, and champion APIL’s message of justice for victims of negligence.

If you go to Parliament to meet MPs, you’re limited to where you can go unless escorted by a parliamentary passholder. It’s different at party conference. Once I had my pass, and had cleared security, I was free to roam the conference venue, attending fringe meetings and receptions.

MPs will have their own exclusive lounges where they can choose to relax between events, but at all other times you can find them walking alongside you in the corridor, sat next to you at a fringe meeting, or even in the bar. This means as a lobbyist you must be prepared to make your pitch at any moment. I even found myself at one event sat next to the Prime Minister’s parliamentary private secretary – an MP who acts as Sir Keir’s eyes and ears in Parliament – so I took the opportunity to lobby her about bereavement damages. One MP even found himself being lobbied about the importance of access to justice for injured people as we both left the gents.

To be honest – justice for victims of negligence wasn’t high on the agenda at either conference. In Liverpool, party members and politicians were still excited from Labour’s victory in July but at the same time trying not to get downhearted by the ongoing stories about donations and freebies. In Birmingham, the atmosphere was much more upbeat than I had expected. I couldn’t quite believe this was a party that had just received an electoral kicking only a few months before. The ongoing leadership election did help add some spark and excitement to the conference. The members were certainly loving the free merch the candidates had to offer, with many of them wearing badges, lanyards, or even hats in support of their preferred candidate.

But we were in the room, and that’s where you need to be if you want any campaign to be successful. They might not have gone to the conference with the intention of talking about it but by being there, I was able to have conversations with MPs, parliamentary staff, party members, and representatives from other organisations about the importance of justice for victims of negligence. And now we’ll continue those conversations with our new contacts in Westminster.