The bars and corridors of Birmingham and Liverpool are full of intrigue at this time of year as the party conference season reaches its peak, with the Conservative party conference starting on Sunday. Conferences are curious hybrids – with the agenda inevitably driven by the short-term sound bite as well as long-term vision and policy. In 2018, our outside-in view of proceedings will probably be dominated by the intrigue and party divisions associated with Brexit and candidate reselection rather than the equally serious business of setting policy and direction – at the time of writing, this has been the case at the Labour party conference. From the inside, let’s hope the focus is on the future of the UK – not just the future of a party or a politician.

So, what does the construction industry need from the conference season other than a fair hearing? With a sector deal in the bag, delegates could be forgiven if they felt that the construction industry was off their immediate agenda, and that there are either more pressing problems or visionary ideas to pursue. No party ever got elected by promising to fix the roof, but given the combination of the industry’s skills crisis, the UK’s housing shortage and an infrastructure deficit, the ability of the UK to build its future needs to be part of the policy debate. 

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