Shouting from the rooftop

By Forest standards it was a fairly quiet party conference season.

Ten years ago the Labour conference in Brighton hosted the best day of my working life when David Hockney strolled into town to speak at our fringe event and charm the media, but this year there didn't seem much point going.

Ditto the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, although we did consider organising a drinks reception so we could invite people to 'The REAL Liberal Party'.

Instead we focussed on the Conservative conference in Manchester where we hosted – with the Tobacco Manufacturers Association – a rooftop barbecue with cocktails, prosecco and beer.

The event - invitation only - was designed to highlight our forthcoming campaign against outdoor smoking bans. The venue, a stylish rooftop lounge and terrace, was perfect for the occasion.

It was however a ten-minute walk from the conference centre and I was concerned that if it rained we might lose a substantial number of guests. Hence our increasing obsession with the weather.

As the event got closer I was a regular visitor to the BBC's online weather page. On the day itself we watched helplessly as the forecast showed black clouds and rain at the precise moment our outdoor barbecue was due to begin.

Thankfully there is a God and he must like smokers because apart from one or two drops the rain held off and the event was (I think) a success.

It was certainly popular, so much so that the hotel management eventually told us we couldn't admit any more guests.

Of the 150 people who did make it on to the roof overlooking the Manchester skyline I counted seven MPs, several councillors and countless parliamentary researchers.

Added to that were party members, friends of Forest and representatives of various think tanks, pressure groups and political consultancies.

Star of the show though was the rooftop terrace. It completely vindicated an email I received from one of the hotel managers hours before the event:

Just wanted to say good luck with the event tonight. What a shame we don’t have the weather we had last week but it will still be a fantastic event and the heaters will keep everyone cosy!

Marks out of five? I'd give it 4.5.

And to those who don't believe such events are worthwhile, you're wrong. Networking is an essential part of politics and events like this help maintain our profile as well as bringing together and uniting a broad range of interested parties and potential supporters.

It's worth every penny.