Washminster

Washminster
Washminster

Friday 19 September 2008

Despatch from Manchester - 18h40

I've arrived in Manchester for the Labour Party Conference which begins tomorrow. This afternoon I drove up from my home in Rugby, and checked into my accommodation at the Luther King House, just off the Wilmslow Road. It's about 2 miles from the City Centre - and the conference venue - [which incorporates Manchester Central (Conference Centre); the Midland and the Radisson Hotels.] This was the site of the Peterloo Massacre in August 1819 - when cavlry rode into a crowd of some 70,000 people who were demanding the reform of parliamentary representation.

After a walk into the city centre to get my bearings I returned by bus to my accommodation. Tonight the Greater Manchester Fabian Society are hosting a pre-Conference event in a bar in Piccadilly Gardens. I'm looking forward to meeting fellow Fabians from this area - as well as other delegates who have arrived in advance of the start of conference.