In the United Kingdom the party conference season is a period of three weeks during September and October of each year, whilst the House of Commons is in recess, in which the annual political party conferences are held.
The Conservative Party Conference, Labour Party Conference and the twice-per-year Liberal Democrat Conference, representing the three largest UK-wide political parties, in terms of seats held, hold their main annual conferences in the autumn. These occur in reverse order to this list, and remains the order regardless as to which party is in government.
In contrast to its main opponents' conferences, the Liberal Democrats grant all party members attending its conference, either in-person or online, the right to vote on party policy, under a one-member, one vote system. Among the three largest UK-wide parties, the Liberal Democrat conference is also unique in providing a ring-fenced access fund, which defrays travel and accommodation costs for both disabled and low-income attendees.
UK-wide political party conferences have traditionally taken place in seaside resorts, at places such as the Empress Ballroom at Winter Gardens in Blackpool, the Brighton Centre in Brighton and the Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, largely due to there being plenty of cheap accommodation available in such towns at the end of the summer holiday season. However, for the two largest parties, they are increasingly taking place in major cities with modern, purpose-built conference centres, such as the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham, the Central Convention Complex in Manchester and the Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) in Liverpool.
Conferences for the devolved Scottish and Welsh parties of the UK-wide Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties are held in March, while the Scottish Green Party holds two conferences each year – a one-day policy event alongside the devolved conferences in March and a two or three day main conference during the main conference season.
There is an unofficial agreement between the parties that they will stagger the timing of their conferences such that media attention be undivided, though smaller parties do not always abide by this rule firmly. In 2012, for example, there was an overlap between the Liberal Democrat and United Kingdom Independence Party annual conferences, with the latter concluding on the opening day of the former, and in 2013 the Liberal Democrat and Green Party of England and Wales conferences overlapped by three days.
Television coverage Until the second half of the 1980s, with the exception of a mid-morning break for Play School, BBC television had broadcast live, uninterrupted coverage of all of the party conferences, as well as the Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference. However, the commencement of daytime television in October 1986, and with it an extended children's programming block, meant that the mid-morning interruption extended to 40 minutes from 1987 onwards, with further coverage breaks at 10am and 12noon for news summaries, with the notable exception of the Trades Union Congress which was shown uninterrupted on BBC2 due to it taking place before the commencement of the new term's schools broadcasts. Subsequent years saw coverage on BBC TV continue to be gradually reduced.
1992 saw the launch of The Parliamentary Channel and live, uninterrupted coverage of the three main party conferences was broadcast, without commentary or interviews. This continued after BBC Parliament took over the service in 1998. However, cutbacks at BBC Parliament in 2021 saw it drop all of its political programming with the channel reduced to nothing other than live and recorded coverage from Westminster and the devolved chambers and 2019 was the final time that BBC Parliament aired coverage of the coverage of the party conferences. This now means that linear television no longer provides significant coverage, with live coverage on BBC Two restricted to the party leaders’ speeches of the three main political parties.
Until the early 1980s, ITV, and then, for a short while, Channel 4, also showed coverage. ITV and Channel 4's coverage is now restricted to its scheduled news bulletins.
On radio, coverage was restricted to clips in scheduled news bulletins. However, the launch of BBC Radio 5 Live in 1994 saw the first live radio coverage, which includes the live broadcast of the leaders' speeches.
2026 conference season The confirmed dates for the 2026 conferences are as follows: +PartyVenueCity/TownCountryDateAlliance Party of Northern IrelandCrowne Plaza HotelBelfastNorthern Ireland14 MarchPeople Before ProfitWynn's HotelDublinRepublic of Ireland 21 MarchTraditional Unionist VoiceRoyal HotelCookstownNorthern Ireland 21 MarchSinn FéinICC BelfastBelfastNorthern Ireland24 - 25 AprilGreen Party Northern IrelandClayton Hotel BelfastNorthern Ireland16 MayReform UK National Exhibition Centre, BirminghamBirminghamEngland3 - 5 SeptemberSocial Democratic and Labour PartyCrowne Plaza HotelBelfastNorthern Ireland11 - 12 SeptemberDemocratic Unionist PartyLa Mon Hotel & Country ClubBelfastNorthern Ireland 18 - 19 SeptemberLiberal DemocratBrighton CentreBrighton England19 - 22 SeptemberUlster Unionist PartyCrowne Plaza HotelBelfastNorthern Ireland 26 SeptemberLabour Party (UK)https://labourlist.org/2025/09/labour-party-conference-2026-where-when-keir-starmer-liverpool/ACC LiverpoolLiverpoolEngland27 – 30 September Green Party of England and Waleshttps://greenparty.org.uk/get-involved/conference/Brighton CentreBrightonEngland2 – 4 OctoberPlaid Cymru https://www.plaid.cymru/cynhadledd_flynyddol_2026?lang=enVenue CymruLlandudnoWales2 – 3 OctoberConservative Party (UK)https://www.meetbirmingham.com/conservative-party-conference/International Convention Centre, BirminghamBirminghamEngland4 – 7 October Scottish National Partyhttps://www.snp.org/events/snp-annual-national-conference/The Event Complex AberdeenAberdeenScotland16 – 17 October Scottish GreensEden Court TheatreInvernessScotland24 - 25 OctoberCo-Operative Party Co-operative Party WebsiteOnlineOnline28 - 29 November Restore Britain did not organise a party conference in 2026.
2025 conference season The dates for the 2025 conferences were as follows:https://www.local.gov.uk/party-conferences-2025 +PartyVenueCity/TownCountryDateReform UKNEC BirminghamBirminghamEngland5–6 SeptemberTrades Union CongressBrighton CentreBrightonEngland7–10 SeptemberLiberal Democrats (UK)Bournemouth International CentreBournemouthEngland20–23 SeptemberLabour Party (UK)ACC LiverpoolLiverpoolEngland28 September – 1 OctoberGreen Party of England and WalesBournemouth International CentreBournemouthEngland3–5 OctoberConservative Party (UK)Manchester Central Convention ComplexManchesterEngland5–8 OctoberPlaid CymruBrangwyn HallSwanseaWales10–11 OctoberWelsh Liberal Democratshttps://www.libdems.wales/conferenceRamada PlazaWrexhamWales10–12 OctoberScottish National PartyThe Event Complex AberdeenAberdeenScotland11–13 OctoberScottish Green PartyJohn McIntyre Conference CentreEdinburghScotland17–19 OctoberScottish Liberal Democratshttps://www.scotlibdems.org.uk/conferenceRadisson Blu HotelGlasgowScotland18 OctoberWales Green Partyhttps://wales.greenparty.org.uk/about-us/conference/Clayton HotelCardiffWales8–9 NovemberCo-operative PartyTBCLondonEngland15-16 November Your Party (UK)ACC LiverpoolLiverpoolEngland29-30 November
2024 conference season The dates for the 2024 conferences were as follows: +PartyVenueCity/TownCountryDateScottish National PartyEdinburgh International Conference CentreEdinburghScotland30 August – 1 SeptemberGreen Party of England and WalesManchester Central Convention ComplexManchesterEngland6–8 SeptemberTrades Union CongressBrighton CentreBrightonEngland8–11 SeptemberLiberal Democrats (UK)Brighton CentreBrightonEngland14–17 SeptemberReform Party (UK)NEC BirminghamMarston GreenEngland20–21 SeptemberLabour Party (UK)ACC LiverpoolLiverpoolEngland22–25 SeptemberConservative Party (UK)International Convention Centre, BirminghamBirminghamEngland29 September – 2 OctoberPlaid CymruPrincipality StadiumCardiffWales11–12 OctoberScottish Green PartyBeacon Arts CentreGreenockScotland26–27 October
2023 conference season After 2022's cancellation of the Liberal Democrats Party Conference in Brighton due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the 2023 edition of the Liberal Democrats Party Conference returned to Bournemouth for the first time, with the dates for the 2023 conferences were as follows: +PartyVenueCity/TownCountryDateRefTrades Union CongressACC LiverpoolLiverpoolEngland10–13 SeptemberLiberal DemocratsBournemouth International CentreBournemouthEngland23–26 SeptemberConservativesManchester Central Convention ComplexManchesterEngland1–4 OctoberPlaid CymruAberystwyth Arts CentreAberystwythWales6–7 OctoberGreen Party of England and WalesBrighton CentreBrightonEngland6–8 OctoberReform UKHilton London MetropoleLondonEngland7 OctoberLabourACC LiverpoolLiverpoolEngland8–11 OctoberScottish National PartyP&J LiveAberdeenScotland15–17 OctoberScottish Green PartyCarnegie Conference CentreDunfermlineScotland28–29 October
2022 conference season Following the Death of Elizabeth II, the Liberal Democrats cancelled their planned conference whilst Trades Union Congress rescheduled theirs, both as a mark of respect to the Queen. The dates and locations for the 2022 conferences were as follows:
Liberal Democrats - Brighton Centre - Planned Saturday 17 September to Tuesday 20 September (cancelled) Labour - ACC Liverpool - Sunday 25 September to Wednesday 28 September Green Party of England and Wales - Harrogate Convention Centre - Friday 30 September to Sunday 2 October Reform UK - Birmingham - Sunday 2 October Conservatives - International Convention Centre, Birmingham - Sunday 2 October to Wednesday 5 October Trades Union Congress - Brighton Centre - Tuesday 18 October to Thursday 20 October (originally Sunday 11 September)
2021 conference season The Party conferences largely reverted to physical attendance following their cancellation the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some parties opted to keep their conferences online and some opted for a mix of both, with the dates and locations as follows:
Trades Union Congress - Online Only - Sunday 12 September to Tuesday 14 September Liberal Democrats - Online Only - Friday 17 September to Monday 20 September Labour - Brighton Centre - Saturday 25 September to Wednesday 29 September Conservatives - Manchester Central Convention Complex - Sunday 3 October to Wednesday 6 October. Plaid Cymru - Aberystwyth Arts Centre - Friday 15 October to Saturday 16 October Green Party of England and Wales - The Eastside Rooms, Birmingham - Friday 22 October to Sunday 24 October Reform UK - Manchester - 1 October to 2 October Scottish National Party - Online Only - Friday 26 November to Monday 29 November UK Independence Party (UKIP) - The Dome, Worthing, East Sussex - Sunday 17 October - Monday 18 October
2020 conference season The dates and locations of the 2020 conferences were planned to be as follows:
Labour – Saturday 19 September to Wednesday 23 September at the ACC Liverpool Liberal Democrats – Saturday 26 September to Tuesday 29 September at the Brighton Centre Green Party of England and Wales – Friday 2 to Sunday 11 October online at https://www.greenparty.org.uk/conference/ Conservatives – Sunday 4 October to Wednesday 7 October at the International Convention Centre, Birmingham