Birmingham Wins The Conference Battle

The ICC is vastly superior to any of the other conference venues used by the major parties.

I've been here before many times, but only to cover specific events - listening to a speech and heading straight back to the office to file copy.

It's the first time I've spent a whole day at a conference at the ICC, having done the same many times at Bournemouth, Blackpool, Brighton and Manchester for previous party conferences.

The ICC looks modern. It is light and airy, with high ceilings. The facilities for the media are as good as you'd find in any open plan office in a modern business.

Although the conference is packed (when you look like you're winning, more people want to come to your event), the ICC doesn't feel crowded. At the same time, everything you want is within easy reach of a large central foyer. There's no need to wander around getting lost.

And it has some decent bars and restaurants right on site, without forcing people to leave and go through security to get back in.

Leaving Brummie partisanship aside, as someone who attends these conferences for a living, I hope Birmingham becomes a regular choice of venue for all the parties.