Started the day at the Christian Forum breakfast to listen to Simon Hughes talk about his life as an MP and how his faith had helped him in his role as an MP. Apart from a good breakfast it was a very enlightening talk. Bermondsay has lost a good MP with its vote in May. After that to the housing debate and vote for an ambitious Liberal Democrat housing policy. We need more social housing as well as more affordable housing for people to get onto the housing ladder. We also do not need the Conservative giveaway policy which is going to damage all our social landlords and Councils that still provide social housing. It will also affect and reduce house building thus making our housing crises worse. But as with the environment, benefits, free school meals and energy, the Conservatives simply do not understand the needs of the wider community. The speech by Norman Lamb was as ever full of content and his advocacy and committment to improving mental health care in the NHS has been awesome. The afternoon sesssion had good policy on human rights (why oh why do the Conservatives want to scrap this?????) and a memorial tribute to Charles Kennedy – a great Liberal Democrat and a sad loss.

Fringes today included Carers UK on the needs of carers, NFU and Food and Drink Federation on the need for the country to produce more of its own food and finally Liberal International on the isues of a resurgant Russia.