The 2022 Conservative Party Spring Conference is the first political event to take place in Blackpool since 2007. The event takes place in the UK’s favourite seaside resort on 18 & 19 March 2022 – also the start of English Tourism Week.
The resort was once a hub for all the main parties, with them holding events here several times each year. Here at Live Blackpool we clearly remember all the litter bins and drainage grids being inspected and taped over, during weeks of advance preparation.
We were in Blackpool a couple of weeks before the event when preparations were starting to happen –
The 2022 event is being held at the brand new Winter Gardens Conference Centre. It’s been built on what was once a split-level car park, off Leopold Grove. With new, modern facilities the complex can host up to 7,000 delegates.
2022 Conservative Party Spring Conference
In excess of 2000 delegates and media representatives are expected to flock to the resort for the conference. Blackpool and the Fylde Coast will be very much under the spotlight – with people looking to see how Blackpool delivers this high-quality and professional conference.
The Conservative Party conference team is working with VisitBlackpool and StayBlackpool to source accredited accommodation for delegates.
With something for all tastes and budgets, choosing one of these accredited properties ensures that the accommodation you choose is exactly what you expect.
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All StayBlackpool hold a national star rating or Blackpool Approved accreditation, so we know you’ll go home having experienced the best Blackpool has to offer.
VisitBlackpool is the official tourism department of Blackpool Council
StayBlackpool is the independent association for Blackpool hotels and guest houses.
Buy your tickets
Spring Conference is in a secure zone which you will require a valid Conference ticket to access.
Meet senior Party figures and attend training sessions on issues that matter to you. Hear inspiring speeches and meet up with fellow friends and activists. It’s a celebration of Conservative plans for the future of our great country.
- Get your tickets and find out more
History of Conferences in Blackpool
It’s an exciting time. As the doors to the new conference facilities open, it’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase our resort credentials. It’s also economically valuable, estimated to create £2.4m of revenue locally.
Conferences first came to Blackpool way back in 1917, but been absent in recent years.
THE Place for a Conference
The TUC’s first annual conference was held in September 1917. Then the Labour Conference in March and the Conservative Party Conference followed. First held at the Winter Gardens on 6 & 7 October 1931. Many union conferences took place in Blackpool. Thirty organisations held theirs here in 1917 alone.
For more than 60 years Blackpool was THE place to hold annual conferences. In 1994 more than 110 were held in the town.
In 1945, Clement Attlee became the first Prime Minister to address the Trades Union Congress conference. Yes, you guessed it, here in Blackpool, on 13 September.
…Leaving the Town
However, the Labour party were first to leave Blackpool in 2000. Members complained that rooms were ‘shabby and small’. The Conservatives left in 2007 and by then all the parties had selected what they saw as more ‘up market’ towns.
Every Prime Minister since World War 2 had appeared at Blackpool Conferences. But by 2015 the only party to choose Blackpool was ‘The Official Monster Raving Loony Party’. Hardly one to count.
…and Returning to Blackpool
With everyone working together, the 2022 Conservative Party Spring Conference will undoubtedly create future opportunities. Let it be the first of many more conferences and events of national and international importance.
It’s also appropriate that the first conference in the brand new venue begins at the start of English Tourism Week, Friday 18 – Sunday 27 March 2022.
Tourism makes up 80% of the UK visitor economy. In 2019, the last ‘normal’ year, it generated over £100 billion, supporting 2.6 million jobs.
MANY THANKS to Nick Moore and his fascinating History of Blackpool for historical information used in this article. You can read it here.
While you’re here…
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Yes very welcome from any angle just wonder why it takes 6 officers to lift a manhole cover?