On the red-eye to Manchester for the Labour Party conference.  Those who tend to shut their mind to the world over the weekend will need to know that Labour has put its ‘Ed’ on the block and that it is now most definitely Milliband country.

Pick of the Labour conference fringe this week (with an unapologetic slant towards medical research):

Monday –  Alzheimer’s Research Trust, Anthony Nolan and ABHI meeting at 12.45pm – ‘Innovation as cure: how medical research can crack our toughest health problems’ – and not because I am chairing it but because of the compelling patient stories.

Tonight sees the Royal Society hold its meeting and reception: ‘The scientific century’ with Brian Cox and David Lammy MP (Shadow Business Secrtary).  Fact – did you know that this is the first time the Royal Society has been to the conferences in its 350 year history? That’s at 5.30pm.

If you don’t fancy that you can always go to the Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Royal College of General Practitioners ‘Dragon’s Den’ fringe….I shall say no more.  @ 6.15pm. 

At 7.15pm  the eclectic think-tank 2020health have a fringe on about the NHS White Paper and at 8pm the Health Hotel coalition is holding its conference debate with Fiona Phillips in the Chair and speakers including Andy Burnham who ran for the leadership and remains Shadow Health Secretary for the moment.  That’s usually followed by a ticket-only reception.

Tuesday – The BMA and Royal College of Nursing have a breakfast roundtable entitled ‘Health, Economy, Workforce’ starting at an unappetising 7.30am.  Perhaps it is for those coming off the night shift or on call.  Should be interesting though.

Cancer Research UK have their fringe, together with the Royal College of General Practitoners, at 12.30pm about cancer diagnosis.  Various members of the Health Hotel have fringes on at the same time on ‘Preventing another Mid-Staffs Crisis,’ ‘Solving the Public Health Crisis’ and ‘Smarter spending for better care.’  So, take your pick.  But I’d recomment the latter if pushed and not just because it is organised by two of our members, MND Association and Parkinson’s UK.

That evening @ 5.45 there looks a tasty debate on university funding called ‘Funding our Future: How do we fund universities and students to secure our future?’ With David Lammy MP and others. Organised by the million+ group, NUS et al.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF), Stroke Association and Diabetes Uk hold their ‘Research to the Rescue’ fringe at 6.15 with Baroness Thornton speaking and Mark Henderson from The Times in the chair.

And if you have never been to The Tribune rally on the last night of conference you really should go…

Venue details etc available in the fringe guide.

Will be blogging about this, that and more over the next two weeks and adding my perspective to the ‘bonfire of the quangos’ and ‘science cuts’ stories from Friday – I was at an exceptionally good meeting of our members and researchers/clinicians from the Medicines for Children Research Network.

And finally, apologies for the poor spelling…I am writing on a train and I have forgottent my glasses….