Dominic with the Liberal Democrats, Brighton

While the Liberal Democrats are squeezed in the "fight for the centre ground" in British politics, a position reflected in their recent lower poll ratings, they remain important players at the local level in many areas and run some crucial local authorities.

My objectives for this conference are to ensure our campaign messages are raised with key national figures and to identify local leaders who may be keen to work with us and our members. With the devolution agenda, LAAs etc local leadership is crucial and we need to work with all parties to influence this agenda.

Learning from previous party conferences we have eschewed running our own events or exhibition stands, both of which suck up more resource than we have available, and seek opportunities to meet and engage with the key players we need to influence.

So early yesterday evening I headed to the IPPR's fringe meeting entitled Top Down vs Front Line with a panel including Vince Cable MP (shadow chancellor), Richard Lambert from the CBI, Steve Bundred CEO of the Audit Commission, Lucy De Groot from Idea and Councillor David Tutt Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council. The debate was over the extent to which Liberal Democrats should support the use of markets to deliver public services and what impact such reforms have been having on public services .

At question time I pointed out that the Supporting People programme is already delivering £1.7 billion of commissioned services, many of which are delivered by third sector organisations. The crucial issue is to ensure that excluded people such as homeless people, and the agencies that run these services, must be enabled to take a meaningful part in the decision making processes, especially when it comes to commissioning and procurement. Unless local leaders focus on this, the opportunities presented by the localism agenda and LAAs will be lost.

Head nodding from David Tutt encouraged me to chat with him after the meeting. He was very interested in projects bringing together different services under one roof such as the young service run from an old cinema in Worthing. We will follow up with him after the conference season.

A quick fish n chips supper on the seafront, then off to a hot crowded room at the back of the Old Ship hotel to attend the launch of a new book Social Liberalism for the 21st Century. Among the contributors and speaking on the panel was Steve Webb MP who is leading on writing the party's election manifesto. After the meeting I had a quick chat with Steve, gave him a copy of our Ending homelessness - from vision to action pamphlet and told him about Ming Campbell's visit to a hostel a couple of weeks ago, which we facilitated along with Look Ahead Housing and Care.

Am now off to a lunchtime New Statesman fringe meeting with Paul Holmes MP, Lib Dem housing spokesperson.

More information will be added shortly, in the meantime information is available on Homeless Link's training and events programmes.