POLITICAL conference season 2023 has now been and gone!

It may not have the elegance of your Paris Fashion Week or the glitz of awards season in Hollywood, but it does still set the trend for what’s ahead, what we are likely to see more of in the coming year(s) and presents the new range of policies and programmes to the public – which we all then hope have content and not just some style.

Hearing the tone that parties set and the priorities they lay out is always interesting, enabling us to get a sense of where we all are.

This year, I took the opportunity to attend the SNP Conference, rather than merely tuning in. I was glad that I did.

From Sunday to Tuesday last week, my companion and I attended fringe events on subjects ranging from employability and child poverty to Palestine and health inequalities. We were challenged, informed and encouraged. We spoke with the subject expert presenters, and to other delegates and attendees – it was a real opportunity to debate issues and discuss practical solutions.

And that was just the fringe.

During the conference sessions, we saw resolution after resolution being brought forward and then voted on by the grassroots members of our party. The resolutions passed then become party policy. My companion was a first-time conference attendee, and more than once she commented on how much she felt she was seeing democracy in action in the room – people, just people, suggesting and then agreeing the policies at the heart of our party.

There was a long and respectful debate about our independence strategy because, yes – and no-one should be particularly surprised by this – we believe that independence would underpin the flourishing of our nation, and that much positive change is hindered by not having independence. Our debate was also necessary because we are seeking a democratic route to make a choice about the future of our nation, and this is currently being blocked and denied. The voice for – not just independence – but for having the choice about it, has to be able to be heard.

I saw my party colleagues bring forward policies about being humane and just, as we welcome asylum seekers, about continuing to commit to our citizens who care for others or who have experience of care.

Further policies called for more attention to the stewardship of our environment, our sustainable use of natural resources, and how we better support those who live in rural communities. The NHS and public services were front and centre – and keeping them public in the face of a direction of travel from Westminster that might do otherwise was made a clear intention of my party.

I left Aberdeen knowing that the SNP wants to keep making things better and wants to hold Scotland safely and sustainably. I left knowing that the SNP is open to welcoming people who need or want to be here, and that when people come, they can ‘belong’ here. I left knowing that the SNP is looking outward to the opportunities for Scotland in the world.

This might be the first time it has ever taken me until this stage of my column to mention Inverclyde.

Well, every table I sit round, every question I ask or answer I give, I am representing or considering Inverclyde. Inverclyde is Scotland too, and I want to use every opportunity I have: in Aberdeen, here in our own Chamber or wherever I happen to go, to influence, and influence well, on behalf of Inverclyde.

I might not feel at home at Paris Fashion Week (I would be all Paris and no fashion). A trip to the Oscars or the Tonys would be welcome, but probably, and sadly not forthcoming.

Conference season will have to suffice, and this year, from Aberdeen, as a reminder of the style and content of the SNP and its membership, it really did. And then some!