The Alliance and Volleyball England bring sport to the party in Bournemouth

Last Sunday, the Alliance team was in Bournemouth for the Liberal Democrat Party Conference (23 – 26 September), to kick off its conference season 2023 tour and raise awareness of and build support for its campaign to ‘make the UK the most active nation in Europe’.

For the first time since before the pandemic, Liberal Democrats from across the country gathered in person for their Autumn Conference to discuss policy, party priorities, and engage with stakeholders, aware this could be the last such opportunity before the next General Election.

Across the speeches and fringe events, health and social care has emerged as a key priority for the Liberal Democrats, with an emphasis on public health and prevention. This is a space our sector and members already play a huge role in driving and, with more support and a more joined-up approach to improving health and activity levels as a nation, could do so much more, as evidenced in our latest research.

It's clear we weren’t the only ones agreeing with this. Partnering with Volleyball England and with support from UK Beach Tour and DeepDish, the team spent the afternoon on Bournemouth beach, a stone’s throw from the conference centre, running give-it-a-go Beach Volleyball sessions for politicians, conference goers and local residents, to highlight the power of sport and recreation and – amongst other things - its positive impacts on health and wellbeing.

Molly Hartill, Head of Public Affairs and Communications at the Alliance said:

"We are encouraged to see a clear focus on health and wellbeing in the proposals laid out at conference and hope to see more direct indication from the Liberal Democrats that they intend to unlock the power of sport, recreation and physical activity to make their plans a reality. We urge the Conservatives and Labour Party to do the same at their upcoming conferences."

Team GB and England Beach Volleyball star Harry Jones, supporting the campaign to make the UK the most active nation in Europe alongside student athletes from Bournemouth University.

The Alliance team, Volleyball England, UK Beach Tour and other organisations from the wider sport sector, showing support for the campaign after hosting the volleyball session to highlight the benefits of being active.

The Alliance team, alongside partners from the wider sport, recreation, and physical activity sector, will be at party conferences this year organising and supporting a programme of events bringing physical activity to the conference schedule.

Note to editors:

Find out about all upcoming sector activity here and contact Molly for any questions relating to conferences or the campaign mhartill@sportandrecreation.org.uk

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