This year's party conference season heads back to Birmingham this weekend, as the Conservative Party kicks off its annual gathering on Sunday 4^th October.  

As the Conservatives confront pressure from Reform UK and Restore Britain on their right, and the 'Burnham bounce' on their left, Kemi Badenoch and her newly reshuffled shadow frontbench team are looking to cut through on issues important to the public, including energy affordability. 

Party conference season heads back down to Brighton this weekend for the Green Party’s biggest annual conference to date, with membership having grown from 68,000 members when leader Zack Polanski was elected last year to 230,000 today. 

As the ‘Burnham Bounce’ has resulted in many voters on the left returning to Labour, the Seahorse team will be at the conference to better understand the Green pitch to voters as they seek to reclaim lost momentum.  

This weekend, party conference season moves north to Liverpool for a jam-packed Labour party get together, including a huge number of events covering the energy transition and nature restoration.  

The Liberal Democrats head to Brighton this weekend with a packed green agenda, from a beach clean with Sir Ed Davey to panels on the cost of energy and forever chemicals. Read Seahorse's pick of the standout events below.

There was a different air at Reform Conference this year. The conference was bigger than last year. Alongside the main stage, there was a serious programme of roundtables and fringe events focused on what the first 100 days of a Reform government could look like.

This year’s agenda balances Reform’s exploration of nature protection policies with their established scepticism of net zero, reflecting their desire to target rural communities whilst providing a distinct alternative on energy policy to other major parties.   

While the Prime Minister may be shying away from talking about climate change, the Opposition is setting out its plan for net zero and the Climate Change Act: scrap them. So where does that leave conservative environmentalism and what might the party do next?

For a long time, governments and climate advocates struggled with convincing people that climate change was already affecting communities here in the UK, not ‘just’ some other part of the world that was already more exposed to extremes like flooding, drought and wildfires. The increasing regularity of flooding was the one impact people could see, measure and be shocked by

New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appointed Dame Angela Eagle as his new Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The 4 junior ministerial roles are now held by Emma Hardy as Minister of State, and Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, Stephen Morgan and Baroness Sue Hayman as Under-Secretaries of State. Beyond the headline appointments, what do we know about this new-look team and what can we determine about how they will shape environmental policy going forwards?

Without a leadership challenge to manage, Burnham arrived in Downing Street with an unusually large group of supporters across the parliamentary Labour party and beyond, meaning plenty of people to reward with jobs and just as many to disappoint. The wait is now over. Burnham's cabinet is out, and it shows where his priorities lie.

The Green Party has a podcast. Bold Politics with Zack Polanski. Reform UK has one too, promising listeners “behind the scenes” access to Nigel Farage, in episodes such as “Brexit Special: 10 Years On” and “General Election Now!”

These are different ideological projects, but structurally they are doing the same thing: building direct, leader-linked content channels (on podcast platforms, Instagram, and YouTube) that combine personality and political ideas.

The crucial test of Burnham will be how he manages the first 100 days; if he can maintain momentum; deliver a national vision (that MPs and activists buy-into); and if he prevents his politics of personality being enveloped by the incumbent state.

Whatever happens in the by-election next week, we will have a new Prime Minister. This week has already been rife with speculation about what happens if Andy Burnham wins on the 18th, but the drama continues.

Compass - the left-wing think tank closely aligned with Andy Burnham - used its annual Mobilising the Progressive Majority conference to announce a "Council for the Progressive Majority": a formal convening of two senior figures from each of Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, the SNP and Plaid Cymru. 

We’re proud to share that we’ve been shortlisted for Communications Agency of the Year at the UK Green Business Awards 2026. This recognition means a great deal to our team and stands as a testament to the impactful work we've been privileged to shape with our clients.

As King Charles returns from delivering a widely lauded speech to US legislators, soon he will again make headlines as he delivers the King’s Speech in Parliament on May 13th. This will be a defining and potentially make or break political moment for Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership, setting out the Government’s policy agenda for the next 12-24 months. 

The Iran war has once again put the UK’s vulnerability to fossil fuel price shocks at front of mind. 80% of UK households remain reliant on oil and gas heating and while they have been shielded by the price cap or government support in the short-term, this isn’t guaranteed for the months ahead.

Water Pressure: Here's what you need to know, and do, before the Water Reform Bill is written. The Water Reform Bill represents the biggest reset of the water industry in a generation - and the window to help shape it is closing.

The Energy Independence Bill is a highly anticipated bill of the King’s Speech – currently planned for 13^th May 2026. The Bill was the brainchild of Alan Whitehead who (now a Lord) is Minister of State in the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

The Seahorse team were on the ground in Manchester ahead of last night’s bombshell result in Gorton and Denton. 

For those engaged in public affairs, it is always wise to exercise caution when interpreting a by-election result.  

The Conservatives’ Uxbridge by-election win in July 2023 is a case in point. Essentially a ULEZ referendum, the result was interpreted as proof that net zero was electorally toxic, prompting Rishi Sunak to dilute key net zero ambitions. What followed speaks for itself.  

However, despite these caveats, there is no doubt that Gorton and Denton will be felt as a watershed moment.