I’m a policy wonk: I love policies. But, as all The MJ readers know, policies are meaningless in isolation; the political dimension is unavoidable and there is no bigger showcase for the inescapable intertwining of policy and politics than party conference season.

Localis has been at all three conferences and hosted discussions on subjects from the impact of shale gas on local economies to fixed-odds betting terminals and the impact of betting shops on local high streets – no shortage of views there, but with perhaps more consensus than you might expect.

We also asked all three parties to consider whether Garden Cities could play a part in helping to boost housing supply – with the pleasing and somewhat unexpected response being that no-one was against them, with speakers and audience members focusing instead on the practicalities of how to make them work.