Alex Foster’s photo of queuing LibDems prompts me to comment on the bizarre security checks being carried out at party conference in Harrogate.

I was fortunate not to be caught up in any long delays, but I have a conspiratorial mind: I’m the sort of person who, while waiting to pass through the metal detector at the airport, can’t help wondering about the best way to get a bomb onto the plane. I therefore found myself pondering the logic of the system to which we were subjected when entering the conference centre.

I was asked to remove my coat, which was then examined by a security officer. I was asked if I had a mobile phone and to have it turned on. This was then also checked by security. And that was it. If my phone had actually been a detonator, I could have got round this stringentest of scans by claiming not to have one. If I wanted to get a pistol into the conference centre, I would merely have to have made sure to carry it in my trouser pocket and not my coat. A Richard Reid style shoe bomb would have gone undetected. No self-respecting terrorist would have been caught or deterred.

It’s possible the security checks were so good that this was all misdirection, and I was so enthralled and puzzled that I didn’t notice the hi-tech X-ray CCTV cameras giving me the twice over, but I think not. If we’re going to take security seriously, for our own safety, I can accept being slightly delayed so that it can be done thoroughly. Being checked so seriously, but so ineptly, though, is most off-putting.

I don’t know who came up with these procedures. I’d like to think that the Harrogate International Centre was concerned to protect itself and foisted them upon the party, because then the concern is why the HIC’s systems are so attrocious. The alternative is that the party needs to show the media that it takes itself seriously as the “real opposition”, and therefore has to act as if it considers itself a prime target for terrorism. Knowing, however, that it isn’t much of a target at all, it doesn’t matter if the security procedures are lax. I hope it’s the first explanation.

Hello from snowy Harrogate. Despite the weather, I arrived only an hour later than intended yesterday afternoon and had a chance to watch Deal or No Deal before heading to the conference centre.

Rather than attend the Meeting the Challenge and Meet the New Leader session, which I correctly predicted was standing room only, I went straight to the bar, and from there to the pub, and from there for a curry. An excellent conference evening catching up with various LibDems I’d not seen for ages.

I went to the Post Office debate this morning. When I read the conference agenda, I thought “interesting motion” and not much more. Reading the papers yesterday, I discovered that apparently it’s a controversial motion and the party is split on it. So, I went along. There were some good speeches – Chris Huhne got a long, loud round of applause when he arrived on stage to speak in favour – and the motion was passed overwhelmingly.

Then to breakfast, and back to the conference centre for fringes – all of which were packed full. So we headed back into town. I’m now back in the conference centre, which is much warmer than outside.

Before I go, here’s a photo of Advocates Close in Edinburgh yesterday morning. I’d popped into the National Library, at which point it was snowing very lightly. When I emerged half an hour later, nearly a centimetre of snow had fallen, and it was continuing to fall heavily.

I’m off to Harrogate tomorrow for LibDem spring conference. May or may not be able to blog from there.

If you’re going too, please say hello.

LibDem web geeks may interested in this LibDems Online fringe at party conference at 8pm on Saturday night:

Mark Pack and Martin Tod will discuss what we can learn from e-campaigns run during the leadership elections. All three campaigns are already working together to share what they’ve learnt and ensure that we use what we’ve learnt in future Lib Dem campaigning.

Since Martin‘s candidate was the winner (and the campaign website was very good), his experience will be worth hearing, as will those of Richard Huzzey of Bloggers4Chris, and Rob Fenwick, Simon Hughes‘s webmaster, who won’t be there is person but has sent his thoughts.

More details on FlockTogether.