Welcome to my first blog entry from the Conservative Pary Conference in Manchester.

One of the great things about being the Member of Parliament for Brighton is that wherever you go, everyone knows where Brighton is and what a wonderful place it is, and that has certainly been the case again here in Manchester.

I have listened carefully to the speeches from the main stage, where a number of announcements on the economy, crime, immigration and the environment. There was plenty of good news for the hardworking people of Brighton and Peacehaven including tax cuts for millions of lower paid and help for those people wishing to get on the housing ladder with the Right to buy and Help to buy policies.

However, much of the conference takes place away from the main stage and I have used this gathering to lobby Ministers on behalf of the constituents.

I met with the Secretary of State for Health to again press the case for the funding for the Royal Sussex Hospital. The Minister was very pleased to hear about the strength of local opinion and to learn about my petition, which now has nearly 1,000 signatures.

I also met with Ed Vaizey to lobby on behalf of the Saltdean Lido for funding to help with the extensive renovations required.

I will continue to use the conference as an opportunity to work on behalf of my constituents and will be sure to keep you informed through this blog as the conference proceeds.