Party conference


The terms party conference, political convention, and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party membership. In most political parties, the party conference is the highest decision-making body of the organization, tasked with electing or nominating the party's leaders or leadership bodies, deciding party policy, and setting the party's platform and agendas.
The term conference or caucus may also refer to the organization of all party members as a whole.
The definitions of all of these terms vary greatly, depending on the country and situation in which they are used.

Leadership roles

Canada

In Canada, besides annual or biennial conventions, parties often hold special conventions to elect new leaders.

Communist states

In the United Kingdom the political conferences generally take place in three weeks of September and October of each year, whilst the House of Commons is in recess. The conferences of the three largest UK-wide parties, the Conservative Party Conference, the Labour Party Conference and the Liberal Democrat Federal Conference, are held during this time.

United States

In the United States, the term party conference is used to refer to the equivalent of parliamentary groups in other countries.