MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Busy fortnight at party conferences.

The Falkland's attendance at Labour and Conservative party conferences has been “very worthwhile”, according to Councillor Cheek.

Speaking form her hotel in Blackpool at the end of the Conservative conference, councillor cheek said ministers who had visited the Falklands stand had been "strongly supportive" of the Islands.

Mrs. Cheek, Councillor Roger Edwards and Falkland Islands Government's representative in UK, Sukey Cameron, together manned the stand at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton last week and at the Tory conference in Blackpool this week.

In Brighton, the three met Foreign Office Minister Lord Triesman who councillor Cheek described as, "?a nice man, easy to talk to very reasonable and well briefed." "I'm sure we'll be comfortable working with him", she said.

Other Labour visitors to the stand included the secretary of State of defence, John Reid, who has twice visited the Falklands in the past, former Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammel and, Councillor Cheek said,?"a great many of the MPs who have visited the Islands and who are still very strongly supportive."

In Brighton, the Falkland team also met Gibraltarian politician Joe Bossano who spoke in support of the Falkland Islands at the UN earlier this year. Councillor Cheek said, "We thanked him personally for his intervention".

In Blackpool, councillor Cheek said, the Falklands contingent made a point of getting all the candidates for the conservative Leadership to visit the stand. She said, again, the MPs were all, "well briefed on the Islands and very supportive".

Candidate Liam Fox mentioned the Falklands in a speech at a reception hosted by Gibraltar. He spoke on the importance of self-determination and held the Falklands up as an example.

This was the 18th year the Falkland Islands has attend the party conferences. Mrs. Cheek said that although the two weeks had been tiring, "?it has certainly been very worthwhile. (PN)