Last year, by a huge stroke of luck, I was offered a press pass for the Labour Party conference, on the grounds that I would cover the conference online in various places, with particular attention to Labour’s e-campaign efforts. I was over the moon that I would get behind-the-scenes access to the goings on at conference, and also access to Labour politicians and party staff, and that I could transmit what was happening online to people who weren’t able to make it to the conference.

Happily entering Labour’s online process to sign up for my press pass, it immediately became clear on me that I would have to pay nearly £1,000 for the privilege. Needless to say, I never got my press pass.

Speak with a number of fellow political bloggers – Labour members and non-members, I’ve come up with an innovative solution to getting more online activists and would-be journalists to attend and cover conference. I think Labour should create a ‘Blogger Pass’ for known bloggers, and bloggers accredited by major blogs like LeftFoodForward and LabourList (similar to the way media organisations accredit their staff). We live in an age where the print press readership is dying and blog readership is rising. Labour should embrace bloggers, young and old, who between get hundreds of thousands of hits a week.

It wouldn’t have to cost much. The party could set a nominal fee, not an exorbitant bounty, for an access-all-areas pass for the entire length of the conference. 2010 could be the experimental year and going forward the lessons learned this year would shape the policy in the future. Labour has been saying for years how much they appreciate and value their online activists (I’m sceptical just how much they want to embrace some of them though), and now is a good time to demonstrate that Labour is the party of the internet by making it possible for political bloggers to attend conference and feel valued.

Sure, Labour has its favoured online activist(s) but they should move to a system where more than a tiny chosen few can get the access needed to provide the best online coverage.