The itinerary said be at the event for 6pm. I arrived early, as I didn't want it to look like I'd just waltzed in straight off the London train. I'd done my homework - the RICS Residential Policy paper (released last week) sat freshly marked up in my bag. I had my points to get across, and I wasn't afraid to use them. This is the new era of open debate amongst the Labour Party after all. I didn't think they'd mind some straight talking from an outsider.

Roger and Trevor, the RICS representatives, were there to greet me, and very amiable they were too. RICS were sponsoring the event, and they were keen to get it right. They'd rolled out their paper at the Liberal Democrats conference, and it would be re-run at the Conservative party next week. They were looking to stimulate a debate, and they had a good running order: Angela Eagle MP, Shadow First Secretary of State; Roberta Blackman-Woods MP, Helen Hayes MP, vice chair of the all party parliamentary group for housing and planning, Michael Newey of RICS, and myself. I was effectively first up, and I was to give an industry perspective on the Paper, and my thoughts more generally on ways to speed up the delivery of, and supply of, housing. After the politicians had had their say, we were to embark on a question and answer session with the audience.