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It's party conference season again in the UK, with the Liberal Democrat and Labour conferences already over, and the Conservatives' under way. What are they all about? What are the parties' main concerns?

The BBC offers a general introduction to the world of party conferences on its website, as well as a quiz for anyone who can still remember last year's conferences.

The Liberal Democrat party's conference this year took place from September 21st to 25th in Brighton. Party leader Charles Kennedy's keynote address focused on the theme "we are the only credible challenge to the government".

In his address, Lib Dem foreign affairs shadow Menzies Campbell focused on the context and consequences of the war in Iraq: "Our scepticism about military action, our anxiety about the legal basis for such action, and our concern about its consequences have all been justified." He also reminded Labour of its original promise to hold a referendum on Europe. The party's website presents a full list of policy papers on this and other issues to download.

The shadow Chancellor for the Lib Dems, Matthew Taylor, also used his speech to put the pressure on the government: "This country is now ready for its government to go on a diet. To slim down, to get up off the couch, to put away the remote control." He proposed a cull of government departments, as well as killing off council tax.

A full archive of conference speeches and news stories is available at the party's online headquarters.

The Liberal Democrats currently hold 54 seats in Parliament, the largest number the party has ever had. The party in its present form emerged in the late 1980s/early 1990s, as the inheritor of the Liberal movement.

The Labour Party has also archived all its conference speeches on the web. Here's a brief selection from the gathering, which took place from September 28th to October 2nd in Bournemouth.

In his keynote address, Prime Minister and party leader Tony Blair's message was "I want is to go faster and further." He firmly restated his political ideology, insisting the party should be proud of reforming public services. In what commentators have described as an echo of Margaret Thatcher, he also asserted that "I've not got a reverse gear".

Car fan John Prescott continued the motoring theme in his speech as Deputy Prime Minister. "You don't need a reverse gear when you're going in the right direction," he said, focusing on how he believed Labour has stayed true to its promises when first elected six years ago.

Health secretary John Reid challenged the Tories for their plan to get rid of the basic principle of the NHS equals treatment free at the point of need. He affirmed a commitment to the "collective provision of free health care" - and to the party's policy of foundation hospitals.

Last but certainly not least, if the recent Channel 4 drama The Deal has anything to do with it, is Chancellor Gordon Brown. His speech also underlined the party's stance on health reform, that "the NHS is only truly safe with us and our values".

The Labour Party has existed since 1900, and the current government is the longest ever in power the party has seen. Labour has 409 MPs, a majority of 165.

The Conservative Party conference is now under way in Blackpool, from October 6th until Thursday October 9th.

Party chairman Theresa May delivered a rallying cry to the conference on the first day, describing the party as a 21st century one for everyone, "rich or poor, straight or gay, black or white", and said that "the battleground for the next election is already set" - where the Tories would play to their own strengths rather than focusing on how Labour isn't working.

This year's Conservative conference theme revolves around offering "everyone a fair deal". The Tories are also holding online Q&A sessions during the conference. News about party leader Iain Duncan Smith is available at the Tories' website here.

The party currently has 165 MPs in the House of Commons. The origins of the party lie in the late 18th century.

There are several other parties currently holding seats in the Commons. The Scottish National Party has 5 MPs, and Plaid Cymru (Welsh national party) has 4. In Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionists have 5, Sinn Fein has 4 (although they have not taken their seats), and the Social & Democratic Party 3; the Ulster Unionists have 3, and there are also 3 independent Unionists.

There is also 1 independent MP (Dr Richard Taylor in Wyre Forest), and 1 independent Conservative (Andrew Hunter in Basingstoke).

The SNP has recently held its annual conference in Inverness. The Plaid Cymru conference took place in Cardiff, also in September.