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By Bethan James
BBC Wales political reporter
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Lib Dems say a "fairer" council voting system must be introduced
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Not for the first time, power is on the minds of Welsh Liberal Democrats gathered at Brighton.
A hand or two on the levers of government at Westminster would be useful, of course, but they believe their more immediate prospect is of seats around the Cardiff Bay cabinet table.
Lembit Öpik, leader of the Lib Dems in Wales, describes the Brighton get-together as an important event for his party.
That is certainly true for the party's overall leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, who is overseeing his first conference since Charles Kennedy stepped down after admitting his alcohol problems.
After an occasionally uncertain first nine months in the job, Sir Menzies could, however, celebrate winning a key vote on his tax plans.
An embarrassing defeat for Sir Menzies was averted when delegates backed his plan to drop its previous pledge for a 50p top tax rate, and approved proposals for new taxes on "gas-guzzling" cars and aviation to pay for income tax cuts.
Mr Öpik, meanwhile, firmly claims that no deal has been made between his party and Labour ahead of the Welsh assembly election next May.
His comments followed reports that representatives of the two parties had held private talks about a possible future coalition government in Cardiff Bay.
Amid such speculation, Mike German, who leads the Lib Dems in the assembly, has met Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen - a post Mr German held himself in Wales when his party was in coalition with Labour until the 2003 election.
Hardly surprising, then, that a meeting with a Scottish Lib Dem working in coalition with Scottish Labour adds fuel to the fire in Wales.
In an interview with BBC Wales, Mike German rebutted the rumours about deals with potential partners.
But he also said that "nobody is ruled in and nobody is ruled out".
"It is up to the people of Wales," said Mr German. "If they decide that no party has a majority next May then we will work with the other parties but based on a programme and on Lib Dem values."
He would not reveal the details of such a programme. "But" he added, "I can tell you that if we don't get a change in the way we vote and get fair voting for local governments, then it won't even be worth anyone picking up the phone."
So, that's one non-negotiable in the event of a coalition in Cardiff Bay.
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If we don't get a change in the way we vote and get fair voting for local governments then it won't even be worth anyone picking up the phone
