The left is undergoing a process of review and consideration at the moment, typified by Ed Miliband’s anxiety for the Labour Party to undergo an extensive policy review. It was in this spirit that activists, campaigners and supporters of left-wing causes gathered in central London today for the Netroots UK conference.

A wide variety of sessions and workshops was on offer, from practical sessions on blogging to a speaker from Media Matters, an organisation that scrutinises the right-wing press in the US. Many of the faces on panels and chatting earnestly between sessions were familiar - Left Foot Forward founder Will Straw, Liberal Conspiracy’s Sunny Hundal, LabourList’s Alex Smith were also joined by Tim Montgomerie from ConservativeHome, among many others.

Hovering less prominently on the fringes were organisers from the UK Uncut and tuition fees protests, including some of those involved in the student occupation at UCL. While panelists were keen to cite these as good examples of effective campaigning on the activist left, it did feel somewhat that while those appearing on the panels (journalists Johann Hari, Kevin Maguire and Polly Toynbee, among others) were adept at commentating on the issues and techniques activists feel they require, they are not actually equipped with much first-hand experience of the subject.

The sense of frustration from the people who had come to question these experts at the lack of practical advice often on offer was palpable. One audience member, keen to grill journalists on how they viewed their relationship with activists who gave them stories, told me afterwards that they were frustrated with how their question was deflected with "obvious" comments about journalists commitment to getting stories no matter what.

That isn’t to say that there wasn’t some very positive and practical advice on offer - honourable mentions in particular to Samira Shackle from the New Statesman, who gave very grounded, effective advice on how campaigners can gain greater access to the media, and Stella Creasy MP, who made a passionate and credible case for the left to target their campaigning on specific issues to maximise its impact.

But the atmosphere of the day was very much one of insular, comfortable discussion, rather than of groundbreaking progress made. Rounds of applause for condemnation of Rupert Murdoch and the Iraq war demonstrated that although there is definitely potential there, the left isn’t quite ready to provide the credible alternative to the coalition that they so desperately want to be.