Category Archives: Conference

Anything relating to the spring or autumn conferences

Spring Conference Agenda – online now

By Andrew Wiseman | Published 7th February 2012 - 10:53 am

Spring Conference this year is from 9-11 March at NewcastleGateshead.

The Conference Agenda has been finalised and is now available online. For those members who registered for conference before 31 January, hard copies will be arriving through the post very soon and your pass will follow at the end of the month.

If you haven’t registered yet then it’s not too late. Rates start at just £21 for a one day pass and concessionary rates are available too.

To find out more and to register, go to: www.libdems.org.uk/SpringConference

We have planned an interesting agenda with a variety of debates. …

1 Comment

Spring Conference 2012: registration now open

By Andrew Wiseman | Published 6th December 2011 - 1:21 pm

I am pleased to announce that registration for Spring Conference 2012 is now open.

For the first time, conference will be hosted by NewcastleGateshead. The Liberal Democrats have a proud history in the North-East. We control Northumberland County Council and Ian Swales MP, Sir Alan Beith MP and Fiona Hall MEP represent the Region in London and Brussels respectively.

Fiona said, “Conference is going to be a great boost for the area ahead of vital local elections in May. The region is gearing up to make it a fantastic weekend for everyone. I hope representatives also take …

Tagged alan beith, fiona hall, ian swales, newcastle, nick clegg | 4 Comments

How many failed the conference security checks?

By Stuart Bonar | Published 5th December 2011 - 10:24 am

Before conference there were lots of pieces here on Lib Dem Voice about the new security hurdles over which people wanting to attend conference would have to jump. There was the occasional piece defending the new arrangements, but most were pretty hostile.

I am not usually one to pick at scabs, but I thought that once the dust had settled on conference season I would ask each of the police forces responsible for security at the three main conferences for some hard numbers. Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act I did just that.

What were the figures for the …

Tagged birmingham 2011 conference | 32 Comments

Opinion: Labour’s problem

By George Kendall | Published 13th October 2011 - 2:25 pm

There’s been nothing dramatic about this conference season apart from a few gaffes, but under the surface, I think the Labour conference was significant.

While I enjoyed the Lib Dem conference, I don’t think the journalists did. Whenever I passed a well-known TV presenter, they had a face like thunder. They were looking for factionalism and controversy, but all they found was Lib Dems facing up to a difficult situation with determination and loyalty. That makes dull TV, so they must have been tearing their hair out.

The Tory conference was more entertaining.

Theresa May’s remark about cats, and the more recent

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged ed balls, ed miliband, gordon brown, ken clarke, liam fox, theresa may, tony blair | 35 Comments

Opinion: Theresa May’s cat – why we should be proud of our conference

By Nick Tyrone | Published 8th October 2011 - 2:50 pm

The vast majority of Lib Dems who attended autumn conference would agree with me in saying that it was a success. The mood surrounding the ICC Birmingham was unmistakably positive. The feared factionalism that had been predicted by some never materialised. But what really makes our conference seem amazing, in retrospect, is just how badly the respective Labour and Conservative gatherings have played out.

Labour conference was up first. As the only major party of opposition this should have been a conference to remember for them. A year of riots, phone hacking and a poor economy gave them more ammunition than …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged andrew neil, ed miliband, polly toynbee, theresa may | 11 Comments

Opinion: Making it easier to follow conference

By Alex Wilcock | Published 2nd October 2011 - 12:25 pm

Liberal Democrats returned home last week from another Conference: holding government ministers to account; debating policy (even nearly managing the rare feat of throwing out a policy paper); catching up with friends. But while it’s fresh in Conference Committee’s minds, I have some small suggestions for next time. Talking to Lib Dems who may not have read every word of the Agenda or Conference Daily updates, and to people who were watching at home on BBC2 or BBC Parliament in their vast ratings of one or two, just a few simple changes could make Conference a lot easier …

Also posted in Op-eds | 6 Comments

Someone likes Liberal Democrat conference…

By Mark Pack | Published 2nd October 2011 - 9:50 am

Over on Dale & Co Gareth Knight writes:

Any Conservative, including Iain Dale who attends the Liberal Democrat conference, remarks how impressed they are with the mere fact the conference is where party members openly and robustly confer on policy. The exhibition stands at the Liberal Democrat conference include dozens of party groups as well as the recent deluge of large companies and organisations desperate to suck up to the party they’ve proudly ignored until now. The agenda for conference is focused on policy papers with speeches for and against where the party leadership will frequently get involved in the

…

Tagged gareth knight, iain dale | Leave a comment

Opinion: Catching the Liberal Democrat conference bug

By Paul Childs | Published 25th September 2011 - 9:40 am

When I first decided to go to Liberal Democrat Conference last autumn, I have to admit I was a little swayed by it being in my home town, but being a Federal Conference First Timer I did have concerns about not knowing anyone. Luckily, a friend who is also a conference veteran (at both LibDem and Labour I must add) took me under his wing and even humored me when going to training sessions.

I also met up with some people in both Liverpool and Glasgow and managed to bend their ears about issues, as well as adding new and interesting …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged erica kemp, nick clegg, paddy ashdown, tim farron | 2 Comments

Conference has invigorated the party!

By Kelly-Marie Blundell | Published 24th September 2011 - 6:55 pm

Liberal Democrats at grassroots level across the country had been suffering since our landslide defeat in local elections and the defeat of the Alternative Vote referendum in May 2011. This has led, I believe, to a reduction in political engagement across the party at a local and national level.

That is why the autumn conference was both an opportunity to look to the future, and to celebrate Liberal Democratic core values and successes within the Coalition. Phoenixes of a feather flocked together in Birmingham last week, and immediately campaigners felt more at ease and more positive.

Despite valid concerns about levels …

10 Comments

Opinion: Who will keep us safe from the men in black with big guns?

By Maureen Rigg | Published 24th September 2011 - 4:55 pm

Party conferences are different when you’re in government as we found out at Liverpool last year. I didn’t go to Sheffield in spring but I heard from good friends that some of the demonstrators there were very aggressive and made it difficult for people with mobility problems to safely access the conference.

This year at Birmingham I saw something new again – machine guns being carried by police outside the conference. This wasn’t by officers patrolling the streets outside the secure zone. No, it was inside, where people had already come past 3 separate checks that …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged birmingham 2011 conference | 14 Comments

A messaging mess: what Liberal Democrats are achieving in government

By Mark Pack | Published 23rd September 2011 - 11:55 am

As I wrote in the immediate aftermath of Nick Clegg’s conference speech, the party was much better at saying what it was not and what it was against – not the Conservatives, not unhappy, against tax cheats, against overpaid under-performing company directors and so on – than what it was for.

In theory the answer should have been found in the conference packs handed out to people on arrival at the Birmingham ICC, for inside them was not only an “In government – on your side” leaflet but also three others from different Liberal Democrat ministers, all promoting the party’s …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged chris huhne, ed davey, featured, lynne featherstone, nick clegg, paul burstow, vince cable | 14 Comments

The most striking statistic from Liberal Democrat conference

By Mark Pack | Published 22nd September 2011 - 8:50 am

Steve Webb, speaking to Lib Dem conference:

I found out that I was, indeed, the 11th different pensions minister in the last 14 years.

Tagged pensions, steve webb | 2 Comments

What Lib Dem bloggers and tweeters have said about Nick’s speech

By Stephen Tall | Published 21st September 2011 - 5:59 pm

There’s always a bit of an irony with blogging and party conferences — at the time when the media are most looking for reaction from activists to the leader’s speech most of them are hot-footing it to the train station to return to their normal lives outside the conference bubble.

However, a few Lib Dems have had chance to put finger to keyboard in response to Nick Clegg’s address to close the Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham. Here are those I’ve spotted so far on the Aggregator…

Go back to your constituencies and prepare for the long haul…

…

Tagged birmingham 2011 conference, nick clegg | 16 Comments

Nick Clegg’s speech to LibDem Conference

By Mark Pack | Published 21st September 2011 - 3:51 pm

During Liberal Democrat conference someone watching it from home texted me: “I now know what the Lib Dems are against – bankers, top rate taxpayers, tax cheats generally, overpaid directors and energy companies But, with the single exception of gay marriage, I’ve got no idea what the Lib Dems are for.”

Some will – rightly – quibble over the ‘against’ list in that but the essential point is a fair one. Liberal Democrat conference has been a lot about what won’t happen or isn’t the case: the coalition isn’t going to end early, the Liberal Democrats are not the same as …

Tagged collette dunkley, featured, lord mcnally, lynne featherstone, nick clegg, social mobility, vince cable, william gladstone | 16 Comments

Steve Webb’s speech to the Liberal Democrat conference

By Steve Webb MP | Published 21st September 2011 - 9:25 am

The other day, someone came up to me and said:

“Steve, you’re an above-average pensions minister!”

In a world where praise can be a bit hard to come by, I took that as a compliment.

But he quickly said:

“No, I didn’t mean that you’re good at your job, I meant you’ve survived longer than most pension ministers!”

And when I inquired, I found out that I was, indeed, the 11th different pensions minister in the last 14 years.

So it is hardly suprising that pensions policy has been a bit piecemeal and messy over the years.

Every change with the best of intentions, but put it …

Tagged disability living allowance, pensions | 5 Comments

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