For the first time in 5 years, and only the third in the almost 15 years we’ve been back in Scotland, I missed a Scottish Conference this weekend. I had a particularly unpleasant bug that kept me in my bed for almost 3 days. Be gentle with me because I’m still not quite recovered.

The event had keynote speeches from Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael and leader Willie Rennie, a discussion on the manifesto led by Jo Swinson and motions on subjects such as access to mental health services for young people and putting more NHS resources in areas of deprivation – a patient premium. The conference also passed a landmark motion calling for decriminalisation of sex work. You can have a look at the motions up for debate here. There was, I am told, even a good old-fashioned tammy on amending Conference Standing Orders which the Establishment won – but only after a counted vote.

My colleague Dave Gorman, from Falkirk gave a brief summary of the day on Facebook and I have his permission to reproduce it here:

My experience of being a Liberal Democrat, and the vitriol and nonsense written and spoken about us, causes me to write this. Today we agreed policy on, inter alia, widening participation to democracy including giving a duty to electoral officers to stimulate voting; providing new rights to sex workers and decriminalising it; extra funding for GP practices based on special funding in deprived areas; new support for poorer workers and much more. I remain proud to stand with fellow Liberal Democrats to promote opportunity and to promote the rights and opportunities of the minority, the oppressed and the poorest. So there.

In his keynote speech, Willie Rennie stated quite clearly that we acknowledge that independence is still high on the agenda despite the result of the referendum:

The growth in the nationalist movement must be a red warning that we cannot return to politics as usual.  There must be no complacency.  We must treat every election from now on as if independence could be round the corner.

He also signalled a major shift in policy – a willingness to consider significant devolution in welfare. That comes after many of the third sector submissions to the Smith Commission from organisations such as Engender and the Child Poverty Action Group advocated such a move:

We have seen the weight of submissions from a wide range of charities and experts.

We have heard about the way that caring services and benefits to people in need could be linked to their advantage in Scotland.

We know it could mean more decisions can be made here whilst sharing risk and reward with the United Kingdom.

And I am persuaded by the case for change. It is consistent with our liberal values.

It reflects the debate in the referendum. And, if we are successful, it will be good for Scotland.

With good will and effort we will have an agreement next week that we can all be proud of, that meets the expectations and the spirit of the referendum and which can shape Scotland for the better.

He also called on Nicola Sturgeon to make mental health a priority:

Getting the right combination of public mental health, anti-stigma, timely access to therapy, and reliable crisis and emergency care will all be part of the picture.

Our young people are facing long waits to begin treatment at mental health services. Too many wait six months to access treatment.  That is an indefensible waiting time for a young person at such an important time in their lives.

So I make a plea to the new First Minister.  Let’s work together to change attitudes, to reduce the stigma and to guarantee that people with mental illness are treated equally to those with physical illness. 

And, finally, he talked about the SNP’s illiberal approach to police power and justice:

A police force with no democracy is no police force FOR a democracy.

 The relationship between our communities and our police is something we must cherish.

 And something Liberal Democrats will make stronger.

You can get a flavour of the proceedings from #sldconf on Twitter. Amidst all the serious business, there was this cheeky tweet from the official party account:

For those of you wondering, @willie_rennie wore a navy suit with a cheeky purple lining from Slaters in Edinburgh for his speech #sldconf

— Scot Lib Dems (@scotlibdems) November 22, 2014

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social