The Liberal Democrats’ Federal Policy Committee is inviting members to put themselves forward to sit on the policy working groups which draft policy for consideration by FPC and then Conference.
Party members have been asked to send in their names by 28th January – so this is your last chance to do it by then!
FPC is currently putting together groups to look at education, and non-climate change environmental issues, so if you’d like to be considered for them then you need to get your application by the deadline.
However if you are mainly interested in other areas and would just like to be on the list generally for the future, it doesn’t matter too much if you send in your application after Monday’s deadline.
You can apply online, or request a paper form (details below).
The system of having a standing panel for working groups, rather than advertising for members for each working group individually, was introduced last year by FPC. It has both helped to get a full picture of the breadth of expertise and interests there are in the party, and also allowed FPC to set up groups more swiftly (merely advertising, selecting and approving the membership of working groups could take up to 3 months in the past).
The formal advert from the FPC says:
The Federal Policy Committee (FPC) would like to invite Party members to put their name forward to serve on Policy Working Groups. As part of our annual exercise to recruit new members into the working groups, we will put together a panel of potential working group members from which we will draw when setting up individual groups.
Party members wishing to be included on the panel for 2008 should fill in and return an application by Monday 28 January 2008. The FPC has already decided to set up new working groups covering the subjects of Education and non-climate change environmental issues, so members with an interest in these subjects are particularly encouraged to come forward.
Alternatively an application form is available to download below or paper copies can be obtained by calling the policy team on 0207 219 2577 or emailing [email protected] and returned to The Policy Unit, Liberal Democrats, 4 Cowley Street, London SW1P 3NB or by email to [email protected].
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7 Comments
Would love to, Jeremy, but I find an application form which is fundamentally illiberal. I really don’t see what my ethnic or marital status, or whether I am disabled or not has any bearing on my interest or ability to participate as a member of a policy working group.
I thought we were blind to such distinctions?
I signed up to two of these groups in the past with the best of intentions but ended up not being able to afford either the time or the money for the trips to London. My attendence was poor which is neither fair to the group or anyone that didn’t get a place on it. Some stuff was kicked around by email but the enormous drafts and the quantity of them overloaded my Councillors in tray. In the end I promised my self that i would never do it again short of being retired.
I read a very interesting piece recently from Richard Kemp on potential reforms of the system including truncating the process and getting someone to sponser a residential weekend for the group discussions. Of course this is a time committment in its self would at least cut travel time / costs.
You mean to tell me Lib Dems don’t make up policy on the spot when out canvassing? I could have sworn that’s why I never got the same answer to a question that my neighbour asked no matter who turned up at my door.
Sniff sniff. I smell something fishy here Mr Dave. (I was hoping to smell a bone, but there you go.) So you and your neighbour just happen to have been canvassed by the Liberal Democrats several times, and both been in each time, and it was different canvassers, and you both by coincidence asked the same pair of questions each time, and then both just happened to meet each other and compare your answers? Hmm. Excuse me whilst I think about. Woof woof.
Thanks for comments.
Martin – I didn’t write the application form but I think those questions are there because FPC is always very keen to ensure that working groups are not entirely composed of, say, white men with identical backgrounds. I guess we all have our established positions on whether we think we should be “blind” in these kinds of decisions or not, but personally I think this this is the right objective, and certainly FPC is very committed to ensuring that the membership of working groups is as representative as possible. Having said that I admit I was also slightly surprised to see disability and marital status there too, but I suppose there can be working groups where it would necessary to know this to ensure appropriate balance.
David – I think you make good points. Being meaningfully part of a working group does mean putting in considerable work. Geography is also a considerable problem – but the alternative is having working groups entirely made up of people who live in London, which is also clearly not acceptable. It’s a difficult balance to manage. Working groups do sometimes use weekends away together, but that sometimes doesn’t fit, for other reasons.
Improving this whole process is a longstanding interest of mine: I thought Richard Kemp’s article on this was interesting, though I didn’t agree with all of it.
I have written about this myself, for example here and here.
Sorry, my links don’t seem to have come out:
http://www.jeremyhargreaves.org/policy/archives/000107.html
and
http://www.jeremyhargreaves.org/policy/archives/000070.html
@ #5: why do these groups have to meet in person? Surely you’d have more success attracting non-London people if they were virtual groups of some kind – videoconferencing or email lists or whatever – and this would also be far more environmentally friendly, in line with your party’s aims?
My immediate reaction would be to set up locked Livejournal communities, but then I do have something of an LJ bias. But there are many ways of doing it, technologically speaking.