Category Archives: Conference

Anything relating to the spring or autumn conferences

Mary Reid

Conference agenda now available

By Mary Reid | Sun 16th August 2015 - 11:06 am

 

The full conference agenda for Bournemouth is now available online here.  As we mentioned before, members will be debating a wide variety of topics, but now you can read the substance of the motions.

This is the time for members and local parties to go through the motions and decide whether to submit an amendment or two, or whether to put forward an emergency motion or a topical issue for debate. Full details on how to do that are to be found on page 9 of the agenda, but, in brief, the deadline for submitting amendments, emergency motions and topical issues is 1pm on 7th September.

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Harriet Shone

International Office to host busiest conference programme yet in Bournemouth

By Harriet Shone | Fri 14th August 2015 - 12:50 pm

International Office_with text

With European and International affairs dominating the political agenda in the UK, this year’s Autumn Conference is set to be one of the most ‘internationalist’ of recent times. With this global agenda as a backdrop, the International Office is hosting its most extensive conference programme yet!

With the EU In/Out referendum expected within the next two years, and neither of the two major parties willing or able to take ownership of the ‘Yes’ campaign, there is a unique opportunity for the Liberal Democrats to take charge and lead the fight for our continued membership of the EU.

In this spirit, the International Office is hosting a ‘Europe Evening’ from 21:00-23:00 on Sunday 21 September, offering Liberal Democrat members the opportunity to hear from the leading voices in the Party on Europe and to meet and discuss how they can become involved in the referendum campaign in the coming months.

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Caron Lindsay

Bournemouth Conference Agenda: 5 days, 15 policy motions, 8 keynote speeches and some very important consultation sessions

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 2nd August 2015 - 1:15 pm

2015 Outline AgendaThe outline agenda for the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference in Bournemouth has been published and in it there is a great deal to interest and excite the members both old and new who will be heading to the seaside town. I am really looking forward to it because I have never been to Bourmemouth before.

We don’t yet have the text of the motions, or the directory of fringe meetings, but we do know when all the key debates and speeches are taking place.

The most controversial motion on the agenda is the one to oppose the renewal of Trident which takes place at 3:25 on Monday afternoon. Other policy motions include:

Housing

Human rights

Air quality

Safe routes for refugees

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William Hobhouse

It’s time to change the distinction between voting and non-voting members at Conference

By William Hobhouse | Fri 24th July 2015 - 10:25 am

A couple of years ago, when we moved house and constituency, I had the new experience of going to Conference with a second class label hanging around my neck. I did what I could to carefully adjust my pass so that my picture and name was facing out. But these passes have always had a mind of their own and I would walk from Hall to Fringe all too often as someone labelled as ‘Member’ rather than the important or well-connected ‘Voting’ people.

And now we have thousands of new members, some of whom will be looking forward to their first conference. Pretty well all of them will be unable to vote. Nor will a good chunk of the party’s activists who have stood locally in May.
This distinction between voting and non-voting members doesn’t separate the activists from the sleeping members. It seems primarily to protect privilege, to protect the well connected, those with the ear of the constituency officers. It is a privilege in a thoroughly conservative sense.

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Zoe O’Connell

Federal Conference Committee report

By Zoe O’Connell | Tue 14th July 2015 - 8:45 am

Photo by Jon BallFederal Conference Committee (FCC) met on Saturday to decide which of the 52 motions submitted by members should be debated when we go to Bournemouth later this year. I’m sure many of you will be scrolling down to the end of this post to find out the good news, but for those who are new to the party or two FCC machinations, I shall quickly explain what FCC does and how it arrived at it’s decision.

The full FCC meets six times a year, three per conference. The first meeting in the cycle is general business, discussing topics such as future venues, stewarding and security needs, design of speakers cards, overall allocation of time between policy/speeches/Q&As, registration rates and so on. Before anyone asks, I should point out that the location of future conferences is a closely guarded secret until officially announced as we don’t want commercial companies block-booking accommodation in advance, as this puts the price up for ordinary members.

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Caron Lindsay

Conference controversy guaranteed – Renewal of Trident to be debated

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 12th July 2015 - 10:30 am

Full details of the agenda for Autumn Conference will be released in due course, but reports on social media say that a motion calling for Trident not to be renewed at all will be debated.

If passed, this would mean an end to a succession of fudges on the issue in recent, and not so recent, years.

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Caron Lindsay

The first big Conference clash – Doctor Who or the Rally?

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 10th July 2015 - 9:55 am

Well, the BBC has given a little bit of a gift to the many Liberal Democrat conference goers who are Doctor Who fans. The new series starts on the Saturday night. Unfortunately, this presents a little bit of a dilemma to inveterate rally goers like me. Do I go and see the new leader at his first big event of the Conference, or do I go and watch Doctor Who with the other fans?

Conference is full of such clashes. In any given time slot there is likely to be at least 3 things you want to go to. To have one so early in the event, though, is unusual.

It would be really lovely if the Federal Conference Committee, at their meeting tomorrow, could look at the possibility of providing Doctor Who fans with a room and a screen somewhere so we could all watch it together. We never get the chance to do that and it would make us all very happy if they could. Here’s a taster of what we might see:

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Paul Walter

Remembering Srebrenica

By Paul Walter | Tue 17th March 2015 - 5:30 pm

When I clicked through the conference agenda last week, my eye was caught by an exhibition stand entitled “Remembering Srebrenica”. When I got to Liverpool, I made a beeline for that stand and went back again the next day.

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Paul Walter

Our Don says farewell to conference with a song

By Paul Walter | Tue 17th March 2015 - 4:30 pm

Don Foster - Some rights reserved by Department for Communities and Local GovernmentWhen I first started going to Lib Dem conferences, we had fewer MPs than we have now. So, those MPs that we had were run ragged charging from fringe meeting to fringe meeting to speech to TV interview, as they were rather thin on the ground. It always seemed to be our Don Foster who was really doing loads of stuff. I did wonder how he kept going.

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Paul Walter

In full: Nick Clegg’s Liverpool speech

By Paul Walter | Sun 15th March 2015 - 6:13 pm

Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather when I read this tweet:

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Caron Lindsay

Paddy Ashdown can’t hurt me now

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 14th March 2015 - 8:40 pm

Paddy Ashdown video screenshotLast night in his rally speech, Paddy Ashdown jokingly suggested that he might deliver a cruel and unusual punishment to anyone who didn’t do the 10 calls from the Team 2015 phone bank that was requested of every member over the Conference weekend.

In no way am I scared of Paddy and his humorous threats were not the main reason I headed down there this afternoon. Honest.

It  was all very painless and great fun. You are greeted by cheery volunteers who sign you in and give you a mobile phone, a script and a list of calls to make. The biggest problem I had, typically for me, was that it took me ages to work out how to end the calls on the, shall we say, old fashioned models we were using. I was sitting next to Julian Huppert. He was calling voters in his Cambridge constituency. I was calling people for Stephen Williams in Bristol West. And here is the proof:

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The Voice

In Full: Danny Alexander’s speech to Conference

By The Voice | Sat 14th March 2015 - 7:45 pm

Danny emphasised the Liberal Democrat contribution to the economic recovery in his keynote speech to Conference and talked about the forthcoming budget and the choice facing the country. Liberal Democrats were needed to provide fairness and responsibility, he said. Here is his speech in full:

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Newspuppy

Jo Swinson saddles up her feminist high horse…

By Newspuppy | Sat 14th March 2015 - 6:17 pm

Two pictures you might like. First, Liberal Democrat Equalities Minister Jo Swinson:

Jo Swinson

And now, a feminist high horse.

See what I did there?

Jo Swinson has been going for the Daily Mail readers’ vote. She can certainly speak the paper’s language, as you can see from this parody press release from her office. Will editors get the joke?

Mother of one, Jo Swinson gave a speech today wearing a shocking pink dress and a new pair of heels.

While looking desperately in need of a ‘calming down dear’, Swinson railed against the established privilege of men in power and their unconscious inability to experience what discrimination was really like.

She did not say that government should determine what editors can publish. But it could have been what she meant really.

Swinson suggested that the Tories were too afraid to back a ‘feminazi’ clampdown on Fleet Street’s dinosaurs.

Swinson who last year abandoned her Ministerial post for six months on maternity leave, has persistently shown herself to be the possessor of radically liberal ideas as well as a feminist high horse.

If you want to see what she actually said in her speech, it’s all here.

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Caron Lindsay

Nick Clegg’s Q & A: Live blog

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 14th March 2015 - 3:43 pm

Nick Clegg Q&A Liverpool Spring conference 2015 Photo by Liberal DemocratsWhen I tried to live blog Nick Clegg’s q and a in Glasgow it all went horribly wrong. I’d got about 20 minutes in and then lost the whole thing. I will be a bit more diligent about saving and updating this post.

In the style of the Daily Mail writing about female politicians, Nick Clegg, a 48 year old father of three has come on stage wearing a smart blue suit with a lighter shirt. His hair is not as sleek as it could be. He could have done with a few minutes with his hairbrush this morning.

The first question is about our relative spending on defence and aid. Nick said we should look more holistically – aid is an important part of our own national interest. He was then asked if the EU idea and said definitely No. A barmy idea, a barmy army, he said. He did say, though, that Britain and France were the only countries with any large military capability so if the EU wanted to be more self sufficient on this, there should be more long term thinking on building it up so we didn’t have to rely on “uncle Sam’ to bail us out.

Right and left abhor us being in government more than they abhor each other

Why are our poll ratings not better when we’ve done so much in government is the next question.

Nick says that it’s the first coalition at a time of real economic crisis. The powerful financial and media vested interests of right and left “abhor the Liberal Democrats in government more than they abhor each other.” They want to reclaim their binary system and us being in government puts a spoke in that.

He says that polls look much better where we can tell our side of the story and where we do that, we are going to win. 

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The Voice

Saturday debates open thread – Mental health, manifesto, green laws

By The Voice | Sat 14th March 2015 - 12:55 pm

This is what’s happening in Liverpool today and how to follow it. It should have been published a while ago but got lost in the technology.

Today’s timetable

 F1 Formal opening of the Federal Conference byLord Mayor Cllr Erica Kemp CBE 

Report: Federal Conference Committee

F3 Report: Federal Policy Committee

Policy motion: Mental Health 48 Speech: Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP 50

Policy motion: Stronger Economy, Fairer Society, Opportunity for Everyone 50

Speech: Jo Swinson MP

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Caron Lindsay

A snapshot of the mental health debate

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 14th March 2015 - 12:19 pm

Mental health is important to Liberal Democrats because it’s instinctive to us to want to break down barriers that hold people back from living the best lives they possibly can. When we see people’s lives blighted, limited and restricted because they can’t access help and support for mental ill health it makes us furious and determined to right it.

This is something that has always driven Nick Clegg. His first major speech as leader was on the subject of mental health and the party has set in train a series of reforms which has made mental health care more accessible and given patients more right. In time, we will no longer have the scandal of someone with a broken leg being treated immediately while a self-harming teenager gets sent home and put on a waiting list which might lead to a year’s wait before even seeing a psychiatrist, let alone receiving any targeted help to alleviate their symptoms.

The party debated a wide ranging motion on mental health this morning. Here are some of the highlights:

Anyone who has supported a teenager through mental ill health would have found Alex White’s speech incredibly moving. She was frank about her own issues, about the waits she’s experienced for treatment. She explained what was wrong with the current system and how we need to fix it:

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Caron Lindsay

#ldconf gets under way: Rally live blog

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 13th March 2015 - 6:55 pm

Rally entertainment Spring Conference Liverpool March 2015 Photo by Liberal Democrats
I’m sitting in the auditorium between Paul Walter who is taking photos which by the magic of technology will illustrate this post later, and Deborah from Derbyshire, who’s at her first Conference. She’s been saying what a wonderful atmosphere it is here. In front of us Nick Clegg, Jo Swinson and Paddy Ashdown are watching the singers who are entertaining us with bright and uplifting songs. It’s a little bit of West End musical magic to make us smile.

We’ve already had a video where some of the fantastic Team 2015 volunteers who staff the LDHQ phone banks tell us about themselves. Including some guy called Nick who said he was the Deputy something or other.

Mustang Sal

And now we have Sal Brinton making her first platform speech in her new role. She enters the hall on her wheelchair to the strains of Ride, Sally, Ride. She managed to get from Mustang Sally to Ian Fleming to modern politics in her opening paragraph.

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The Voice

Liberal Democrat Spring Conference agenda published

By The Voice | Tue 10th February 2015 - 10:51 pm

The Agenda has been published for the final conference before the General Election. Besides the main debate on the election manifesto, there are policy debates planned on

  • Mental Health
  • Five Green Laws
  • A better deal for Britain’s workforce
  • Freedom of expression in Europe and Beyond
  • Education Funding

and speeches from Danny Alexander, Jo Swinson, Vince Cable and Norman Lamb.

Nick Clegg as usual is doing a Q&A session with members as well as delivering the closing speech.

For more details including the fringe programme, training and ministerial Q&As see the agenda and directory here.

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Paul Walter

Mental health – an issue whose time came at Glasgow

By Paul Walter | Thu 9th October 2014 - 8:54 am

Nick clegg and norman lamb at scottish action mental health photo by dave radcliffe from the liberal democrats flickr streamBased on my circumambulation of the Glasgow conference corridors, there were three highlights concerning mental health:

1. Oxford West and Abingdon conference representative, Matthew Sumption made his maiden speech in the pre-manifesto debate. He’s currently taking time out from university study. But, my goodness me, what a brave young man he is. He basically stood up and said that he is undergoing treatment for mental illness.

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Stephen Tall

Nick Clegg’s speech: 5 initial thoughts from me – and reaction from members and pundits

By Stephen Tall | Wed 8th October 2014 - 3:45 pm

Nick Clegg has just delivered his seventh conference speech – you can read it here. Five quick thoughts from me:

1. It’s rare to remember party leaders’ speeches. However, I’ve a feeling this one will be remembered. Not necessarily stylistically — its rhetoric or his delivery — but for a government policy announcement: the emphasis on mental health-care which Nick made a centre-piece and which he has said will be on the front page of the party’s manifesto. Yes, there were plenty of positioning soundbites. But, more importantly, this announcement demonstrated, better than any finely crafted words, the point …

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The Voice

BBC: “Nick Clegg not executed on stage until 1320”

By The Voice | Wed 8th October 2014 - 1:15 pm

That was the rather startling tweet from BBC South-East reporter Louise Stewart:

But it turned out to be a typo rather than a stay of execution:

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The Voice

Nick Clegg on the “great liberal cause” to boost mental health care: “I want this smack bang on the front page of our next manifesto”

By The Voice | Wed 8th October 2014 - 10:00 am

Nick clegg rally glasgow 2014Nick Clegg will announce a new Coalition Government policy in his leader’s speech to the Glasgow conference today – putting mental health provision on a par with physical health by announcing waiting time targets for people with mental health problems in England for the first time.

He’s expected to say later that “Mental health conditions are one of the last remaining taboos in our society, and yet they will affect one in four people” and to make three commitments:

  • “if you are waiting for talking therapies to help

    • …

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    The Voice

    Wednesday debates open thread: Nick Clegg’s speech

    By The Voice | Wed 8th October 2014 - 8:30 am

    Traditionally not many people turn up first thing on the last day – most are sleeping off Glee Club – but it would be a shame to miss the second emergency motion. After that the day builds up to the Leader’s speech,  with, unusually, no break for lunch and no lunchtime fringes. (I wonder how many of us will be finding ways of wasting our time in Glasgow because we had assumed it wouldn’t be over until 3.30pm at the earliest?)

    So for the last time this year, do add your comments about any debates and speeches in the auditorium.

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    The Voice

    Tuesday extras open thread: Ending in Glee

    By The Voice | Tue 7th October 2014 - 10:30 am

    This is almost your last chance to fit in some fringe experiences this year – there are no lunchtime fringes tomorrow, and only six early ones.

    Tuesday begins with Britain’s global economic recovery and ends with Glee Club – make what you will of that. In between you can update yourself on such diverse topics as residential care, criminal justice, rail, disability employment, welfare, immigration, tourism, food security, tax avoidance, garden cities and devo-max for Manchester.

    Tell us how your day is panning out.

    How to find out what is happening

    You can view or download the directory, which lists all the fringe …

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    The Voice

    Tuesday debates open thread: The big one – our pre-manifesto

    By The Voice | Tue 7th October 2014 - 8:30 am

    The main event of the day is the pre-Manifesto debate which will take up most of the morning, giving way only for football.

    The first emergency motion will take place this afternoon. Delegates have been voting on which two motions to take.  In between there is a chance to hear Norman Lamb, Edward Davey and Tim Farron, and to discuss our aging society.

    So what ‘s does the agenda look like?

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    The Voice

    Monday extras open thread: Breakfast, lunch and party

    By The Voice | Mon 6th October 2014 - 10:30 am

    Today is the day to do breakfast. Let us know if it was worth getting up early to attend one of the many breakfast fringe meetings.

    There is much going on throughout the rest of the day – have you noticed that fringe meetings have crept into the business day now?  Whether you want to hear about good parking management, drink driving, end-of-life priorities, aviation, experiments on animals, mental health, farming, trams, police constables or internships, you may want to end the evening celebrating the UK music industry at a party with Danny Alexander.

    Here’s a photo of Stephen Tall not paying attention …

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    The Voice

    Monday debates open thread: Flooding and equal marriage (unconnected, of course)

    By The Voice | Mon 6th October 2014 - 8:30 am

    There is a definite theme to this morning’s agenda – climate change, flooding and housing – while the afternoon highlights core Lib Dem values with a presentation on equal marriage followed by a debate on equalities. In between we hear from some of the heavyweights in the party (in the non-literal sense) and we throw questions at Nick Clegg.

    Please adds your comments on anything that is happening today in the main hall.

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    Paul Walter

    Disco as you’ve never seen it before….

    By Paul Walter | Sun 5th October 2014 - 4:43 pm

    Disco 2014Last night, saw the Liberal Democrat Disco, organised at conference by Cambridge local party to raise funds for its general election campaign.

    It was a great night with a packed hall featuring the “Battle of the LibDem deejays”.

    Alistair Carmichael was cheered the loudest, thus winning the accolade of “deejay of the night”. His set included Lulu’s “Shout” and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5”. He finished on a serious note, explaining that we had passed over midnight into the Sabbath. Coming from the islands of Scotland (where they are very serious about these things), Alistair felt there should be one song of religious observance. He therefore played “YMCA”.

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    The Voice

    Sunday extras open thread: From Christian humanism to live jazz

    By The Voice | Sun 5th October 2014 - 10:30 am

    Thanks to everyone who joined us for the LDV Awards evening yesterday. So what will be the fun events today?

    There is a very full programme on the fringe today – from promoting healthy lifestyles to the Gibraltar reception, from cycling to the future of the BBC, with several sessions on various environmental issues. The RSPCA is offering beer and curry, and there will be live jazz at the Azerbaijan reception.

    Do let us all know about any events you went to, or any worth dropping in for.

    How to find out what is happening

    You can view or download the directory, which …

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    Patrick Murray

    Opinion: Lib Dems must commit to end the housing crisis within a generation

    By Patrick Murray | Sun 5th October 2014 - 10:00 am

    Matilda HouseThis Monday in Glasgow, Lib Dem conference will debate motion F21 “Building the Affordable Homes We Need”. The Liberal Democrats have a fantastic opportunity to tackle the greatest social challenge of my generation, the housing crisis.

    The economic and social cost of this crisis is huge. England needs around 245,000 new homes a year just to meet demand. Yet we are building half the homes we need. The latest figures show that the average income needed to buy a home is £36,500, higher than the incomes of more than half of the households in the country.

    Add to that the largest baby boom since the 1960s, between 2001 and 2012, and we can see that this is a crisis that threatens to engulf the hopes and dreams of a generation, many of whom will never be able to afford a home they can truly call their own. But, for me, this crisis has always been about more than numbers.

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