Category Archives: Party policy and internal matters

Anything to do with Lib Dem internal business, including policy development, consultations, rules and constitutions.

Something which might be an essential investment for the winter campaigning!

By Paul Walter | Thu 31st October 2019 - 9:47 am

Thanks very much to Jane Reed from York Liberal Democrats, who has emailed us about “touchscreen gloves”.

These are gloves which keep your hands warm but allow you to input data into your mobile phone or tablet.

Tagged campaigning | 1 Comment

Welcome to the Lib Dem Health and Care Association!

By Jeremy Hargreaves | Mon 14th October 2019 - 12:58 pm

One of the great things about the Liberal Democrats is that whatever you’re interested in, there’s a group of like-minded people you can join to talk about it and exchange ideas with. Interested in the environment and climate change – join Green Lib Dems. Interested in Europe – join the Lib Dem European Group. Business your area? Join the Lib Dem Business and Entrepreneurs Network. From the Humanist & Secularist Lib Dems and the Lib Dem Christian Forum, all the way to the Lib Dem Friends of Vegans and Vegetarians, and the low-intensity Swiftian …

Would you like to help at the exciting Lib Dem HQ?

By Paul Walter | Wed 9th October 2019 - 1:30 pm

The Lib Dem HQ is almost literally protected by Lloyd George’s raincoat

I was wandering around the exhibitions at the Bournemouth conference when my eye was caught by a most glamorous display. -Lots of glitter and lovely gold-wrapped chocolate hearts. These adorned the LibDem HQ volunteering stand. The cheerful helper there explained the whole HQ volunteering thing.

There are volunteer roles for people who are interested in them. But also, it is possible to volunteer to do tasks at the HQ as and when they fit in with your other commitments and activities.

Tagged party hq | 4 Comments

WATCH Online hustings for party President

By Paul Walter | Tue 8th October 2019 - 9:28 am

You can watch the whole of the online presidential hustings below. The event was chaired by Lorely Burt last night. Questions were submitted by members on a range of issues. You can see the two candidates, Christine Jardine MP and Mark Pack, outlining their vision for the role of the President and the future of the party.

Tagged christine jardine mp, lorely burt and Mark Pack | 1 Comment

Online Presidential hustings at 7pm tonight

By The Voice | Mon 7th October 2019 - 3:39 pm

There is an online hustings for the two Presidential candidates tonight at 7pm until 8pm.

Here are some relevant links:

RSVP form for the event

Put forward your questions for the candidates

Tagged party presidential election 2019 | 2 Comments

Want to get involved in running the Federal and State Parties? The clock’s ticking…

By Nick Harvey | Thu 19th September 2019 - 4:15 pm

There are just eleven days left to get your nominations in for the candidates you’d like to see elected to Party committees.

If you need a reminder of which roles are up for election, here it is:

Top of the bill is Federal President, to take over from Sal Brinton on 1 January and serve for 2020, 2021 and 2022. This is a major role chairing the party’s Federal Board, protecting and representing members, and acting as guardian of the party’s interests. Hustings will be held throughout the country during the two-month campaign, and candidates may raise and spend £20,000 campaigning …

Also posted in News and Party Presidency | Tagged federal committees, internal democracy and party presidency | 3 Comments

Get Ready For Our Three-Yearly Internal Elections

By Nick Harvey | Wed 11th September 2019 - 6:30 pm

Our three-yearly round of internal party elections gets underway when nominations open this Thursday (12 September), ahead of the party conference at Bournemouth – which is traditionally the opportunity to gather signatures on nominations. (A new online nomination process is also being trialled, alongside the old-fashioned paper method).

Every member of the party gets the opportunity to vote in these elections, which are largely on-line.

Top of the bill is Federal President, to take over from Sal Brinton on 1 January and serve for 2020, 2021 and 2022. This is a major role, chairing the party’s Federal Board, protecting and representing members, and acting as guardian of the party’s interests. Hustings will be held throughout the country during the two-month campaign, and candidates may raise and spend £20,000 campaigning for the job.

The party’s senior Federal Committees for the next three years are also up for re-election: Federal Board members (15); Federal Policy Committee members (15); Federal Conference Committee members (12); and Federal International Relations Committee members (6).

These elections will run concurrently with the Presidential election. There are no hustings or campaign budgets for committee places, but candidates are entitled to submit a short manifesto which will be posted on the election pages of the party website and on a ‘click-through’ when members cast their votes.

Members in each of England, Scotland and Wales will also elect one State Representative to the Federal Board.

Tagged internal elections 2019 | 6 Comments

Lee Dillon elected prospective parliamentary candidate for Newbury

By Paul Walter | Sun 28th July 2019 - 11:55 am

Councillor Lee Dillon has been chosen as Prospective Parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats in Newbury Constituency.

Local members overwhelmingly elected Councillor Dillon to win back the seat from the Tories.

Lee is a local family man who has been an activist in the party since he was 15 years old in Thatcham. Both Lee and his wife both work locally and their children go to local schools. Lee’s wider family is long established in the area.

Tagged lee dillon and newbury | 2 Comments

Autumn Conference FCC Report

By Zoe O’Connell | Wed 10th July 2019 - 12:30 pm

As well as setting out the agenda for this Autumn, we also discussed future venues for Spring 2020 and beyond. We know many of you are eager to book travel and accommodation as soon as possible but this is the one area where the committee observes strict secrecy until an official announcement can be made – when it has leaked out before we have found commercial companies block-booking accommodation in advance, putting the prices up for ordinary members. Staff are in the process of finalising arrangements to ensure favourable rates and the venues will be announced as soon as this is completed.

Returning to this Autumn, regular readers will be familiar with the process by now. In the first round, FCC considers the timeliness, accuracy, quality of drafting, overlap with other motions and so on to decide which motions can be debated. In the second and any subsequent rounds, timings are allocated to motions and motions culled in order to fit into the limited debating time available. Over the last couple of years, we have had more pressure on debating time as the 2017 General Election disrupted the Federal Policy Committee’s schedule for policy papers. We are now roughly back on track, which has left a little more time for member and local party motions. The selection process is name-blind, which means that the detail below on who submitted a motion was not available to committee members until after sections have been completed.

The full text of motions will be available once the agenda has been typeset for publication. If you are thinking of submitting an amendment or emergency motion to autumn conference, the deadline is 1pm on the 2nd of September – but please do consider making use of the drafting advice service, as many motions and amendments fall purely to to problems with how they are structured. The deadline for that is the 20th August.

Business and the Economy

Brexit Bonus (Bexhill and Battle) – not selected
Bringing Prosperity to the Regions (North West Region) – not selected
Business Tax Reform: Fair for business and fair for society (12 Party Members) – selected for debate
Corporate tax avoidance (Oldham) – received after deadline
More Sustainable and Responsible Business (13 Party Members) – not selected
Well Being First (30 Party Members) – not selected

Tagged 2019 autumn conference and FCC | 29 Comments

Future Women MPs’ Weekend 2019

By Natalie Chindipha | Tue 18th June 2019 - 2:52 pm

Applications for the 2019 edition of the Future Women MPs’ Weekend are now open. The training will be held in Milton Keynes on 20-21 July 2019.

The Future Women MPs’ Weekend is an intensive course, specifically designed to equip aspiring female MPs with the knowledge and skills they need to kickstart their political career.

We’ve witnessed incredible election results in the last few weeks in both local and European elections, but we need to get more liberal women elected across the country. So, if you’ve even thought about becoming a candidate or know someone who should, please encourage them to apply.

Tagged Future Women MPs Weekend | Leave a comment

A country gentleman attends Federal International Relations Committee…

By Mark Valladares | Thu 9th May 2019 - 8:24 am

I’d spent the afternoon attending a pension seminar (about my own, not about selling them) and there is little to beat a consideration of your post-retirement finances for reminding you that you’re beginning to get on a bit. And so it was a somewhat more thoughtful than usual rural bureaucrat who turned up at Great George Street, the Party’s London HQ, for the year’s second meeting of FIRC.

The meeting started with a presentation from Gordon Mackay, the rather dashing Secretary General of Liberal International, who outlined his plans for reinvigorating this august organisation. Talk of individual memberships, of providing added …

Tagged federal international relations committee | 3 Comments

+++European Election candidate lists announced for England and Wales

By The Voice | Wed 17th April 2019 - 9:16 am

Today the Liberal Democrats announce the list of MEP candidates in England and Wales for the EU elections on the 23rd May (Scotland should follow later today).

The diverse list of candidates includes former MEPs, current Councillors and other hard working community activists.

The Liberal Democrats will fight the elections as an unapologetically pro-European Party campaigning hard for People’s Vote with an option to remain in the the EU.

Vince Cable commented:

Today we’ve announced a strong, diverse mix of candidates, from those who’ve joined the Liberal Democrats recently to those with long experience of the European Parliament.

Tagged european elections 2019 and featured | 22 Comments

Time to drag party policy making into the 21st century?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 11th March 2019 - 5:32 pm

Before we start, let me make something clear. I’m not a policy wonk. It’s not that I’m disinterested in policy, far from it. It’s just that, as a bureaucracy geek, I’m interested in how things work.

When the recent governance review took place, I found myself wondering if it was going to look at how we could engage more members in what interests many of them – policy. And, in truth, I was disappointed. It was mostly about reordering the committee structures and, whilst I have my views on that, it didn’t really do anything that would engage ordinary members.

Our policy …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged member engagement and party policy | 15 Comments

A fork in the road for the Lib Dems

By Paul Strasburger | Mon 11th March 2019 - 12:18 pm

The long predicted realignment in British politics has started. Whether it helps or harms the Lib Dems depends on how we respond to it. We can embrace the future with confidence and open arms or we can turn in on ourselves and stick to the old ways.

We are at a fork in the political road and our future success or failure depends on whether we make the right choices. Some important decisions will be made at Spring Conference and it is imperative that we get them right.

They are the keys to the success of our …

Also posted in Conference | Tagged registered supporters | 26 Comments

So, what might we be looking for in a Party President?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 25th February 2019 - 8:01 am

I rather allowed myself to be distracted last week, but I did promise to offer some thoughts on what skills an incoming President might need.

I’ll start with something rather dull, but critical. The ability to manage meetings is imperative. As President, you’ll be chairing Federal Board, a body which can be fractious at the best of times, and moulding it into an effective decision making entity is critical. You can’t just turn up and go, you need to determine potential flashpoints, decide how you might deal with disagreements.

That in turn will require good communication skills and a sense of empathy. …

Also posted in Party Presidency | Tagged party presidency | 7 Comments

Federal Policy Committee report – 6 February 2019

By Jeremy Hargreaves | Tue 12th February 2019 - 10:35 am

FPC met on Wednesday 6 February. We started with a good discussion with Ed Davey, home affairs spokesperson, and Vicki Cardwell, chair of the working group developing new policy on crime and policing. Ed talked through the issues he is focussing on, including responses to the increase in violent crime and the Immigration Bill. It is clear that crime is an important and increasingly important issue to voters. We then discussed in more detail the consultation paper written by the crime and policing group (which will be available shortly here). This included a review of the current picture of …

Tagged federal policy committee | 12 Comments

So, you want to be Party President?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 11th February 2019 - 3:05 pm

It is easy to forget that, for many of our Party members, Sal Brinton is the only Party President they have ever known. In that sense, they’ve been pretty fortunate, because (at least in my view) she’s been a good one. But all good things come to an end eventually, and Sal is now in her last year before term limits kick in.

Now I’ve heard rumours of possible candidates for the succession, and whilst I wouldn’t want to name names just yet, perhaps it is time to start thinking about what members …

Also posted in Op-eds and Party Presidency | Tagged party presidency | 22 Comments

What will the party debate at Spring Conference?

By Zoe O’Connell | Thu 24th January 2019 - 12:45 pm

The party meets again at its Spring Conference in York on the 15th-17th March, and if you have not registered yet there is still time! Federal Conference Committee has also now met to decide the agenda so we can reveal what topics will be up for debate.

Motion selection proceeded in the usual fashion that by now will be familiar to many readers – in the first round, members of the committee debated the suitability of each motion for debate considering how well it was drafted, how recently the topic was last debated and so on. Once that has happened, timings are allocated to each motion, and the committee considers the relative priority of the remaining motions.

Of the 19 motions submitted, 6 were eventually selected for debate. Constitutional amendments must be selected for debate if they are in order, which applied to one of two submitted amendments. A 105-minute slot has also been reserved for a later deadline on Europe, as given the current state of politics any motion submitted now would certainly be old news by March!

Also posted in Conference | Tagged 2019 spring conference, federal conference committee and party policy | 30 Comments

Can you help us make our new disciplinary process a big success?

By Sal Brinton, Liz Leffman, Sheila Ritchie and Cadan ap Tomos | Thu 20th December 2018 - 5:51 pm

Have you watched in horror as one organisation after another has got itself into hot water when an owner, a member or an employee has behaved in an appalling way?

The impact of the #MeToo Movement has really highlighted the need for every organisation to get this kind of issue right. We are proud to say that the Lib Dems will be rolling out our new and upgraded disciplinary process in 2019. In order to become an effective, inclusive and diverse organisation this is absolutely vital.

Whilst Brexit is grabbing all the headlines, we are going to need help from members to make this Lib Dem project a big success.

Lord Macdonald started the project with an excellent review and set of recommendations for the new Disciplinary Process. It was then adopted by the Federal Party at the Brighton Conference last September. The English Party has agreed to implement the new process and the Scots and Welsh Parties will look at doing the same at their Spring Conferences early in 2019.

So that means we need volunteers across all three State Parties to get involved and make this a reality. Experience you have from outside the Party may mean you are just the person we want! It might mean you could help us by getting involved as an investigator, or by sitting on a disciplinary panel. Please look out for an email coming to all members in the New Year. It will have links to more information and details on how to apply. In the meantime please click on this link and go to https://www.libdems.org.uk/macdonald-implementation-signup

We are really keen to hear from people not otherwise involved in the Parties’ structures. Investigators and the people on the panel may stand as candidates for the Party or hold office at a Local Party level, but can’t be on other committees.

If you think you could be one of the independent people we need to run a fair and equitable internal disciplinary system, please get in touch today!

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged #metoo, disciplinary processes, harassment and macdonald review | 5 Comments

South East Liberal Democrats back dynamic ideas for “People’s Advocate” in planning issues and bigger role for chambers of commerce in local economic development

By Martin Roche | Thu 22nd November 2018 - 12:14 pm

Liberal Democrats from across the south east of England gathered in Canterbury on 17^thNovember for their annual regional conference. Held at the city’s Spires Academy, the conference heard from MPs Stephen Lloyd (Eastbourne), Ed Davey (Kingston) and Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) as well as Baroness Judith Jolly and the Leader of the Opposition on Kent County Council, Cllr Rob Bird.

Canterbury and Coastal Liberal Democrats proposed two motions. Both were endorsed by the conference by overwhelmingly majorities. They will now be considered at national level.

The first idea proposed is in response to the widely held feeling in communities across the country that ordinary people don’t get a proper hearing on planning matters.

In cities, towns and villages across the South East ordinary voters feel the cards are stacked against them. They see developers hiring expensive lawyers, planning consultants and PR firms that dominate the process and shut out objections.

The Liberal Democrat idea is that communities will be able to able to apply for a match funded grant of up to £5,000 from their local council. With money from their own resources added to the council grant, a community will be able to hire a legal, planning or public relations expert, known as “A People’s Advocate,” to guide them and help them shape their campaign.

Also posted in News | Tagged british chambers of commerce, housing policy, planning and south east | 36 Comments

Proposed new party disciplinary procedures

By Alice Thomas | Thu 30th August 2018 - 5:00 pm

I love working with a party that is so committed to giving everyone in society a voice. At the moment, though, our disciplinary process doesn’t live up to those values. Far too often it lets down those making complaints, those complained about – and the whole party. That’s why I’m moving business motion F11: Reforming our Party’s Disciplinary Processes at federal conference in September, a motion I hope you will support.

This reform has been a long time coming: for many years now, experts (yes, we Lib Dems still think there is value in experts!) have been looking at our systems …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged disciplinary processes, macdonald review and morrissey report | 3 Comments

I’ve experienced the hostile environment – that’s why I’m determined to end it

By Thais Portilho | Fri 24th August 2018 - 8:15 am

I arrived in the UK just over eleven years ago from Brazil, eager and ready to build my career and life many thousands of miles away from home.

Fast forward to 2018 and I have just received in the post my first British passport. Hooray? Yes, hooray now, but even though I was lucky enough to first “enter” the UK immigration system in pre-“hostile environment” times, the journey from being a Brazilian citizen to a British one hasn’t been easy.

There were the exorbitant fees – for a spousal visa, indefinite leave to remain, and finally citizenship – the intrusive document …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged migration policy paper | 24 Comments

The Young Liberals need to take themselves more seriously… and the party does too

By Callum James Littlemore | Mon 16th July 2018 - 8:15 am

When I joined the party eight years ago I was surprised at the disdain some held for the Young Liberals (formerly Liberal Youth). Infighting, popularity contests and a distinct lack of coherent long-term objectives are all things which have came to epitomise the Young Liberals, and sadly much of that is true.

Our party can be daunting for young members so when I joined the party back in 2010 the thing which kept me involved was the youth wing. The knowledge that, somewhere within the party, there was a person not too dissimilar from me who was able to speak out …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged young liberals | 9 Comments

Come and join Jo Swinson at the Liberal Democrat anti-Trump protest tomorrow at 2pm #LibDemsAgainstTrump

By The Voice | Thu 12th July 2018 - 9:09 pm

The party’s website carries this invite to an anti-Trump protest tomorrow:

The Government has made the right decision to cancel Trump’s state visit, but this scaled down trip must not be met with scaled down protests.

Protesting against a man with dangerous, misogynistic and racist views is our responsibility. It is our opportunity to stand in solidarity with all the people he has abused and denigrated.

Tagged anti-Trump protests and donald trump | Leave a comment

How would you like to find out more about Federal International Relations Committee?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 4th June 2018 - 2:52 pm

Last week, I was less than entirely complimentary about FIRC. This week, perhaps I should try to be more… helpful. So, having raised the question of communication, and being fairly confident that the Committee’s Chair and Secretary may look in on the comments, here’s an opportunity for you to make some suggestions as to how we, as a Committee, might engage with you all.

First, though, here’s an excerpt from the Federal Constitution, just to make it clear what we do, and what we do not…

There shall be a Federal International Relations Committee (“FIRC”) which shall be responsible to the Federal

…

Tagged communication and federal international relations committee | 4 Comments

A changing of the guard at Federal Conference Committee

By The Voice | Mon 4th June 2018 - 10:15 am

Geoff Payne has been elected as the new Chair of Federal Conference Committee (FCC). Geoff served as Vice-Chair of the committee for eight years and was responsible for chairs’ training, access arrangements and the initial selection of venues and setting of registration rates. He was also a long-standing member of the Federal Policy Committee.

The election for chair followed the decision of long-serving former chair, Andrew Wiseman, to step down. Andrew was a highly popular chair of FCC and steered party conference through a period of great change including the coalition years. Everyone on FCC has paid tribute to …

Also posted in Conference | Tagged andrew wiseman, federal conference committee, geoff payne, nick da costa and zoe o'connell | 10 Comments

The totally unofficial Federal International Relations Committee report – May 2018

By Mark Valladares | Mon 28th May 2018 - 1:25 pm

There is a certain irony in that, having written the Committee’s communication plan before I resigned as its Secretary, that the Committee leadership has evidently forgotten that it exists. Thus, this report is wholly my own work. You’ll remember that if I run for re-election next year, right?

The key areas for discussion this time were the workplan and our response to the Alderdice Report on BAME participation within the Party.

The workplan is, I sense, a work of obligation rather than commitment, in that it looks to have been put together because one is required, rather than desired. Federal Board not …

Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged federal international relations committee | 24 Comments

Federal Policy Committee Awayday

By Jeremy Hargreaves | Thu 24th May 2018 - 1:28 pm

FPC members met for an awayday meeting on Saturday 19 May 2018, with a focus on reviewing our overall plans for policy development and how they can most usefully contribute to the party as a whole. It was an upbeat meeting, with lots of positive ideas for our next steps.

We started with a briefing from Nick Harvey, the party’s Chief Executive, on the party’s overall direction and current objectives, so that FPC’s plans could contribute most usefully to that. This led on to a presentation of some recent research and polling on messaging. Next we reviewed a paper on the …

Tagged fpc | 16 Comments

Update on the party’s immigration policy consultation

By Adam Pritchard | Tue 24th April 2018 - 5:36 pm

Regular readers of this site will probably be aware that the Party has been consulting members about the development of new policy on immigration, refugees and identity.

As the chair of the working group, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to respond to the consultation: we received around 100,000 words in written submissions and over 900 members responded to our online survey. The working group has been working through your responses and last Wednesday we met to discuss what you have told us and how it will inform the development of our policy paper on immigration.

22 Comments

Publication of Report on Sexual Impropriety Complaints Handling – an update from Special Investigation Counsel, Isabelle Parasram

By Isabelle Parasram | Mon 23rd April 2018 - 5:09 pm

In November 2017, I was appointed by the Federal Board of the Liberal Democrats as Special Investigation Counsel to conduct an investigation and produce a Report on the handling of sexual impropriety complaints within the Party.

I am pleased that, after a period of being embargoed, the report has now been published and you can access it here.

My appointment was one of a number of steps taken by the Federal Board in response to concerns expressed by members of the party towards the end of last year. These concerns related to allegations of sexual impropriety that were, at that time, …

Also posted in News | Tagged isabelle parasram and macdonald review | 2 Comments

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The Lib Dem pitch to the rural left (Oliver Craven)
Lord Paul Tyler writes… Voting tactically to end tactical voting (Paul Tyler)
Hugh Grant on Boris Johnson: Sinister, narcissistic and alarming with potentially no principles at all (Paul Walter)
What happens after 12 December? (Tony Greaves)
Hugh Grant goes canvassing for Luciana today, Chuka tomorrow (Caron Lindsay)

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James Gurling writes…What should Liberal Democrats learn from…

What’s in a (Net Zero) date?

Category Archives: Party policy and internal matters

Something which might be an essential investment for the winter campaigning!

Welcome to the Lib Dem Health and Care Association!

Would you like to help at the exciting Lib Dem HQ?

WATCH Online hustings for party President

Online Presidential hustings at 7pm tonight

Want to get involved in running the Federal and State Parties? The clock’s ticking…

Get Ready For Our Three-Yearly Internal Elections

Lee Dillon elected prospective parliamentary candidate for Newbury

Autumn Conference FCC Report

Business and the Economy

Future Women MPs’ Weekend 2019

A country gentleman attends Federal International Relations Committee…

+++European Election candidate lists announced for England and Wales

Time to drag party policy making into the 21st century?

A fork in the road for the Lib Dems

So, what might we be looking for in a Party President?

Federal Policy Committee report – 6 February 2019

So, you want to be Party President?

What will the party debate at Spring Conference?

Can you help us make our new disciplinary process a big success?

South East Liberal Democrats back dynamic ideas for “People’s Advocate” in planning issues and bigger role for chambers of commerce in local economic development

Proposed new party disciplinary procedures

I’ve experienced the hostile environment – that’s why I’m determined to end it

The Young Liberals need to take themselves more seriously… and the party does too

Come and join Jo Swinson at the Liberal Democrat anti-Trump protest tomorrow at 2pm #LibDemsAgainstTrump

How would you like to find out more about Federal International Relations Committee?

A changing of the guard at Federal Conference Committee

The totally unofficial Federal International Relations Committee report – May 2018

Federal Policy Committee Awayday

Update on the party’s immigration policy consultation

Publication of Report on Sexual Impropriety Complaints Handling – an update from Special Investigation Counsel, Isabelle Parasram

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