Who can actually afford to take part in Liberal Democrat democracy?
A conversation with Donna Harris about her campaigning on childcare got me thinking. Donna’s work is fundamentally about removing barriers. Barriers that prevent women from participating fully in society, work and public life.
It made me wonder whether we sometimes overlook the barriers within our own party. Because there is a slightly uncomfortable question we should be asking after Brighton 2026: Who actually gets to participate in Liberal Democrat democracy?
The Liberal Democrats proudly say that conference is where the party makes its decisions. Every member has an equal say and an equal vote. That sounds wonderfully democratic. But equality of voting rights isn’t necessarily equality of access.
The Autumn 2026 full conference pass was £225 at the late rate. A weekend pass was £140. There are concessionary rates, first-time discounts and a £10 rate for under-18 members. There is also an Access Fund.
But those are only the starting costs. Add a train ticket. Hotel. Food. Local transport. Potential childcare. Time away from work. Suddenly, conference isn’t a £225 decision. For many people, it is a £500, £700 or £1,000 decision. And that changes who can realistically be in the room.
Think about an 18-year-old member. Or a student. Someone working part time. Someone starting their first job. Someone renting in London. Someone supporting a family. Someone from a lower-income household.They may passionately believe in Liberal Democrat democracy. They may simply not have the money to participate in it.
The party offers an online solution, however it cost £25.00. Sounds reasonable, but you have to make sure you have the relevant Data and WiFi service. There is also no conference experience, that’s a given.
And that brings us to representation.
We talk constantly about wanting a party that better reflects Britain. We rightly talk about women. Young people. Disabled people. Minority ethnic communities. People from different socio-economic backgrounds.
But if participation requires disposable income, are we unintentionally filtering some of those people out before they ever get through the door?
There is an uncomfortable racial dimension here too. Income and wealth are not distributed equally across Britain’s ethnic groups. The barriers faced by some minority communities are therefore not simply questions of identity. They can also be questions of household income, accumulated wealth and financial security.
So if conference attendance depends heavily on disposable income, we need to understand what that does to ethnic representation in the room. Not assume it. Measure it. And this is where I think the party needs to be much more transparent.
How many conference attendees are under 25? How many are from minority ethnic backgrounds? How many are on lower incomes? How many use the Conference Access Fund? How many apply but don’t?
And perhaps most importantly: How many simply don’t come because they cannot afford to?
The party says its Access Fund information is treated in strict confidence. That’s welcome. But financial support only works if people feel comfortable asking for it.
There is also a cultural issue. People don’t always want to announce that they cannot afford something. Nobody wants to be the person asking for help while wondering who might find out. And if we are serious about widening participation, we shouldn’t expect people to overcome that stigma themselves. We should design a system that makes asking for support normal.
Conference is one of the great strengths of the Liberal Democrats. But we shouldn’t confuse being allowed into the room with being able to afford to get there.
We need solutions on how we address this. Should there be an inclusive membership fee that includes conference attendance fee? I don’t know. Any suggestions?
Perhaps it is time to stop simply looking around the conference hall and thinking: “This is our membership.”
Instead, we should ask: Who isn’t here?
And more importantly: What would our democracy look like if the people who cannot currently afford to participate were actually able to have their say?
* Roderick Lynch is Chair of the Liberal Democrat Campaign for Race Equality.
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13 Comments
A key difference between the Liberal Democrats and other parties is that members go in their own right, not as representatives of their local party; we have attendees, not delegates. We used to have delegates, but that has changed.
Whilst socio-economic issues are important, they are often overlooked. Representation at all levels needs to include people from all backgrounds for a party to be seen as legitimate.
The Liberal Democrats are a welcoming party for everyone. Still, some people do not always know how to genuinely welcome others or make small adjustments to help them feel welcome.
Many people from ethnic minorities are facing real hardships. Many are struggling with their finances. We need to change attitudes so that everyone is welcomed with open arms at all levels, including those whose heritage is not straight, cis, fully able-bodied, male and white European.
The Access Fund is primarily paid through voluntary donations. I want to encourage people to help by donating. The Lib Dem site has a link for this.
https://www.libdems.org.uk/conference/access-fund
Conference has come some way to remaining accessible to all but the cost of living crisis is touching us all. The Liberal Democrats has remained loyal to those Conference venues who have remained loyal to us. I fear those of us who are attending Party conference regularly, outside of any special interest groups or lobbyist, are doing so rather out of habit as opposed to a genuine curiosity of what Lib Dems believe should be the appropriate direction for the Nation. Our conference too often attracts the anorak enthusiast or the hardened campaigner and can be overwhelming to the uninitiated! Tradition has it place and I was personally disappointed to see Sunday morning ‘prayers’ off the “Conference Directory” for instance but recollections of ‘The Land’ at Glee Club these days appears trite. Our ‘social offer’ needs updating. The Parliamentarians are there to show support to the Voluntary Party and to provide visibility and where possible insight on the conference floor and elsewhere. There has historically been an unfortunate clash with “Freshers Week” during University admissions which can have a negative impact on attendance from those interested parties associated with Higher Education.
Roderick makes some excellent points here, federal conference is only really accessible to those with an income above a certain level or a decent amount of money in the bank. Is this a reflection of the class composition of the party?
I think so.
I have attended on only two occasions since 2010 when I joined the party, firstly when my then local party at the time gave me financial help as an unpaid family carer and then when I used my carer’s grant from the local authority.
My health hasn’t been great in the years since but if it improves which I hope it will there is no way I am going to be able to attend.
As a 62 year old former blue collar worker on a modest pension I just don’t have the funds!
I totally agree with Roderick’s position- as someone myself of limited income as a civil servant, the party conference remains slightly off-limits to me financially and is something I can only watch from the sidelines, ie, on TV. Politics is increasingly becoming a pastime for the more affluent and those with more time on their hands than most, which is becoming a barrier to those of us who want to roll up our sleeves and participate nearer to ground level. I’m not saying make it free or as cheap as chips- no- but in order to attract more people from different social backgrounds to the party, there needs to be a concerted effort to make the party conference at least seem to be more affordable to the very crowd we are looking to attract and not just the same old same old stalwarts. As the old saying goes, “if you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.”
Let’s be honest…
Apart from coming to Glasgow before and after the Scottish independence referendum (2013 and 2014), conference has not been held in Scotland this century!
Do we really have to wait until there is a second independence referendum before we see Conference being held in Scotland again?
If we claim to be ‘national’ political party, we need to act like it.
Thank you Rodrick for raising this. To the categories you list of people who can’t attend Conference, I would also add those with health issue that stop them travelling of being in such a crowded environment.
FCC need to look at running a hybrid conference where those who can’t attend in person can not only observe & vote (when the IT works) but also participate through making speeches & interventions, They also need to look at ways to get more Fringe events on line.
Yes this may increase the cost for both in person & online participants but will mean we have more participation of a wider range of Party members in our decision making.
I’m so glad this article has been written, as I’ve raised the cost of participating in politics and attending political events, particularly conferences, in a few conversations recently.
Coming from the West Midlands, the costs quickly spiral once you factor in travel, accommodation, conference fees and other expenses. This creates a geographical gap in representation.
From a racial perspective, there also seems to be little consideration of how we engage racially minoritised communities from economically disadvantaged areas who may simply not have the disposable income to attend.
When finances become a barrier to political participation, we need to ask whose voices are being heard, who is in the room making decisions, and are we applying a truly intersectional lens to inclusion?
At present, the cost of attending conference can disproportionately exclude younger members, people from certain geographical areas, and those with work or caring commitments. The issue is therefore is about access and inclusion.
If we genuinely want more people to engage in politics, organisers need to build affordability into conference planning from the outset not as an after thought.
Well said Roderick.
We need a much more diverse membership at Conference and in our Local Parties.
Conference at present is like a lovely house party. You see all your friends. And many of their experiences mirror your own. So Conference feels comfortable and cozy.
But life and politics is not cozy. It is gritty and messy and real. We need delegates with a range of life experiences to draw on to have productive debates and high quality decision making.
To get a genuinely diverse audience at conference, we must start with thinking about the costs. About how to cut them so a wider range of members could afford to attend.
We used to have all sorts of measures that helped. For example AOs such as the Agents Association would take over a small hotel. They negotiated a deal which guaranteed all the rooms would be filled and the cost of the individual agent’s rooms was reduced. This made it super easy to subsidise individuals.
Young Liberals used to hire a hall they called the Crash. Their members could sleep on the floor in sleeping bags for a small fee.
Conference ran a crèche so parents with small children were able to attend more easily.
There were challenges and costs associated with all these measures. But they all helped.
If we are going to keep Conference relevant it needs to move forward, become more affordable and build a more diverse band of delegates.
I agree, Roderick. Having an equal vote means little if the cost of travel, accommodation and time off prevents members from being there. If we want our decisions to reflect the whole party, we need to find out who is missing from conference and make it easier for them to take part.
I completely agree. The issue isn’t simply whether every member technically has the same vote. It’s whether everyone has a realistic opportunity to participate in the democratic process that informs that vote. If you cannot afford to attend conference, you miss more than the formal sessions. You miss the debates, amendments, conversations and networking that help shape policy before motions are voted on. That raises an uncomfortable question: who is actually influencing Liberal Democrat democracy? If conference participation is disproportionately accessible to people with greater disposable income, then whose experiences are disproportionately represented when motions are discussed and shaped? This also matters when we talk about age, ethnicity, disability and socio-economic background. Financial barriers can filter people out before they ever reach the room. The £25 online option helps, but it isn’t equivalent participation. Equal voting rights are important. But genuine democracy also requires equal opportunity to participate.
Glad to see the accessibility, financial and other being raised. It really isn’t good enough.
I was excluded from conference when my son was very young as there was no crèche. I couldn’t leave him home with his (non LibDem) Dad as I was breastfeeding.
When I approached the conference office, I was told I could apply for financial support, but that’s not what I needed (and I wouldn’t have qualified anyway). I needed childcare PROVISION and was happy to pay the going rate for it, although I appreciate not all LibDem parents can do that.
The ideal solution would be a crèche with payment according to income, so those who can afford it pay the going rate, and others pay less or nothing at all.
I have had promises made several times (I won’t name names) about fixing the childcare problem, but nothing has happened ☹️
Supreme irony that one of the commenters here about diversity at conference mortified me at a conference of yore by drawing attention to the fact that I was always breastfeeding my baby!
I have been a libdem member for over 20 years , have not got the time, money, confidence or faith in the process to attend conference.
My main concern, is the fact that I have never been asked for opinion / vote / suggestion on any subject in 20 years.
Surely, in the age of the internet, a simple members poll on various subjects, to ascertain popularity / problems / improvements etc. would be beneficial, before going down the technical route of proposing motions etc.
There should also be a more simple route for suggesting more radical proposals for debate, instead of having to write a 50 page essay on the subject.
I have also been a member of labour and the greens in the past, and they have similar non inclusive systems in place.
Democracy ??? only for people with time, money, contacts, and confidence, WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US