Scottish Liberal Democrats gather in Hamilton on 18 and 19 May for their Spring Conference. It may have seemed a risky decision to hold a Conference in what could have been the middle of a General Election campaign, but it’s great that we have the chance to set out our stall at a time of change.
The Final Agenda has now been published. In his introduction, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:
It’s great to be back. We meet at such an important time for the liberal revival both in Scotland and across the UK. Recent election successes show us poised to tear down the blue wall of the Conservatives in the South, but we have our grappling hooks in the acid yellow wall of the SNP as well. The General Election cannot come soon enough and from Cupar to Cape Wrath, from Milngavie to Mallaig, only the Scottish Liberal Democrats can take on the SNP in huge swathes of Scotland.
We will also mark an important anniversary, after 25 years of devolution, I’m delighted that our friend, former leader and former Deputy First Minister of Scotland Lord Wallace will offer us a key note speech on that important milestone.
Conference Convener Paul McGarry said:
There’s a real buzz in the air, not just across the UK, but especially here in Scotland. We’re right in the centre of shaping the future and this makes this conference more important than ever. It’s a fantastic opportunity for all of us to come together, share our ideas, and pave the way forward.
I have enjoyed how we have changed our platform over the years. The resilience, the stories of hope, the sparks of new ideas – these are the things that make us more than just a conference. We’re a family, united by a common goal of making a positive difference.
Over the weekend, we will be debating housing, literacy, supporting bereaved children and young people, the SNP’s plans to blow a billion on a centralised national care service that won’t work. We’ll have keynote speeches from Alex, Jim Wallace, Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong, Ed Davey and Party President Mark Pack.
The amendments and emergency motions deadlines are as follows:
Amendments to Motions: Tuesday 14th May @ 5pm
Emergency Motions: Thursday 16th May @5pm
It’s going to be a brilliant weekend.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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One Comment
I hope the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference gets plenty of publicity; it is so disappointing what happens south of the border where we are ignored. I wrote to the ‘i’ a couple of weeks ago pointing out the mistaken view of an article denigrating our leader and called for the paper to publish more about what we say giving examples of issues we stand out on. Although I’ve had 2 letters published recently they chose not to publish that one. Perhaps more of us should send a lot more letters to the national media ?