I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Liberal Democrat Disability Association (LDDA) on Saturday afternoon.

Guest speaker Wendy Chamberlain spoke about her Private Members’ Bill, the Carer’s Leave Bill, which has passed through its Committee Stage in the House of Commons. The Bill, if passed, would give employed carers the right to a week’s unpaid leave each year to provide or arrange care for a dependent suffering from a long-term condition. She noted that, whilst it didn’t go as far as she would like, this was a change consistent with the manifesto commitment made by the Government in their 2019 election campaign. As she saw it, better to achieve something than simply make a political gesture.

Baroness Sal Brinton also attended in her capacity as Honorary President of the LDDA, noting some of the issues which she has led on in her role as Lords Health Spokesperson.

Reporting on her year as LDDA Chair, Julie Adnams Hatch spoke passionately of her commitment to act as a loud voice for disabled members of the Party and carers, ensuring that Party policymakers bear in mind the issues that LDDA campaigns on.

The organisation will be seeking greater prominence in the coming year, for example by taking a highly visible stall at the next Party Conference, and anyone who is interested in joining LDDA is encouraged to get in touch, or simply join via their website.

The results of the election for next year’s Executive Committee were announced by the Returning Officer as follows:

• Chair – Julie Adnams Hatch
• Vice Chair – Katharine Macy
• Treasurer – Maureen Rigg
• Secretary – Ann Pendlebury
• Membership Secretary – Gemma Roulston
• General Members – Jemma Charlton, Poppy Hasted, Mohsin Khan, Michael Mullaney, Lucy Tonge and Richard Whelan

Congratulations to all of them and best wishes for the year ahead.

* Mark Valladares was the Returning Officer for this year’s LDDA elections.