The Liberal Democrats are seeking nominations for their three party awards, to be presented at September’s Autumn Conference.

One award will be given to a party member who has been elected to public office; one to a member who has never been elected; one to a political assistant working for a Liberal Democrat Council Group.

Nominations are sought on behalf of Party Members who have given outstanding service and commitment to the Party for the following Federal Party Awards:

The Harriet Smith Liberal Democrat Distinguished Service Award is open to any Party Member never elected to public office.

The President’s Award is open to any Party Member elected to public office.

For both of these awards, the Federal Executive Awards Panel, chaired by the Party President, will consider nominations in July after nominations close on 18 July 2011.

They will be looking for outstanding commitment and service to the Party, which can be recognized in the Awards presented normally at the Party’s Annual Conference.

Local, regional and state parties should be seeking to nominate people who deserve recognition for all their unswerving, consistent commitment and contribution to the Party over a significant period of time.

There are expected to be special awards to be awarded from the Party for whom public recognition is long overdue.

The Belinda Eyre-Brook Award is given to recognise and celebrate the work of political assistants to Liberal Democrat Council Groups.

This key role requires flexibility, imagination, diplomacy, firmness and an ability to recognise and manage political risk. A good political assistant will care about their local area and be committed to the success of Liberal Democrats within it. Turning local political priorities into council priorities is a key part of the job of a good political assistant, as is linking the Group into the Party nationally.

How to nominate:

The nomination form should be completed with details of the individual, setting out why an award should be made.

An officer of a local party, regional executive member or officer, or state party executive or officer should sign the nomination form, in addition to another member. You can download a nomination form here.

The completed form should be sent to Emma Peall no later than 18 July 2011 via [email protected] (with FAO Kiran Horwich in the subject line) or to:

Kiran Horwich
Liberal Democrats
4 Cowley Street
Westminster
London SW1P 3NB

All nominations will be acknowledged on receipt. Decisions on successful nominations will be made known to the nominees by the end of July 2011, and announced at the September Autumn Conference in Birmingham (September 2011).