Tag Archives: 2025 autumn conference

We must keep up the fight against digital ID

By Alan Grant | Wed 1st October 2025 - 10:57 am

I left our recent federal conference in Bournemouth, the first I’ve attended, with my head abuzz. Only a small part of this was due to the cumulative hangover that happens when a man in his late thirties boozes as he did in his late twenties. The overwhelming majority of the remaining buzz is a result of the optimism, confidence, and positivity of everyone I met and the warm welcome that was shown to us repentant sinners, formerly of other political parishes.

Key points like Tim Farron’s barnstorming speech, making the defiant and full-throated case for patriotism and liberalism, and Jamie Greene’s warm, clever, and energising remarks about how Liberal Democrats have welcomed him into the party as our newest MSP were highlights for me. As were the other fringes, receptions, and engaging conversations I had over the weekend. Thank you all.

Our conference was buzzing, and a good thing too – other parties will envy us our good mood, and they are right to.

However, with so many important causes and issues jostling in the scrum for attention, it’s important that crucial ones do not slip through the cracks.

And what could be more important than the UK Labour Government planning to force British people to carry mandatory digital ID to access work and services?

One of the fringe events I attended at conference was held by privacy and civil liberties campaigners, Big Brother Watch in the Bournemouth Library (next year, we must get them back in the main venue). Joining their staff on the panel was our brilliant MP for Orkney and Shetland, Alistair Carmichael. It was excellent discussion and the report that Big Brother Watch have published on the topic, Checkpoint Britain, is well worth your time.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged Alistair Carmichael, big brother watch, conference, digital ID, featured, jamie greene, tim farron and victoria collins | 11 Comments

Thoughts on our new Transport commitments

By Samuel Jackson | Fri 26th September 2025 - 1:49 pm

At Autumn Conference, our party endorsed two policy motions tied to transport. F22: Connecting Communities – Building a Transport Network for the 21^st Century built upon our party’s commitment to making rail a genuinely affordable, accessible and environmentally-friendly mode of transport, while F30: This Land is Your Land – Restoring Public Paths Through Nature sought to restore our nation’s nature and improve the public’s access to it.

Both policy motions featured the proposal that 5,000 miles of railway lines left disused since 1965 following the Beeching Cuts be redeveloped as footpaths, cycle paths or bridleways. I had hoped to speak at Conference during the debate on F30 to express my reservations about this proposal specifically. In truth, I had unsuccessfully attempted to submit amendments – one for each motion – addressing this issue. However, due to time constraints, I was not called to the rostrum. In lieu of such a speech, I would like to share with you my thoughts on this proposal in this article.

Before I do, I should say that I voted for both policy motions, including for the amendments that were successfully adopted. I believe in their proposals as well as improving and safeguarding women’s personal safety during travel, expanding Network Railcard applicability outside of London and the Southeast, and providing facilities for rest along pathways in the form of benches. I am an ardent supporter of expanded rail access and restoring nature. I am not someone to throw the baby out with the bathwater. My main fears are about potential friction between our policy commitments.

Our party is committed to expanding rail capacity including ‘implement(ing) light rail schemes for trams and tram–trains’. Our modern light rail systems are different from the tram systems that provided public transport before being supplanted by buses during the mid-twentieth century. With historic tram networks – barring Blackpool’s – having been torn out, modern systems such as Greater Manchester’s Metrolink and South Yorkshire’s Supertram utilise existing, previously disused railway infrastructure. This allows for separated routes that minimise conflict with road traffic (where thoroughfares have not been pedestrianised to accommodate trams), for integration between light rail and railways, and systems that serve communities beyond urban centres.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged public transport, trains and trams | 4 Comments

WATCH: Alex Cole-Hamilton’s speech to Conference

By The Voice | Wed 24th September 2025 - 12:41 pm

Here is Alex Cole-Hamilton’s speech to Lib Dem Conference with subtitles:

Posted in News | Also tagged Alex Cole-Hamilton, conference and speeches | Leave a comment

Lisa Smart MP writes…Why now is the time to update our thinking on digital ID

By Lisa Smart | Wed 3rd September 2025 - 11:55 am

Back in the 2000s, the Liberal Democrats led the fight against the Labour Government’s plans for compulsory ID cards and a vast, centralised database of personal information. The scheme was expensive, invasive, and fundamentally illiberal, and we were absolutely right to oppose it.

The values that guided us then still underpin our work today. We remain firmly committed to protecting privacy and civil liberties, and to limiting the power of the state. But the tools now available to both invade and protect privacy have evolved dramatically. In this new information age, it is only right that we take a fresh look at how best to defend these principles.

Smartphones are ubiquitous. Many of us now access banking, healthcare, and public services online. Meanwhile, private companies have created their own forms of digital identity, and government departments have trialled new systems, often without a clear, open debate about their scope or safeguards.

The world has changed profoundly, but our policy has remained largely unchanged for twenty years.

In an increasingly digital world, it is worth asking whether we should revisit our approach to ensure it continues to protect the freedoms we have always sought to uphold.

So what should we be thinking about?

It seems to me that any digital identity system needs to respect individual autonomy; needs to be voluntary, not compulsory; needs to protect people’s data, rather than collect more than is needed; and needs to be secure, transparent and designed with clear legal limits.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged civil liberties, conference countdown, digital ID, featured and lisa smart | 54 Comments

Conference Countdown: The UK Government must provide stability to Ukrainian children in the UK

By Rowan Fitton | Wed 3rd September 2025 - 8:55 am

For over three years, the people of the UK have opened their homes to Ukrainian families and welcomed them into our communities. Offering them safety in the face of Russia’s indiscriminate shelling of cities and the illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory. However, at no point over these three years has our government provided Ukrainian families with certainty or stability.

So far, the UK government, first under the Conservatives and now under Labour, has refused to grant any permanent status to Ukrainians residing in the UK. The current visa system is strictly temporary and requires extending each time. Which means that Ukrainians face difficulties in securing rental agreements or job offers, and can often feel unsure about putting down roots in their local communities.

This uncertain status also has an impact on Ukrainian children and their education. The temporary nature of their status means that families could be forced to return during a child’s exams, or that children could be uprooted for a second time after living the majority of their lives in the UK. Children need stability to achieve their full potential and young people deserve to make the most of opportunities presented to them no matter their circumstances.

At multiple different points, and in multiple different contexts, the concerns of Ukrainian parents and the difficulties facing their children have been clearly articulated. As such, those of us in the Young Liberals, as the party’s official diversity AO for children and young people, took it as a sign that something needed to be done.

As such, YL has submitted a motion for debate later this month at Autumn Conference entitled ‘Certainty for Ukrainian Children Living and Learning in the UK’, which will be moved by our party’s Home Affairs spokesperson Lisa Smart MP. The motion outlines a clear set of policies designed to ensure Ukrainian children and their families have the stability and support needed to flourish whilst they are residing in the UK.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged conference countdown, refugees, ukraine and young liberals | 1 Comment

The Liberal Democrats must lead the way on global women’s rights

By Janey Little and David Chalmers | Thu 28th August 2025 - 12:50 pm

Last week, The Guardian reported that the UK Government is considering scrapping the commitment to spending 80% of foreign aid on programmes that have gender equality as at least one component.

This is the latest of a series of Government decisions to leave the most marginalised women around the world at even greater risk. Cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA) have disproportionately affected programmes focusing on women and girls, but Starmer has decided to slash ODA to 0.3%. In the Comprehensive Spending Review, women and girls were not included in the priority list for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) for the first time.

Meanwhile, misogyny is on the rise, violence against women is epidemic, and social, political, and economic inequality persist. Nearly a quarter of countries reported a backlash to women’s rights in 2024. Every 10 minutes, a woman is killed by a partner or family member. Trump’s America continues to threaten the livelihoods of women globally, with the dismantling of USAID depriving women and girls of essential healthcare.

The UK should be a world leader in defending women’s rights and rejecting growing misogyny and international backlash to gender equality. That’s why we’re bringing a policy motion to Autumn Conference titled Defending Women’s Rights Across the Globe.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged gender equality and womens rights | 3 Comments

Conference Countdown: Policy motions: Backing youth work to build communities

By The Voice | Fri 22nd August 2025 - 9:22 am

We are taking a gentle meander through the agenda for Federal Conference which takes place in Bournemouth from 20-23 September. We’ll give you the highlights of policy motions, reports and papers. Under the spotlight here is a motion proposed by Munira Wilson MP, to be summed up by Josh Babarinde MP on the importance of engaging, high quality youth work. This is open for amendment until 8 September at 1pm. You can read all the motions in the agenda here.

The motion sets out the impact of the cuts in youth work in recent years and explains the value of youth work in helping young people to live the lives they want to live.

Youth work can be a key tool in helping every young person to achieve their potential.

High–quality youth work can act as a preventative service, helping young people to avoid negative outcomes like involvement in crime or anti–social behaviour, or being Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).

Youth work provision can lead to improved mental and physical health, strengthened life skills, and a heightened sense of belonging for young people that supports social cohesion.

The motion also emphasises the importance of including young people in building these programs.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged conference countdown, policy motions and youth work | 1 Comment

Conference Countdown: Federal Policy Committee Report

By The Voice | Thu 21st August 2025 - 9:21 am

Our next stop on our meander through the agenda is the Federal Policy Committee report written by vice chairs Jeremy Hargreaves, Lucy Nethsingha and Helen Morgan MP.

They set out what the Committee has been doing during the past year including the policy review chaired by the Young Liberals’ and Women Lib Dems’ Eleanor Kelly, which will be voted on separately at Conference. Other policy papers to be debated at the Conference are on climate change and opportunity and skills.

Two working groups set up by FPC earlier this year, on mental health and town centres and high streets have consultation sessions at this Conference.

They also report on recruitment for further working groups on Defending Democracy and Primary Healthcare, international security and re-invigorating the economy.

FPC has also been reviewing how it operates, particularly with relation to diversity:

Posted in News | Also tagged conference countdown and federal policy committee | Leave a comment

Conference Countdown: Federal Conference Committee report

By The Voice | Wed 20th August 2025 - 8:51 am

Federal Committees report to each Conference. It’s an important way for members to hold them to account. Conference votes on whether to accept or reject each report. You can read the reports here. Members can also ask questions which need to be submitted here by 1pm on 8th September. We’ll be looking at what they say. Our meander through the agenda starts with the Federal Conference Committee report written by chair Nick Da Costa. Here are the highlights:

I am delighted that we are returning to Bournemouth for Autumn Conference 2025, once again at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC). It’s a venue we know and love and the team here have been tremendously supportive in helping us deliver what promises to be one of our biggest Conferences yet.
Since Spring Conference in Harrogate, the Liberal Democrats have gone from strength to strength. In the May local elections, we gained an impressive 163 Councillors and won control of three Councils. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who helped achieve those fantastic results!

If this is your first Conference, welcome! And if you’ve been coming for years – welcome back!

FCC Helpdesk & Training
As always, the FCC is here to help you get the most out of Conference. Whether you have questions about the agenda, submitting motions, or speaking in debates – come and find us.

The FCC Helpdesk will be open at the following times:
● Saturday: 10:30 – 11:30 & 13:00 – 14:00
● Sunday: 10:30 – 11:30
● Monday: 10:30 – 11:30

We are also running two training sessions on Saturday:
● How to Survive Conference: 09:30 – 10:45
● How to Write a Motion: 11:00 – 12:15

Everyone is welcome whether you’re a seasoned Conference-goer or attending for the first time.

Agenda & Selections

As ever, time in the auditorium is limited and FCC had to make some difficult choices in selecting motions for debate. We’re grateful to everyone who took the time to submit motions and proposals.

This year, we selected three Federal Policy Committee (FPC) papers for debate: climate change, opportunities and skills, and Leading the Way: Policy Review Paper. We also selected several motions on international affairs including a motion on resetting the UK’s relationship with the EU and defending women’s rights across the globe. Healthcare is another strong theme of this
Conference, and we’ve included motions on emergency care reform, supporting hospice care, and justice for victims of the contaminated blood scandal. In addition, there is a wide range of motions covering topics such as education, housing, policing, and transport amongst others.

We have also reserved a slot for a topic debate, plus slots for emergency motions enabling us to respond to fast-moving developments and critical issues as they arise.

He also invites anyone thinking of standing for FCC in this year’s internal elections to have a chat at Bournemouth.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged conference countdown and federal conference committee | 1 Comment

Does the party care about its councillors?

By Joe Harris | Fri 8th August 2025 - 3:47 pm

I and 46 Council Leaders and Deputy Leaders have just written (see text of letter below) to Federal Conference Committee Char, Nick Da Costa and Party President, Mark Pack to raise our concerns about the lack of a main speaking slot for a local government representative at this year’s Federal Conference.

Local government is the only part of the party currently in power and we felt it was essential to speak up on behalf of the more than 3,200 Liberal Democrat councillors across the UK who are delivering for their communities every single day.

Between us, our councils are responsible for more than £17 billion of public spending. From social care to housing, from climate action to local transport we are leading and implementing Liberal Democrat values where they matter most: in people’s day-to-day lives.

We now have 76 Liberal Democrat council leaders across the UK; that’s more than the number of Liberal Democrat MPs. And yet, this year’s conference agenda does not include a prominent platform slot for any of them. That is deeply disappointing.

We’re proud of our 72 MPs and rightly so. But we cannot forget that when the party was reduced to just 8 MPs in 2015, it was local councillors who kept the Liberal Democrats alive. We delivered services, campaigned hard and we’re the foundation of rebuilding our party from the ground up.

The fact that 35 of our current MPs have a background in local government is no coincidence.

Local government also played a vital role in last year’s General Election. Not just on the doorstep, but financially through the tithing scheme (something which seems to be optional for our Members of Parliament!). Our councillors raised over £3 million to support local and national campaigns. That funding made a real difference, and the party’s financial position would be far weaker without it.

We’ve seen the responses on social media including Nick Da Costa’s comments about some local government presence in the auditorium. While we appreciate that the brilliant Millie Earl will open conference alongside Vikki Slade MP and that there will be a session on taking on Reform involving a council leader, these moments do not carry the weight or visibility of a proper keynote speech.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged featured | 21 Comments

Get ready for Autumn Conference – papers published

By The Voice | Mon 4th August 2025 - 7:33 pm

It’s just six weeks on Saturday until we all gather in Bournemouth for Autumn Conference.

Over the past few days, the party has published the final agenda, Conference reports and the outcome of the Policy Review. You can read them all here.

The four days of Conference will see debates on topics ranging from youth work to climate change to emergency care, transport, reducing harm from gambling, helping contaminated blood victims, giving Ukrainian children certainty in the UK and protecting women’s rights across the globe.

On Monday afternoon the Policy Review will be debated. This is the outcome of a year’s work by a group chaired by Ed Davey. It seeks to identify any areas where they think our policy needs to be updated in the run-up to the next election.

From the forward:

The Liberal Democrats’ purpose in British politics, however, is much
greater than just vanquishing what’s left of the Conservative Party and
being the careful scrutineers of Labour’s actions – crucial though those
jobs are. Our purpose is as it has always been, as it is spelt out in our
party’s constitution: to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society,
in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality
and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty,
ignorance or conformity.

Posted in News | 1 Comment

Operation Beastie needs you!

By Jude Parker | Thu 24th July 2025 - 6:57 pm

At spring conference, Fraser Graham organised trans pride coloured stall mascots for most stalls in the exhibition hall. This was very popular, with many stall holders bonding with their beasties and most of them finding forever homes at the end of conference.

Following the success of the various yarn beasties at Harrogate, several people asked us if we were planning on repeating it at Bournemouth next September. We are hoping the answer will be “yes, and…”

Yes, and we’d like a calmer crafting experience.

Yes, and now we know people want them, we can be clearer about expectations.

Yes, and we’d like to be able to represent a variety of communities under the plus umbrella.

This last effort was organised in 3 weeks, in secret and at least 40% as a joke. Several of the beasties were items the creators (or original owners) would’ve been sad to lose, including some people’s first ever projects. We no longer have those logistical limitations.

So, if you’d like to help, we need:

Crafters

We need people to make them. Not huge numbers, but the more crafters we have the less effort each crafter will have to make for a given size of impact. Even one or 2 items is one or 2 more at conference. or one or 2 less that those of us taking the lead feel we have to make to fill our target, whatever that may be this time.

We would strongly prefer crafters who are happy for their project not to come back to them. It’s not hugely complicated to keep track of beasties whose creators really want them back, but it would be a calmer experience for the organisers if crafters exclusively donated beasties they were OK with being rehomed.

While most of the Harrogate beasties were crochet, any crafting method that produces a physical thing that could be a stall mascot is welcome.

Host families

Not all of the crafters of the Harrogate beasties attended the conference. Not all were even party members. If you are coming to Bournemouth and you drive, pack light or live locally, would you be able to receive a package and bring it to conference on a non-attending crafter’s behalf? If so, email [email protected] with “beastie host family” in the subject line.

Flags & species

While trans issues have dominated plus’s efforts for the past 5 years or so for obvious reasons, we would love to show love and solidarity to many communities under the LGBT+ umbrella. Especially as we are at least as sick as everyone else must be of the trans community (and their access to medical care, legal rights and basic human dignity) being used as a political football.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged beasties | Leave a comment

What’s on at Bournemouth? FCC’s agenda selection report

By Nick da Costa | Wed 9th July 2025 - 7:30 am

The Federal Conference Committee met on Saturday to review submissions and finalise the agenda for Autumn Conference in Bournemouth, taking place from 20 to 23 September 2025. We’re very much looking forward to returning to Bournemouth; a venue many members know and love.

Motion Submissions and Agenda Planning

As ever, we received a strong volume of submissions, reflecting the wide engagement across the party. In total, we received:

36 policy motions
3 business motions
4 constitutional amendments
2 standing order amendments

Following detailed discussion and several rounds of selection, the FCC agreed to include:

20 policy motions
1 business motion
All 4 constitutional amendments (as they were in order and must therefore appear on the agenda)
All 2 standing order amendments (as they were in order and must therefore appear on the agenda)

We are extremely grateful to all the members, local parties, SAOs, and AOs who submitted motions. The time and effort put into drafting and submitting policy ideas is deeply appreciated.

As always, it’s never easy to narrow down such a strong field of proposals. We wish we could include more; but time at conference is limited. We’ve done our best to include as many debates as possible within the available space. In addition, there are a number of mandatory business items, such as constitutional and standing order amendments, which, when in order, must be taken and therefore reduce the time available for policy debates.

Themed Days and Upcoming Announcements

This year’s Conference will include two themed days — one focused on Climate Change, and one on Youth and Skills. These will provide a wider thematic thread across debates and other events during the Conference. More details will follow when we publish the agenda.

The Conference Agenda and Directory will be published in the coming weeks.

If you haven’t yet registered, you can do so here.

Drafting Advice and Amendment Deadlines

Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged federal conference committee | 7 Comments

Registration open for Conference – with new Day Passes

By Mary Reid | Fri 16th May 2025 - 2:42 pm

Registration has now opened for the Autumn Federal Conference which will be held in Bournemouth from 20th to 23rd September.

As usual Early Bird registration rates are available until 12th June. You can find all the categories and prices here.

There is one change this time which will benefit members who are unable to attend for the whole conference. A Day Pass will now entitle the member to vote and speak in debates. In the past Day Visitors were not allowed to vote, which always surprised me. Mind you, Day Passes are not cheap at £60, and you can only book one. If you want to attend for 2 or 3 days out of the four you should book a Weekend or a Full Pass.

Here are the deadlines for submitting motions for debate.

Drafting advice: 13:00, 11/06/2025

Motion deadline: 13:00, 25/06/2025

Drafting advice (amendments, emergency motions): 13:00, 26/08/25

Amendments, emergency motions, topical issues, questions deadline: 13:00, 08/09/25

Posted in News | 1 Comment

Op-eds

Protecting children shouldn’t mean abolishing their right to privacy (Tara Foster)
AI and Liberal Democracy (Robin Ashby)
The chaos dividend: Why the ultra-rich thrive on an unstable world, and why that’s rational in the short term and suicidal in the long term (Tanya Park)
Vince Cable writes…Labour and Fiscal Rules (Vince Cable)
Josh Babarinde writes…The Lib Dem Summer of Strategy (Josh Babarinde)

Advert

Josh Babarinde writes…The Lib Dem Summer of Strategy

Alison Suttie writes: Thank you to our volunteers

What’s going on with party strategy?

A strange but welcome feeling

Tag Archives: 2025 autumn conference

We must keep up the fight against digital ID

Thoughts on our new Transport commitments

WATCH: Alex Cole-Hamilton’s speech to Conference

Lisa Smart MP writes…Why now is the time to update our thinking on digital ID

Conference Countdown: The UK Government must provide stability to Ukrainian children in the UK

The Liberal Democrats must lead the way on global women’s rights

Conference Countdown: Policy motions: Backing youth work to build communities

Conference Countdown: Federal Policy Committee Report

Conference Countdown: Federal Conference Committee report

Does the party care about its councillors?

Get ready for Autumn Conference – papers published

Operation Beastie needs you!