Tag Archives: conference

Mathew Hulbert

Mathew on Monday: Serious Times Demand Serious Leadership – Ed Davey needs to stop with the clowning around

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 16th March 2026 - 5:00 pm

These are not normal political times. These are not easy times. And they are certainly not times when large swathes of the electorate is crying out for gimmicks, distractions, or anything that looks remotely unserious. They are times of international instability, economic uncertainty, pressure on public services, and a deep distrust in politics. In moments like these, what voters are looking for above all else is seriousness, serious ideas. Serious tone, serious leadership.

Which is why, for many of us watching Ed Davey’s speech at Spring Conference in York yesterday, there was such deep frustration. Because there were good things in what he said. There were important themes about Britain’s place in the world, about security, and about the values we champion as Liberal Democrats.

But all of that was immediately overshadowed by what came next. The dancing.

At best it looked tone-deaf. At worst it looked profoundly inappropriate given the gravity of the times we are living through. To say it was inappropriate is an understatement.

Politics is about judgement. And leadership is about understanding the mood of the country. Voters who are worried about paying their bills, worried about the NHS, worried about global instability, are not asking whether politicians can dance (in Portcullis House or, indeed, the floor of Conference). They are asking whether they can lead.

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Nick da Costa

Federal Conference Committee report

By Nick da Costa | Wed 10th December 2025 - 4:06 pm

The newly elected Federal Conference Committee (FCC) met on the evening 8 December, following the most recent round of Federal Elections. 

I would like to begin by offering warm congratulations to all newly elected and re-elected members of the Committee. I look forward to working with you over the coming years. I also extend commiserations to those who were not not successful on this occasion, and a heartfelt thank you to members who were not re-elected or who chose to stand down. Their contribution to delivering our conferences over the last term has been exceptional. 

The new FCC members are: 

Directly elected: Chris Adams, Jess Brown-Fuller, Nick da Costa, Gareth Epps, Alison Jenner, Eleanor Kelly, Chris Maines, Shaffaq Mohammed, Kath Pinnock, Jennie Rigg, Callum Robertson, Sarah Teather.  

The Party President: Mark Pack (Josh Babarinde from 1 Jan)

Wendy Chamberlain (as Chief Whip of the Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons)

English Representative: Darryl Smalley (Dionne Daniel from 1 Jan)

Scottish Representative: Fraser Graham (Scottish Rep elections currently underway)

Welsh Representative: Matthew Palmer (Chloe Hutchinson from 1 Jan)

YL Representative: Leo Dempster

Federal Board Representative: vacant

Federal Policy Committee Representatives: Duncan Brack & Alex Brewer

FCEC Representative: vacant 

FPDC Representative: Charley Hasted

Election of Officers

The Committee confirmed its officers for the new term. I am delighted to have been re-elected as Chair of the Federal Conference Committee. 

We also elected two Vice Chairs: 

  • Chris Adams: responsible for the General Purposes Subcommittee (GPSC)
  • Eleanor Kelly: responsible for the Conference Communications Group (CCG)

I look forward to working closely with Chris and Eleanor in the team ahead. 

General Purposes Subcommittee (GPSC)

The GPSC is responsible for the initial consideration of many organisational matters before they come to the FCC. Working in collaboration with the Conference Team, the GPSC will consider:

  • Future venue options for Federal Conference,
  • Conference registration rates, 
  • Party body rates, and recognition of bodies eligible for concessionary rates,
  • Conference stewards, including reports from the Chief Steward,
  • Conference finances and future conference budgets,
  • Access-related matters, 

Conference Communications Group (CCG)

The CCG bring recommendations to FCC based on work covering:

  • FCC communications with members and conference attendees, 
  • Marketing of Conference to members, 
  • Encouraging participation, diversity, and outreach
  • Accessibility of conference materials. 

Subcommittee membership

 We confirmed the membership of both the GPSC and CCG. These groups will each meet in the new year to review and refine their work plans for the term of office, which will then return to the FCC for further discussion. 

Constitutional & Standing Orders Working Group

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Alan Grant

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. 

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The Voice

WATCH: Victoria Collins’ speech to Conference

By The Voice | Wed 24th September 2025 - 2:44 pm

Watch our Science and Technology spokesperson Victoria Collins address conference with subtitles.

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The Voice

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:

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The Voice

WATCH: Ed Davey’s speech – with subtitles

By The Voice | Wed 24th September 2025 - 10:39 am

Here is Ed Davey’s speech to Lib Dem Conference in Bournemouth for anyone who hasn’t seen the whole thing, whether they were busy at work or at Not the Leader’s Speech.

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Caron Lindsay

Caron’s Conference Diary: Lobsters and an MP barking “at the f***ing tide”

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 21st September 2025 - 12:01 pm

The sun rises over Bournemouth PierIt’s 10 am on Sunday morning as I write this. I’ve already been to an 8am consultation session, of which more later.  So far my Conference has been everything I’ve wanted it to be – a wonderful catch-up with friends, meeting lots of new people and playing shops at the stalls with the enthusiasm of a 5 year old in a room full of lollipops.

I arrived from drizzly Scotland to the warm, sunny and temperate climes of the south coast on Friday morning. I had planned an afternoon on the beach but then remembered that there is a hop-on, hop-bus tour that goes from West Cliff Road. My friend came with me. We “hopped off” in the very chic Sandbanks, home to Harry Redknapp and a Rick Stein restaurant.

Jazz Café, SandbanksWe had the most delicious smoked salmon sandwich I have ever had in my life at the Jazz Cafe. Perfect sunshine, right next to a golden beach and lovely wine. What more could you want? Though the inevitable happened – Scottish person steps into the sunshine for 5 minutes and turns into a lobster. My nose will be peeling by Tuesday no doubt.

The bus tour is really interesting if you fancy a break from Conference and you can also get to Sandbanks on the 50 bus.

Saturday started with Vikki Slade MP and Cllr Millie Earl, her successor as leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council opening Conference.

The following report back session from Federal Conference Committee and Federal Policy Committee annoyed me slightly. There were many questions listed in Conference Extra but they only got to 2 of them. There could have been more time for answers if the Committee Chairs had spoken for less time. Something to think about for the future?

Then came the thing that I had been worrying most about. A constitutional amendment proposed by members of a fringe anti-trans group to limit the quota places in Federal Committee elections to what they refer to “biological” and women and erasing the provision for non binary people completely.

It’s worth mentioning that this motion only appeared on the agenda because it had to. Constitutional amendments have to be taken, even if they are dreadful. The Federal Conference Committee can simply reject policy motions that are inaccurate wrong, but they don’t have that power with constitutional amendments.

This fringe group  tried this once before, in York a couple of years ago. Conference voted overwhelmingly then to Move to Next Business, something that had happened only once before in living memory on a motion to give the leader a veto on policy voted for by Conference.

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The Voice

Get your amendments and questions in fast: Deadline 1pm tomorrow

By The Voice | Sun 7th September 2025 - 2:30 pm

There are just 22.5 hours to get your questions and amendments in for Federal Conference.

You can question Ed, the parliamentary parties in the Commons and the Lords or Federal Committees, and the Campaign for Gender Balance and the Racial Diversity campaign. Their reports are here.

Keep an eye out on social media for people looking for signatures for amendments, too. It’s not unknown for someone to write one the night before, so if there is anything in the agenda you think needs amending, have a look at the agenda and put something together. You’ll need to find 10 party members to agree with you and then you can submit it here.

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The Voice

Reminder: Conference motions deadlines on 11th January

By The Voice | Sat 7th January 2023 - 8:30 am

One great thing about being a member of the Liberal Democrats is that you can submit motions to be considered for debate at our two Conferences.

Scottish Spring Conference takes place in Dundee from 10-11 March and Federal Spring Conference is in York the weekend after. Both motions deadlines are this coming Wednesday, 11th January.

For Scottish Conference, all the info you need on how to submit motions is here. You need 10 members, or a party body, or local party to support you.

For Federal Conference, the motion submission form is here.

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Why our Country and our Party need an Emergency Lib Dem Special Conference – Now

By Cllr David Evans | Wed 12th October 2022 - 12:15 pm

In less than 26 minutes on Friday 23 September Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng took an axe to what remains of the British Economy and the hopes and prospects of so many ordinary people, and totally destroyed the last vestiges that the Conservatives are the party of Economic competence. By the end of the day the pound had crashed over 4% in value (and is still falling) and the FTSE a further 2%, undermining the savings, pensions, and prospects of workers, the retired and the unemployed, be they Teachers, Doctors, Farmers, workers in industry or workers in entertainment. It affects them all.

However only a few days before, Federal Board and Federal Conference Committee decided to completely cancel Party Conference and put everything on hold until Spring Conference is held In York next March. While the decision that it would be seen to be inappropriate to hold conference during the period leading up to the Queen’s funeral was totally justified, it was totally misguided to think that the Lib Dems, as a party, should have no opportunity to say anything about the new prime minister and her deeply damaging new ideas for six months.

Every Lib Dem who met Liz Truss when she was, temporarily, a member of our party, seems to have quickly formed the view that she was a young lady with an eye for self-publicity and an extremely radical view on things – but it wasn’t a Liberal Democratic view, as she quickly found out as they began to question the reasoning behind her vision.

Everyone who works in Business knows that real growth and progress comes slowly, and need careful planning and sustained amounts of effort over years and sometimes decades.  The desire for a quick fix, a dash for growth based on throwing vast amounts of borrowed money at its supporters, underpinned by a total lack of understanding of simple economic realities is no substitute for hard work and effort.  Sacking a Permanent Secretary on Day One and calling the most outrageous gamble with our nation’s economy “A Fiscal Event” in order to avoid OBR scrutiny shows linguistic cunning that Vladimir Putin would be proud of.

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George Cunningham

A special Lib Dem Winter Crisis Conference

By George Cunningham | Thu 15th September 2022 - 8:50 am

We are most likely heading into a bleak winter. The UK is in dire shape – the loss of our Queen, a lacklustre government, the economic downturn, energy and cost of living crises, strikes, ongoing Brexit consequences – maybe even the return of some COVID variant. Public support for Ukraine under these difficult circumstances must also be maintained.

This is the moment for the Lib Dems to show Britain that we have policies to deal with these critical issues. The answer could be a Special Lib Dem Conference on the Winter Crisis, as permitted by our constitution, to be held in November, just at the onset of winter, in substitution for our lost Autumn Conference.

The Federal Board and Federal Conference Committee rightly decided that the Autumn Conference could not go ahead at a time the country was in mourning. But what was unexpected was a single all-encompassing decision to completely cancel the conference rather than reschedule.

We cannot be absent ourselves from the political scene at this critical moment. The two main parties are proceeding with their conferences. The Trade Unions have postponed and will have theirs later. The FCC suggested that our parliamentary spokespersons could cover this off. But we need to take decisions and only the party membership can authorise policy through a fully-fledged decision-taking conference.

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Lord William Wallace

Are policy motions at Conference too long?

By Lord William Wallace | Wed 23rd February 2022 - 3:05 pm

All active Liberal Democrats know that the messages you write on a leaflet have to be clear and short.  So why when we come to party conferences do we insist on debating motions which are astonishingly long and complex?  I challenge most attendees at party conferences on whether they have read through the full texts of all the motions.

I have just ploughed through 1,000 words of a motion for Spring Conference on an issue I care strongly about – having already read the much longer and more detailed policy paper to which it relates.  What we want from conference motions is the equivalent of an executive summary – the headlines of our detailed policies, brief and clear enough to be put on the back of our leaflets, ideally: 3-400 words at most.   But the established style of LibDem policy motions is far longer and more intricate.

The crush of business in the Lords has made me acutely aware of the need for brevity and focus in making speeches.  A generation ago peers (and MPs) were permitted to luxuriate through lengthy speeches of 20-30 minutes; in Victorian times Parliament would listen to speeches of an hour or more.  Now we have ‘advisory timings’ of 3-6 minutes in many debates, with 10-12 minutes for front-bench speeches.  I’ve therefore had to learn to count the number of words in a draft carefully, to prioritise points and to cut out things I would like to add but are only of secondary importance. At around 130 words spoken a minute, 1,000 words takes between seven and eight minutes to deliver in a speech – twice as long as the conference chairs are likely to offer someone from the floor.

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Michael Berwick-Gooding

Questionable reasons that Federal Conference Committee give for rejecting motions

By Michael Berwick-Gooding | Thu 8th July 2021 - 10:03 am

We pride ourselves on the idea that party members make policy at Federal Conference. There is an idea that any member can write a motion, get the required support, and submit it to Conference and the members will then discuss it. This is not quite reality. The 30th June was the deadline for submitting motions for Federal Conference.

Imagine you have spent weeks working on your motion. You submitted it for drafting advice and have made some of the suggested changes. You got the support needed to submit it and have submitted it. Now you wait to hear if it was selected. (You are not told when a decision will be made, but you expect it will be within a couple of weeks or so.)

In the report on the selection of motions meeting of Federal Conference Committee for last September’s Conference, we can see that eight policy motions were selected, with two more reserved for motions on Europe and Covid, and two for emergency motions. Plus a couple of business motions and a couple of consultative sessions.

There were 32 policy motions rejected. So, after all that work your motion is rejected. The odds are against you. Oh well, there are always amendments to work on once the agenda is published.

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James Bliss

Young, liberal and free?

By James Bliss | Tue 30th June 2020 - 8:10 am

The Young Liberals are delighted to finally announce the dates and preliminary agenda for our Online Conference, which will take place between Sunday 19th and Sunday 26th July.

We’ve had over 150 people pre-register and near 40 submissions, making this by far the largest conference we will ever have held! The conference will be totally free for Young Liberals members, including those between 26-30 who have opted in (which you can do here). This is a really exciting opportunity for policy debates, socialising with other Young Liberals and some great speakers.

You can sign up to Conference here!

There are plenty …

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Caron Lindsay

So that is why the fringe meetings were so jam packed

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 19th September 2019 - 9:32 am

Every fringe meeting I went to or participated in at Conference was absolutely packed.

On Monday, I chaired a fringe for Shelter on the need for a massive investment in social housing.

The room was packed ten minutes before it was due to start to the extent that Shelter’s own Policy Director Chris Wood couldn’t get in.

Later that day, at another meeting, for the Smith Institute and the Affordable Housing Commission, there was, again, standing room only.

I had been a bit worried, to be honest, when we booked a huge room for our fringe meeting “What would you sacrifice to save the planet?” Paul Walter and I spent that one standing at the back because there were no seats left.

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The Voice

PODCAST: Climate change conference fringe event

By The Voice | Wed 18th September 2019 - 5:00 pm

Lib Dem Voice hosted a fringe in Bournemouth at the party’s annual conference to discuss the impact of climate change (see photo above).

Our speakers were Baroness Cathy Bakewell, Lib Dem Lords Spokesperson for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Luke Murphy, Head of IPPR’s Environmental Justice Commission; Lib Dem Deputy Leader Ed Davey MP; Mark Campanale of the Carbon Tracker Initiative; and Paul Sheeky from Extinction Rebellion; The panel was chaired by LDV’s own Dr Kirsten Johnson.

Use this link to download podcasts automatically in your podcast app and see our previous podcasts and media content here.

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Cara Jenkinson

2018 Brighton Conference – Reporting by Journalist

By Cara Jenkinson | Wed 19th September 2018 - 10:30 am

John Crace of the Guardian made a snide comment on Monday – in his piece about Gina Miller’s speech he said we took a “two-and-a-half-hour lunch break. Presumably, because there wasn’t much more business to discuss.”

I couldn’t disagree with him more – and that’s not just because I’m a member of the Federal Conference Committee. Of course, there was plenty to say on Brexit, where Tories and Labour are tearing themselves apart. However, we debated so many other important issues – how we enable people to thrive in a world of rapid technological change, how we address increasing inequality through wealth …

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Your Conference venues for next year are…..

By Geoff Payne | Fri 20th July 2018 - 10:00 am

I am delighted to announce the venues for Federal Conference in 2019.

For the Spring, we will be returning to the York Barbican.   It is a venue that enjoys consistently positive member feedback, located, as it is, in a magnificent city.  The conference hotel will be the Novotel York Centre Hotel.  The dates for conference will be 16th to 17th March 2019.

Autumn Conference 2019 will be held in the Bournemouth International Centre.  As with York, it is a venue well known to us and we are really pleased to be returning to what is a great seaside location.  The conference hotel will be the Marriott Highclff.  The dates for Autumn Conference will be 14th to 17th September 2019.

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Caron Lindsay

The Ashdown Prize – how there can be more than one winner

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 3rd June 2018 - 10:25 am

Yesterday, the winner of the Ashdown Prize was announced. This competition was run by Your Liberal Britain with this aim:

In the face of such daunting forces, we must find radical new solutions to protect the power of the citizen – over their own lives, over the decisions that affect them, over the world around them.

This is the Liberalism of tomorrow – the Liberalism Britain so badly needs.

To that end, the Ashdown Prize for Radical Thought will be awarded to the boldest new policy idea that best empowers the citizen in the Britain of today and tomorrow.

Over the Bank Holiday …

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Diane Reddell

Why the Conference Access Fund is a good thing

By Diane Reddell | Fri 31st March 2017 - 12:30 pm

I would like to tell you about the Conference Access Fund which Liberal Democrat members have provided. It helps members on low incomes or those who have a disability by providing financial assistance so that they can take part at conference. I used the fund to assist with the costs of having a support worker to enable me at conference. May I firstly say how helpful the stewards and Lib Dem HQ conference staff were at conference.

The Conference Access Fund is unique to the Liberal Democrats as the other four parties with the exception of the Green party (who give their members up to £90 for travel and expenses) do not have such a fund. The Labour Party mentions disability access and having a women’s day at the start of their conference but they do not provide financial help with the associated costs of attending. The Conservatives and UKIP do not mention either disability access or a fund.

Having discovered this, I then googled how many MPs are disabled within the current parliament. Only  2 MPs out of 650 have a disability. Also from the Bridge Review of the Civil Service and its fast stream programme, disabled people are significantly underrepresented. Where is the voice of disabled people in Parliament and in the policy making teams within the civil service?

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The Voice

Last day to get early bird discount for Spring Conference

By The Voice | Fri 9th December 2016 - 1:05 pm

York bannerGiven the excellent results we’ve had in the past few months, most recently Sarah Olney’s fantastic victory in Richmond last week, the Spring Conference in York is going to be pretty good.

As well as that, the party will finally settle its position on nuclear weapons without fudging the issue as it has been doing for decades.

It is going to be well worth attending.

Registration is now open, and today is the last day you can claim the early bird discount. Registration (unless you are a first-timer, claimant or are …

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Chris White

Bring a friend – they might even enjoy it

By Chris White | Fri 5th February 2016 - 12:41 pm

2015 policy pitch autumn conference by Paul Walter

Conference has a buzz and many local parties have suggested that it could be a good way of encouraging someone who is supportive to drink in the magic conference potion and become a full member – or even better.

But it hasn’t been easy to do this under the existing conference registration rules. Until now.

There is a new scheme designed to make it much simpler. You can find details here.

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Caron Lindsay

Want to go to Spring conference and can’t afford it? Apply to Conference Access Fund by Friday

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 12th January 2016 - 2:40 pm

2015 policy pitch autumn conference by Paul WalterOur Spring Conference in York between 11-13 March is the first to be held under the new One Member One Vote rules. That means that every single party member could have a say as we make our policies.

I say COULD, because not every member can afford to go. Travel, accommodation and childcare costs put going to conference beyond the reach of many members.

This time, however, people can apply for a grant from the Conference Access Fund:

We have established a Conference Access Fund to improve accessibility for members attending conference. The fund consists of a contribution from the core Conference budget as well as donations from party members. Any contributions made by party members are ring-fenced for this purpose only and where applicable, any unused donations will be carried over to the next conference.

All applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If there is high demand, priority will be given to members who are attending Conference for the first time and members from underrepresented sections of society.

To do so for this Conference, you have to apply by this Friday. The online form is here.

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Ruth Bright

Open letter – please reinstate the creche

By Ruth Bright | Fri 8th January 2016 - 3:41 pm

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Dear Tim

Yesterday you were campaigning in Faraday, my old ward in inner city Southwark. Way back in the 90s I was councillor for Faraday for eight years. Councillors’ expenses were meagre at that point and it took many thousands of pounds to win and keep that ward. My two ward colleagues and I dipped into our own pockets many a time. I can say without any shadow of a doubt that I could not have afforded to be a councillor had I had a family to provide for at that time.

When I was selected as a PPC and with a baby on the way I gave up work to combine my roles as candidate and parent. My husband reduced his hours to share childcare with me and be a mainstay of our 2005 General Election campaign. Our annual income at the time was £18,000 and we put £9,000 of our savings into paying for leaflets etc. In no way is this a personal whinge. My family’s financial sacrifice is not unusual. I knew another PPC who had remortgaged his house to pay for his campaigning.

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Joe Richards

Let’s all make conference more financially diverse.

By Joe Richards | Wed 23rd December 2015 - 12:30 pm

Tackling inequality is one of my greatest passions, it quite literally gets me out of bed in the morning.

It’s also quite well established now that the more representative decisions making bodies are, the more all of us benefit, no matter if we belong to an underrepresented group or not. The past decade has been a historical time in politics for minorities and activist groups have many proud achievements to celebrate in the name of diversity (yet of course, we still have so very far to go), but there’s one spectrum of diversity that’s not doing so well lately, and we don’t really appear to be tackling it head on, and that’s financial diversity.

Politics favours the rich. Not just because we aren’t doing enough to create a more fair society, but because Parliament is the most unrepresentative forum you could imagine, and by design: unless you’ve got a spare £34k knocking about, as Isabel Hardman estimated in the Spectator last year, you’d better be prepared to work 50 hours a week and volunteer maybe 20 on top of that if you want a chance of ever standing as a parliamentary candidate.

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Willie Rennie

Willie Rennie MSP writes… Trident: We must consider effect of disarmament on our international relationships

By Willie Rennie | Sun 20th September 2015 - 7:30 am

Our party has always had a sceptical view of nuclear weapons. Whether we personally adhere to a multi-lateral or unilateral route to disarm, few members feel comfortable with the concept or reality of such a powerful weapons system.

There are issues of geo-diplomacy and security and not just party positioning at stake. Although not in power now, we need to consider our policy as if we were in government not just a party in opposition hunting for differentiation.

The United Kingdom is a stable partner amongst the nuclear defended nations of the world. The importance of stable partners should not be understated especially when the Non Proliferation talks take place every five years. Britain has been an important cog in the reduction of nuclear capability across the globe through these talks.

We need to consider the effects on geo-diplomacy if we unilaterally disarm. It is a delicate balance and we should be extremely careful when seeking to change that balance.

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Andrew Wiseman

Andrew Wiseman writes…Introducing the Policy Pitch

By Andrew Wiseman | Thu 3rd September 2015 - 12:00 pm

We are trying a new session at this year’s conference. The idea behind the session is to encourage policy discussion in a different way to a formal motion or FPC policy paper.

Members will put forward ideas in the form of a ‘policy pitch’. These ideas should not be current party policy, they should be new ideas or ideas that develop existing party policy in an innovative way. Rather than having to set out a more formal motion where there is a debate and a yes/no vote the member will submit their idea in a less formal pitch of up to 400 words. Those chosen by FCC will be given a two minute ‘pitch’ to conference where they will get the chance to present their idea to a panel. The panel will discuss the idea with the proposer before giving their views.

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Johnny Luk

The Independent View: Looking at ways to help student entrepreneurs

By Johnny Luk | Wed 1st October 2014 - 12:14 pm

The slogan ‘Stronger Economy, Fairer Society’ is only as strong as the policies that support it.

We, at the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs (NACUE), are pleased that the Liberal Democrats, in partnership with the Conservatives, have introduced a series of measures to put meat on the bones of this catchphrase.

Vince Cable’s Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) department has been busy beavering away on initiatives that help small businesses, including young entrepreneur start-ups. Young people like Arnold du Toit, who is worth £8 million in his mid-twenties after inventing a motorised golf trolley, and Jamal Edwards, whose YouTube videos progressed to a TV channel, show the kind of innovation Britain needs more of.

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The Voice

Nick Clegg wins out on EU referendum – but what will the party think?

By The Voice | Wed 2nd July 2014 - 3:55 pm

EU Flag at the European Parliament at Strasbourg. Photo credit: Some rights reserved by European ParliamentToday’s Guardian reports that Nick Clegg has won the backing of MPs over whether to support a change in the party’s policy on an EU referendum:

The deputy prime minister, who has faced direct calls from ministers for a change of stance on the EU, won the agreement of the Lib Dem parliamentary party to stand by the current policy. This is to hold a referendum only if UK sovereignty is passed to the EU. The Tories

…

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Caron Lindsay

Five reasons why Liberal Democrats leave York in good spirits.

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 9th March 2014 - 5:47 pm

Screen Shot 2014-03-09 at 08.06.08Liberal Democrats left York with spirits as bright as the sunshine which brought 17 degree warmth to the historic city.  Seriously. I was quite surprised about how genuinely upbeat people were. It’s not that they’d forgotten that we’re defending 12 European Parliament seats in 74 short days’ time. By the way, if you think that’s along time away, remember that 74 days ago was Boxing Day.  Everyone knows the scale of what we have to achieve by then and nobody is taking anything for granted.

Even the more, how shall I put this, hardened Awkward Squad (not an insult, definitely a badge that many of them would wear with pride) were saying things that could only be described as positive. Actual positive, not just lacking in complaints.

Why the good humour, then?

People love fighting a European Election about Europe

Liberal Democrats are by their nature internationalist. If it involves working together and building global alliances to make the whole world better, we’re happy. And that, to be honest, is what the European Union is all about. It’s about making sure that our young men don’t have to meet up somewhere on the continent and kill each other every few decades. If you look at the last couple of thousand years, that’s pretty huge. Yes, there are lots of other benefits that have a real practical relevance to people’s lives, but peace and stability across 350 million is the Big One.

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