Once per Parliament, the Federal Board is obliged to put before Conference a party strategy. Article 5.1 of the Federal Constitution states:

The Federal Board shall have the responsibility periodically, and at least onceper Parliament, for preparing a document outlining the Party’s strategy, inconjunction with the Leader’s political strategy, for submission for debate and
agreement by Conference.

The Board’s plan is to bring a strategy to Autumn Conference. If the anger following the local elections is anything to go by, members will be looking for a commitment to developing a nationally relevant message to re-establish us as a viable national alternative. Ed Davey’s comments about wanting us to be “the party of Middle England” have sparked huge concern in the party. There is a feeling that we are being too timid for fear of upsetting the Daily Mail at a time when the country is screaming out for a liberal alternative to the populist parties of right and left. Imagine that, a party that fixes stuff, stands up for liberal values and really resonates with people who are, to use a good Scottish word, scunnered with politics.

PoliticsHome has an article this weekend titled “Inside the Lib Dem strategy rethink.” Several MPs are quoted, including Tom Gordon, Layla Moran, Daisy Cooper along with some who are un-named.

Politics Home says the party is looking at changing direction:

To that end, the party is undergoing a strategy and policy overhaul, with key areas of discussion including the economy, welfare, and, as the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum approaches, a bolder stance on the European Union.

Tom Gordon confirmed the rethink:

I don’t think it was necessarily the wrong approach, but just given the nature and the timeline of where we’re at in this parliament and the political events and that fragmentation, I think there is now a rethinking of what we do, what we offer, how we’re more punchy, how we’re bolder, and what the offer from us is.

A senior MP hinted at an approach that to me sounds too managerial:

The MP said the party is “starting to think about the economy in a much more structural manner”, and the frontbench team had been “set a task of properly scrutinising departmental budgets, [looking at] where money is being spent”.

They added that the party needs to “make sure we are economically credible”, with there being more appetite from figures at the top of the party towards thinking about what the Lib Dem offering would be in a potential future coalition.

Layla Moran sounded optimistic about what was coming:

There’s definitely a frustration that it feels like we’ve been talking about the same things – social care and rivers – and that just felt like we weren’t really moving forward.

“So us evolving the position and being quite mindful about how we do that now is really important.”

She added: “There are a lot of Lib Dem MPs geeking out on how we fix the deep issues that the country’s got, and we are going to come up with something that is quite bold and exciting and coherent.”

Daisy Cooper said that it wasn’t so much a change in direction:

She told PoliticsHome

the party was now looking at seats to target beyond just the so-called ‘Blue Wall’ – historically Conservative constituencies that have switched to the Lib Dems in recent years.

“Now that we have consolidated our existing seats, really our plan is very much to go out and to win more, but it’s not a change in direction, it’s just the next step.”

It seems that the party has been engaging with newer MPs to get them on board:

Newer MPs told PoliticsHome that they felt the party leadership had been engaging on how to move the party forward by meeting with backbench MPs, and carrying out extensive research via polling and data analysis.

However Westminster is not the be all and end all and I know of many former and current Councillors who feel that they have been banging their heads against a brick wall warning about the need to properly take on the Greens.

At the same time as the Politics Home article, party Chief Executive Mike Dixon has sent out an Explainer email to members. While it is not for sharing here, he does at least acknowledge that there is a diversity of opinion on how to proceed:

I should say up front: there are no single right answers to these questions. People in our party have different, competing and entirely sensible views. That is healthy and good in a political party.

Instead, this email aims to give us all a shared understanding of the underlying facts about what is happening.

The Board will be consulting on the final details of its strategy motion which will need to be submitted by the deadline of 24 June, so there is not a lot of time.

The important thing is that the motion should be fully amendable by members so that when it comes to the debate in Brighton in September, Conference has a full range of views to look at and digest.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social