Constructive opposition… and winning more elections

What a conference!

Perhaps my favourite moment at our Brighton conference was having dinner with a member who had rung her partner to say how great the conference rally was. She had told him about how our MPs had stood to applaud the audience, thanking us all for our efforts to get them elected. ‘Were all our MPs there?’, he asked. ‘I don’t know. There are too many MPs now to be able to count them all!’ she replied.

Too many to count, more than enough for us to be rightfully on a high - and not as many as we should aim to have in future.

So there was plenty to celebrate at our Brighton Conference, as well as the party collectively turning our minds to how we build on that success.

As The Guardian editorial praising our conference concluded:

Running through his speech was Sir Ed’s idea of a “Liberal Britain”. This is a country where the banks and the wealthy are taxed to pay to fix the NHS, racism is abhorred, not weaponised, the EU single market rejoined and a cordon sanitaire erected around a Donald Trump presidency. The Lib Dem leader is gambling that this is territory that will become politically significant in the coming years and which other parties might struggle to seize. Given the election results, few may be willing to bet against Sir Ed.

Before we get to thinking more about our future, many thanks to all our staff, volunteers and suppliers involved in putting on such a successful event.

Where next?

As I said when moving the Federal Board report in Brighton, it was quite the contrast with the first one I moved as your President. Back then we had 11 MPs, now we have 72. But also we have gained more than 800 council seats since then, and now have a Lib Dem majority on more councils than before we went into coalition in 2010.

We have also taken important steps forward on our ethnic diversity - a key priority for the party, both at local level - where the list of Lib Dem council leaders is no longer an all-white list - and in Parliament - with a record number of MPs from an ethnic minority background.

Much progress, then, but more still to do.

At the heart of that is supporting our new MPs in firmly embedding themselves in their seats, and helping our whole Parliamentary Party show to the voters that the issues they campaigned on are now issues that they are acting on in office.

We also need to be starting to line up our next wave of Parliamentary gains as well as extending our run of gains in local elections. We made net gains in every round of local elections in the last Parliament, and we should aim to do so again, along with making gains in the devolved elections coming up in Scotland, Wales and London.

All that should be built on learning the lessons of what worked, and what was not so successful, this time. Hence the General Election Review which I reported on last time and which ran a very useful consultation session in Brighton.

There is now an online survey for everyone to send in their own views too: www.libdems.org.uk/ge-review

Constructive opposition

As Ed Davey said in his closing conference speech:

Back when I was first elected in 1997, Paddy Ashdown adapted the Serenity Prayer for a better, more constructive approach to opposition. Paddy’s Serenity Prayer went like this: “May we have the power to oppose what we must oppose. Courage to support what we must support. And the wisdom to know the difference.”

Conference, wouldn’t we all have loved Paddy to be here today for this moment? And I want to make Paddy’s same invocation for us today. For that is the power, the courage and the wisdom we will need in the years ahead.

Because it will fall to us to be the responsible opposition that any government needs. An essential role in our democracy. And a role that today’s Conservative Party simply cannot fulfil. They showed themselves to be totally unfit to govern our country – and the British people rightly booted them out. And the Conservatives are already showing that they are unfit for opposition too.

Our fabulous colleagues

One of my best tasks as your President is to present the awards at each of our Federal Conferences. It was such a pleasure to be able to publicly thank and praise our team of winners:

Belinda Eyre-Brook Award - Lucy Lennon

Lucy Lennon was recognised for her impressive local campaign efforts in Hull. In her first role after graduating from university, Lucy has been instrumental in helping us make strides against Labour in northern England, particularly by retaining control of the local council.

Over the past two years, Lucy has served as the local organiser, managing two local elections and two by-elections. During the General Election, she took on the task of running three Westminster constituencies and acted as agent for all of them.

In addition to her exceptional people skills, Lucy has mastered various technologies, including Fleet, Connect, Lighthouse, and Typeform.

She has even managed with aplomb the tough task of having our Director of Campaigns, Dave McCobb, as one of her candidates!

Her dedication and hard work made her a deserving recipient of this year’s award.

Dadabhai Naoroji Award - West Hertfordshire Local Party and Dacorum Council group

The overlapping West Hertfordshire Local Party and Dacorum Council group has achieved remarkable electoral success by engaging with all areas of their local community. They have assembled a diverse team of councillors and candidates, representing a range of ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and abilities.

Their hard work has demonstrated that minority communities not only want to join the Liberal Democrats but are also eager to further serve their local areas.

This dedication culminated in the election of the first Liberal Democrat MP of East and South East Asian descent.

The efforts of the group and Local Party show that focusing on improving our ethnic diversity is not something just for large urban areas.

The award was collected by Councillor Simy Dhyani and Victoria Collins MP.

Harriet Smith Award - Rosemary McCrum

Rosemary has been the cornerstone of her Local Party for decades. She has guided them through challenging times, taken on nearly every activist role imaginable, filled in when needed, and often juggled multiple responsibilities at once. Rosemary provided the foundation upon which their success has been built.

Her dedication and commitment were crucial in keeping the Local Party running and played a key role in their achievements this year, including an overwhelming victory in the local elections and the election of the area's first Liberal Democrat MP.

The Woking party triumphed electorally this year, and nominating Rosemary for this award was a small way of recognising the immense contribution of this modest individual in helping them get there.

Patsy Calton Award - Julia Cambridge

Since 2017, Julia has served as Vice-Chair of the Campaign for Gender Balance (CGB), working tirelessly to support, mentor, and encourage female candidates across the party. She has been a steadfast advocate for selecting women in winnable seats, and many of the newly elected female MPs can attest to the impact Julia has had in helping them overcome traditional barriers to selection and election.

In addition to her efforts, Julia has been a dedicated councillor and Mayor for the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, playing a crucial role in the campaign team that successfully retained the Richmond Park seat in the General Election.

This year, the Liberal Democrats reached a record high in female MPs, with women making up 44% of the Parliamentary party. This achievement highlights the importance of Julia's work in supporting women candidates to compete on equal footing with their male counterparts over the past few years.

Donna Harris, Chair of Liberal Democrat Women, the official party body which presents this award, came on stage to hand it to Julia.

Penhaligon Award - North Cotswolds and Tewkesbury local party

In April 2019, the Tewkesbury Liberal Democrats had just two councillors, both of whom were stepping down in the upcoming local elections. However, during the 2019 Local Elections, the team made a strong push, resulting in the election of eight councillors. Later that year, they displaced Labour to become the main opposition to the Conservatives in the General Election.

Their success continued in both County and Local Elections, and by May 2023, the Lib Dems had elected 16 councillors, ousting the Conservative administration and appointing a Lib Dem Leader, Deputy Leader, and Mayor.

With the 2024 constituency boundary changes, Tewkesbury joined forces with neighbouring colleagues to form the new North Cotswolds and Tewkesbury Local Party.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of local activists and volunteers, many of whom are now elected representatives, the North Cotswolds and Tewkesbury Liberal Democrats have seen rapid and steady growth - and this momentum is set to continue.

The award was collected on behalf of this impressive team by Babs Farmer.

President’s Award - Paula Yates

Paula has dedicated over four decades of service to the Party. Since joining the Liberal Party in Carmarthenshire in 1982, she has held numerous roles, including local councillor, Council Leader, Parliamentary Candidate, and President of the Welsh Party. She continues her commitment as a member of the Welsh Party Board.

Throughout her career, Paula has faced these responsibilities - and the challenges they bring - with determination, energy, and an unwavering sense of humour. One of her greatest strengths is her ability to treat members with understanding and respect. Her quiet words of wisdom so often head off problems and I have been very grateful for her support in the time we were Federal Board colleagues.

Paula’s immense contributions over the years make her a truly deserving recipient of the President’s Award.

And next time…

We are incredibly fortunate to have such devoted members, and their commitment continues to inspire us all. If you know someone who you feel deserves an award, look out for the nomination process on the website in January for our Spring Conference awards.

Our love and condolences

Tragically, during our Conference, Robin Bradburn, leader of the Lib Dem group in Milton Keynes, passed away. A minute’s silence was held in the main hall in his honour. 

Robin was a renowned public servant who campaigned tirelessly in his area. He will be remembered by all those who knew him as a thoughtful, caring and compassionate man.

I am sure I speak for everyone in sending our love and condolences to his family and friends.

New Federal Appeals Panel member

Conference confirmed the appointment of Rebecca Williams to fill a casual vacancy. Thank you Rebecca for putting your name forward and to everyone else who applied.

Missing conference already?

Our Spring 2025 Federal Conference will be in Harrogate, on 21-23 March. More details, including accommodation booking link, at the bottom of our conference page here.

Do you have questions on any of this report, or other Lib Dem matters? Then please drop me a line on president@libdems.org.uk. Do also get in touch if you would like to invite me to do a Zoom call with your local party or party body.