Looking forward to Harrogate Conference

Federal Conference is nearly here

It is fabulous we are not only returning to Harrogate for a Liberal Democrat conference, but that now it is also a venue with a Liberal Democrat MP, following Tom Gordon’s win last July.

The very first winning general election campaign I worked on was that for Phil Willis, also in Harrogate, back in 1997. Back then, we all thought the 1997 election result across the country was a cracking one for our party, winning 46 seats. But we far surpassed that in 2024. People will still smile while saying ‘72’ for a good while yet.

But elections keep on coming, and we have a great opportunity with the May local elections - or rather, the reduced number of them after Labour and the Conservatives decided that democracy is inconvenient when changes are coming to local government.

Even with the reduction in elections, they are still a great opportunity to strengthen our position in the constituencies we won last year, and a great opportunity to build up our strength more broadly too.

For all the damage done to local government by years of cuts and centralisation, billions of pounds in public services will be at stake in the May elections as local government is still at the heart of so many crucial services. 

Which makes these elections important not only for our future growth as a party, but also for our immediate power to turn our policies into action to improve people’s lives.

Policies that we will be updating and refreshing at our Federal Conference for the new political landscape we are in. Alongside that we will have the opportunity to discuss lessons from the general election, along with excellent training, a variety of fringes and stalls and much catching up with colleagues from around the country.

Whether by coming in person, or joining online, I hope you join other members by taking part in our Harrogate Conference.

The Agenda and Directory are up on the party website, as is the Federal Board report to Conference, which is in the Reports to Conference booklet.

That Board report includes explanations of the two items of business the Board is proposing in addition to our report: updates to our election regulations, primarily in response to the recommendations of the review carried out by Nick Manners, and a very short constitutional amendment regarding Liberal Democrats Ltd. 

Party strategy

Harrogate Conference will also include a consultation session as part of evolving our strategy for the new circumstances of this Westminster Parliamentary cycle. The Board has produced a short note to help give that session some context, which you can read via the party website. If you are not able to make the session, you can also send in comments via president@libdems.org.uk.

Harrogate will also see a presentation from the General Election Review, another important input into our plans for this cycle. The report is available to read here.

Measuring success

If there were media outlets as keen to talk up the Liberal Democrats as some are to talk up Reform, then we would be hearing a lot about how Lib Dem support has surged to increase by half. That is because so far in this Parliament, we are averaging 12% in the polls, compared with 8% for the same period in the last Parliament.

While the increase may cause us quiet satisfaction, and the absence of media coverage for it quiet frustration, the most important point about the increase is that it shows one of our key assumptions for the 2024 general election playing out. That is, that national vote share is - in the current set of circumstances - a consequence of success rather than a cause of success. 

In other words, we managed a history-breaking seat haul alongside a small increase in our vote share because, under first past the post, national vote share is only very weakly correlated with success for a party like ours. Hence 2024 (72 seats) was a triumph while 1983 (23 seats) was not, even though the Alliance’s vote share in 1983 was just over double ours in 2024.

Remembering to focus on winning under the political system in front of us served us well in the last Westminster Parliamentary cycle, and it will do so again in this.

Internal election news

The three year term limit for the Federal Returning Officer comes up later this year, and after an advertisement to all members followed by an interview process, the Federal Board has re-appointed David Crowther for the next three years. Many thanks to David for being willing to take on this task again.

We also are given the task under our election rules of setting the expense limits for the elections to Federal Party President and Vice President responsible for working with ethnic minority communities. Both of those posts are elected in a ballot of all party members, and, taking into account inflation since the last elections (especially in postage costs), the Board decided to set the expense limit at £25,000 for both contests.

At the February Board meeting we also agreed to the process, including advertising to members, for filling the posts on the Federal Appeals Panel (FAP) and Disciplinary Sub-Group (DSG) which come up later in the year. The names for the FAP will need to go to Federal Conference in the Autumn for final decision.

As with other volunteer posts which the Board fills, the advertisements will appear in due course at www.libdems.org.uk/work-for-us. 

Congratulations to…

Haboon Adan and Attia Aslam have been appointed as the two new Vice Chairs of the Lib Dem Racial Diversity Campaign (RDC), to work alongside the Chair, Chris French. Good luck in your new roles!

Thank you also for the fabulous efforts put in by the local parties who were the top recruiters in the last month:

• England: Central Birmingham, Chesham & Amersham and Southwark Borough - all tied with each other
• Scotland: Highlands
• Wales: Cardiff & the Vale of Glamorgan and Swansea Bay - also tied with each other

A reminder if you are recruiting members locally: if you use libdems.org.uk/join-local then your local party will get extra payment to recognise the local recruitment. (If someone joins via another route, you can also get the membership team to tag them as a local recruit by emailing help@libdems.org.uk). 

Winning against Labour

You can join ALDC, LGA Lib Dems and colleagues from around the country who are in Labour facing areas for an in-person training event on Saturday 8 March in Manchester. More details, including how to book, are on the ALDC website.

Thank you

Thank you for the very many kind messages about my recent appointment to the House of Lords. But there is a much bigger thanks due as well.

Although I'm the one lucky enough to have started a new job this month, I know full well that opportunity would have never occurred without our growing success as a party over the last few years - a success that is due the dedication, commitment, perseverance, and love of pointing at things of thousands of members, supporters, and staff all around the country. 

Without your commitment, I would not have got this wonderful opportunity. My sincere thanks.

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.