Lib Dem conference celebrated local successes
It was fantastic to see so many councillors at the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference in Brighton.
With the highest number of councillors and councils under Lib Dem control or influence for many years, it was delightful to be able to celebrate all our successes at the annual LGA reception, alongside party Leader Ed Davey MP and Cllr Heather Kidd, Chair of the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors (ALDC).
Speaking to a packed room, Ed made it clear that he wants to strengthen his working with Lib Dem councillors and leaders, especially those with social care portfolio responsibilities.
This is particularly welcome as the party prepares its lines on social care ahead of the launch next year of Baroness Casey’s Independent Commission on Adult Social Care report.
We had other successes, too – for example, the ALDC/LGA Lib Dem Group motion on local candidate safety, which was strongly supported by the conference.
The party is now committed to lobbying the Government and police for more protection for local election candidates, so it is taken as seriously as the protection of MPs.
There were some very harrowing examples of harassment and abuse from some speakers, and my sincere thanks to them for having the courage to speak out.
“We may not be running the country, but we ARE a party in power. We lead or help to run over 91 councils”
Just before that debate, we saw the fantastic Cllr Lisa Spivey, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council, giving a keynote speech to conference.
In a barnstorming performance, Lisa pointed out that “we may not be running the country, but we ARE a party in power. We lead or help to run over 91 councils across the country… and we have a whopping 3,363 councillors”.
She continued: “In this year’s local elections, we continued to grow in numbers with our eighth consecutive year of gains at local elections.
“This means that Liberal Democrats have oversight of over £17 billion of public money, ensuring that services are delivered in line with our values and our principles, making a difference to the lives of over 13 million people. This is a massive achievement.”
And that wasn’t the end of the matter – working with our ALDC friends, we ensured that a new policy on dealing with the threat from illegally modified e-bikes and scooters had a firm commitment from the party to ensure local authorities are fully funded for this extra work.
Finally, we and ALDC successfully amended a motion on food poverty so the vital role of local authorities in tackling the issue – including through the delivery and coordination of free school meals, holiday food provision and other local programmes – is recognised and appreciated.
We held other fringe meetings, including a fascinating one on connectivity, and one on working in councils with no overall control, which looks like becoming far more of the norm in years to come; plus two roundtables, one on adult social care and another on children’s services.
Thank you to all those who chaired our meetings and took part in panel discussions.
My thanks to all who attended our events – and a special thank you to all who spoke.
- Find out more about the work of the LGA’s Liberal Democrat Group.