Liberal Democrats

CTP The Federal Council met online on Tuesday 4 August 2026. The Council is responsible for scrutinising the work of the Federal Board, including ensuring that decisions are taken in line with the Party Strategy agreed by Conference, and for considering any Federal Board decisions which are 'called in' by members of the Council.

Annual tiering review FCEC’s big annual task is doing our part in the annual review of our constituency and local party tiering - that is which of the Advanced, Moving Forward Plus, Moving Forward, Development, and Start-up tiers each constituency / local party is in. This is very much a collective exercise across the party, with Regional Parties, State Parties, and the Federal Party working together to assess the performance and potential of places.

Sarah Lewis, Chair of the Defending Democracy working group addressed issues raised by FPC in the previous iteration and brought back the second draft. FPC debated these and compromise positions were created around donations, declarations of interests and financial promotions by politicians. This paper will now proceed to the upcoming Autumn Conference. We also received an update by Julia Goldsworthy on the ‘A Thriving Economy’ working group.

The Federal Conference Committee (FCC) met on Saturday to review motion submissions and begin finalising the agenda for Autumn Conference 2026, which will take place in Brighton from 19 to 22 September 2026. We are very much looking forward to returning to Brighton for what promises to be a busy and engaging Conference. This Conferences comes roughly midway through the Parliament but very early in the premiership of Andy Burnham.

The Federal Council met online on Tuesday 9 June 2026. The Council is responsible for scrutinising the work of the Federal Board, including ensuring that decisions are taken in line with the party strategy agreed by Conference, and for considering any Federal Board decisions which are ‘called in’ by members of the Council.

Summer of Strategy Top of my agenda this month has been completing the first stage of our Summer of Strategy. The last party strategy was back in 2021, and the political landscape has dramatically changed. We’re living in a multi-party system where populists and nationalists feel louder than ever. That means it’s high-time that we developed a new party strategy that reflects the times we’re in. So the Federal Board has got to work. We published a consultation paper. We created a survey.

DMK 25 Jun 2026 The International Security group chaired by Dr Ben Jones reported back and were questioned by the committee. The group is considering how to deal with greater separation from the US and a future where middle powers are increasingly reliant on multinational networks with one another. We are establishing a position where being pro NATO and pro EU is increasingly clear as the sensible option yet also viewed as radical by others.

The world has changed in ways no one could have predicted a decade ago. Trump, Putin and Xi have made the world - and the UK - much less safe. Our economy hasn’t grown, and the cost of living has soared. Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson’s Brexit experiment has failed. It is costing UK taxpayers £90 billion a year. That is money being taken away from our schools, hospitals and armed forces, and out of our pockets in higher taxes in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.

Overall, FPC reviewed and discussed two significant policy papers - Defending Democracy and Primary Healthcare, as well as hearing from Parliamentarians on Party Strategy and Foreign Affairs. It was noted that Lord Teverson was the new FPC representative from the House of Lords. Calum Miller MP, Foreign Affairs spokesperson, provided a briefing with follow-up discussion to FPC on Sir Ed Davey MP's speech the following day.

Energy is not a luxury - it is an essential human need. Every single household in Britain should be able to afford their basic everyday energy needs regardless of what happens in global energy markets, and regardless of who happens to be sitting in Number 10. But as energy bills continue to soar, millions of households are being forced to choose between heating and eating, while cold and damp homes cause avoidable illnesses like asthma and pneumonia, costing the NHS over £1bn a year.