Thunderbirds and Internal Change – The Lib Dems in Harrogate

The Liberal Democrats broke tradition at the weekend. For only the second time since 2015, their Spring Conference was not in York, but just down the road in Harrogate. Despite plenty of new policies adopted, the most interesting element of this conference is perhaps – and bear with me – the internal constitutional changes adopted by the party.

In a style that has become typical for Ed Davey’s party, the weekend kicked off with some… unorthodox activities for his parliamentary team. Lib Dem MPs started off their weekend in neighbouring Knaresborough rowing on the River Nidd, creating another opportunity to talk about their sewage dumping campaigns.

MPs could then be spotted back in Harrogate at the convention centre, where former toy factory boss and now Wokingham Lib Dem MP could be spotted dressed as Thunderbird Virgil Tracy. The main message of the rally was one of jubilance at the Lib Dems’ fortunes at the 2024 General Election, where they secured a record 72 MPs.

The Lib Dems are unusual in having two conferences a year, with Spring Conference being far shorter than its Autumn counterpart. As a result, Spring Conference has a busy feel to it, with lots of internal party housekeeping in the auditorium and plenty of coffees, chats and catch-ups going on all around the venue on Saturday.

This shortened timeframe did not stop the party from addressing some points of policy, however. No policy which was selected for debate was rejected at this conference, and subsequently policies were passed on:

• Science and Technology (with a focus on education and AI)
• LGBT+ Rights (with a ban on all forms of conversion therapy and a debate centred healthcare for transgender people)
• The UK’s response to Trump (with a focus on support for Ukraine, international aid, defence spending and UK-EU relations)
• Restoring international aid (with a focus on the moral and defence case for aid)
• Animal welfare (with a focus on labelling standards and EU regulatory alignment)
• SEND (with a focus on improving services while fixing the financial pressure on local government)

However, the greatest tool for predicting the party’s future did not arise from these new policies. In a move that will be significant for large parts of the country where the Liberal Democrats are either strong or ambitious, the party has updated its procedure for approving and selecting parliamentary candidates.

The Liberal Democrats will now seek to select parliamentary candidates as early as possible in the election cycle, with priority going to more promising and enthusiastic areas. Their hope is that this will give those areas a boost to their campaigning with clear leadership and drive from a candidate.

Subject to a heated debate and leafleting campaign at conference, these reforms passed. Alongside a more centralised role in approval and selection for Liberal Democrat HQ, we can also expect to see local Liberal Democrats in ‘campaign mode’ for much longer periods of time – potentially four years out from an expected General Election.