The Liberal Democrats are a democratic party in which policy is made by the members. As a local party we can make policy which will feed into our local election manifesto, and we can propose policies for consideration at regional and national (Federal) level. In Nottingham we have meetings set aside for consideration of policy issues to which all members are welcome to attend. In this post I set out how our policy group works and give the dates of the meetings for 2020.

For 2020 the Executive Committee resolved to hold Policy Group meetings at Wollaton Park Community Centre, Harrow Road on a quarterly basis. The dates agreed are:

  • 13 January 2020
  • 6 April 2020
  • 6 July 2020
  • 5 October 2020

Each meeting would cover a particular policy area and members would be invited to submit proposals ahead of the meeting. These proposals could focus on a local or national aspect of the broad policy area.

With a General Election having been held in December 2019, however, the January meeting considered aspects of our party’s campaign – what went well, what went less well- and looked at the prospects for the future. There were four presentations and after each a period of discussion. There is not space here for a detailed report but it would be fair to say that there was some consensus that our national campaign had significant weaknesses, but our contribution locally was well received by our nearby target seats.

At our next meeting, in April, we will discuss aspects of policy towards older people. This is very broadly conceived. Submissions are welcome on issues such as intergenerational justice, pensioner benefits, retirement age, social care etc. I will write to all members by email soon inviting policy proposals. If you are unsure how to write a policy proposal please contact either me or our Member Engagement Officer and we will be pleased to assist you.

I look forward to seeing you on 6 April.

Adam Spencer