Lib Dem spring conference: it’s important because it’s in the spring
Many views have already been expressed about the proposals being floated to cut back or even axe the Liberal Democrat spring conference. You can read the consultation paper on spring conference in full here. Two issues, however, are not mentioned in it, so I took the opportunity of a consultation session in Glasgow to raise them.
First, and most importantly, the Spring Conference is at a very useful time of year compared to the Parliamentary timetable. It is often around then that Parliament has in principle agreed to controversial legislation and that there is much debate over possible amendments to it.
Spring Conference has therefore often – even before 2010 – provided a great opportunity for productive internal party debates at just the right moment to influence what happens in Parliament. Those don’t always produce perfect outcomes by any means (Health Bill, ahem) but often they are very useful (think of Spring 2010 and the Digital Economy Bill). Even when the process is fractious and does not result in consensus, it is far better than the alternative of members around the country having to wait until legislation has been passed in its final form before being able to debate it at an Autumn Conference. That would produce much more bad feeling and resignations than even a messy spring debate.
Spring, therefore, is a good time to get people together face-to-face to debate, attempt to come to an agreement and to vote.
The second issue which I raised is that by being at a different time and place from the Autumn Conference, lasting for a shorter period and costing less, Spring Conference could be acting as a good first step between never having gone to conference and becoming an addict who comes to them all. I don’t know what proportion of conference attendees make their first visit in the spring, but it’s the sort of data the consultation should be looking at.
The deadline for submitting views on the consultation is 4th October and they should be sent to springconf@libdems.org.uk.
One good reason for retaining the spring conference is that it allows teachers to participate in party policy making. Autumn confrerence is always in termtime and mostly during the week, whereas the spring one is usually over a weekend.
Yes, some people might do a test run on a spring conference and get hooked. Conversely, as there is usually less of everything (exhibition, events, atmosphere) at the shorter spring one, it might not excite people enough to make them want to go again.