Liberal Democrat Federal Conference

The first Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Paddy Ashdown. He led the party from 1988 to 1999.

In Ashdown's first speech as leader, entitled The Path Ahead, he says that he sees a "very exciting journey" ahead, and that the Labour Party, which has faced three consecutive general election defeats, could be replaced by the SLD.[11]

Ashdown continues: "I want every single one of you to look back on these next fifty days and be proud: proud to have been part of this great campaign. Proud that, like Lloyd George, you went to the country with a message you believed. Proud to have said what you think needs to be done for your country. Proud to have stood out against the fatalism of British politics. Proud to have said - it does not have to be like this. Yes, it can be done. Tell them how it is. Tell them what we will do. Tell them we will be their champions. Tell them their vote can make a difference".[14]

The second Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Charles Kennedy. He led the party from 1999 to 2006.

The outgoing leader, Paddy Ashdown, tells the Conference that the party has been ahead of its time, and that it "rightly" talks about strategy, but that "no strategy will work, unless we have something fresh to say and offer something distinctive to vote for", and that if it fails to "think afresh", that it risks "falling into the easy trap of leftist, oppositional politics. And that," he says, "would mean making ourselves irrelevant again for a generation".[16]

The new leader, Charles Kennedy, after thanking his predecessor, emphasises that in the forthcoming year, a number of elections are to be fought, and that it is important that politicians reconnect with voters, and that if they do, people will become "as enthusiastic about parties as they are about pressure groups". He says that if they don't, "derisory turnouts will be the norm". He says that party politics can make a difference beyond voting and by "engaging in the process", and that the party must inspire "a new generation of voters", and "connect [its] values and vision to everyday life".[17]

The third Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Menzies Campbell. He led the party from March 2006 to December 2007.

Campbell tells the Conference of the hopes dashed by Labour after a decade of rule, and continues: "After three election victories, Labour has failed. The gap between rich and poor is wider than at any point under Margaret Thatcher. We have higher taxes, but little improvement in public services. Millions of pensioners remain consigned to poverty: two thirds of them women. Hard-working families are crippled by debt. Carbon emissions are rising. And now hospital wards are closing, doctors and nurses are losing their jobs. This is the domestic legacy of the Blair-Brown Government."[20]

The fourth Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, addressing the 2008 Federal (Autumn) Conference. He led the party from 2007 to 2015.

The new leader talks about the failures of the political system to improve living standards and respond to the public's needs, and continues: "No wonder people are tired of politics. Tired of a system that swings like a pendulum between two establishment parties. Tired of the same old politicians, the same old fake choices, the same old feeling that nothing ever changes. But this isn’t a story of indifference. People do care about issues. Climate change. Poverty. Their local school or hospital. There are marches and campaigns and petitions launched every day of the week. People care. They just don’t care about politicians".[21]

Clegg says that the Conservatives had been willing to "embrace negotiation and compromise", and continues, "We created a government which will govern, and govern well, for the next five years. Hold our nerve and we will have changed British politics for good. Hold our nerve and we will have changed Britain for good". He acknowledges that the budget deficit reduction programme, reducing the level of public debt incurred by the previous Labour government, represents "unsettling times", but states that it will be implemented "as fairly as possible", with the long-term goal of "wiping the slate clean for a new generation".[23]

The fifth Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, addressing the 2015 Federal (Autumn) Conference. He led the party from 2015 to 2017.

Farron tells the Federal Conference that, after the worst General Election defeat in 45 years, the party has now become more relevant than ever, with people on low incomes suffering a further fall in living standards, and business threatened by losing access to European markets after the forthcoming EU Referendum. He continues by saying, "Britain needs an opposition that is economically credible, radical, liberal. Britain needs an opposition that is passionate and socially just. Britain needs an opposition that is serious about power to make a difference, to improve all our lives. Under my leadership the Liberal Democrats will be that opposition, because if we do not do this, it is clear now that no one else will. The alternative will be years of a disastrous one-party monopoly".[24]

Conference votes that all party members attending Conference will be able to vote, starting with Spring Conference 2016. It also introduces one-member, one-vote of all party members for party committees, such as the Federal Executive, Federal Policy Committee and Federal Conference Committee, starting with the next round of elections at Autumn Conference 2016.[25]

The sixth Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable. He led the party from 2017 to 2019.

Cable continues by saying, "Anyone who doubts the relevance of the Liberal Democrats should reflect on the three great disasters perpetrated by the two main parties in recent years: the war in Iraq; the banking crisis; now Brexit. You may remember that the Labour government, egged on by the Conservative opposition, plunged this country into a disastrous, illegal war. It helped to fuel the jihadist movements which terrorise the Middle East, and our own country, and our allies, to this day. Then, the same government lost control of the economy. It allowed reckless and greedy bankers to run amok. Yet again, the Conservatives egged Labour on, demanding even less restraint." "The Liberal Democrats warned that it would end badly. And it did. An economy built on banking and property speculation was left dangerously exposed to the global financial crisis. And the baleful consequences are still with us: our economy continues to be dependent on the life support system of ultra-cheap money, which is now inflating a new credit bubble". He added: "Quite simply, Brexit Britain will be poorer and weaker than if we had decided to stay in Europe. Brexit was described by the Brexit Secretary himself as an operation of such technical complexity that it makes the moon landing look simple. "I have to say it is a pity that the Brexit landing is being managed by people who would struggle to get their heads around a toddlers’ Lego set".[29]

The aforementioned motion is, however, overwhelmingly amended to remove references to a so-called 'progressive alliance' and the debate over this is framed as a debate over standing aside for other parties by all involved with the voting body of conference resolving that the party should not stand aside for the Labour or Green parties due to their perceived illiberalism.

The party leader, Vince Cable, announces plans to create a registered supporters' scheme, to enable non-members to vote in leadership elections without needing to pay a join-up fee. He says that around 200,000 individuals who are not party members have volunteered for the party, and it is believed that giving them a say will help expand support for the party.[33]

"A narrow majority of voters, and only 37% of the electorate, voted to Leave. Facts change, and they have changed. We also now understand much better the scale of the cheating and lying, which went on to secure the result. Without a confirmatory referendum there will be no such thing as the ‘settled will of the people’: merely a feud without end. I remain astounded that some people claim a new referendum would be undemocratic. What is democracy if it is not the right for a country to change its mind?".[34]

The seventh Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, addressing members during the Conference Rally, on the first day of the 2019 Federal (Autumn) Conference. She led the party from July to December 2019.

After receiving a standing ovation, Jo Swinson talks of her early life before politics, how her father had been an inspiration and why the party's values became so important for her. She continues by talking about the importance of fighting for the "heart and soul of Britain", pledging to stop Brexit and stating that the country deserves "a better choice than an entitled Etonian or a 1970s socialist". To wide applause, she says that she is standing "as your candidate for Prime Minister", and that in the case that the party wins a majority of seats, it would revoke Article 50.[35]

Swinson also pledges that future government budgets would be based not only on GDP figures but on factors of national wellbeing, inspired by a model used by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern. She says that policies would be developed by gauging their long-term impact on a range of factors, such as life satisfaction, happiness, anxiety and the feeling of whether something had been worthwhile.[35]

Swinson also promises to set a target of net zero carbon emissions, to create a new Green Investment Bank and to use a different approach to tackling youth crime.[35]