
First up today is a wide-ranging motion on music covering things like AI, planning around music venues, support for music and the right to education in music. That last is so important. Playing an instrument or singing is such a good way of getting out of your own head and the links between musical tuition and attainment are clear.
Then it’s on to active travel – walking, wheeling and cycling with three amendments, one from the Lib Dem Disability Association looking at making active travel safe and accessible for disabled people from the start, one from Lib Dem Women looking at safety around routes to school and one on active travel routes for young people.
We can expect the number £72 million to be used a lot in the defending democracy paper. You’ll be shocked, I know, to see that our first ask is PR. Apparently we also want Lords Reform and Votes at 16. Who knew? But seriously, there’s a lot of good stuff there that looks at how we get from the mess we’re in to a genuinely democratic and liberal country. Three amendments raise issues around lobbying and transparency, forbidding MPs from forcing by-elections if they are under investigation (here’s looking at you, Nige) and regulation of AI generated content.
There’s a keynote speech from Daisy, an almost 3 hour long lunch break then Ed’s Q and A before more committee reports and the long awaited party strategy. There are four amendments to that highlighting key areas such as abuse in politics, whether or not we should do deals with Reform, and adopting radical social policies and reaching out to young people.
Here’s the full programme which you can watch on the Conference livestream.
09.30–10.15 F16 Policy Motion: Getting the Nation Walking,
Wheeling and Cycling
10.15–11.50 F17 Policy Motion: Defending Democracy
(Democracy Policy Paper)
11.50–12.05 F18 Speech: Daisy Cooper MP
12.05–14.55 Lunch break and fringe
14.55–15.45 F19 Question and Answer Session with
Sir Ed Davey MP, Leader of the Liberal
Democrats
15.45–16.30 F20 Report: Federal Board
F21 Report: Federal International Relations
Committee
F22 Report: Federal Council
F23 Report: Vice President
16.30–18.00 F24 Business Motion: Party Strategy – Turning
Electoral Breakthrough into Lasting Liberal Strength
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social