Liberal Democrats Autumn Conference 2011 Birmingham Standard Form for Motions, Constitutional Amendments and Standing Orders Amendments Please fill in all sections on this form. Failure to complete them fully may result in your motion or amendment being invalidated. If you wish to submit more than one motion or amendment please use a copy. Motions and amendments may be submitted by a local, regional or state party, SAO or 10 conference reps. If submitted by a party or SAO, please fill in the box below; if by 10 representatives, attach names, addresses, local parties and signatures on a separate sheet. Please note: details of all 10 reps should be included on one form, we will not accept individual forms from individual reps. See the latter pages of this document for advice and information on submissions. Motions and amendments should be e-mailed with all the information required on this form to: motions@libdems.org.uk. Contact authorised to agree redrafting: Name: Address: Daytime telephone: Evening telephone: Mobile telephone: Email: Type of Motion/Amendment (please circle): Policy / Business Amendment to: If selected for debate, who will be the: Proposer? Summator? NB: Proposer and summator must submit speakers’ cards before the start of the debate. Submitting Organisation: Authorisation (please use block capitals):I, _____________________________________ (insert name),being _____________________________________ (insert office),of _____________________________________ (insert local party/SAO)certify that the motion/amendment below has been duly proposed by the above party/SAO at a general meeting or otherwise in accordance with its internal procedures. Signed: Ideally motions and amendments should be emailed to: motions@libdems.org.uk. If it is not possible to email your motion or amendment please send it to: Policy Projects Team, Liberal Democrats, 4 Cowley Street, London, SW1P 3NB. DEADLINE: 13.00 Wednesday 29 June 2011 Text of motion/amendment (please type, attached additional sheets as necessary). If the effect of your amendment may not be clear, please also submit a short explanation: Please note: Motions and amendments received by email will receive an automated acknowledgement. If you need any assistance please phone the Policy Unit on 020 7340 4908. Selection of motions and amendments will take place at the Federal Conference Committee’s meeting on Saturday 9 July. Motions drafting advice Federal Conference Committee invites any conference rep, local party or SAO who would like advice on a draft motion for conference to submit the draft by Wednesday 15 June to: motions.advice@libdems.org.uk. Conference Committee members will provide comments and advice (which will be about drafting only, and not political content). Accepting advice will not guarantee selection for the agenda, and declining to accept it will not necessarily mean that the motion will be refused. We hope you find this service helpful. How to write a better motion: 1. What does the Conference Committee look for when selecting motions for the Conference Agenda? In order to increase the chances of selection a motion must be easy to understand, logically argued and well presented. If the Conference Committee finds it difficult to understand the purpose of a motion or to follow the case it argues it is likely that Conference will also have problems. Equally, and this is harder for anyone drafting a motion to predict, the subject and policy implications of the motion should be in a subject area which is desirable for the Party to develop new policy or make its existing policies or achievements known. Other things being equal, a shorter motion usually has an advantage over a longer one. 2. What features will reduce the chances of a motion being chosen? Any motion which is unnecessarily long (i.e. a long shopping list of detailed points), uses too many words to convey its message, is incoherent or unclear in parts or seems to be making a speech (try reading it aloud) will reduce its chance of selection. Similarly if the motion says nothing new, restates existing policy, is on an area of policy which has recently been fully debated by Conference or is about to be subject of a policy paper debate, its chances of selection are reduced. 3. How should we go about deciding what our motion should be about and what it should say? It is useful for anyone drafting a motion to do it around the three Ps: · the Problem(s) which need to be solved; · the Principle(s) which underlie the solution; and · the Proposals which must be the heart of the motion. 4. How should it be written? Not everyone has the skills which enable spoken views to be translated into a motion which has clarity, coherence and style. You should try and find someone who has this skill - the ability to communicate a message as clearly and briefly as possible - perhaps your best Focus writer, a journalist, teacher or civil servant. 5. Useful words Relatively few words provide the introduction and links in a motion. The preamble or introduction should describe the problem being addressed by the motion, usually using words such as Conference “condemns”, “denounces” or “rejects”. The problem may be linked to a “failure”, usually of the government. The motion can then “reaffirm”, “recognise”, “declare” or just list the principles that apply. Proposals are usually introduced by “affirms”, “believes”, “calls for”, “recommends”, “proposes”, “urges”, “demands”, “insists”, or “resolves”. 6. Sample motion The following is an example of a relatively well drafted motion on World Trade from the Autumn 2008 Conference: Collapse of World Trade Negotiations Conference notes the collapse of talks amongst trade ministers on 29 July, which seem likely to mark the end of attempts to reach a conclusion to the WTO Doha Round of trade negotiations. Conference further notes that the failure to reach agreement was largely due to the inflexibility of developed countries, in particular the US, in negotiating over safeguards mechanisms for developing countries. While regretting the failure of the Doha Round to reach a successful conclusion, conference also recognises that the international trading system overseen by the WTO is insufficiently sensitive both to the needs of developing countries (particularly the poorest) and to the urgent need to integrate environmental costs and benefits into economic decisions. Conference therefore calls for a fundamental reappraisal of the role of the WTO and its trade agreements in promoting environmentally sustainable development, including, if necessary, the launch of a new and more development- and environment-friendly set of negotiations. Conference further calls for specific actions to promote environmentally sustainable development, including: 1. Developed countries to proceed with the reductions in agricultural subsidies they had offered during the negotiations. 2. Much greater investment in ‘aid for trade’ assistance to the poorest developing countries, helping them to open up their economies to international trade without suffering excessive disruption. 3. The establishment of an International Leapfrog Fund to facilitate the development of low-carbon technologies, energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in developing countries, and of a new UN Adaptation Fund, helping poor countries adapt to the impacts of climate change. 4. Urgent action to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals by the target date of 2015.