Conference Daily
Autumn Conference, Brighton Monday 21 September
Information from the Federal Conference Committee for Monday 21 September. Please read in conjunction with the Agenda & Directory and Conference Extra.

Timetable and Contents
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If no page number is indicated next to a session or item of business, there are no changes or additional information to that in the Conference Agenda & Directory or Conference Extra.
Please note that timings are approximate only. Some items of business may occur earlier than indicated. Members wishing to speak are requested to submit a speaker's card as soon as possible.

Report back for Sunday 20 September

F15	Policy Motion: Making Music Matter F16	Policy Motion: Getting the Nation
Walking, Wheeling and Cycling
F17	Policy Motion: Defending Democracy
(Democracy Policy Paper)


F20	Report: Federal Board
F21	Report: Federal International Relations Committee
F22	Report: Federal Council F23	Report: Vice President
F24	Business Motion: Party Strategy Turning Electoral Breakthrough into Lasting Liberal Strength

Passed (Amendments One and Two passed) Passed (Amendments One, Two and
Three passed)
      Passed (Amendments One, Two and Three passed). Conference voted to delete the words from 'with a Royal Commission' to '...corporate donations.' in lines 62-64
Approved

Approved Approved Approved
Passed (Amendments One, Two, Three and Four passed)






Speaking and Voting at Conference
Applying to speak
To make a speech in a debate you must:
• complete a speaker's card, collected from and returned to the Speakers' Table at the front of the auditorium, an auditorium steward or the Information Desk; or
• submit an electronic speaker's card up to one hour before the start of the debate, online at:
www.libdems.org.uk/speakers-card



Completing a speaker's card
When completing a speaker's card, remember:
1 Submit your card well in advance.
The chair and aide team for the debate will meet well in advance to plan the debate - sometimes the previous day.
2 Fill in your card completely.
Complete the back of the card as well as the front. These sections are needed for the chair and aide to balance the debate, so they can call people with relevant experience and avoid a string of people making the same point.
3 Make sure it's readable!
Don't fill every square centimetre of the card, and write legibly - the easier you make it for the chair and aide to read the card the more likely you will be called.






Monday 21 September
F25	A Fair Shot: Reforming Recruitment
Chair: Dr Chris Adams (Vice Chair, Federal Conference Committee); Hall Aide: Cllr Lucy Nethsingha
Amendment One
LDDA
Mover:	Katharine Macy Summation:	To be announced
After line 16 insert new E.:
E. There is a disability employment gap of roughly 29.4 percentage points, meaning approximately 5 million working-age disabled people are not currently employed.
After line 57, insert new 6. and 7.:
6. Introduce 'Adjustment Passports' to record the adjustments, modifications and equipment a disabled person has received, and ensure that Access to Work support and equipment stays with the person if they change jobs.
7. Implement a targeted strategy to support disabled people into work, with a Jobs Guarantee for unemployed disabled people and specialist disability employment support.

Amendment Two
10 members
Mover:	Cllr Laura Gordon Summation:	To be announced
After line 16 insert new E.:
E.	There is evidence that unconscious bias in hiring processes can disadvantage women and those with names suggesting that they are from an ethnic minority.
In line 32 after 'code' insert' provides for name-blind recruitment and...'
Background briefing

This motion develops new policies on business and fair hiring processes. It

builds on existing policy as set out in the 2024 General Election Manifesto, For a Fair Deal, and policy motion Backing Hospitality for Growth and Jobs (2025).

F26	Introducing Anti-SLAPP legislation
Summation: Ben Maguire MP (Shadow Attorney General)
Background briefing
This motion develops new policies on protected speech and access to justice. This motion also develops new policy on public and private law proceedings. It builds on existing policy as set out in the 2024 General Election Manifesto, For a Fair Deal, and policy motion Improving Access to Justice (2025).

F27	Patient-Centred, Accessible and Preventive: A Liberal Vision for Primary Health Care (Primary Healthcare Policy Paper)
Amendment One
West Suffolk
Mover:	Andy McGowan Summation:	Cllr Ellen Nicholson
After line 5 insert 'Conference further recognises that NHS primary healthcare has a crucial role to play in the early identification and support for unpaid carers'.
In line 45 after 'cleared' insert '...,and recognise that health conditions do not just impact the person with the condition, but also family members and unpaid carers'.
After line 61, insert new iv):
iv) Unpaid carers consistently reported poorer experiences of general practices than non-carers, with this variation being particularly marked for young adult carers and for Asian and Asian British carers.
After line 129, insert new 7.:
7. Improve the identification, involvement and support for unpaid carers through primary care, including through reforms to the NHS GP Contract and ensuring that unpaid carers are proactively included within developing neighbourhood health models.

Amendment Two
14 members
Mover:	Piers Allen Summation:	 Cllr Dr Mohsin Khan
After line 21 insert:
Conference also notes the Government's commitment to developing neighbourhood health services and welcomes the opportunity to strengthen community-based care, improve outcomes and reduce health inequalities.
After line 54 insert:
Conference also believes that neighbourhood health services should bring together primary care, community services, mental health services, social care, public health, housing and voluntary organisations around the needs of local populations, with a stronger emphasis on prevention, early intervention and supporting independence; neighbourhood health offers promising opportunities to support early diagnosis of cancer and other conditions, through better targeting of care to local populations and improved access to GP services and diagnostics; Primary Care and neighbourhood health services should also be in full alignment with public health action on smoking and smoking cessation services.
Conference calls for:
i) Strengthened place-based leadership and local/regional democratic accountability in Neighbourhood Health services.
ii) Funding arrangements that encourage collaboration and investment in prevention.
iii) Greater involvement of patients, service users, carers and local communities in designing neighbourhood health services.
iv) Neighbourhood-level approaches to reducing health inequalities.
v) More consistent delivery of neighbourhood health services across neighbourhoods.
vi) Embedding cancer care in the planning of neighbourhood health services.
vii) Investment in the primary care workforce, including measures to

address GP shortages and regional disparities in GP-to-patient ratios, recognising the vital role of primary care in prevention, early diagnosis and timely referral.
viii) Sufficient support for primary care in the delivery of weight management services, including sufficient resources and capacity to manage any increased workload and deliver robust follow-up and wraparound care, alongside the training necessary to manage weight-related patient care and treatment pathways.

Amendment Three
Young Liberals
Mover:	Abrial Jerram Summation:	To be announced
After line 54 insert new e):
e)	Ensure access to clinically appropriate continuing treatment depends only on clinical need, rather than where a patient lives or how their diagnosis was funded.
In line 86 delete 'improving shared care' and insert 'guaranteeing access to shared care wherever clinically appropriate'.
After line 102 insert new e):
e)	Establishing a national shared care protocol, with local NHS commissioners required to ensure that where a patient's GP practice does not provide shared care, access is arranged through another commissioned provider or an ICB-funded fallback service.

Amendment Four
12 members
Mover:	Ben Maguire MP Summation:	To be announced
After line 129 insert:
Conference additionally calls for a walk-in urgent dental centre or 'dental A&E' in every community to provide urgent dental care to anyone with

unmet treatment needs seven days a week so that nobody goes without care.
Background briefing
This motion and the accompanying policy paper develops policies on general practice, pharmacy, dentistry, and optometrics. It builds on existing policy as set out in the 2024 General Election Manifesto, For a Fair Deal, policy paper 137, Save the NHS and Social Care by Stopping Brexit, and policy motion Access to Dental Services (2023).

F29	Supporting People to Age Well
Hall Aide: Jennie Rigg Amendment One West Suffolk
Mover:	Andy McGowan
Summation:	Jacqueline Bell
At end of line 30 insert: '..., with 23 per cent of carers over the age of 75 providing 50 or more hours of care each week.'
After line 30 insert new IX. and X.:
IX. One in five unpaid carers of state pension age live in poverty, a figure that is 54% higher than for non-carers in the same age group.
X. The Better Care Fund is a key source of health and social care funding to support older people, including carers, yet there are significant variations in how local systems are using this funding to support these groups of people.
After line 43, insert new iii) and iv):
iii) Unpaid carers should not live in poverty because of a lack of financial support for carers in receipt of a state pension, when many find themselves providing increased levels of care.
iv) Improving health and care outcomes for older people, including carers, needs to be considered a shared responsibility across health and social care services.
After line 120, insert new 11. and 12.:

11. Set out measures to secure requirements for pooled funding across health and social care and improve accountability around how schemes such as the Better Care Fund are supporting older people, including carers.
12. Improve financial support for older unpaid carers including through reforming the rules around Carer's Allowance eligibility for carers in receipt of a state pension.

Amendment Two
Kingston Borough
Mover:	Cllr Brian Austen Summation:	Mary Reid
After line 30 insert new IX.:
IX. According to a 2025 CQC survey of UK dementia care homes, key indicators of resident satisfaction include respect for individual backgrounds, integrity, independence and social needs. Good practice can be found in De Hogeweyk in the Netherlands, where residents live in small households and can use shared gardens, shops, restaurants and social facilities in a safe neighbourhood, with support adapted to their individual lifestyles and preferences. A similar approach, the Eden Alternative, was also piloted in the UK in Kingston upon Thames.
After line 120 insert new 11.:
11. Establish and independently evaluate pilots of community-integrated dementia care villages, such as the De Hogeweyk model in the Netherlands, providing small, domestic-scale homes in safe neighbourhoods where residents can exercise meaningful choice over daily life and move freely between shared gardens and community facilities.
Background briefing
This motion develops new policies on frailty and healthcare for older people. It builds on existing policy as set out in the 2024 General Election Manifesto, For a Fair Deal, policy paper 137, Save the NHS and Social Care by Stopping Brexit, and policy motion Our Plan to Save the NHS (2024).

F30	Speech by Jane Dodds MS (Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats)
Aide: Cllr Gareth Epps

F31	Stopping Violence Against Women and Girls in the Digital Age Amendment One
11 members
Mover:	Wera Hobhouse MP Summation:	To be announced
After line 18 insert new G.:
G. The worrying rise in covert filming of women and girls, with footage often shared online for profit and engagement - a trend further enabled by smartglasses, with one analysis finding 60% of covert point-of-view Instagram content contained behaviour amounting to harassment.
After line 67 insert new 8. and 9.:
8. Tighten voyeurism laws to make clear that sexualised, covert filming (including using smartglasses) and posting footage online, sometimes for profit, is a criminal offence, and force platforms to take this content down immediately.
9. Introduce a statutory duty on manufacturers to equip smartglasses with a visible indicator when recording and make it a criminal offence to disable, obscure, remove, or otherwise tamper with that indicator, or to manufacture, supply, or advertise any product or service designed to do so.

Amendment Two
Young Liberals
Mover:	Sarah Anderson Summation:	Elin Kingston
After line 44 insert new F.:
F. Providers of Generative AI systems and online platforms must take

responsibility for preventing their services from enabling the creation or distribution of non-consensual sexually explicit content.
After line 67 insert new 8. and 9.:
8. Require providers of generative AI image and video tools to undertake continuous abusability testing starting pre-release and take any reasonable safety-by-design steps to prevent their systems being used to create non-consensual sexually explicit content.
9. Require AI providers to attach, and online platforms to preserve and display, durable and interoperable provenance information on AI- generated or edited sexually explicit content, with deliberate tampering being considered an aggravating factor in sentencing for related offences.
Background briefing
This motion develops new policies protecting women and girls from online abuse. It builds on existing policy as set out in the 2024 General Election Manifesto, For a Fair Deal, and policy motion Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (2021).

F32	Parliamentary Parties Report Q1. Alex Wagner
What work are Parliamentarians doing to support Lib Dem colleagues in local government?

Q2. Tom Dainty
What is the Parliamentary party doing to ensure Lib Dems are seen as advocating for rural Britain given Andy Burnham's focus on urban areas?

Q3. Chris Bentley
How are Parliamentarians using social media to ensure Lib Dem work in Parliament reaches as many people as possible?

Q4. Toby Davis
We've just changed Prime Minister. How will the Commons and Lords parliamentary parties change their approach in response?

Q5. Edward Molyneux
Over the last couple of years, we've acquired a number of new peers. How are they getting on?

Q6. Sarah Dobson
What's a Lib Dem win from the last twelve months that hasn't been talked about enough? In the Commons and the Lords.

Q7. Tom Dainty
How will Parliamentarians ensure their work supports local parties and candidates as we approach the general election?

Q8. Stamatis Mavroudi-Tayler
The Conservatives caused widespread regression in schools. How will you campaign for a more inclusive, holistic and fundamentally liberal approach to education?

Q9. Sir Simon Hughes
Are all our MPs required to have constituency and Commons office phone numbers and emails published on all official and party websites, and messages collected daily?

Q10. Stamatis Mavroudi-Tayler
How will you stand up for an open Internet with a right to anonymity, in order to protect whistleblowing and journalistic freedom?

Q11. Rebecca Jones
How does the parliamentary party intend to work with our diversity AOs, like Lib Dem Women, to support our parliamentarians in their work?

Q12. Sir Simon Hughes
Are all views on abortion and end of life matters and gender critical beliefs protected as matters of conscience for all LD parliamentarians?

Q13. Zoe Hollowood
Would the Party like to change the Equality Act 2010 regarding the protected characteristics of sex and gender reassignment and if so what changes would it like to see?

Q14. Zoe Hollowood
As a Party that prides itself on evidenced-based decision-making, is the Party concerned that several gender clinics in the UK refused to cooperate with the Cass Review on the data linkage study? This data linkage study was aimed at collecting and analysing evidence about the medium term outcomes for different treatment pathways for those with gender dysphoria. Does the Party think it is important to conduct and complete this data linkage study?

Q15. Mark Johnston
Does the Parliamentary Party consider that Lib Dem-led local councils must act lawfully in fulfilment of their duties under the Equality Act and in particular, for the purposes of that act, must ensure that sex refers to biological sex? What are the electoral risks for the party at all levels of not doing so?

Q16. Suzanne Fletcher
We have policy on stopping 'small boats', including presettlement scheme; using Humanitarian Visas; Reuniting unaccompanied children in Europe with family in UK. Could they be mentioned in future?

Q17. Suzanne Fletcher
We have policy on Alternatives to Immigration Detention, saving money, being humane. Can they be used by the party?

17.10 Policy motion
F33A	Restoring Trans Rights
LGBT+ Lib Dems
Mover:	Artie Khovanov Summation:	Jennie Rigg
Conference notes with concern:
I. On 5 August 2026, the Equality and Human Rights Commission's (EHRC's) updated Code of Practice came into force, which:
a) Bars trans people from facilities aligned with their lived gender and, in some cases, also those aligned with their assigned sex.
b) Suggests 'policing' gender non-conforming people for how they look.
II. Between 2020 and 2025, recorded hate crimes against trans people increased by 50 per cent.
III. Support groups report increased harassment of gender non- conforming women in women's facilities.
IV. The Chair of the EHRC, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, was appointed by the Government against the advice of the Women and Equalities Committee and the Joint Committee on Human Rights.
Conference believes:
A. Trans women are women, trans men are men, and everyone deserves to live in safety and with dignity.
B. The rights of women and of trans people are not in competition; both are essential to a fair society.
C. The Code of Practice is discriminatory and unworkable, and places an undue burden on service providers.

Conference reaffirms its commitment to reforming the Gender Recognition Act to remove the requirement for medical reports, end the spousal veto, and recognise non-binary people in law.
Conference calls for:
1. Parliament to appoint a dedicated cross-party committee to review how the law should better protect trans people's rights, taking evidence from impacted groups, including trans people, and proposing amendments to legislation where necessary.
2. The EHRC to issue a new Code of Practice that is inclusive, workable and ensures everybody can safely access public facilities and providers are protected from legal risk.
3. The EHRC to monitor the impact of any Code of Practice it produces, and update it should evidence demonstrate that it is unworkable, harmful or discriminatory.
4. Future appointments of the EHRC Chair to be subject to a confirmatory vote by the Women and Equalities Committee.
Applicability: Federal.
Mover: 5 minutes; all other speakers: 3 minutes.
Background briefing
This motion updates and develops policy on LGBT+ rights and equalities. It builds on existing policy proposals as set out in the 2024 General Election Manifesto, For a Fair Deal, and policy motion, Free To Be Who You Are (2025).

17.40 Policy motion
F33B	Britain's Wildfire Crisis
Young Liberals
Mover:	Pippa Heylings MP (Spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Summation:	Abrial Jerram Conference notes with alarm:
A. The Met Office confirmed that Summer 2026 was the UK's hottest on record, with five widespread heatwaves, 40 days of temperatures

above 30°C and the most wildfires ever recorded.
B. England and Wales each recorded their driest July on record in 2026.
C. Fire and rescue services attended 458 wildfires in England and Wales in July, the highest in any month on record.
D. The wildfire at Dunwich Heath devastated 90% of its nationally important ancient heathland, burning underground seedbanks vital for regrowth, whilst 19 houses in Stourbridge were destroyed in August, with major incidents elsewhere destroying homes and forcing evacuations.
E. Recent analysis by Ordnance Survey found that 1.8 million homes in Britain are exposed to increasing risk from wildfires which are no longer confined to remote areas.
F. The Climate Change Committee's May 2026 Report, 'A Well Adapted UK', warns that by 2050, the number of high fire risk days could double compared to the late-20th-century average and the wildfire season will extend into late summer and early autumn.
G. The Government is belatedly convening a wildfire summit but has failed to publish a Wildfire Action Plan for England despite repeated warnings from fire and rescue services about escalating risk.
Conference thanks firefighters, control-room staff, land managers, volunteers, armed forces personnel and communities who responded to this summer's fires and heatwaves with extraordinary dedication and selflessness.
Conference believes that:
i) Climate change is making the hot, dry conditions in which severe wildfires spread, more frequent and intense, and that this summer's disasters are a direct consequence of decades of inadequate climate action.
ii) Emergency responses, long-term adaptation and rapid reductions in greenhouse gases are all necessary and that we must reject any false choice between them.
iii) One-off emergency measures must be replaced with sustained investment in prevention, resilience and a just transition.
iv) Nature-based solutions including peatland restoration, rewetting and

sustainable land management are essential tools for reducing wildfire risk.
Conference reaffirms the Liberal Democrat commitment to net zero by 2050 and to a comprehensive UK climate resilience and adaptation strategy.
Conference calls on the Government to:
1. Publish and fund a Wildfire Action Plan for England by spring 2027, with clear, measurable targets.
2. Establish permanent, nationally deployable specialist wildfire capability with common training and modern equipment including off-road vehicles, drones, water carriers and high-volume pumps, along with aerial support as necessary.
3. Require fire and rescue authorities in high-risk areas to maintain multi-agency wildfire plans which take account of access routes, water sources, vulnerable communities and evacuation arrangements.
4. Increase the farming budget by £1 billion and develop a wildfire prevention plan to allow for evidence-based land management and nature-based solutions, such as peatland restoration, rewetting, farm reservoirs, grazing, removal of excess vegetation and firebreaks.
5. Develop a wildfire danger-rating system along with proportionate temporary restrictions when risk is very high or extreme, such as on the use and sale of disposable barbecues and the use of fireworks.
Applicability: England.
Mover: 5 minutes; all other speakers: 3 minutes.
Background briefing
This motion develops new policies on wildfires and emergency services.

Fringe Monday early lunchtime 12.15-13.15
The following fringe session is additional to those listed in the Directory:
The Good Growth Foundation and The Premier League
Stadiums as Civic Anchors: how major sports venues can unlock good growth
How can stadium regeneration unlock new jobs, homes, transport links and revitalise communities? Join Good Growth Foundation and the Premier League to discuss the role of football in place-based regeneration.
The Grand, Regent Room



Fringe Monday late lunchtime 13.45-14.45
The following fringe sessions have been amended:
EU Delegation
EU Ambassador's Reception
Reception hosted by the Ambassador of the European Union to the United Kingdom. Speakers: Calum Miller MP, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson; Al Pinkerton MP, Jukka Salovaara, Ambassador, Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom. Chair: Ian Bond, Deputy Director, Centre for European Reform. For information and to register, please email delegation-united-kingdom-political@eeas.europa.eu
The Grand, Alexandra Room

British Future
A Decade After the Brexit Vote: How Close Should the UK Get to Europe Now?
10 years on from 2016, what future relationship with the EU would UK voters support now? Sharing new British Future research, we explore public attitudes around rejoining, the single market, free movement, or closer cooperation on key issues. With speakers: Max Wilkinson MP - Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson and MP for Cheltenham, Manuela Perteghella MP - Liberal Democrat MP for Stratford-on-Avon, Lord Pack - Liberal Democrat peer and Chair of the Federal Elections and Communications Committee, Sunder Katwala - Director, British Future, Heather Rolfe - Director of Research and Relationships, British Future (Chair)
The Grand, The Pavilion



Fringe Monday early evening 18.15-19.15
The following fringe session has been cancelled:
UK BioIndustry Association
Health data for good: Improving local health through innovation
DoubleTree by Hilton, Gloucester Room


The following fringe sessions have been amended:
Smith Institute
Are we ready for climate change?
Pippa Heylings MP (Energy Security/Net Zero spokesperson), Wera Hobhouse MP, Clare Young MP, Cllr Martin Horwood, Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, Gideon Amos MP (chair).
The Grand, Empress Room

Royal Institute Of British Architects
NHBC & RIBA drinks reception - Delivering better homes and place
Hosted by the NHBC and RIBA, this reception brings together parliamentarians, local government leaders, built environment professionals and industry stakeholders to discuss how we can deliver high quality homes and create places people want to live in. Speakers include: Gideon Amos MP - MP for Taunton and Wellington, Spokesperson for Housing and Communities, Wera Hobhouse - MP for Bath.
The Grand, Regent Room


Channel 4 (18.00 onwards)
UK Public Service Broadcasters Reception
Join Channel 4, BBC, ITV, Channel 5, S4C, STV, and MG ALBA to celebrate how they deliver high-quality, home-grown content that reflects the whole of the UK and brings audiences together.
Riddle and Finns, The Beach
Invitation only



Fringe Monday early evening 18.15-19.15 contd.

The New Statesman
New Statesman's Let's Celebrate Towns Reception at Liberal Democrat Party Conference in association with Visa and Nationwide Building Society
This exclusive reception will bring together policymakers, businesses and local leaders to discuss how we can support successful, vibrant towns across the UK.
https://nsmg.eventsonlineregister.com/events/new-statesmans-lets-  celebrate-towns-reception-at-liberal-democrat-party-conference/ 126995/directcheckout
The Grand, Cyan Restaurant and Terrace


Fringe Monday mid evening 19.45-21.00
The following fringe session has been amended:
Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform
UK Democracy on the Brink - and How To Save It.
The UK faces a democratic emergency. Trump's actions in the US show how vulnerable democracies are to unprincipled populist politicians. Could UK democracy survive a similar onslaught? Join Lisa Smart MP, Lord Pack and Christina Pagel (www.TrumpActionTracker.info) to discuss how to respond to this threat. Tom Brake (Unlock Democracy) chairs.
www.lder.org
Brighton Centre, Meeting Room 1B


More in Common
Brexit, Trump, and Britain on the World Stage
Join foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller MP to discuss how voters want the party to approach Britain's role on the world stage. Using exclusive polling, this session will explore issues ranging from Brexit's legacy to relations with President Trump's administration.
Brighton Centre, Meeting Room 1C