Apply for a New Working Group
The Federal Policy Committee regularly sets up new policy working groups. It is seeking applications from party members who wish to serve on the Empowering Consumers policy working group.
This is a real opportunity to help shape the party’s policies. The working groups will take evidence and prepare policy proposals to submit to Spring Conference 2027. Working group members are expected to attend meetings (in person or remotely), input their ideas for policy, and play a role in drafting the policy paper. The position is voluntary. The deadline for applications is 15:00 on 27th February 2026. You can find out how working groups are selected here.
The working group open to applications is:
Empowering Consumers
People often feel powerless in the face of not only public services, but also utility companies, arms-length government bodies and many large businesses. They don’t feel able to hold them to account, and too often don’t see anyone else doing it effectively on their behalf
A new cross-cutting, thematic working group will develop concrete policies to deliver on our liberal promise to put real power in people’s hands and hold the already powerful properly to account.
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Working groups normally contain about 15-20 party members. In recent years we have been very glad to receive a large number of applications to be on policy working groups; typically between 100 and 200 for each group. In a context therefore where up to 90% of applicants may not end up on the working group, we are understandably looking for people with a strong level of understanding of the policy area concerned, including through lived experience, rather than simply more general support for it.
Applicants are asked to answer four substantive questions, about their party experience; any experience in the policy field under discussion; their views on some of the key questions; and anything else they would like to say.
At the start of the working group process, FPC has usually at least two full discussions of the policy area and the group’s remit, and areas of knowledge or experience it would particularly like to see reflected in the working group’s membership. With this guidance in mind, all applications are then read by an FPC sub-group comprising two vice chairs of the committee and three other members of the committee, along with policy unit staff. They review all applications individually and meet together to then recommend a working group to FPC.
In creating the working group, the central concept is ‘balance’. Balance between different areas of knowledge within the working group’s scope, and between contrasting views on the main areas of difference of view. If leading members of any relevant party AOs have applied, this would normally be reflected in the group’s membership. There is also a very strong emphasis on balance of a range of demographic factors, including gender, age, geography, LGBTI status, ethnicity and socio-economic background. A balance between specialist policy knowledge and lived experience of the area concerned will also be sought.
Clearly, balancing all these areas into a group of about 15-20 members requires some difficult trade-offs, and the selection of those who are appointed will reflect this rather than be a judgement that an applicant does not have any useful experience or insight to bring this area. Our policy process does also offer a range of other ways for those not part of the group to contribute to the final outcome, through a range of formal and informal consultation mechanisms as well as the final debate at Conference.
If you have any questions about the process, please email Alexander Payne alexander.payne@libdems.org.uk
