Federal Conference Committee - Post Meeting Report

The newly elected Federal Conference Committee (FCC) met on the evening 8 December, following the most recent round of Federal Elections. 

I would like to begin by offering warm congratulations to all newly elected and re-elected members of the Committee. I look forward to working with you over the coming years. I also extend commiserations to those who were not not successful on this occasion, and a heartfelt thank you to members who were not re-elected or who chose to stand down. Their contribution to delivering our conferences over the last term has been exceptional. 

The new FCC members are: 

Directly elected: Chris Adams, Jess Brown-Fuller, Nick da Costa, Gareth Epps, Alison Jenner, Eleanor Kelly, Chris Maines, Shaffaq Mohammed, Kath Pinnock, Jennie Rigg, Callum Robertson, Sarah Teather.  

The Party President: Mark Pack (Josh Babarinde from 1 Jan)

Wendy Chamberlain (as Chief Whip of the Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons)

English Representative: Darryl Smalley (Dionne Daniel from 1 Jan)

Scottish Representative: Fraser Graham (Scottish Rep elections currently underway)

Welsh Representative: Matthew Palmer (Chloe Hutchinson from 1 Jan)

YL Representative: Leo Dempster

Federal Board Representative: vacant

Federal Policy Committee Representatives: Duncan Brack & Alex Brewer

FCEC Representative: vacant 

FPDC Representative: Charley Hasted

Election of Officers

The Committee confirmed its officers for the new term. I am delighted to have been re-elected as Chair of the Federal Conference Committee. 

We also elected two Vice Chairs: 

• Chris Adams: responsible for the General Purposes Subcommittee (GPSC)
• Eleanor Kelly: responsible for the Conference Communications Group (CCG)

I look forward to working closely with Chris and Eleanor in the team ahead. 

General Purposes Subcommittee (GPSC)

The GPSC is responsible for the initial consideration of many organisational matters before they come to the FCC. Working in collaboration with the Conference Team, the GPSC will consider:

• Future venue options for Federal Conference,
• Conference registration rates, 
• Party body rates, and recognition of bodies eligible for concessionary rates,
• Conference stewards, including reports from the Chief Steward,
• Conference finances and future conference budgets,
• Access-related matters, 

Conference Communications Group (CCG)

The CCG bring recommendations to FCC based on work covering:

• FCC communications with members and conference attendees, 
• Marketing of Conference to members, 
• Encouraging participation, diversity, and outreach
• Accessibility of conference materials. 

Subcommittee membership

We confirmed the membership of both the GPSC and CCG. These groups will each meet in the new year to review and refine their work plans for the term of office, which will then return to the FCC for further discussion. 

Constitutional & Standing Orders Working Group

The FCC re-established the Constitutional and Standing Orders Working Group, chaired by Duncan Brack. The group will lead on any updates required to Conference Standing Orders (and subsequently to the Party Constitution) arising from operational changes or procedural review. 

Engagement with Party Bodies 

Previously, the FCC appointed link persons to engage with the Party’s AOs. With the number of AOs now increased to 23 (previously 9), the committee agreed instead to nominate individuals to engage with the Party Bodies Forum. Those nominated are: myself as Chair, Eleanor Kelly (Vice Chair) and Charley Hasted as the FPDC Rep on the FCC. 

Presentations from HQ Teams

We received presentations and introductions from colleagues at Party HQ whose work is vital to the success of Federal Conference, including the Conference, Policy, Advisors, and Media Teams. 

Chief Steward

We also welcomed Jodie Frapple, the new Federal Conference Chief Steward, who has now been co-opted onto both the FCC and GPSC. Jodie outlined the new stewarding structure and approach, and we are very pleased to have her expertise on board. 

Link Person for Access

We appointed Sarah Teather and Charley Hasted as our Link People for Access. This role, first created in the last FCC term, has worked on improving support for members with access requirements. The role includes leading on accessibility matters at Conference, regular member engagement, chairing the Access Forum at Autumn Conference (with the Vice Chair GPSC also attending), and regular engagement with the LDDA. 

We also note the amazing work of our Access Steward, which further enhances the work we are doing on access matters. 

Conference Venues Update

We received an update from the Conference Team on the ongoing future venues for both Spring and Autumn Conference. For reference, I have included below the paper I published last year outlining our venue search approach, some of the challenges, and the criteria used in evaluating potential locations. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PxKLps8tzU32-gahoRVp6Ze7fjBbpxESUgqPthIuu-k/edit?usp=sharingv 

Spring Conference, York March 2026

Spring Conference in York is approaching quickly. The January FCC meeting will be our agenda selection meeting. 

A reminder that Drafting Advice Service is open until 17 December for members considering submitting motions for Spring Conference. 

Drafting advice is available at: https://www.libdems.org.uk/conference/submissions

Nick da Costa

Chair, Federal Conference Committee