Federal Council meeting report – June 2026

The Federal Council met online on Tuesday 9 June 2026. The Council is responsible for scrutinising the work of the Federal Board, including ensuring that decisions are taken in line with the party strategy agreed by Conference, and for considering any Federal Board decisions which are ‘called in’ by members of the Council.

Question and answer session with the Party President
The main item of the meeting was a question and answer session with Josh Babarinde MP, President of the Party and Chair of the Federal Board. Josh set out his three main priorities: raising the party’s voice in the media, promoting diversity within the party, and the review of the party’s strategy.

Members raised a wide range of issues in the session that followed. These included the timeline for implementing the positive action measures agreed by Conference, and the party’s social media and communications strategy, including the need for clear, simple external messaging. Members also asked about membership numbers and the party’s gender balance, and the work being done to support more women into elected office. Several questions covered the importance of tackling misogyny and discrimination within the party, including calls for comprehensive training on protected characteristics and better use of impact assessments in decision-making. The party’s electoral performance in urban areas, including the challenge posed by other parties, was also discussed.

Josh responded to each area and committed to taking a number of points away for further work with the Federal Board and relevant federal committees. He invited members to continue to feed in specific, tangible suggestions. 

Called-in Federal Board decisions
The Council considered two decisions of the Federal Board which had been called in by members of the Council. 

The first concerned the process for the appointment of the Chair of the Racial Diversity Campaign. Members raised concerns about how the process had been run. A proposal to reject the Federal Board’s decision was not taken forward, and the Council instead asked the President to take on board the process points raised, and to ensure that lessons learned - including feedback from applicants - are built into future appointment processes.

The second concerned the timetable set by the Federal Board for the development of the new Federal Party Strategy, including the deadline of 24 June for submission of the strategy motion to the Federal Conference Committee for debate at Autumn Conference. Members expressed significant concerns about the length of the consultation period and the opportunities for members and federal committees to shape the strategy. A vote was taken on whether to overturn the Federal Board’s decision. The proposal received the support of a majority of those voting, but did not reach the threshold of 27 votes of the full Council membership required by the Federal Constitution. The President committed to ensuring that the consultation over the summer is meaningful and extensive, that the strategy motion will be fully amendable at Conference, and to taking the Council’s feedback back to the Federal Board.

Other business
Due to time constraints, the Council’s forward plan was deferred, with members invited to submit written comments. A report of the meeting will be circulated to Federal Council members for comment before publication, as required by the Constitution.

Councillor Tim Pickstone, Chair of the Federal Council