OPINION

Many Liberal Democrat members, not only Social Liberal Forum members, are deeply concerned by the contents of the Chancellor’s speech yesterday, and in particular its commitment to cuts in welfare spending. While we take comfort from the confirmation by the Liberal Democrat leadership that none of this has been agreed, the forthc

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The Social Liberal Forum has voted in a new top team to take it forward, appointing a new Director Prateek Buch, Political Director Martin Tod, and electing two Co-Chairs, Naomi Smith and Gareth Epps. Several of the team have been heavily involved in successful SLF campaigns including the Liberal Democrat campaign against the NHS Bill, and in taking forward progressive Liberal Democrat policies in a wide variety of areas. They will bring both dynamism and experience of political campaigning bo

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[Prateek] Buch says: "I was very disappointed with the way the conference committee chose to handle the issue, and as a result the debate the conference was allowed to have. We want to put down some clear markers, not have such a polarised choice."

Guardian article in full

This article relates to an amendment to Motion F23 at Liberal Democrat Conference September 2012, the text of which is available on page 18 here. In just a few days’ time Liberal Democrats will be invited to decide whether to endorse their Party’s unswerving support for George Osborne’s plan for the UK economy OR announce that they believe O

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In a sign that some activists want to see a shift in economic policy, one amendment calls on the party to "prioritise measures to boost demand through public and private investment, using all tools available to government, including the flexibility of its mandate over further spending cuts, beyond those already in place that would suppress confidence and demand yet further". It also asserts that spending cuts allied to monetary policy have failed to address the depressed state of th

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The left-leaning wing of the party – the Social Liberal Forum – has released a series of potential amendments and emergency motions for the party’s autumn conference. The list is an interesting indication of what the grassroots (the SLF likes to describe itself as the ‘soul’ of the Lib Dems) are most worried about. There’s an amendment from the irrepressible Lord Oakeshott, which adds a line to a motion due for debate on the Tuesday of the conference, called ‘Tackling Inequality at

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I have argued that such a political economy - based around the central idea that truly sustainable prosperity is co-produced by an empowering, enterprising state and a private sector more in tune with the needs of its host society - must form part of an economic Plan C. I cannot claim to have a single magic answer to our economic woes (none exists), but I do know that in clear contrast with Davi

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