The Liberal Democrats gathered for their annual Autumn Conference in Brighton on 14-17 September, with members buoyant following the historic success achieved at the last general election.
The Lib Dems won 72 seats in the House of Commons, the highest number of seats in more than a century and reclaimed the spot as the third-largest party in the chamber.
Party leader Ed Davey addressed members detailing the road to resurgence from one of the party’s most disappointing results in 2019 to the unprecedented success of July, and pledging the party would act as the constructive and responsible opposition to the new Labour government.
“Our recovery has been built through hard work, listening to and serving local people. And our future success will be built the exact same way. Not only has our strength in Parliament never been as great as it is now, but our role in British politics has never been clearer than it is today,” he said.
With the party stronger and more confident than ever, he rallied the call for members to not waste any time and get to work.
“Just imagine the liberal Britain we can create together. Where we invest in education and innovation. Where we get people off NHS waiting lists and into work. Where we make it easier to juggle work with caring commitments. Where we grow our economy and create new opportunities. Liberal Democrats: that is the country we can build together. That is the fair deal we are working towards. And now we have 72 brilliant MPs to fight for it," said Davey.
Conference approved a number of policy motions including new plans to fix the National Health Service (NHS), restore the UK’s role in international development, replace the first-past-of-the-post voting system with proportional representation, and restoring links with Europe for young people.
The latter includes proposals to give the youth more opportunities to live, study and work in Europe, take action on excessive roaming charges, negotiate passport and visa-free school trips, and exempting travellers from electronic travel authorisation schemes.
During the Conference, ALDE Party hosted a diplomatic and international reception, during which ALDE Party Vice President Sal Brinton delivered an address alongside Davey, the Lib Dems’ foreign affairs spokespersons in the two parliamentary chambers and the Ambassador of the EU to the UK.