English Liberal Democrats

Last updated

English Liberal Democrats
ChairLucas North
Founded1988
Headquarters1 Vincent Square,
London,
SW1P 2PN
Youth wing English Young Liberals
Ideology Liberalism
Social liberalism [1]
Classical liberalism [2] [3]
Pro-Europeanism [4] [5]
Political position Centre to centre-left
National affiliation Liberal Democrats
European affiliation Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
International affiliation Liberal International
ColoursYellow [6]
House of Commons (English Seats)
65 / 543
[7]
London Assembly
2 / 25
Local government in England [8]
2,639 / 17,728
Website
www.englishlibdems.org.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The English Liberal Democrats, officially the Liberal Democrats in England, is the state party within the Liberal Democrats that operates in England. It is a federation of the eleven regional parties in England and the English branch of the youth and student organisation. The regions are further divided into local parties. The party currently holds 65 of the English seats in the House of Commons and two seats on the London Assembly. [9]

Contents

Organisation

English Council

The English Council is the sovereign body of the English party. It consists of the chairs of regional parties, representatives elected by regional party members, and representatives of the organisation representing youth and student members within the English party. The Council meets three times a year and elects the English Council Executive. [10] [11] [12]

English Council Executive

The English Council Executive manages the running of the English party between English Council Meetings. The English Council Executive consists of the Chairs of the 11 English regional parties, 12 members directly elected from the English Council, the English Young Liberals Chair. The English Representatives to federal bodies also attend. The English Council Executive meets 6 times a year.

The English Council Executive has four sub-committees; A Finance and Administration Sub-Committee which is chaired by a Treasurer manages the finances of the English party, the Regional Parties Committee, the Joint Policy Group of the Regions and the English Candidates Committee.

The English Council Executive is elected annually in November, and takes office on 1 January of each year:

RoleName
ChairLucas North
Vice-Chair (Regional Parties Committee Chair)Brian Orrell
Vice-Chair (Regional Development)James Read
TreasurerRichard Flowers
English Candidates Committee Chair Margaret Joachim
English Young Liberals ChairJoe Norris
English Executive MembersPrue Bray
Richard Cole
Kian Hearnshaw
Brian Orrell
Iain Donaldson
Fergus Ustianowski
James Read
Oliver Jones-Lyons
William Houngbo
Mark Johnston
Rachelle Shepherd-Dubey
Simon Pike
RoleName
English Representatives to the Federal CouncilPrue Bray, Richard Flowers, Pete Dollimore
English Representative to Federal Policy CommitteeSally Burnell
English Representative to Federal Conference CommitteeDarryl Smalley
English Representative to the Federal Campaigns and Elections CommitteeIain Donaldson
English Representative to the Federal People Development CommitteePete Dollimore
English Representative to the Federal International Relations CommitteeSean Bennett

Regional parties

The English Liberal Democrats is a federation of the eleven regional parties which follow the boundaries of the English Regions, with the exception of South East England and South West England which are each divided into two regional parties. [13] Each regional party is governed by a conference and AGM held in the autumn of every year. The conference elects a Regional Executive, led by a Regional Chair. The regional executive includes all Liberal Democrat members of parliament representing constituencies within the region, all members of the House of Lords who are members of the regional party, ordinary party members elected from within the region, and additional members co-opted by the executive. [14]

The regional parties within the English party are:

Policy and functions

The English party has responsibilities for the organisation of local parties, co-ordination of the activities of regional parties, resolution of disputes between regional parties, selection of English representatives to federal bodies and establishing the rules for selection of party candidates. [11] [15]

The English Party constitution states that the Liberal Democrats in England "shall determine the policy of the Party on matters affecting England which fall outside the remit of the Federal Party" This can be achieved by structures established by the English Council. [16] As no policy making structures are currently in place, policy making has been passed up to federal level and English policies discussed at federal party conferences. [17]

Elected representatives

Members of Parliament

London Assembly members

Directly elected mayors

Appointments

House of Lords

Peer EnnobledNotes
Dominic Hubbard, 6th Baron Addington 1986 (Hereditary)
Lord Allan of Hallam 2010
Lord Alliance 2004
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville 2013
Lord Beith 2015
Baroness Benjamin 2010
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury 2004
Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted 2015
Lord Bradshaw 1999
Baroness Brinton 2011
Lord Burnett 2006
Baroness Burt of Solihull 2015
Lord Chidgey 2005
Lord Clement-Jones 1998
Lord Cotter 2006
Lord Dholakia 1997
Baroness Doocey 2010
Baroness Featherstone 2015
Lord Foster of Bath 2015
Lord Fox 2014
Baroness Garden of Frognal 2007
Lord Goddard of Stockport 2014
Baroness Grender 2013
Baroness Hamwee 1991
Baroness Harris of Richmond 1999
Lord Hussain 2011
Baroness Hussein-Ece 2010
Baroness Janke 2014
Baroness Jolly 2011
Lord Jones of Cheltenham 2005
Baroness Kramer 2010
Lord Lee of Trafford 2006
Baroness Ludford 1997
Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames 2011
Lord McNally 1996
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer 1998
Lord Newby 1997
Baroness Northover 2000
Lord Oates 2015
Lord Paddick 2013
Lord Palmer of Childs Hill 2011
Baroness Parminter 2011
Baroness Pinnock 2014
Lord Razzall 1997
Lord Redesdale 2000
Lord Rennard 1999
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank 1992
Baroness Scott of Needham Market 2000
Lord Scriven 2014
Lord Sharkey 2010
Baroness Sheehan 2015
Lord Shipley 2010
Baroness Smith of Newnham 2014
Lord Stephen 2011
Lord Stoneham of Droxford 2011
Lord Storey 2011
Lord Strasburger 2011
Lord Stunell 2015
Baroness Suttie 2013
Lord Taverne 1996
Lord Taylor of Goss Moor 2010
Lord Teverson 2006
Baroness Thomas of Winchester 2006
Baroness Thornhill 2015
Lord Tope 1994
Lord Tyler 2005
Baroness Tyler of Enfield 2011
Lord Verjee 2013
Lord Wallace of Saltaire 1995
Baroness Walmsley 2000
Lord Watson of Richmond 1999
Lord Willis of Knaresborough 2010
Lord Wrigglesworth 2013

List of chairs of the English Liberal Democrats

Chairs are elected in November and take office on 1 January the following year for a two-year term. They are eligible to stand for re-election, but must not serve as Chair for more than four years in a six-year period.

See also

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Regional parties within England