Lib Dems to establish group to ensure cost-neutral Spring Conference

The Federal Executive Committee of the Liberal Democrats political party has agreed to establish a working group to bring forward options for staging a cost-neutral spring event.
 
In the Reports to Conference, published for the recent Autumn party conference in Glasgow, the Party President and Chair of the Federal Executive, Tim Farron, said the Federal Executive had been looking at the future for the Spring Conference and in particular the cost of running the event.
 
“At the request of the Federal Finance and Administration Committee, we have recently had a number of discussions about our approach to the Spring Conference,” said Farron. “This request was based on their concern, which we agreed with, that it was unsustainable to continue staging a loss-making conference in spring. In support of this, it was noted that a spring conference has not made a profit in at least the last 10 years.”
 
The Federal Executive therefore agreed to establish a working group to bring forward options for staging a cost-neutral spring event that considered the importance of reducing cost, increasing revenue and supporting membership.
 
The last Spring Conference was held in Brighton, which was worth £2m in economic benefit to the city. The conference was won by VisitBrighton and the Hotel Brighton Metropole Hotel and attracted some 2,500 delegates.
 
“Having the vast majority of the conference under one roof was generally viewed to be a success,” said Chair of the Federal Conference Committee, Andrew Wiseman. “As always, there are aspects that could be improved on and no one venue is absolutely ideal for us.”
 
The next Spring Liberal Democrats Conference will be held at the Barbican Centre in York (7-9 March), which is a first time venue for the party. The three-day conference is expected to attract more than 1,000 delegates and the city’s Novotel hotel will be the party conference HQ for the duration of the event.

Photo: The Autumn Party Conference in Glasgow. Credit: Dave-Radcliffe.
 
Any conference-related news? Email sarah@mashmedia.net