English Liberal Democrats
English branch of the Liberal Democrats
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The English Liberal Democrats, constitutionally 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]
English Liberal Democrats | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chair | Baroness Caroline Pidgeon |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | 1 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 Party |
| International affiliation | Liberal International |
| Colours | Orange[6] |
| House of Commons (English Seats) | 65 / 543 [7] |
| London Assembly | 2 / 25 |
| Local government in England[8] | 2,639 / 17,728 |
| Website | |
www | |
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:
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Chair | Caroline Pidgeon[13] |
| Vice-Chair (Regional Parties Committee Chair) | Brian Orrell |
| Vice-Chair (Regional Development) | James Read |
| Treasurer | Richard Flowers |
| English Candidates Committee Chair | Margaret Joachim |
| English Young Liberals Chair | Joe Norris |
| English Executive Members | Prue 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 |
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| English Representatives to the Federal Council | Prue Bray, Richard Flowers, Pete Dollimore |
| English Representative to Federal Policy Committee | Sally Burnell |
| English Representative to Federal Conference Committee | Darryl Smalley |
| English Representative to the Federal Campaigns and Elections Committee | Iain Donaldson |
| English Representative to the Federal People Development Committee | Pete Dollimore |
| English Representative to the Federal International Relations Committee | Sean 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.[14] 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.[15]
The regional parties within the English party are:
- Devon and Cornwall (South West England)
- East of England
- East Midlands
- London Liberal Democrats
- North East England
- North West England
- South Central (South East England)
- South East (South East England)
- Western Counties (South West England)
- West Midlands
- Yorkshire and the Humber
English Young Liberals
The English Young Liberals operates as a federation of regional parties, with each having a level of independence, though working within the overall English wing. Regional branches, led by their Chair, are responsible for organising and supporting local branches and societies and co-ordinating activities to recruit and expand membership in their region.[16]
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][17]
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.[18] 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.[19]
English devolution
In 2021 the Liberal Democrats adopted a policy motion, "A Framework for England in a Federal UK", which called for the establishment of elected regional assemblies throughout England. The regional assemblies would nominate members to concurrently serve on an "English National Chamber" to legislate at an all-England level with England being a single legal jurisdiction within a federal United Kingdom.[20]
The English regional assemblies would have the following competencies:
- Regional economic development
- NHS and social care services
- Policing
- Strategic housing and planning policy
- Regional transport
- Education, including skills
- Agriculture and rural affairs
- Local environmental and decarbonisation policy
The English National Chamber would have the following competencies:
- The legal system
- Higher education and universities
Elected representatives
Members of Parliament
London Assembly members
Directly elected mayors
Appointments
House of Lords
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.
- Paul Farthing (c. 1994–1999)
- Dawn Davidson (c. 2000–2003)
- Stan Collins (2004–2006)[21]
- Brian Orrell (2007–2009)[21]
- Jonathan Davies (2010–2011)[21]
- Peter Ellis (2012–2014)
- Steve Jarvis (2015–2016)
- Liz Leffman (2017–2018)
- Tahir Maher (2019)
- Gerald Vernon-Jackson (2020)
- Alison Rouse (December 2020 – July 2024)
- Lucas North (July 2024 - December 2024)
- Caroline Pidgeon (January 2025 – present)