lib dem.

• what is the leadership of the Lib Dems?

  the federal board
• professional for the Lib Dem’s is:

  Parliamentary group (not official and headed by the deputy leader)
• what is the administrative centre for the Lib Dems?

  Liberal Democrat Party HQ (Great George st, London)
• national parties for the Lib Dems:

  Scottish and Welsh Liberal Democrat’s - aligned but autonomous
• how do the Lib Dems represent themselves locally?

  regional parties and below them, Local Liberal Democrat parties and below them, branch parties
• what are the other associations of the liberal democrats?

  SAOs (Specified associated organisations) such as Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats, Association of Liberal Democrat Engineers, etc. All can submit motions to conference for debate.
• what is the local policy making for the Lib Dems?

  Local branches take the main role in running constituency-level campaigns and can also submit motions to conference for debate.
• national policy making for the Liberal Democrats:

  Motions debated and passed at conference become official national policy. Policies that affect the whole of the UK or just England are voted on by the Liberal Democrat Federal Conference while Scottish and Welsh regional conferences set policy that affects their own area.
• are the liberal democrats more top down or bottom up?

  Very ‘bottom up’ and decentralized owing to the federal structure of the party. Local and regional parties have significant autonomy from the national party
• what is the role of conference in the Liberal Democrat party?

  every party member attending has the right to vote on party policy under a one member one vote system.

  There are no ‘weighted’ votes reserved for elected representatives, MPs or trade unions or senior members of the party. Proposals can only become policy if the conference votes for it. there’s an Access Fund which defrays travel and accommodation costs for both disabled and low income attendees
• to be nominated for leadership in the liberal democrat party you must…

  1 MP and 200 members from 20 different local parties