Defending Democracy (Democracy Policy Paper)

Chair: Cllr Nick da Costa (Chair, FCC); Aide; Baroness Kitching; Hall Aide; Jess Brown-Fuller MP

Submitted by: Federal Policy Committee 
Mover: Lisa Smart MP (Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office) 
Summation: Sarah Lewis (Chair of the Policy Working Group)

Conference believes that democracy in Britain is under threat from:

1. Foreign states and billionaires who seek to use money and media interference to unduly influence British politicians and British elections.
2. The rapid rise of new technologies which makes it easier for misinformation from malign actors to spread fear and confusion, stirring up racial hatred and moral panic, and which amplifies grievance narratives that leave people vulnerable to radicalisation.
3. An historic low in public trust in British politics, compounded by a First-Past-the-Post voting system for general elections and the further centralisation of power in Westminster.

Conference notes that these threats are evident in the results of the latest British Social Attitudes Survey (February 2026) and in the independent findings of the recent Rycroft Review.

Conference reaffirms the Liberal Democrat commitment to:

1. Introduce proportional representation by the Single Transferable Vote for electing Westminster MPs and local councillors in England.
2. Expand the franchise to 16- and 17-year olds.
3. Introduce measures such as automatic voter registration and removal of the need for ID that make it easier for people to vote.
4. Reform the House of Lords with a proper democratic mandate.
5. Introduce a codified constitution.
6. Strengthen local government.
7. A Federal Britain.

Conference resolves to address the threats to democracy by tackling undue influence head on, and by building the resilience of individual citizens and communities, giving people the power to make informed choices about their own lives and to see their choices fairly reflected in the actions of government at all levels.

Conference therefore endorses policy paper 165, Defending Democracy, and in particular welcomes its proposals to:

1. Tackle undue influence by foreign states by:
   1. Assigning clear responsibility at ministerial and Senior Civil Service levels for combatting foreign political interference, with resources commensurate to the challenge this poses to UK democracy.
   2. Prohibiting anyone who has served as a political appointee in the central government of a foreign state from donating to UK political parties for a period of ten years.
   3. Conducting a stand-alone review into the extent of US interference in British politics, including the extent to which known British extremists are being actively supported by the White House.
   4. Requiring candidates for national elected office to declare any past or current income or gifts from any government on the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme enhanced tier list or from any person or organisation connected to that government.
2. Tackle the undue influence of big money in politics by:
   1. Introducing a total year-round cap on political spending by political parties.
   2. Introducing a donation cap on individual donations, and an annual donation cap on individuals, including for gifts to politicians, with a Royal Commission to develop specific figures; the Commission should also consider its approach to corporate donations.
   3. Introducing national spending limits for the regulated period of local elections, to close a potential loophole.
   4. Working towards radical real-time transparency for political advertising, donations and spending, including an easily searchable public database of all online political adverts.
3. Strengthening the enforcement of electoral law, including by:
   1. Protecting and strengthening the independence of the Electoral Commission, following Conservative attempts to undermine it.
   2. Setting up a dedicated national policing unit within the National Crime Agency, specifically dedicated to tackling corruption and criminal behaviour within Westminster and Whitehall, including criminal breaches of electoral law.
   3. Ensuring that the sentencing associated with each criminal offence in electoral law matches the seriousness of the offence.
4. Urgently convene a Constitutional Convention to enshrine fundamental shared British values, rights and freedoms in a new codified constitution; this will act as the first line of defence against the multiple threats Britain faces to its democracy
5. Promoting a vigorous local democratic culture as the bedrock for a healthy democracy by:
   1. Ending the top-down reorganisation of councils and the imposition of elected mayors on communities which do not want them.
   2. Devolving more fiscal and economic power to local authorities.
   3. Supporting the presence of community, town and parish councils.
6. Strengthening resilience to the spread of misinformation and hatred in all forms of media by:
   1. Commissioning a second Leveson-type review of media regulation, covering new media in addition to traditional broadcast and print media, recognising that the media scene has evolved significantly since the original Leveson Inquiry reported in 2012.
   2. Introducing lifelong learning for all citizens about the digital public sphere and how to navigate it.
   3. Funding local journalism and independent factcheckers with a share of a levy on very large social media platforms; and making it easier for these organisations to gain charitable status.
7. Promoting informed citizenship and countering radicalisation by:
   1. Strengthening citizenship education in primary and secondary schools, with a greater focus on political and media literacy; and elevating the academic status of the Citizenship GCSE.
   2. Increasing the public funding available to civil society organisations which can play a role in citizenship education, including political media literacy; this should include the creation of a long-term, ringfenced Community Democratic Resilience Fund to support youth services, training for educators and parents and local democratic participation initiatives.
   3. Conducting a full overhaul of Prevent, including the delivery of a new counter-radicalisation programme – a community-led engagement strategy focused on minimising exposure to pathways towards violent extremism and to meet the challenges of today’s threats.
   4. Ensuring that counter-radicalisation approaches also uphold protections for academic freedom, journalistic activity and legitimate political dissent, including upholding the right to protest.
   5. Imposing a duty on social media and other tech companies to have ‘Community Safety Teams’, underpinned by minimum quality standards, to tackle extremism, hate, misinformation and other harmful content.

Applicability: Applicability: Federal except for 5. a) and 7. a) which are England only.

Mover and summation combined: 16 minutes; mover and summation of amendments: 4 minutes; all other speakers: 3 minutes. For eligibility and procedure for speaking in this debate, see page 10 of the agenda. You can submit a speaker's card online here or in person.

In addition to speeches from the platform, voting members will be able to make concise (maximum one-minute) interventions from the floor during the debate on the motion. See pages 10-11 of the agenda for further information.

The deadline for amendments to this motion is 13.00 Monday 7 September; see pages 11-12 of the agenda for more information.

Those selected for debate will be printed in Conference Extra and Sunday’s Conference Daily. The deadline for requests for separate votes is 09.00 Saturday 19 September; see page 9 of the agenda for more information.