Federal Communications and Elections Committee
(FCEC)
The Federal Communications and Elections Committee (FCEC) oversees the implementation of the Party's strategy in relation to elections, campaigns and communications.
The FCEC also oversees, via the Joint Candidates Sub-Committee, the Party's readiness to field candidates in Westminster elections.
Further details about the FCEC can be found in Article 17 of the Federal Constitution, its Standing Orders are available here and the Committee reports regularly via the Adlib blog. The voting members of the Committee are:
- the Chair of the Committee who is elected by the Federal Board;
- the President;
- the Leader, who may nominate a substitute who shall have the power to vote;
- the Chief Whip of the Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons, or their substitute from within the Parliamentary Group as defined in Article 17.5;
- two representatives of the Parliamentary Group as defined in Article 17.5;
- one person nominated by the SAO representing councillors;
- one person appointed by each State Party according to their internal procedures, who will normally be the Chair of the relevant Committee of that State Party; and
- two members elected by the Federal Board from among its members. Casual vacancies amongst this group shall be filled in accordance with the election regulations.
The Committee members are:
Chair - Mark Pack
Dr. Mark Pack is an author with books including: 101 Ways To Win An Election and Bad News: what the headlines don’t tell us.
Mark worked for the Liberal Democrats 2000-2009, including a period as Head of Innovations. In 2015 he wrote with David Howarth a seminal pamphlet on the Party’s strategy: The 20% Strategy: building a core vote for the Liberal Democrats.
Outside the Liberal Democrats, he has worked in IT in both the public and private sectors and between 2009 and 2019 was a Communications & Crisis Consultant. He's also been a Visiting Lecturer at City University in the Journalism Department.
Party Leader - Ed Davey MP
Ed is a lifelong campaigner for strong public services, a fair economy and a thriving natural environment. He was first elected as MP for Kingston and Surbiton in 1997 and has been Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020.
Ed describes the core values that drive him as compassion, community and fairness. As Leader, he is fighting for a fair deal that puts real power in people’s hands and holds the already powerful to account.
Party President - Josh Babarinde
Chief Whip (Commons) - Wendy Chamberlain MP
Wendy was elected as the MP for North East Fife in December 2019. She holds the Scotland; Wales; Northern Ireland; Constitutional Affairs; and International Development Portfolios at Westminster, and is the Party Chief Whip.
Following her degree in English from Edinburgh University, she joined Lothian and Borders Police in 1999, serving for 12 years as a Police officer. After a period in a variety of operational policing roles, Wendy moved into HR and Learning & Development, during which time she worked for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and in the Business Management Unit of the Scottish Police College. She also worked part-time as a Communications Lecturer for the then Lauder College (now Fife College) in Dunfermline.
Wendy left the Police in 2011 and following a career break to look after her young children, joined the MoD contractor, Right Management, working at MoD Caledonia, Rosyth, as the Scottish Regional Employment & Training Manager on their military resettlement contract, supporting service veterans into positive employment outcomes.
In 2015, she commenced employment as a Capability and Development Manager with a global drinks manufacturer. Always engaged in her local community, Wendy has held committee roles on a variety of parent bodies and became the first female Board Member of the Camanachd Association (the governing body for the amateur sport of shinty) in 2017.
Parliamentary Group Representative - Will Forster MP
Will Forster is the first Liberal Democrat MP for Woking – the town where he was born and raised. An experienced local councillor since 2009 and former Mayor, recently Will became Deputy Leader of Woking Borough Council where he has played a leading role tackling the financial crisis left by the former Conservative council.
Educated in Goldsworth Park and Horsell, Will now lives near Woking Park where he often walks his sausage dog Toffee. Will has always fought for the vulnerable in our community. Raised by a single parent who had mental health issues, he understands all too well the damage that rising prices and a lack of appropriate local health care can do to families.
Will said, “I want to get a fair deal for the people of Woking and its villages. I’ll be a strong voice for our area in Parliament and I’ll always put Woking first.”
“My priorities are clear: get help for Woking Council from the Government, fix our NHS, cut the cost of living and protect our environment. That means fairer funding for councils, making it easier to see a doctor, a real windfall tax on oil and gas companies, and no more sewage dumped into our rivers.”
Parliamentary Group Representative - Lisa Smart MP
Lisa is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Hazel Grove, where she lives with her partner and rescue dog. She is the party's Cabinet Office Spokesperson in the House of Commons.
Throughout her time as both a councillor and an MP, she has led and supported a number of local campaigns and community-driven projects. Outside of her parliamentary work, Lisa is a trustee for the New Horizons Canal Boat for disabled people and their carers in Marple, working as a volunteer for the Woodley & Romiley Towpath Team, and being a trustee of the Barrack Hill Education Trust.
Federal Board Representative - Hannah Kitching
Federal Board Representative - Jenni Lang
Jenni took over as Convener of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in January 2022. Prior to that, she has held a number of party roles as the Scottish representative on Federal Conference Committee for over 12 years and as member and former convener of the Scottish Conference Committee.
Currently, Jenni runs the Corporate Communications and Experiences team for The Glenmorangie Company. She has previously held senior communications roles with People's Postcode Lottery, Scottish Gas, PwC and Fleishman Hillard.
Jenni is also a member of the Scottish Advisory Board of Career Ready, where she chairs the Edinburgh and Midlothian Advisory Board. She is also a board member of North Edinburgh Arts and an advisory board member of Common Purpose Scotland.
ALDC Representative - Heather Kidd MBE
Lib Dem Councillor for Chirbury and Worthen Division since 2009 and was a former Leader of South Shropshire District Council, Heather is Co-Leader of the Opposition on Shropshire Council. She is a school governor, parish councillor, Trustee of the Bishop’s Castle Leisure Centre Trust (SpArC) and Director of Enterprise South West Shropshire (on the path to being a CIC). Heather is Vice Chair of Health Overview and Scrutiny and a member of Joint HOSC for Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin since 2011. In 2023, Heather was awarded an MBE for her services to rural areas.
She is also the Liberal Democrat Group Whip at the LGA and the Chair of the Safer, Stronger Communities Board at the LGA.
English Party Representative - Alice Bridges-Westcott
Scottish Party Representative - Charles Dundas
ALDC Deputy Chief Executive (ex officio member)
Ed Stephenson
Ed is Deputy Chief Executive of ALDC.
He has previsouly worked in various campaign roles across the Party, including for Hazel Grove Liberal Democrats and Manchester Liberal Democrats.
Outside of the Party, Ed is a School Governor and lives with his partner Lisa and their dog Bonnie in Stockport.
Federal Chief Executive - Mike Dixon (ex officio member)
Mike is CEO of the Liberal Democrats. He joined a few days before the General Election in 2019.
He has led charities for ten years, working with young people, substance use, crime and advice. He has led campaigns, research, service design, operational delivery and digital transformations.
Before his work in charities, Mike worked as a special adviser in Government, as a researcher, and briefly in advertising.
He lives in Oxford with his family and two cats.