Become an Activist
From campaigning and joining volunteer groups to taking part in federal committees, becoming a Local Party Officer and making policy, find out how you can get more involved with the Liberal Democrats.
How you can help run the party
If you want to help run the party and become an activist, there are various roles you can take on that help in the running and shaping of the party.
With many opportunities to get involved with the Liberal Democrats in your community, there are plenty of ways you can make a local impact. Such roles could include being a volunteer or campaigner, which could see you talking to voters and running community and election campaigns, or becoming a Local Party Officer and being responsible for the day-to-day running of your local party. These are just some of the many ways in which you can help and support the running of your local party.
Various roles are also available at the national level. As a Liberal Democrat member you can submit motions or amendments to conference, join policy working groups and respond to policy consultations to help shape the future direction of the party and its policies. Beyond helping make policy there are opportunities to join the committees and party organisations, to become more involved in the decision-making process, all of which have a significant impact at the national level.
Read more about each of these opportunities below and how you can help run the party, locally or nationally, below.
Tools for activists
As an activist there are a range of activities you may want to get involved with.
To learn more about what you can do as an activist and how you can get started, visit our campaigns hub.
Find out how to sign up for campaigners emails and access our campaigns hub here.
For more training resources and ways you can get involved, visit our Member's Area where you can find the Lib Dem Learning page for more guidance, or see our Software Training guides on the Tech Blog.
Get campaigning
To volunteer, click here.
As a Liberal Democrat campaigner you will:
- Talk to voters on the doorstep about their political views
- Run community and election campaigns
- Liaise with the media
To sign up for campaigners emails and access our campaigns hub, click here.
Become a Local Party Officer (LPO)
LPOs are responsible for the day-to-day running of your Local Liberal Democrat Party. There are many different roles within each Local Party which all local members are eligible to stand for at your Local Party's annual general meeting (AGM).
Every Local Party works slightly differently to take into account their different circumstances, ambitions and volunteers. But there are a few key tasks that every Local Party should be doing, and a smaller number of things that all Local Parties must do to meet legal and constitutional requirements.
What roles are there?
Each Local Party is constitutionally required to have both a Local Party Chair and a Local Party Treasurer:
- Local Party Chair: responsible for chairing local party executing meetings and providing guidance and leadership to all other LPOs.
- Local Party Treasurer: responsible for managing the local party's finances, e.g. preparing budgets and financial targets.
Other key roles include:
- Local Party Data Officer
- Local Party Diversity Officer
- Local Party Membership Officer
- Local Party Secretary
Your Local Party Executive may have a range of other roles including: Local Party Vice Chair, Local Party Executive Committee Member, Local Party Media Officer, Election Agent, Local Party Fundraising Officer, Local Party Visits Officer.
For more on how to become an LPO and the different roles and responsibilities click here, contact your Local Liberal Democrat Party or get in touch at help@libdems.org.uk.
Make policy
The Liberal Democrats are not like other parties. Our members decide our policy. Their experience and understanding helps ensure we have the very best policies that matter to ordinary people.
That's why, unlike the other parties, Liberal Democrat members can vote on all policy at our Party Conferences. No proposal can become Lib Dem policy until Conference has voted for it - and our members can even put forward their own proposals, which carry the same weight as any other ideas from our MPs or spokespeople.
There are a number of ways that you can get involved in making policy:
- Submit motions and amendments to conference
- Join working groups
- Respond to policy consultations (individually or with your local party)
Find out more about current Liberal Democrat policy here.
Submit Motions/Amendments to Conference
You will need to submit your motion a few weeks before Conference starts (January for Spring Conference and July for Autumn Conference).
Emergency motions and amendments can be submitted up to a few days before Conference.
Procedural motions can be submitted at any time using this link.
Join Policy Working Groups
Liberal Democrats make policy with our members. We develop policy in specialised teams called policy working groups. If you want to get involved, you can - either as a member of a working group or by responding to our consultations.
Some of of the working groups currently in operation include: Opportunity, Skills and Training Working Group, Food and Farming Working Group, A More Caring Society Working Group, Britain and Europe Working Group, Natural Environment Policy Working Group.
To see the impact these groups have, here is an example of a final paper from a previous policy working group.
Find out more about future, current and past policy working groups here.
Respond to Policy Consultations
There is are currently no active consultations.
As part of the policy-making process, the Federal Policy Committee (FPC) routinely consults members so that your views can inform the development of new Lib Dem policy. Each working group publishes a consultation paper and a shorter survey to get members views. See more on committees below.
We'd be grateful for any feedback on how useful it is to have the consultations in this format.
If you have any questions, please email Joe Wright at joseph.wright@libdems.org.uk.
Join a committee
As a party, we believe strongly in democracy, and this is reflected in our organisational structures. Our three main decision-making committees are elected by our members.
The Committees report to Conference and engage with members through a variety of channels. Members can also join party organisations, which are groups of like-minded people who share a particular interest or identity.
Most committees are elected. To find out more about upcoming internal elections and how you can stand for election, visit this page or check for vacancies here.
The principal Committees of the Federal Party are:
- The Federal Board (FB) - provides strategic direction for the Party
- The Federal Policy Committee (FPC) - responsible for the Party's policy-making process
- The Federal Conference Committee (FCC) - responsible for staging Federal Conference
- The Federal Finance and Resource Committee (FFRC) - responsible for planning and administering the budget
- The Federal Communications and Elections Committee (FCEC) - oversees the implementation of the Party's strategy over elections, campaigns and communications
- The Federal People and Development Committee (FPDC) - oversees the implementation of the Party's diversity, training, membership and registered supporter strategies
- The Federal International Relations Committee (FIRC) - manages the Party's relationships with sister parties internationally
- The Federal Audit and Scrutiny Committee - leads the Party's internal audit work