Greening policy at the Lib Dem Conference

Pippa’s Conference Round Up 

What a weekend and what a Conference! I feel energised after the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference at which I argued for some truly transformational policy motions which reinforce the Lib Dems as the party for a fairer, greener and more caring Britain. 

I spoke in the plenary session on three policy motions, including one which updated the Lib Dems constitution to include environmental values alongside, liberty, equality and community and updates our constitution to recognise “wellbeing” as a measure of success rather than GDP. Read more about these important changes here

Since we are hosting the UN Climate Conference (COP26) in November this year it has never been more important for the UK to show leadership on climate change. I was therefore delighted to see resounding votes in favour of new Lib Dem policies on carbon pricing and the COP 26 Climate Change Conference. This included my amendment urging government to use COP 26 to announce new climate powers and funding for local authorities to tackle the climate emergency.  

Equally as important is the world’s ecological crisis, subject of another global summit this year- the Biodiversity Summit (CBD COP 15), which gets much less media attention. This was discussed at the fringe event “Stop the Ecological Emergency”- a panel of the Federal Policy Committee’s Working Group on the Natural Environment, with Dr Richard Benwell, Sarah Whitebread and myself. We asked how the Lib Dems can set an ambitious new agenda to improve our natural environment, given the UK’s failure to meet 17 of our 20 targets to address biodiversity loss. We spoke about threats to biodiversity in this region, including the crisis threatening our rivers and chalk streams. We discussed my proposal that Lib Dems adopt the ambitious “doubling nature” policy objective. 

The most highly attended and hotly contested motion at the conference was put forward by the Young Liberals who urged Conference to ensure that we deal with the housing crisis facing the country and impacting young people in particular. There was consensus on the need to build more houses, especially social housing for rent, but disagreement about the use of a national housebuilding target as the way to achieve this. On behalf of the Lib Dems in the Local Government Association I was asked to present an alternative way to tackle housing crisis: a mass state-funding building programme of social housing delivered according to local need; and skills programme for workforce. It is great to see debate alive and well in the Lib Dems and I congratulate the Young Liberals on their passionate and articulate campaign. 

On a related note, I was also a Panel Speaker on the LGA Lib Dem Fringe event “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” laying out what the Government’s disastrous planning reforms will mean for amount of affordable housing, environmental standards, green spaces and local community voice in shaping the places they live. 

In the wider conference new policies were agreed on critical issues at home, for example ways to help our small businesses, helping children in care, solving the housing crisis and dignity at end of life, and globally, such as creating a global corporation tax, trade transformation and responding to the appalling treatment of Uyghurs.  I am proud to stand for this Lib Dem agenda together with all of my Lib Dem colleagues.