OPINION

The left-leaning wing of the party – the Social Liberal Forum – has released a series of potential amendments and emergency motions for the party’s autumn conference. The list is an interesting indication of what the grassroots (the SLF likes to describe itself as the ‘soul’ of the Lib Dems) are most worried about. There’s an amendment from the irrepressible Lord Oakeshott, which adds a line to a motion due for debate on the Tuesday of the conference, called ‘Tackling Inequality at

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I have argued that such a political economy - based around the central idea that truly sustainable prosperity is co-produced by an empowering, enterprising state and a private sector more in tune with the needs of its host society - must form part of an economic Plan C. I cannot claim to have a single magic answer to our economic woes (none exists), but I do know that in clear contrast with Davi

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Below are some amendments to Conference motions (and one emergency motion) that SLF members may wish to support. Please fill in the relevant form if you wish to support them. Please note: the Social Liberal Forum is not responsible for the content of the amendments and motions here; the views represented are those of the authors alone and hosting them does not necessarily imply endorsement. Jump to:

• Amendment to F35: Tackling Inequality at its R

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  Join us for our inaugural annual conference dinner on Tuesday 25^th September at the Holiday Inn Brighton-Seafront, 8pm for 8:30pm start; where we are very pleased to welcome Minister of State for Pensions, Steve Webb MP and Member of Parliament for St Ives, Andrew George MP as our special guests. There will also be a raf

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So, is the coalition now doomed? Have Cameron or Clegg's incentives changed? Far from it. Cameron is now in real trouble. His inability to make his backbenchers stick to the coalition agreement reveals a man utterly out of control of his party. In leadership terms, he ranks below Gordon Brown or John Major at the moment. Like that hapless pair, Cameron's only hope is to stick it out till his luck changes - unless the next election comes sooner.

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BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, 07/08/12

The Social Liberal Forum conference 2012 - held on July 14th and with the theme of social justice across the generations - was a resounding success. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg MP began proceedings by delivering the inaugural William Beveridge memorial lecture, and he was followed by a succession of interesting and stimulating contributions from Secretaries and Ministers of State, academics, party activists a

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Partick Burgh Halls in Glasgow was the venue for the Social Liberal Forum’s first Scottish Conference last weekend. Members came from as far away as England to participate in what turned out to be a lively and stimulating meeting. The highlights of the meeting were:

• Sessions on a varied collection of topics designed to get members thinking about basic Social Liberal values and about practical ways of translating them into Party policy. In particular, Ben Colburn’s speech on Social Lib

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