| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Date | Location | Party President | Speeches and Motions |
|---|
| style="background:lemonchiffon"
|25—29 September 1988 | Blackpool | Ian Wrigglesworth | File:PaddyAshdownCampaigning.jpg, Paddy Ashdown. He led the party from 1988 to 1999.]]Following a vote at the Liberal Assembly on 17 September 1987, and a Liberal Party Special Conference on 23 January 1988, the Liberal Party agreed to seek merger with the Social Democratic Party (SDP). A ballot of both parties' members was counted on 2 March 1988, with 65,098 voting in favour and 16,294 against. Following the merger, the new party is known as the Social and Liberal Democrats.
The Social and Liberal Democrats Leadership Election is held, in which Paddy Ashdown is declared Leader. The newly-created party holds its first Conference, known as the SLD Conference, with its members referring to their party as "the Democrats".
In Ashdown's first speech as leader, entitled The Path Ahead, he says that he sees a "very exciting journey" ahead, and that the Labour Party, which has faced three consecutive general election defeats, could be replaced by the SLD.[{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/its-hard-being-one-man-in-a-two-horse-race-1120541.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/its-hard-being-one-man-in-a-two-horse-race-1120541.html |archive-date=14 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=It's hard being one man in a two-horse race|work=The Independent|author=O'Grady,Sean|date=19 September 1999|accessdate=30 September 2018}}] |
3—5
March
1989 | Bournemouth | Ian Wrigglesworth | |
9—15
September
1989 | Brighton | Ian Wrigglesworth | The Federal Conference votes for a party-wide members' ballot to change the party's name to the Liberal Democrats. The members vote for the change, and the result is announced on 16 October 1989.[Roger Mortimore and Andrew Blick, Butler's British Political Facts, Palgrave Macmillan 2018, p. 273] |
10—11
March
1990 | Cardiff | Charles Kennedy | |
15—20
September
1990 | Blackpool | Charles Kennedy | |
15—17
March
1991 | Nottingham | Charles Kennedy | |
9—12
September
1991 | Bournemouth | Charles Kennedy | |
7—8
March
1992 | Glasgow | Charles Kennedy | In the last Federal Conference before the 1992 General Election, amid much media speculation about the possibility of the forthcoming election resulting in a hung parliament, Paddy Ashdown tells party members: "This could be a different sort of election. It could be an election where we don't just change the leaders, we can change the quality of leadership as well. Where we don't just change our government, but change our system of government as well. Where we don't just pass a verdict on the past, but where we set a new course for our country's future as well".[Leader's Speech, Liberal Democrat Federal Conference. (Glasgow; 8 March 1992)] |
13—17
September
1992 | Harrogate | Charles Kennedy | |
29—31
May
1993 | Nottingham | Charles Kennedy | |
19—23
September
1993 | Manchester | Charles Kennedy | |
12—13
March
1994 | Cardiff | Robert Maclennan | |
18—22
September
1994 | Brighton | Robert Maclennan | |
11—12
March
1995 | Scarborough | Robert Maclennan | |
17—21
September
1995 | Glasgow | Robert Maclennan | |
15—17
March
1996 | Nottingham | Robert Maclennan | |
22—26
September
1996 | Brighton | Robert Maclennan | |
8—9
March
1997 | Cardiff | Robert Maclennan | Addressing the Federal Conference on the eve of the 1997 General Election, Paddy Ashdown tells party members: "We carry the torch of radicalism in our defence of individual liberties and progressive social policies. And in our fight to control the abuse of power and modernise our political system, we carry the torch of liberals and democrats and radicals and reformers in every generation for four hundred years who have fought the vested interests of the day, to modernise our political system, and control the power of the State. In every generation, we have been opposed by the conservatives and the reactionaries. In every generation, we have succeeded through our tenacity, through the force of our ideas, and through the strength of our cause... We have won the power to make the difference. We have proved ourselves in local government. We have proved our ability to change the agenda. To put education at the forefront of national debate. To demand open, honest taxation. To set a new style of co-operation in politics, which puts country before party where it is right and where it can make a difference. Yes - we have earned the right and the power to make a difference. We have proved our ability to win".
Ashdown continues: "I want every single one of you to look back on these next fifty days and be proud: proud to have been part of this great campaign. Proud that, like Lloyd George, you went to the country with a message you believed. Proud to have said what you think needs to be done for your country. Proud to have stood out against the fatalism of British politics. Proud to have said - it does not have to be like this. Yes, it can be done. Tell them how it is. Tell them what we will do. Tell them we will be their champions. Tell them their vote can make a difference".[{{cite web|url=http://www.britishpoliticalspeech.org/speech-archive.htm?speech=233|title=Speech Archive - Leader's speech to the Spring Party Conference, Cardiff 1997 - Paddy Ashdown (Liberal Democrat|work=britishpoliticalspeech.com|accessdate=3 October 2018}}] |
21—25
September
1997 | Eastbourne | Robert Maclennan | Following Labour's landslide election victory in the 1997 General Election under Tony Blair, Ashdown praises both the Party's success and the large electoral advance of the Liberal Democrats, which has more than doubled its seats in the House of Commons, from 20 to 46 seats. Adapting a phrase from Shakespeare's Macbeth, he quips: "Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble; the Tory party's reduced to rubble".[{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/the_daily_politics/6967366.stm|title=Your Favourite Conference Clips - Paddy Ashdown, 1997|work=BBC Daily Politics|date=3 October 2007|accessdate=1 October 2018}}] |
14—15
March
1998 | Southport | Diana Maddock | |
20—24
September
1998 | Brighton | Diana Maddock | |
5—7
March
1999 | Edinburgh | Navnit Dholakia | |
| style="background:lemonchiffon"
|19—23
September
1999 | Harrogate | Navnit Dholakia | File:Charles Kennedy MP (cropped).jpgThe first Federal Conference with Charles Kennedy as Leader, following the Liberal Democrats Leadership Election on 9 August 1999.[
]The outgoing leader, Paddy Ashdown, tells the Conference that the party has been ahead of its time, and that it "rightly" talks about strategy, but that "no strategy will work, unless we have something fresh to say and offer something distinctive to vote for", and that if it fails to "think afresh", that it risks "falling into the easy trap of leftist, oppositional politics. And that," he says, "would mean making ourselves irrelevant again for a generation".[{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/453473.stm|title= UK Politics - Paddy Ashdown's speech|work=BBC News|date=21 September 1999|accessdate=1 October 2018}}]
The new leader, Charles Kennedy, after thanking his predecessor, emphasises that in the forthcoming year, a number of elections are to be fought, and that it is important that politicians reconnect with voters, and that if they do, people will become "as enthusiastic about parties as they are about pressure groups". He says that if they don't, "derisory turnouts will be the norm". He says that party politics can make a difference beyond voting and by "engaging in the process", and that the party must inspire "a new generation of voters", and "connect [its] values and vision to everyday life".[{{cite web|url=http://www.britishpoliticalspeech.org/speech-archive.htm?speech=57|title=Speech Archive - Leader's speech, Harrogate 1999b - Charles Kennedy (Liberal Democrat)|work=British Political Speeches.org|accessdate=1 October 2018}}] |
17—19
March
2000 | Plymouth | Navnit Dholakia | |
17—21
September
2000 | Bournemouth | Navnit Dholakia | |
16—18
March
2001 | Torquay | Navnit Dholakia | |
23—27
September
2001 | Bournemouth | Navnit Dholakia | |
8—10
March
2002 | Manchester | Navnit Dholakia | |
22—26
September
2002 | Brighton | Navnit Dholakia | |
14—16
March
2003 | Torquay | Navnit Dholakia | |
21—25
September
2003 | Brighton | Navnit Dholakia | Party leader Charles Kennedy addresses Federal Conference and denounces the (then) Labour Government for going to war in Iraq: "No more glad, confident morning for this shop-soiled Labour government. They seek to manage, not lead; to manipulate, not tell it as it is... The soul goes out of politics. So the system itself simply has to change. I tell you this. If the British House of Commons had known then what it knows now – about the events leading up to that fateful parliamentary debate and vote on committing our forces into war in Iraq – then the outcome could and should have been fundamentally different... This is supposed to be a parliamentary democracy. What we’ve seen is a small clique driving us into a war, disregarding widespread public doubts. That is not acceptable".[{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jun/02/charles-kennedys-2003-speech-on-his-partys-anti-iraq-war-stance|title=Charles Kennedy's 2003 speech on his party's anti-Iraq war stance|work=The Guardian|date=2 June 2015|accessdate=30 September 2018}}] |
19—21
March
2004 | Southport | Simon Hughes | |
19—23
September
2004 | Bournemouth | Simon Hughes | |
4—6
March
2005 | Harrogate | Simon Hughes | |
18—22
September
2005 | Blackpool | Simon Hughes | |
3—5
March
2006 | Harrogate | Simon Hughes | |
| style="background:lemonchiffon"
|15—19
September
2006 | Brighton | Simon Hughes | File:Ming Campbell during visit to Brent in September 2006.jpgThe first Federal Conference with Menzies Campbell as Leader, following the Liberal Democrats Leadership Election, on 21 March 2006.[Roger Mortimore and Andrew Blick, Butler's British Political Facts, Palgrave Macmillan 2018, pp. 273, 275]
Campbell tells the Conference of the hopes dashed by Labour after a decade of rule, and continues: "After three election victories, Labour has failed. The gap between rich and poor is wider than at any point under Margaret Thatcher. We have higher taxes, but little improvement in public services. Millions of pensioners remain consigned to poverty: two thirds of them women. Hard-working families are crippled by debt. Carbon emissions are rising. And now hospital wards are closing, doctors and nurses are losing their jobs. This is the domestic legacy of the Blair-Brown Government."[{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/sep/21/libdems2006.liberaldemocrats3|title=Liberal Democrat conference 2006 - Sir Menzies Campbell's speech|work=The Guardian|date=21 September 2006|accessdate=27 October 2019}}] |
2—4
March
2007 | Harrogate | Simon Hughes | |
16—20
September
2007 | Brighton | Simon Hughes | |
| style="background:lemonchiffon"
|7—9
March
2008 | Liverpool | Rosalind Scott | File:Nick Clegg addressing Conference (2886417474).jpgThe first Federal Conference with Nick Clegg as Leader, following the Liberal Democrats Leadership Election, on 18 December 2007.[
]The new leader talks about the failures of the political system to improve living standards and respond to the public's needs, and continues: "No wonder people are tired of politics. Tired of a system that swings like a pendulum between two establishment parties. Tired of the same old politicians, the same old fake choices, the same old feeling that nothing ever changes. But this isn't a story of indifference. People do care about issues. Climate change. Poverty. Their local school or hospital. There are marches and campaigns and petitions launched every day of the week. People care. They just don't care about politicians".[{{cite web|url=http://www.ukpol.co.uk/nick-clegg-2008-speech-to-liberal-democrat-party-conference/|title=Nick Clegg - 2008 Speech to Liberal Democrat Party Conference|work=UKPOL|date=23 November 2015|accessdate=27 October 2019}}] |
15—17
September
2008 | Bournemouth | Rosalind Scott | |
13—14
March
2009 | Harrogate | Rosalind Scott | File:Howard Dean speaks to the Liberal Democrat Conference (3341867139).jpg, Chair of the US Democratic Party, speaks to Lib Dem members in Harrogate about the victory of Barack Obama in the 2008 US Presidential Election]] |
23—25
September
2009 | Bournemouth | Rosalind Scott | |
18—23
March
2010 | Birmingham | Rosalind Scott | |
16
May
2010 | Birmingham | Rosalind Scott | Special Conference to debate the Party's joining the coalition government.[Roger Mortimore and Andrew Blick, Butler's British Political Facts, Palgrave Macmillan 2018, p. 275] |
18—22
September
2010 | Liverpool | Rosalind Scott | The September 2010 Conference is the first after the party has entered government for the first time, in a coalition with the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister David Cameron. The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, has become Deputy Prime Minister. Clegg receives a three-minute standing ovation from the Conference Hall before his speech. He says that the coalition wasn't easy to achieve, and that it required difficult negotiations, but that five months on, the coalition has made good progress, and that the public should stick with the party as it is committed to "changing Britain for good". He says that the "chance for change" has come, and that the Liberal Democrats have "responded with real courage and conviction".[{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/sep/20/nick-clegg-conference-speech|title=Nick Clegg: stick with us and change Britain for good|work=The Guardian|author=Hélène Mulholland|date=20 September 2010|accessdate=17 November 2019}}]
Clegg says that the Conservatives had been willing to "embrace negotiation and compromise", and continues, "We created a government which will govern, and govern well, for the next five years. Hold our nerve and we will have changed British politics for good. Hold our nerve and we will have changed Britain for good". He acknowledges that the budget deficit reduction programme, reducing the level of public debt incurred by the previous Labour government, represents "unsettling times", but states that it will be implemented "as fairly as possible", with the long-term goal of "wiping the slate clean for a new generation". |
11—13
March
2011 | Sheffield | Tim Farron | |
17—21
September
2011 | Birmingham | Tim Farron | |
9—11
March
2012 | Gateshead | Tim Farron | |
22—26
September
2012 | Brighton | Tim Farron | |
8—10
March
2013 | Brighton | Tim Farron | |
14—18
September
2013 | Glasgow | Tim Farron | |
7—9
March
2014 | York | Tim Farron | |
4—8
October
2014 | Glasgow | Tim Farron | |
13—15
March
2015 | Liverpool | Sal Brinton | |
| style="background:lemonchiffon"
|19—23
September
2015 | Bournemouth | Sal Brinton | File:Tim Farron (22345892516).jpgThe first Federal Conference with Tim Farron as Leader, following the Liberal Democrats Leadership Election, on 16 July 2015.[
]Farron tells the Federal Conference that, after the worst General Election defeat in 45 years, the party has now become more relevant than ever, with people on low incomes suffering a further fall in living standards, and business threatened by losing access to European markets after the forthcoming EU Referendum. He continues by saying, "Britain needs an opposition that is economically credible, radical, liberal. Britain needs an opposition that is passionate and socially just. Britain needs an opposition that is serious about power to make a difference, to improve all our lives. Under my leadership the Liberal Democrats will be that opposition, because if we do not do this, it is clear now that no one else will. The alternative will be years of a disastrous one-party monopoly".[{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2015/sep/23/tim-farrons-speech-to-the-lib-dem-conference-politics-live#block-56029944e4b097407f779cc7|title=Tim Farron's speech to the Lib Dem conference|work=The Guardian|date=September 2015|accessdate=27 October 2019}}]
Conference votes that all party members attending Conference will be able to vote, starting with Spring Conference 2016. It also introduces one member, one vote of all party members for party committees, such as the Federal Executive, Federal Policy Committee and Federal Conference Committee, starting with the next round of elections at Autumn Conference 2016.[{{cite web|url=https://www.markpack.org.uk/134611/one-member-one-vote-what-next/|title=One Member, One Vote: what next?|work=markpack.org.uk|author=Pack, Mark|date=22 September 2015|accessdate=30 September 2018}}] |
11—13
March
2016 | York | Sal Brinton | |
17—20
September
2016 | Brighton | Sal Brinton [{{cite web|url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/autumn-conference-16|title=Autumn Conference 2016 - BRIGHTON, 17th–20th September 2016|work=Liberal Democrats|author=Waddington, Sian|date=26 July 2016|accessdate=26 September 2018}}] | |
17—19
March
2017 | York | Sal Brinton [{{cite web|url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/spring-conference-2017|title=Spring Conference 2017|work=Liberal Democrats|author=Dumont, Lydia|date=20 February 2017|accessdate=26 September 2018}}] | |
| style="background:lemonchiffon"
|16—19
September
2017 | Bournemouth | Sal Brinton [{{cite web|url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/autumn_conference_17|title=Autumn Conference 2017 BOURNEMOUTH, 16–19 September 2017|work=Liberal Democrats|author=Everitt, Jack|date=2 August 2017|accessdate=25 September 2018}}] | File:Sir Vince Cable at Essex Book Festival 2016 (25415004306).jpgThe first Federal Conference with Vince Cable as Leader, following the Liberal Democrats Leadership Election, on 20 July 2017.[
]In his first Leader's Speech, Cable pays tribute to his predecessor, Tim Farron, saying that the party under his leadership was "larger, stronger and more diverse" than before.
Cable continues by saying, "Anyone who doubts the relevance of the Liberal Democrats should reflect on the three great disasters perpetrated by the two main parties in recent years: the war in Iraq; the banking crisis; now Brexit. You may remember that the Labour government, egged on by the Conservative opposition, plunged this country into a disastrous, illegal war. It helped to fuel the jihadist movements which terrorise the Middle East, and our own country, and our allies, to this day. Then, the same government lost control of the economy. It allowed reckless and greedy bankers to run amok. Yet again, the Conservatives egged Labour on, demanding even less restraint."
"The Liberal Democrats warned that it would end badly. And it did. An economy built on banking and property speculation was left dangerously exposed to the global financial crisis. And the baleful consequences are still with us: our economy continues to be dependent on the life support system of ultra-cheap money, which is now inflating a new credit bubble". He added: "Quite simply, Brexit Britain will be poorer and weaker than if we had decided to stay in Europe. Brexit was described by the Brexit Secretary himself as an operation of such technical complexity that it makes the moon landing look simple. "I have to say it is a pity that the Brexit landing is being managed by people who would struggle to get their heads around a toddlers’ Lego set".[{{cite web|url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/liberal-democrats/vince-cable/news/89114/vince-cable-brexit-will-be|title=Vince Cable: Brexit will be 'disaster' like Iraq and the financial crash|work=PoliticsHome|author=Kevin Schofield|date=19 September 2017|accessdate=28 October 2019}}] |
9—11
March
2018 | Southport | Sal Brinton [{{cite web|url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/spring_18_conference|title=Spring Conference 2018|author=Brody, Laura|date=7 February 2018|accessdate=25 September 2018}}] | |
15—18
September
2018 | Brighton | Sal Brinton [{{cite web|url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/autumn_conference_2018|title=Autumn Conference - Brighton: 15 - 18 September 2018|work=Liberal Democrats|author=Jack Everitt|date=1 August 2018|accessdate=25 September 2018}}] | In the 30th year from the founding of the Liberal Democrats, Federal Conference launches a new slogan for the party, Demand Better, and party members vote for Policy paper 134: Demand Better: Liberal Democrat priorities for a better Britain, the first time that a full policy prospectus had emerged between elections. It is also the first time that the party's overall approach has been decided in advance, with policies specifically advanced to further that approach. This is in marked contrast to political parties' usual method of accumulating detailed policies and then trying to create an appropriate slogan to accommodate them when an election nears.[{{cite web|url=https://www.markpack.org.uk/155720/liberal-democrat-slogan/#mctoc1|title=The new Lib Dem slogan|work=markpack.org.uk|author=Pack, Mark|date=22 August 2018|accessdate=30 September 2018}}]
The aforementioned motion is, however, overwhelmingly amended to remove references to a so-called 'progressive alliance' and the debate over this is framed as a debate over standing aside for other parties by all involved with the voting body of conference resolving that the party should not stand aside for the Labour or Green parties due to their perceived illiberalism.
The party leader, Vince Cable, announces plans to create a registered supporters' scheme, to enable non-members to vote in leadership elections without needing to pay a join-up fee. He says that around 200,000 individuals who are not party members have volunteered for the party, and it is believed that giving them a say will help expand support for the party.[{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/07/lib-dems-plan-to-let-supporters-choose-leader-without-joining-fee|title=Lib Dems plan to let supporters choose leader without joining fee|work=The Guardian|author=Walker,Peter|date=7 September 2018|accessdate=30 September 2018}}] |
15–17
March
2019 | York | Sal Brinton | Vince Cable's last Conference speech as party leader. He talks about the disillusionment the public feel about politics, and continues, "I am proud of the role our party has played, unapologetically leading the case for Remaining for an Exit from Brexit through securing and then winning a People's Vote. Against all the odds, our cause is very much alive. We have been quite clear that the 2016 referendum, now more than 2½ years ago, was not a good basis for leaving. It was undertaken solely to satisfy an internal quarrel inside the Conservative Party."
"A narrow majority of voters, and only 37% of the electorate, voted to Leave. Facts change, and they have changed. We also now understand much better the scale of the cheating and lying, which went on to secure the result. Without a confirmatory referendum there will be no such thing as the ‘settled will of the people’: merely a feud without end. I remain astounded that some people claim a new referendum would be undemocratic. What is democracy if it is not the right for a country to change its mind?".[{{cite web|url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/s19-leaders-speech|title=Read Vince Cable's speech in full|work=Liberal Democrats|date=17 March 2019|accessdate=28 October 2019}}] |
| style="background:lemonchiffon"
|14–17
September
2019 | Bournemouth | Sal Brinton | File:Lib Dem party conference in Bournemouth 2019 20.jpgThe first Federal Conference with Jo Swinson as Leader, following her landslide win in the Liberal Democrats Leadership Election, on 22 July 2019.
After receiving a standing ovation, Jo Swinson talks of her early life before politics, how her father had been an inspiration and why the party's values became so important for her. She continues by talking about the importance of fighting for the "heart and soul of Britain", pledging to stop Brexit and stating that the country deserves "a better choice than an entitled Etonian or a 1970s socialist". To wide applause, she says that she is standing "as your candidate for Prime Minister", and that in the case that the party wins a majority of seats, it would revoke Article 50.[{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/17/jo-swinson-urges-lib-dems-to-fight-populists-for-heart-and-soul-of-britain-brexit|title=Jo Swinson urges Lib Dems to fight populists 'for heart and soul of Britain'|work=The Guardian|author=Peter Walker and Kate Proctor|date=17 September 2019|accessdate=17 November 2019}}]
Swinson also pledges that future government budgets would be based not only on GDP figures but on factors of national wellbeing, inspired by a model used by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern. She says that policies would be developed by gauging their long-term impact on a range of factors, such as life satisfaction, happiness, anxiety and the feeling of whether something had been worthwhile.
Swinson also promises to set a target of net zero carbon emissions, to create a new Green Investment Bank and to use a different approach to tackling youth crime. |
13–15
March
2020 | York | Mark Pack | The 2020 Spring Conference was cancelled, due to fears about the Coronavirus epidemic.[{{cite web|url=https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/lib-dems-cancel-spring-conference-over-coronavirus-fears-1-6557937|title=Lib Dems cancel spring conference over coronavirus fears|work=The European|author=Jonathon Reid|date=12 March 2020|accessdate=14 March 2020}}] |
| style="background:lemonchiffon"
|25–28
September
2020 | Online | Mark Pack | File:Ed Davey Peoples Vote Rally 2019.jpg, Ed Davey. He became the party's Acting Co-Leader in December 2019 and Leader from August 2020.]]The first Federal Conference with Ed Davey as Leader, following the Liberal Democrats Leadership Election, on 27 August 2020. The Conference is held online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[{{cite web |last1=Sleigh |first1=Sophia |title=Liberal Democrat Party Conference moved online due to coronavirus pandemic |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/liberal-democrats-conference-coronavirus-online-leadership-a4445536.html |website=Evening Standard |accessdate=25 September 2020 |language=en |date=20 May 2020 }}]
The party votes for a variety of Motions at its online 'virtual' conference, among them a commitment to campaign for Universal Basic Income, to alleviate the social and economic effects of the COVID pandemic, provide a more flexible and supportive social security system to enable individuals to retrain for work, meet basic income requirements and provide support for unpaid work such as caring for family members, in a precarious post-COVID world.[{{cite web|url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/a20-ubi|title=Lib Dems back universal basic income|work=Liberal Democrats|author=Ed Davey|date=25 September 2020|accessdate=20 December 2020}}]
In an online speech introducing himself to the public, Davey pledges to "stand up for carers", drawing on his experiences as a carer throughout his life: from his early teenage years, nursing his mother through bone cancer, bringing her tumblers of morphine every morning before going off to school, to his adult life in caring for his own severely disabled son, saying "John needs 24/7 care - and probably always will". Talking to Britain's carers, he says, "I understand what you're going through and I promise you this: I will be your voice. I will be the voice of the nine million carers in our country".
Davey also makes clear that, "after three deeply disappointing elections", in 2015, 2017 and 2019, voters feel the party has become "out of touch" with their concerns, and he promises to listen to, and engage with, them.[{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54315322|title=Ed Davey promises 'to be the voice of carers'|work=BBC News|date=28 September 2020|accessdate=20 December 2020}}] |
| 19–21 March 2021
|Online
|Mark Pack
|Policy motion: A Better Response to the Impact of COVID-19 on Education
Policy motion: Accessibility in Education
Policy motion: Safe and Legal Routes to Save Lives
[{{cite web |title=Spring Conference 2023 |url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/conference/papers/spring-2021 |access-date=1 September 2023}}]
|
| 17 September 2021
|Canary Wharf
|Mark Pack
|Policy motion:Scrap (the)Coronavirus Act 2020.
Policy motion: Opposition to vaccine passports.[{{Cite news|date=2021-09-17|title=Lib Dem conference: Call to scrap Covid laws in pitch for Tory voters|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-58594038|access-date=2021-10-09}}] |
| 11–13 March 2022
|Online
|Mark Pack
|Policy motion: Tackling the Cost–of–Living Crisis
Policy motion: Supporting Hospitality, Retail and
Leisure in the Face of Omicron
Policy motion: COP27 and Climate Empowerment
for Local Government
[{{cite web |title=Spring Conference 2023 |url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/conference/papers/spring-2022 |access-date=1 September 2023}}]
|
| 17–20 September 2022
|Brighton
|Mark Pack
|Cancelled following the death of Elizabeth II, the late Queen's funeral was held on 19 September 2022.
On Sunday 6 November leader Ed Davey delivered a high profile speech in lieu of his conference appearance.[{{cite news |last1=Elgot |first1=Jessica |title=Lib Dems say quarter of property owners fear losing their home |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/nov/06/ed-davey-liberal-democrats-conference-speech-conservative-party |access-date=1 September 2023 |agency=The Guardian}}] |
| 17–19 March 2023
|York
|Mark Pack
|Policy motion: A More Caring Society[{{cite web |title=Spring Conference 2023 |url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/conference/papers/spring-2023 |access-date=1 September 2023}}] |
| 23–26 September 2023
|Bournemouth
|Mark Pack
|Ed Davey's first in person Autumn conference |
| 15–17 March 2024
|York
|Mark Pack
| |
| 14–17 September 2024
|Brighton
|Mark Pack
|Following the increase in the number of Lib Dem MPs, from 11 in the 2019 General Election to 72 in the 2024 General Election, and the formerly-governing Conservative Party's loss of over 250 seats, the party leader, Ed Davey, suggests that the Lib Dems could eventually become the main party of opposition.[{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/17/the-guardian-view-on-the-lib-dems-ambitions-to-become-the-main-opposition-in-britain|title=The Guardian view on the Lib Dems' ambitions: to become the main opposition in Britain|work=The Guardian|date=17 September 2024|accessdate=19 October 2024}}] |
| 21–23 March 2025
|Harrogate
|Mark Pack
| |
