Twelve appointed to draft the manifesto
In January the Liberal Democrat Federal Policy Committee (FPC) appointed a manifesto drafting group to start work on the party's 2015 general election manifesto.
Most of the attention and debate has been over the choice of chair - David Laws - a degree of attention which rather over-states the role that the chair of a drafting group has relative to the rest of the members of a group.
All the more so as the group also includes such knowledgeable experts as Duncan Brack and such strong high profile voices from other wings of the party as Tim Farron. What's more it is a drafting group with the manifesto still having to go to the full Federal Policy Committee for agreement.
In as much as any individual on such a group can have a strong influence on the outcome, it's also worth noting the presence of Julian Huppert - expect a manifesto that is not so embarrassingly thin on policies for the digital age as the 2010 one - and Sharon Bowles - expect plenty of ideas on financial regulation and restructuring.
Overall the committee is far less dominated by men, by people from London and by Parliamentarians than the equivalent bodies in previous Parliaments. A look at the list of names reveals that says rather more about those previous bodies than the current one:
- David Laws MP, Chair
- Sharon Bowles MEP, Vice-Chair
- Duncan Brack, Vice-Chair
- Nick Clegg MP
- Baroness Sal Brinton
- Tim Farron MP
- Duncan Hames MP (Federal Policy Committee Chair)
- Dr Julian Huppert MP
- Lord John Shipley
- Cllr Dr Julie Smith
- Jo Swinson MP
- Jenny Willott MP
Those dozen people have some rather tough questions to grapple with...
Comments
David Garlick Northampton
Once again the word environment is noticeably absence from the commentary in this article.
I acknowledge that is not an indication of of our Policy, but it indicates to me that the environment has slipped down our Agenda so far that any Party wishing to capitalise on that may well have the opportunity to do so.
If this Party does not put it centre Stage no one will. The Green Party are so inept their voice will not be heard.
The world is truly sleep walking towards environmental disaster with too little action usually occuring too late.
HELP!
David Garlick Northampton