The English Liberal Democrats, officially the Liberal Democrats in England, is the state party within the Liberal Democrats that operates in England. It is a federation of the eleven regional parties in England and the English branch of the youth and student organisation. The regions are further divided into local parties. The party currently holds 11 of the 533 English seats in the House of Commons and two of the 25 seats in the London Assembly.
Organisation
English Council
The English Council is the sovereign body of the English party. It consists of the chairs of regional parties, representatives elected by regional party members, and representatives of the organisation representing youth and student members within the English party. The Council meets three times a year and elects the English Council Executive.
English Executive
The English Council Executive manages the running of the English party between English Council Meetings. The English Council Executive consists of the Chairs of the 11 English regional parties, 12 members directly elected from the English Council, the English Young Liberals Chair. The English Representatives to federal bodies also attend. The English Council Executive meets 6 times a year.
The English Council Executive has three sub-committees; A Finance and Administration Sub-Committee which is chaired by a Treasurer manages the finances of the English party, the Regional Parties Committee and the English Candidates Committee.
The English Council Executive is elected annually in November, and takes office on 1 January of each year:
Regional parties
The English Liberal Democrats is a federation of the eleven regional parties which follow the boundaries of the English Regions, with the exception of South East England and South West England which are each divided into two regional parties. Each regional party is governed by a conference and AGM held in the autumn of every year. The conference elects a Regional Executive, led by a Regional Chair. The regional executive includes all Liberal Democrat members of parliament representing constituencies within the region, all members of the House of Lords who are members of the regional party, ordinary party members elected from within the region, and additional members co-opted by the executive.
The regional parties within the English party are: Devon and Cornwall (South West England) East of England East Midlands London Liberal Democrats North East England North West England South Central (South East England) South East (South East England) Western Counties (South West England) West Midlands Yorkshire and the Humber
Policy and functions
The English party has responsibilities for the organisation of local parties, co-ordination of the activities of regional parties, resolution of disputes between regional parties, selection of English representatives to federal bodies and establishing the rules for selection of party candidates.
The English Party constitution states that the Liberal Democrats in England "shall determine the policy of the Party on matters affecting England which fall outside the remit of the Federal Party" This can be achieved by structures established by the English Council. As no policy making structures are currently in place, policy making has been passed up to federal level and English policies discussed at federal party conferences.
Elected representatives
Members of Parliament
Daisy Cooper – St Albans
Sir Ed Davey – Kingston and Surbiton
Sarah Dyke - Somerton and Frome
Tim Farron – Westmorland and Lonsdale
Richard Foord - Tiverton and Honiton
Sarah Green – Chesham and Amersham
Wera Hobhouse – Bath
Layla Moran – Oxford West and Abingdon
Helen Morgan - North Shropshire
Sarah Olney - Richmond Park
Munira Wilson – Twickenham
London Assembly members
Hina Bokhari
Caroline Pidgeon
Directly elected mayors
Peter Taylor – Mayor of Watford
Appointments
House of Lords
List of chairs of the English Liberal Democrats
Chairs are elected in November and take office on 1 January the following year for a two-year term. They are eligible to stand for re-election, but must not serve as Chair for more than four years in a six-year period.
Paul Farthing (c 1994–1999) Dawn Davidson (c 2000–2003) Stan Collins (2004–2006) Brian Orrell (2007–2009) Jonathan Davies (2010–2011) Peter Ellis (2012–2014) Steve Jarvis (2015–2016) Liz Leffman (2017–2018) Tahir Maher (2019) Gerald Vernon-Jackson (2020) Alison Rouse (2021–Present)