Don't miss out on your chance to benefit from the special discounted rate for early registrations for the Liberal Democrat Local Government Conference on Saturday 20 June 2009 in (Lib Dem run) Sheffield.

Registrations received by 31 March 2009 come at the special discount rate of £40 - cut that down even further if you are an ALDC member to £35 or £30! (If you're not yet a member -why not join!).

Registration for the conference is online - just click here to register and pay by credit or debit card. ALDC members should log on first to the website, and then your member's discount will be applied automatically.

The programme for the Conference is taking shape and we have a packed schedule for you.

Why not come on Friday evening for the 3rd annual Lib Dem Local Government dinner hosted by Party President Ros Scott. It's just £30 a head, and we've done a deal with the conference hotel (the Mercure St Paul's) for delegates to stay overnight (you do need to pay this yourself). With the dinner, the conference and the accomodation all in the same venue it should be an excellent opportunity for networking and meeting other Lib Dem Councillors and activists.

Saturday itself kicks off with Party Leader Nick Clegg MP. Not only is Sheffield a Lib Dem run city, but it also boasts our Leader as one of its MPs. Nick will be addressing the conference in the morning. As well as Nick and Ros, other speakers include Julia Goldsworthy MP and Councillors Paul Scriven, Kath Pinnock and Richard Kemp.

Training is always an important part of the day. For campaigners (that's all of us), we kick off our Flying Start 2010 programme of sessions aimed to deliver success for Lib Dems in the forthcoming local and General elections (and the possibility of them being on the same day). For Councillors we've teamed up with the IDeA and Midas Training to bring you a busy programme of skills and practical training.

Policy sessions focus on sharing the best practice of Liberal Democrats making a difference at a local level and we've a full day exhibition with a mixture of party bodies, partner agencies and equipment suppliers.

All this for as little as £30! - but only if you book early!

Don't forget that if there is a group of you coming, it's "buy three, get the fourth place free" - so why not bring along the whole team?

Book online here. For more information please contact Emma Hall or phone 01422 843 785.

It was brilliant to see so many ALDC members and Councillors at the Federal Party Spring Conference last weekend in Harrogate. Not everyone is able to attend, and for those of you who did you can't be at every part of the conference, so here's our brief highlights:

Fringe
The Local Government fringe was some of the best attended in Harrogate. ALDC's sessions on Europe and the Counties (with ALDE); on the "Be a Councillor" programme (with the Leadership Centre) and on Social Housing were all full with lively discussion. On Friday night the LGA Group with London Councils held the "Council Group of the Year" awards to a packed out room. Elsewhere we saw the launch of the Leadership Centre Next Generation Programme 2009 and the new LGA Group book "Cabinet Member for my Ward". 

Training
ALDC ran a programme of eight training sessions - four on campaigning, four on being a councillor, with some of the latter in partnership with colleagues from the IDeA and London Councils. If you're interested in the slides from any of the sessions please let us know (ALDC members only). 

Advice and Information
Once again this year we shared our stand with peers from the IDeA (Improvement and Development Agency) to provide additional support to councillors at conference. We were also busy with our "60 second survey" on how much Councillors should be contributing to party activities which created great interest - more to follow on this important subject. 

Policy and Debate
There is an excellent run-down of the policy and speeches at the conference at the Party Website, including a video of Nick Clegg's closing speech. As local campaigners we've got some excellent things to go and campaign on - 20 hours free childcare, class sizes of 15 for infants, and of course a continuing unique commitment to scrap tuition fees. 

For our photo highlights, visit ALDC's Flickr site here. 

PS
The Party celebrated its 21st birthday on Friday in Harrogate - happy birthday from ALDC - we (ALDC/ALC/ASDC) will be 42 this year......!

Its only a couple of days to the Party's Federal Spring Conference in Harrogate (Friday 6 - Sunday 8 March 2009). If you've been able to get to Harrogate please join us at one of the many events for councillors and local campaigners, or just come and say "hello" at the stand. If you're not able to be there, please feel free to contact us if you would like any more information about the training or fringe events.

In the previous two weeks, we've given details of the ALDC programmes for campaigner and councillor training in Harrogate. As promised, here are some final details on our busy fringe programme.

The full local Government Programme is available to download here. 

Friday 6 March 2009 8.00-9.15pm, Holiday Inn, Charter Suite
Europe Matters Locally
Its just gone three months to go to the European and County/Unitary elections on 4 June 2009. Join our platform of key parliamentarians and campaigners: Willie Rennie MP, Andrew Stunell MP, Danny Alexander MP, Andrew Duff MEP and Director of Campaigns Hilary Stephenson. Chair: Cllr Graham Knight (Mid Sussex). DRINKS

Saturday 7 March 2009 1.00-2.00pm, Holiday Inn, Bramham Suite
Be a Councillor Lib Dem Programme
Join us for the launch of the Be a Councillor Liberal Democrat Programme. This exciting programme being delivered by the Leadership Centre for Local Government and ALDC, will look how we can find and recruit good and diverse council candidates: Julia Goldsworthy MP, Steve Hitchins and Cllr Laura Willoughby. Chair Cllr Claire Hudson (Mendip) LUNCH AVAILABLE

Saturday 7 March 2009 6.30-7.30pm, Holiday Inn, Charter Suite
Social Housing - a Credit Crunch Crisis?
As the credit crunch hits people hard, we examine what the future needs to be for social housing. Join our top panel of experts: Adam Sampson (Chief Executive, SHELTER); Sarah Teather MP; Deputy Leader of Leeds Council Cllr Richard Brett; and Executive Member for Housing in Islington Cllr Terry Stacy. Chair: Cllr Sarah Boad (Warwickshire). DRINKS

A selection of photos from the Local Government Conference earlier in the month are now on ALDC's Flickr site. Please let us know if you'd like (electronic) copies of any that you feature in!

Baroness Ros Scott and Andrew Stunell MP meet exhibitors in the Exhibition Hall. 

Shadow Local Government Minister Julia Goldsworthy MP addresses conference. 

Mark Pack, the Party's Head of Innovations, promoting the use of texting.

All photos copyright Fishnik.