A selection of photos of the Liberal Democrat Local Government Conference in June 2010 are now available online at ALDC's Flickr site.

Many thanks to Alex Folkes and Jonathan Wallace for the photos!

Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, addresses the Lib Dem Local Government Conference

Training with London Councils on "Cabinet Member for your Ward"

Delegates discussing issues in a training session. 

Nick arriving at LG House, greeted by LGA Lib Dem Group Leader Cllr Richard Kemp.

Liberal Democrat leaders of the cities of Bristol, Portsmouth and Sheffield with Liberal Democrat local government Under-Secretary of State Andrew Stunell MP

The 2010 Liberal Democrat Group Leaders Day takes place on Friday 18 June 2010 - at LGA House in Westminster, London. This is the day immediately preceeding the Lib Dem Local Government Conference on Saturday. 

Provisional Programme

10.30am            Arrival with registration and coffee

11.15am            ALDC Group Leaders’ – Welcome and Introductions

11.30am            Leading Success – Challenges for the Lib Dem Group Leader Speakers and Discussion

12.30-1.30pm            Lunch for Group Leaders’ and Council Leaders’

1.30pm             Joint welcome to both Group Leaders’ and Council Leaders’

                        Richard Kemp, Leader, LGA Liberal Democrat Group

                        Tim Pickstone, Chief Executive, ALDC

1.45pm             THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE

Group Leaders’ and Council Leaders’

Irene Lucas, Acting Permanent Secretary, Communities and Local Government

Steve Freer, Chief Executive, Cipfa

Andrew Stunell MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government (tbc)

3.00pm             Afternoon break

3.15pm             ALDC workshops for Group Leaders’ only – please choose 1

A – Managing your Group

B – Effective Opposition

C – Planning and Leading Electoral Success

D – Developing the Group – candidates, development and succession planning

4.45pm             Joint round-up of the day - Group Leaders’ and Council Leaders’

5.15pm             Finish and close

The Liberal Democrat Local Government DINNER is at 8.00pm – drinks from 7:00 pm  

Now that the elections are over, this weekend is a great time to register for the 2010 Liberal Democrat Local Government Conference - Saturday 19 June 2010. This is the first time Councillors and local campaigners will be able to get together since the start of the Coalition Government - we have a lot to talk about!

Registrations start at £45 (that's after a £5 discount for ALDC members). After 15th June this goes up to £50. Council Groups in Group Membership of ALDC can take advantage of our "buy two, get one free" offer - get in touch if you want to take advantage of this. 

Register online here. ALDC members should log in first to take advantage of the members discount. 

Conference Details

Who, When, Where

- all Liberal Democrat Councillors and local campaigners; group researchers and staff, colleagues from local government and Parliament. 

- Saturday 19 June 2010. 
On Friday 18 June, there are a number of satellite events, including a Group Leaders Day - separate information has been sent out about this. 

On the evening of Friday 18 June 2010, is the Lib Dem Local Government Dinner. Now in its fourth year, this popular event takes place at the City Inn in Westminster - tickets are £30 per person. If people need accommodation overnight a special rate has been arranged at the City Inn Westminster - email westminster.res@cityinn.com or telephone 020 7630 1000 quoting the code LIBE180610. Other cheaper hotels are available nearby. 

Please note there are only 15 places left at this cheap rate at the hotel so please book as soon as you can. 

The Conference takes place at Local Government House, Smith Square, Westminster, London. 

Conference Programme

We've got a busy day planned for you, here are some highlights. 

Keynote speakers: 
Andrew Stunell MP
Baroness Ros Scott
Other Ministers are currently being confirmed. 

Debate and discussion: 
Plenary sessions include: 
- Local Government and the new Coalition Agreement
- Lessons from 2010 / Campaigning in the new Political landscape

Councillor Training sessions include: 
- media skills
- effective scrutiny
- presentation skills
- "Cabinet member for my Ward"

Campaigning Training Sessions include:
- Winning in 2011 against the Tories
- Winning in 2011 against Labour
- Talking to the Voters - Getting out there in Summer 2010

Policy Sessions include:
- Aging Liberally
- Greening Britain
- Efficiency Savings

Organisations running fringe sessions and workshops include:
- Local Partnerships
- London Councils
- Association for Public Sector Excellence
- EARS
 

Exhibition: There will be stands from the local Government family and a number of partners and friends from the rest of the Party and commercial colleagues throughout the day - plus the chance to meet and chat with councillors and campaigners from other parts of the country.

For more information, or if you are interested in joining us at the Conference as an exhibitor or fringe partner please get in touch with Emma Hall 01422 843 785 emma.hall@aldc.org.  

Don't miss out on the current cheap rate - Register today!

Birmingham's ICC was the venue for the Party's Federal Spring Conference. ALDC had a busy programme highlighting the forthcoming local elections and a number of issues which we have been working on. 

Once again our stand  was co-located with our colleagues from the LGA Liberal Democrat Group and the IDeA creating a "councillors area" in the exhibition hall. Staff were busy during the weekend providing advice to campaigners and councillors and information on ALDC and its services. 

Our fringe programme included a joint event with Liberal Youth on  Climate Change: Keeping up the Pressure. Speakers included Simon Hughes MP and speakers from UK Youth Climate Coalition, Liberal Youth and Green Liberal Democrats. "Winning in the Wards" was a briefing session on the forthcoming local elections with Local Elections Campaign Chair Andrew Stunell MP and Director of Campaigns Hilary Stephenson. On Saturday lunchtime we hosted a working lunch with the Leadership Centre for Local Government to showcase the "Next Generation" programme of councillor development. 

Training provided by ALDC and our partners included sessions on Winning in the 2010 local elections, and session for Councillors on budget setting, coalitions, mentoring and candidate selection. 

There is small selection of photos of the events at our Flickr site, which is here. 

Good news - because we're all so busy with something called the election - we've extended the deadline for cheap "early bird" registrations for the 2010 Liberal Democrat Local Government Conference to TUESDAY (6th April) - giving you the whole bank holiday weekend to register. 

Registrations start at £35 (that's after a £5 discount for ALDC members). After next Tuesday these will go up to £45 for ALDC members and £50 for non-members. Council Groups in Group Membership of ALDC can take advantage of our "buy two, get one free" offer - get in touch if you want to take advantage of this offer. 

Register online here. ALDC members should log in first to take advantage of the members discount. (Your log in details are at the end of this email). 

Conference Details

Who, When, Where

- all LIberal Democrat Councillors and local campaigners; group researchers and staff, colleagues from local government and Parliament. 

- Saturday 19 June 2010. 
On Friday 18 June, there are a number of satellite events, including a Group Leaders Day - separate information has been sent out about this. 

On the evening of Friday 18 June 2010, is the Lib Dem Local Government Dinner. Now in its fourth year, this popular event takes place at the City Inn in Westminster - tickets are £40 per person. If people need accomodation overnight a special rate has been arranged at the City Inn Westminster - email westminster.res@cityinn.com or telephone 020 7630 1000 quoting the code LIBE180610. Other cheaper hotels are available nearby. 

The Conference takes place at Local Government House, Smith Square, Westminster, London. 

Conference Programme

We've got a busy day planned for you, the final programme will be available after the General Election, but here are some highlights. 

Keynote speakers: We cannot confirm this until after the General Election, but both NIck Clegg and Ros Scott plan to be with us. More to be confirmed as soon as we can!

Debate and discussion: Fringe event topics confirmed so far include: Total Place, Total Change; Localism; Future of Standards in Local Government, and "Ageing Liberally". 

Training: Plenty of training for Councillors and newly elected Councillors including: Introduction to being a Councillor, Effective Scrutiny, Cabinet Member for Your Ward, Public Speaking and Working with the Media. There will be special campaigns sessions on campaigning in the post-election landscape and winning in the 2011 local elections. 

Exhibition: There will be stands from the local Government family and a number of partners and friends from the rest of the Party and commercial colleagues throughout the day - plus the chance to meet and chat with councillors and campaigners from other parts of the country.

For more information, or if you are interested in joining us at the Conference as an exhibitor or fringe partner please get in touch with Emma Hall 01422 843 785 emma.hall@aldc.org.  

Don't miss out on our early bird rate - Register today!