This preview of the first English [Liberal Democrats] Council Executive (ECE) of 2016 provides a useful description of the issues discussed in January. Put out the bunting! I wrote a short explanation of what the body does just over a year ago.

The first part of the meeting contains the usual reports from officers of the English Party (Chair, Treasurer, Vice-Chair and Candidates) and its reps to other party bodies (Federal Executive (FE), Federal Conference Committee (FCC), Federal Policy Committee (FPC) and the G8 local election grants scheme), although within these there are sometimes substantive issues that need discussion. Some of these officers also chair committees which also report back, such as the Vice-Chair chairing the Regional Parties' Committee and Treasurer chairing the English Finance and Administration Committee. I have included a section on the membership of the committee and various other elected reps at the bottom of this post. The second part of the meeting involves reports on particular areas of work of the English Party at the moment.

There's been a lot of campaigning recently, what with preparing for the Euro Referendum and elections at different levels, so we in the Conferencing Committee have been wondering if we could give a little extra. As requested by you, we are running a "Euro-messaging" session based on the 5 points the Lib Dems are promoting as reasons to stay IN Europe:

A report out this week concludes that

(a) most factors affecting immigration are under UK Government control, not the the EU (p.3); and

(b) if we left the EU, people would not stop wanting to come here (p.6). (Though if the economy slumped as a result of leaving, they might be less keen, and we would all be poorer!)

The Liberal Democrats have today published their review of the 2015 General Election.

Completed by the Campaigns and Communications Committee, chaired by James Gurling, the review examines last year's campaign and provides a clear vision for the rebuilding of the party.

In the process of conducting the review, the group received feedback from over 7500 party members. The size of the response was overwhelming, and so too was the optimism, hope, and belief in the capacity of the Party to sustain and rebuild itself in the months and years to come.

Another street stall to make you all aware of on Saturday.

This one's in Kettering town centre. It is being held on the high street opposite Waterstones (underneath the clock).

If you want more details contact Chris Nelson on 07824645049.

Cant make it to Kettering? Click here for details of the stalls being organised for Leicester and Loughborough.

As promised here is the link to Stronger IN events calendar.

http://www.strongerin.co.uk/events

This link should work for the rest of the campaign, and if members put their postcode in, they should be able to see events in their area. The site will update as more events are listed so it's well worth checking on a regular basis.

Campaigners are continuing to fight for affordable housing. On Tuesday, Liberal Democrat MPs called for a series of reasonable solutions to the housing crisis, but Conservative MPs voted against them.

Tell us what you think: Is the government doing enough to fix the housing crisis?

YES - NO

The European Referendum question asks "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" Voters are not being asked whether we accept David Cameron's renegotiation proposals or the (draft) European Council Agreement. Nor are we being asked our opinion on the crises in the Eurozone and Schengen areas.