The Appointment of Norman Lamb as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills delays confirmation of Keynote Speaker at Spring Conference

Following the promotion of Norman Lamb MP to be Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills East Midlands Liberal Democrats will have to wait until next week when Norman has had a chance to read his Ministerial Diary before we can confirm our Keynote Speaker for our Spring Conference in Leicester on Saturday 18th February. We are, or maybe were, looking forward to hearing about work in Government from the centre as Norman was until today (Friday) Assistant Whip & Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP.

We all hope he will still be able to come back to Leicester where he read law at the University of Leicester and tell us about life under Vince Cable and perhaps, as a specialist in employment law, provide some insight into how to curb the excessive salaries and bonuses enjoyed by bankers and senior executives.

Before entering parliament in 2001 Norman was a member of Norwich City Council 1987-91, leading the Liberal Democrats for the last two years of his term. He has built a strong reputation in Norfolk as a campaigner for improved health services. His interest in health continued at Westminster including introducing debates on orthopaedic waiting times and the provision of care for people with dementia. In December 2006 he was appointed Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary and we look forward to his contribution to our Policy debates on:

• The Blue Badge Scheme - Anyone regrettably immobilised/restricted in their movements by an accident, operation or illness on a temporary basis is not eligible under the current scheme to a Blue Badge. We propose introducing a one year, non-renewable badge for people finding themselves in such situations.

• The importance of donor organs cannot be underestimated. Many persons carry donor cards but for others it is a subject that has either not been considered/discussed. As the NHS sees pressure growing and acknowledges that the need for organ donation is growing we will debate a presumption of opting in to the donation process unless otherwise stated by the individual.

The full programme with details of the Policy Motions can be downloaded here. If necessary an amended version will be issued next week.

Register for Conference here