URGENT: Deadline for notifying LDHQ of Conference reps extended till Monday 7th September at midday

There was great disappointment amongst Liberal Youth members earlier this month as they were told that they were too late to notify LDHQ of their voting reps for Federal Conference. The organisation has a number of voting places allocated to it as young people often find it difficult to get elected to the role by a local party as they are more likely to move home or to be away studying half the year.

They had not been aware of the original deadline and over the past few days have made their case to LDHQ and the Federal Conference Committee. Some local parties also missed out because they hadn't realised there was a rush.

On Friday afternoon, Party President Sal Brinton announced that the deadline would be extended until Monday 7th September at midday.

She said:

"Over the last few days it has become clear that some local parties have missed the deadlines for notifying Member Services of substitutions for Conference Reps. We did send out two reminders to local parties in May and June to remind them, but not all parties responded.

"Can I start by saying the deadline was not a staff decision, they have been carrying out the instructions set by party committees. The deadline timetables are set well in advance of conference by party committees, and whilst we were in Coalition, FCC was forced to set a July deadline to ensure that we complied with security requirements. Now that we are no longer in coalition, we do have more flexibility and I have spent some time over the last couple of days working with our staff at HQ to see how we can help relax this deadline.

"I am pleased to say that we can extend the deadline for the notification of subs and extra reps to Monday 7 September at midday. Below are the guidance notes for local parties and conference attendees - please read these carefully. Then if you do wish to notify HQ of any changes to voting reps please do so using the form at www.libdems.org.uk/contact.

"Whilst it may be possible for very late substitutions to be presented at conference, it is likely that there will be a delay in processing these. Also if the authority from a local party cannot be verified, then substitution or extra voting representation cannot take place, so again, to reduce the risk of problems, please submit by the 7 September deadline. Also please note that it is not possible to substitute voting reps who have already registered for conference.

"Assuming that the party votes for the constitutional changes at conference for one member one vote, this will be the last conference at which we will need to go through the substitution process.

"I have also agreed the same arrangements for Liberal Youth voting representatives.

"I particularly want to thank the staff in Member Services and Conference Office who have been extremely helpful in offering to make this new deadline work. On behalf of the party, I am very grateful.

"The Federal Conference Committee could have ignored all the pleas and decided that rules were rules and that was the end of it. It's good to see that they have come up with a solution that reflects the situation we are now in, not the one that we were in when the rules were drawn up.

"This may well be the last year that we have to go through this voting reps bureaucracy which takes an awful lot of administration. If Conference accepts the amendments on One Member One Vote, all party members could be voting next Autumn.

"In the meantime, why not get in touch with your local party to see if they have any spare voting rep places, especially if you are a new member"

Voting Reps in East Midlands

Even if you are not going to Federal Conference you need to be a Regional Voting Rep if you wish to participate in the election of your Regional Officers and Executive. With the large increase in membership since the election there are vacancies for additional Regional Voting Reps in most Local Parties.

Guidance notes

Local Party Chairs and Secretaries

1. Please check your list of Representatives nominated at your 2014 AGM. You will have been reminded by HQ if you had not sent this in. Without this list, no reps can be voting reps. (The East Midlands List also can be checked by Local Party for National and Regional Reps at http://eastmidslibdems.org.uk/en/contact.)

2. Ask your voting Reps as soon as possible if they have registered for conference. If they are not going, please ensure that any members, especially new members, are offered the chance to substitute for them.

3. If you are entitled to extra voting Reps as a result of member growth, please ensure that you have appointed them prior to 7 September. You will have been notified in July of your local party membership numbers. Below is the table of the number of voting reps per members in a local party, which will tell you how many voting reps you are entitled to Membership of Local Party Number of Representatives

30 to 50 - 8
51 to 75 - 9
76 to 100 -10
101 to 150 - 11
151 to 200 - 12
201 to 250 - 13
251 to 300 - 14
301 to 350 -15
351 to 400 - 16
401 to 450 -17

together with a further representative for every 100 members (or part thereof) in excess of 450.

(please note these figures are for single constituency parties, if your local party covers more than one constituency please contact HQ for further guidance)

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4. Please ensure that you have notified party HQ via www.libdems.org.uk/contact of any substitutes or extra voting reps by midday on Monday 7 September. As usual, you will need to provide the name, address and membership number of both the voting rep not coming to conference as well as the member substituting for them. - Please copy this information to membership@eastmidslibdems.org.uk

Voting Representatives

1. If you have not registered for conference and do not plan to come, please let your local party Chair and Secretary know immediately, so they can offer another member going to conference the chance of substituting for you.

2. It is not possible for someone to substitute for you if you have already registered for conference.

3. If you are going to conference, find out who else is going from your local party, especially new members, and arrange to meet up at conference.

Current non-voting Representatives

1. If you wish to become a substitute, or take one of the extra places that your local party may be entitled to, then please get in touch with your local party chair or secretary immediately. They will need to know your name, address and membership number.

2. They must notify member services, but it is worth your while getting a copy email from them, with their name, membership number and local party officer role, confirming that you are either an extra person as submitted on their list to HQ OR who you are substituting for. It is not possible to substitute for someone who has registered for conference.