Just months after an election night that delivered 72 Liberal Democrat MPs, Policy Connect’s Lavanya Rangarajan and Rob Allen headed to Brighton to join a party conference still basking in the euphoria of a record electoral performance.  

Whilst Ed Davey’s antics have inevitably grabbed headlines, it was clear from engaging with MPs, members, and industry stakeholders that the Lib Dems are a party keen to take advantage of their increased parliamentary influence.  

After the electorally divisive debates on Britain’s relationship with Europe in the post-Brexit years, this was a Conference almost solely focused on the issues that propelled Liberal Democrat candidates to success in July.  

Delivering his keynote speech on Tuesday, Ed Davey pledged to “offer people hope on health”. As Lavanya Rangarajan notes, health and social care were the key themes of this conference:  

“Having attended events over the three days and engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, the party is clearly committed to issues of health and housing. Key conversations revolved around reforming the NHS through increased funding, improving adult social care, and exploring ways to prioritise sustainable and high-quality housing in the Government's plans for new developments during this parliamentary term. Throughout the conference, expert stakeholders consistently underscored the pressing need for decisive action on healthcare, with the aim of reducing waiting times and enhancing the delivery of services. Housing emerged as a similarly vital issue, and it is evident that the Lib Dems are resolved to holding the government to account on these crucial policy areas.” 

This interest in health and social care was reflected in the excellent attendance at our fringe event with the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) on digital technology and social care.  

Joined by Freddie van Mierlo MP and Steffan Aquarone MP, the session featured the launch of the ‘Care Tech Charter’, a document produced by Policy Connect and SCIE that calls for cross-party consensus on improving services to ensure that those who recieve care can enjoy the benefits of technology to live independent and fulfilling lives.  

Policy Connect’s Clive Gilbert featured as a panellist and emphasised the importance of ensuring that “insights and experiences from innovative care practices are shared as examples of good practice” and including “those who rely on care as a genuine voice in decision-making".  

A wide-ranging discussion followed the panellist’s contributions, covering everything from local authority commissioning practices in adult social care and how policymakers can make it easier for tech companies to innovate to the housing crisis, but the point participants continued to return to was the importance of putting disabled and older people's voices at the centre of decision making.   

Policy Connect will also be partnering with the Social Care Institute for Excellence at Labour and Conservative Party Conference’s for further important events on the future of social care: 

Labour - Monday, September 23, 11-12: ‘Overcoming Hurdles to Spreading Innovation in Social Care’. 

Conservative – Tuesday, October 1, 08-09:30: ‘Overcoming Hurdles to Spreading Innovation in Social Care’.  

Alongside health and social care, sustainability appears to be a key priority for the Liberal Democrats. The emphasis placed on tackling sewage pollution and investing in green industries during the election campaign was reinforced by the party’s leadership and new MPs at Conference.  

Senior Policy and Research Manager in the Sustainability Team, Rob Allen, attended several events hosted by the Green Liberal Democrats and reflected that: 

"If I could describe the Lib Dem conference in one word it would be ‘jubilant’, and why shouldn’t it be, after the party returned its best election result since its formation in the 1980s.  However, the upbeat mood did not distract from serious policy discussions on issues such as decarbonisation, nature recovery, and green finance.  My main takeaway from these meetings was that the Lib Dems have significant concerns about how the new Government will reconcile its policy for housing growth (1.5 million new homes over next five years) with provision for adequate environmental protection and climate resilience.  Party leader, Sir Ed Davey, was clear that although he is happy to support the new Government on policies that the Lib Dems agree with, he won’t hesitate to provide robust opposition where he has a difference of opinion."

After an optimistic, thought-provoking conference, Policy Connect are looking forward to working with the Liberal Democrats and their 72 MPs throughout this Parliament! 

Members of the Policy Connect team will also be attending Labour Party Conference in Liverpool next week. Please get in touch with Robert McLaren, Alainah Amer, Gaelan Komen, or James Taylor to speak about Policy Connect, its upcoming projects, and future collaborative opportunities.