Federal Board (Liberal Democrats) Explained

Federal Board
Abbreviation:	FB
Formerly:	Federal Executive
Leader Title:	Chair
Leader Name:	Mark Pack
Parent Organisation:	Liberal Democrats
Website:	Federal Board

The Federal Board is the governing body of the Liberal Democrats. It is chaired by the party president, currently Mark Pack, and includes members of the party-at-large elected every three years in an all-member ballot, as well as representatives from the state parties, MPs, peers, MEPs, and councillors.^[1] Until 2017 it was known as the Federal Executive. From November 2022, it was re-constituted, with a Federal Council added to provide scrutiny to a smaller sized board.

History

In November 2015, the election of Lord Rennard by members of the House of Lords as the Peer Representative to the committee caused a "backlash" from party members, due to public accusations of sexual harassment that had been made against the peer. The complaints triggered a petition calling for a special conference to debate the issue,^[2] and resulted in Rennard stepping down from the body shortly afterwards.^[3]

In November 2016, reforms were passed that resulted in the Federal Executive being replaced by the Federal Board.^[4]

Following constitutional reforms ahead of the 2022 election, the number of directly elected members was reduced from 15, to 3. Following the 2022 election, Lucy Nethsinga came first out of the directly elected members, followed by Neil Fawcett and then Joyce Onstad. Following her resignation from the party, Onstad was replaced by Callum Robertson who won the recounted vote.^[5]

Members of the Federal Board

• Chair: Mark Pack
• English Party Chair: Lucas North
• Scottish Party Convenor: Jenni Laing
• Welsh Party Chair: Tim Sly
• Leader: Ed Davey
• Chair of FFRC and Registered Treasurer: Mike Cox
• Chair of FPDC: Claire Hudson
• Vice-chair of FPC: Jeremy Hargreaves
• Chair of FCC: Nicholas Da Costa
• Chair of FCEC: Kath Pinnock
• Chair of FASC: Helena Cole
• Vice-president: Amna Ahmad
• Councillor representative: Chris White
• Young Liberals Representative: Janey Little

Directly Elected:

• Lucy Nethsingha (Cambridge)
• Neil Fawcett (Oxford West & Abingdon)
• Callum Robertson (Peterborough & Fenland)

Non-voting Members

• Chief Executive: Mike Dixon

Federal Council

The Federal Council was formed following the reduction of the size of the Federal Board in 2022. According to the Liberal Democrats, the Federal Council scrutanises the actions of the Federal Board

Federal Council seat allocation

As of 2024, membership of the Federal Council is allocated as such:^[6]

• 21 party members (elected by party members)
• 3 members from each State Party (elected according to each State Party's processes)
• 3 principal local authority councillors, elected Mayors or Police and Crime Commissioners (elected by their numbers)
• 3 members of the Young Liberals, (elected according to the Young Liberals processes)
• 3 representatives of the Parliamentary Liberal Democrats
• The Chair of the Federal Audit and Scrutiny Committee

Members of the Federal Council

The current members of the Federal Council are

• Chair of Federal Council: Antony Hook
• FASC Chair: Dr David Radcliffe

Directly elected party members:

State party representatives:

Parliamentary representatives:

• Richard Foord MP
• Lord Paul Strasburger
• Lord Timothy Clement-Jones

Young Liberals representatives:

• Archie McCann
• Huw James
• Oliver Jones Lyon

See also

• National Executive Committee of the Labour Party
• Conservative Party Board

Notes and References

1. Web site: Liberal Democrat Federal Constitution.
2. News: Lib Dems to hold special conference over Lord Rennard's election. The Guardian. 16 November 2015.
3. News: Lord Rennard steps down from Lib Dem executive. The Guardian. 17 November 2015.
4. Web site: Pack . Mark . A glossary of Liberal Democrat terms . 6 June 2024 . markpack.org.uk . en-GB.
5. Web site: The Federal Board . www.libdems.org.uk . en-gb.
6. Web site: The Federal Council - Liberal Democrats . 6 June 2024 . www.libdems.org.uk.