Councillor Janet Battye, Leader of the Calderdale Lib Dems, has been a stalwart of the ALDC-LGA Lib Dems Local Government Conference.
We asked her to tell us why she joins us every year and what she finds most useful about the event:
I always look forward to the Local Government Conference. The training is full of the very latest information and campaign techniques, and the speakers are fantastic. As a Group Leader, I have found the Group Leaders’ Day to be a great way to meet with councillors in similar positions and to exchange ideas and experiences.
The Local Government Conference always focuses particularly on issues important to me as a local Councillor and is a good time to talk with friends and colleagues from across the country. It’s even better to attend the Leaders’ Day on the Friday and the dinner on the Friday night. One of my abiding memories is of Nick talking with us about criminal justice policy while he was leading on that before he became Party Leader. To me, that demonstrates the value of this conference! Quality contact with key figures in a relaxed setting.
Calderdale like to come to the Local Government Conference as a group, so that we can cover all of the training sessions and compare notes afterwards. We always leave the event with a feeling of enthusiasm that quickly translates into more local activity over the summer! I would recommend the Local Government Conference to any Liberal Democrat councillor or campaigner, but especially those with elections to win the year after – it has been a real shot in the arm for our local campaigning every time we have attended.
The combination of ALDC’s campaigns training and the LGA Lib Dems’ policy knowledge makes the Local Government Conference the key annual event for local councillors and campaigners. It is the only national conference designed just for us!
See you there, I hope.