A bureaucrat speaks to his expectant audience...

Here I am, trying, and failing, to look as
though I'm not reading my speech...

Yesterday saw the Suffolk Liberal Democrats mini-conference in Ipswich, and I was asked to speak for four minutes on the behind the scenes stuff that happens in our Party. Here's what I said; 

So, you’ve become a Liberal Democrat or, for some of you, been one for many years. It’s all about campaigning for liberal democracy, right?

Well, yes. But you need to be organised, because it’s not quite as simple as going out and knocking on doors, or calling people on the phone, or using social media. And, behind the public face of a political party, there are a bunch of people keeping things ticking over, raising and managing funds, recording what has been decided, making sure that members are able to take up all of the opportunities that being part of any organisation offers.

That means treasurers and secretaries, database managers and so much more. You need people to manage candidate selections so that they’re fair, to draft policy, to design leaflets, and most of all, to ensure that things are done by the rules. Government particular likes to make rules that effect political parties – campaign finance being one of the most obvious areas.

As a result, the bureaucracy of political parties can be very important, if not necessarily very glamorous. But it may be that, sitting in this room, are people with accountancy skills, or organisational skills like process management, who might not like active campaigning but want to help out behind the scenes, or who even like both. 

In my professional life, I work in central government, and thus am somewhat restricted in what I can do publicly. However, I have an accounting background and believe that process matters. And because of that, I’ve found myself a niche deep in the organisational structure of the Party over the years, and had the opportunity to meet, and work with, a range of people I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise – like Ros.

Daunted by the responsibility? Don’t be. There is plenty of advice and support, both locally and from Headquarters, and there are old-timers around like me only too happy to answer questions.

There is also a little-known network of committees that, effectively, run the Party, some locally, like the Executive Committee of your Local Party, some regional – in our case, the East of England - and some at English and even Federal levels. They all need people with skills who can help decide how we select Parliamentary candidates, organise our conferences, design and consult on policy and even how we co-operate with our sister political parties across Europe and beyond. And, there is no reason why it couldn’t be you, if you wanted.

More than a quarter of the membership of this Party have joined in the past six weeks, and a new Leader will doubtless want to change things too, so there are potentially new ways of doing things, and opportunities to influence how the Party works. And here in Suffolk, and beyond, the Party will warmly welcome you if you want to contribute your skills, your knowledge and your time behind the scenes.

So, if you think that you might be interested, come and talk to me in the session that follows these presentations. I promise to talk English, not Bureaucrat, and if you simply want to know how the Party works, I’ll be happy to explain as best I can.