Induction Pack for New Members & Supporters

BRISTOL LIBERAL DEMO CRATS

INTRODUCTION Welcome to the City of Liberal Democrats. Whether you’re new to the Party or have transferred from another local party we hope you’ll find this pack useful for orientation and gaining an understanding of how our local party works. Please read on to find out how you can meet other members and get involved in helping to win seats and grow the party.

We have members and supporters of all ages across all wards of the city. Our Diversity Officer is striving to make us as representative as possible of the people of our wonderful multicultural city of Bristol.

USEFUL ONLINE RESOUR CES Website: www.bristollibdems.org

Facebook Members’ and Registered Supporters’ Hub: www.facebook.com/groups/BristolLibDems

Facebook Public Page: www.facebook.com/BristolLibDems (help raise our profile by liking the public page and sharing posts from there)

Twitter: @BristolLibDems

Bristol Liberal Democrats – Induction Pack for New Members & Supporters V1.7 1 T H E L O CA L PARTY - PARLIAMENTARY SEATS

This covers the four City of Bristol Constituencies Our strongest constituency is Bristol West where Stephen Williams served as MP 2005 – 2015.

Our Prospective Parliamentary Candidates are Andrew Brown for Bristol South, Chris Coleman for Bristol North West, Nick Coombes for Bristol East and James Cox for Bristol West. Nick Coombes, James Cox, Andrew Brown, selected in 2018

Chris Coleman, selected in September 2019

O U R MAYORAL CANDIDATE Mary Page, our Mayoral Candidate is an active member of the national Green Liberal Democrats Committee and is committed to campaigning to abolish the Mayoralty (this is our official policy adopted at local conference in September 2018).

OUR COUNCIL GROUP Mary Page, our Mayoral Candidate We have 9 Councillors. Our Council Group Leader is Cllr Gary Hopkins (Knowle). Our other councillors are Tony Carey ( East), Jos Clark (), Harriet Clough ( & ), Chris Davies (Knowle), Tim Kent (Hengrove & Whitchurch Park), Sultan Khan (Eastville), Anthony Negus (Cotham Ward) and Mark Wright ( & Harbourside).

Our former council leader Barbara Janke now sits in Cllr Gary Hopkins, Council Group Leader the House of Lords as Baroness Janke of Clifton.

Our Extended Council Group meets every few weeks and is open to any active members who wish to stand for election in the 2020 Local Elections or to play a key role in helping others get elected. Our strategy is to actively grow the local party by winning more council seats as we can really make a difference in a local government and that will help us gain more votes in the next General Election.

Bristol Liberal Democrats – Induction Pack for New Members & Supporters V1.7 2 Members are encouraged to speak at public Council meetings.

Our Council Group achieves frequent Press Coverage in the local Press, often working cross-party with the Greens and Tories to hold the Labour-run Council and Labour Mayor in check and many of our proposed local policies are adopted. Max Langer speaking at a council meeting

VOLUNTEERING Most of our volunteering activities require no previous experience and we don’t ask for a regular commitment – you’re welcome to join in whenever you can spare the time. We do, however, rely on many of our members and supporters putting in a big personal effort during election campaigns. We deliver a lot of leaflets as we do not enjoy the same press coverage as the two main parties. Street Stall on College Green

Opportunities to participate in all the activities below are listed on our Facebook Members’ and Supporters’ Hub and in regular e-newsletters. Often one or more activities are built into an Action Day which includes a lunch in a pub or café for an opportunity to meet other activists.

 Canvassing (in person or by phone) Freshers’ Fair

 Surveying (in person or by phone)  Street stalls  Delivery of leaflets, Focus Newsletters and letters to members  Envelope Stuffing  Data Entry  Election Campaigns – all of the above plus Telling (sitting on a polling station), hosting a diamond in a visible spot on your property or Envelope stuffing for the Members’ Mailing

in your car  Campaigning for neighbouring local parties in by-elections  Offering house/garden for events  Collecting signatures for local party petitions  Participating in local rallies or demonstrations

If you haven’t tried canvassing before you are welcome to pair up and shadow an experienced canvasser the first time you try it. We run training sessions on canvassing and other activities from time to time.

For further information contact: [email protected]

James & Max busy canvassing

Bristol Liberal Democrats – Induction Pack for New Members & Supporters V1.7 3 Members’ and Supporters’ Events We run a wide variety of events, including socials, fundraisers and policy consultations which are designed to be as inclusive as possible. If you have any accessibility requirements then get in touch with the organiser of the event and they will do their best to accommodate you.

LIB DEM 101 Designed for recent joiners and any other members/supporters who wish to learn more about the local Party, these are typically held prior to a Lib Dem Pint or other social event, providing an opportunity to stay on afterwards and meet other members and supporters, activists, councillors and parliamentary candidates.

They consist of brief introductions followed by short talks by key activists, with topics typically covering The History and Philosophy of Liberalism, Council Group, Volunteering and Campaigning, and Members’ and Supporters’ Events. This is rounded off with a Q&A session.

They’re held about once every 2 to 3 months. If you’d like to attend the next 101 please contact [email protected]

LIB DEM PINT We hold a monthly social in a pub on a weekday evening, booking a function room or space for exclusive use. This is a great opportunity to meet others from across the city and discuss both local and national political events. You can also discuss volunteering opportunities with local party officers. This is a generally unstructured event but typically includes short talks from local politicians or candidates plus an update on upcoming campaigns and events, after 9 pm.

PIZZA AND POLITICS These events are held about once every two months throughout the year where we have pizza and drinks and then discuss a policy paper or proposal. Recent events have covered sustainability, transport and Bristol Airport expansion.

Bristol Liberal Democrats – Induction Pack for New Members & Supporters V1.7 4 ANNUAL BRISTOL POLIC Y CONFERENCE We hold formal debates as well as policy workshops and consultations and these are used to shape our local policies. All members are entitled to participate and have their say. This is followed by a social in the evening.

CHRISTMAS SOCIAL Each December we get together for a festive social event that typically includes dinner, a speaker and some carol singing to a live piano accompaniment.

A N N U A L Q U I Z This fundraising social event takes place during late January or February on board the boat Sabrina on Redcliff Backs. We have food and drinks and then form teams to compete in the quiz.

FAMILY EVENTS We hold an annual picnic in a park on a Sunday afternoon, and members and supporters are invited to bring along family, friends and partners. We run a few fundraising activities too – usually a picture quiz and a cake stall.

We plan to add other types of event suitable for families in the near future.

COFFEE MORNINGS/AFTE RN O O N T E A These are run by local teams.

EVENTS FOR SPECIAL I NTEREST GROUPS LGBT+ - ad hoc social events plus a stall at Bristol Gay Pride Day which is popular with many activists

Bristol Young Liberals – regular meet-ups for under 25s. This group is very actively involved in student politics at UWE and the University of Bristol

Bristol Women Liberals – this new group will start meeting at least quarterly from Autumn 2019

NATIONAL AND REGIONA L CONFERENCES Typically at least 20 members from Bristol attend these - we organise as car shares to and from the Conference plus at least one social during the conference.

Bristol Liberal Democrats – Induction Pack for New Members & Supporters V1.7 5 The Executive The Executive meets about 5 times a year and officers are elected at our AGM which is held each November.

The executive consists of the Chair, one Vice Chair for each constituency, the Treasurer, The Deputy Treasurer, The Secretary, The Membership Development Officer, the Data Officer and 10 General Officers.

CONTACTS FOR 2019 Chair: Crispin Allard Contact: [email protected] Contact for information on vacant posts with our local party

Membership Officer: Caroline Copsey – responsible for supporting local members Contact: [email protected] Contact for information on membership events and training

Secretary: Laura Barry – provides support to the Chair and takes minutes at regular Executive meetings and the local party AGM Contact: [email protected] Contact for general information

Teams within Bristol Lib Dems There are plenty of opportunities for members to get involved without being a member of the Executive Committee. We have established teams covering the following areas of activity.

CAMPAIGNS Coordination and integration of campaign activity across the city, development of campaign strategy, targeting and messaging. The Campaign Organiser paid role is currently done by James Arrowsmith

COMMUNICATIONS Campaigning using social media, other online channels and the press.

LITERATURE Design and editing service to enhance the quality of locally produced literature, production of city-wide campaign articles.

Bristol Liberal Democrats – Induction Pack for New Members & Supporters V1.7 6 MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT Communication with members, membership recruitment, identifying members’ interests and experiences, encouraging their involvement and skills development

FUNDRAISING Raising money from major donors, members and the wider public to fund our campaigning.

EVENTS Organising a wide range of social events to cater for all members, and coordination of events organised by other teams.

POLICY Development of policies for the Bristol Liberal Democrats local party. This includes organised consultation sessions to which the wider membership are invited.

DATA Supporting the Data Officer in the collation, management and analysis of data held by the Bristol Lib Dem local party to inform campaigning, ensuring compliance with data protection laws.

FINANCE Supporting the Treasurer in budget development, monitoring income and expenditure, financial control and preparation of quarterly and annual accounts.

APPROVALS Reviewing applications and interviewing members to determine their suitability to be approved as Liberal Democrat candidates for Bristol City Council

LOCAL TEAMS Local teams typically cover one or more wards, and may carry out any or all of the activities listed above (except Finance and Approvals) in their local area

If you’re interested in getting involved in any of these activities, or if there is something you would like to do that is not covered, please contact Crispin Allard at [email protected]

Bristol Liberal Democrats – Induction Pack for New Members & Supporters V1.7 7 Testimonials from Local Activists: I’m an activist because …

“Because as I see our country – and the world – moving towards environmental, liberal, social and economic catastrophe I want to know when my kids ask me ‘but what did you do to protect our rights and freedoms?’ I can say ‘everything I could’.”

“I joined the Lib Dems in 2015, as I felt the party had been treated unfairly for the decision to go into coalition and I wanted to do something. I started delivering a few leaflets and that ‘something’ made me feel a bit more hopeful about the political situation! I soon met a wide and interesting group of individuals within the Lib Dem community, who (though all very different) wanted to work for the kind of politics and society that I do; one that supports free-thinking over dogma and champions individual rights (and much more ...). Since then I’ve served on committees and got stuck into things I would never have imagined like leaflet design and event organisation. I've met some wonderful people (including my partner!) who I really believe can change society. There is a lot to do. I’m proud of the small contribution I can make and hope to continue to do so next year.”

“I’m a Lib Dem because I want to make the world a better, fairer place. The party is full of people who share that ambition and the other parties aren’t.”

Version: 1.7 – September 30 2019 Author: Helen Cooney, Membership Team

Published and promoted by Bristol Liberal Democrats, printed by KingPrint, all at 55 Greenleaze, Bristol, BS4 2TL.

Bristol Liberal Democrats – Induction Pack for New Members & Supporters V1.7 8