Liberal Democrat council groups (in England, but strongly recommended in Scotland and Wales), are now required to adopt a set of standing orders that explain the rules how the council group should be run. Whilst it is hoped that these are not needed on a day to day basis, it is important to adopt standing orders now to avoid problems in the future. They also explain the basic rules on how group elections should be run.
Although it is not a requirement to adopt a specific set of standing orders, ALDC provides a set of model standing orders that contain best practice on how to run a Liberal Democrat council group. It is not compulsory that these model standing orders are adopted, how it is recommended that they are as close to this model as possible as they are written to be consistent with the party constitution and current legislation and so it is easier to keep standing orders updated if they contain the same clauses. The Model Standing Orders can be downloaded below.
All council groups in England must send a copy of their standing orders to their regional party, and any council group that does not adopt a set of acceptable standing orders will not be recognised by the party as an official Liberal Democrat Group.
Latest changes to the Model Standing Orders
These standing orders are occasionally updated to reflect latest best practice, legislation and party rules. The most recent changes are outlined at the end of the document.
Useful files
Model Standing Orders for council groups – MS Word
Useful external links
Constitution of the Liberal Democrats – PDFCan you help us?
We would welcome recommendations on how these standing orders could be improved, so please get in touch using the email address below to let us know of how things operate in your area.Updates and comment
Last updated by Anders Hanson on 31 January 2011.
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