Liberal Democrat Party Conference moved online due to coronavirus pandemic

The Liberal Democrats will move their party conference online after the Labour Party also cancelled its annual meeting.

The party conference was due to be held in Brighton in September but will instead be held online due to safety fears over the coronavirus pandemic.

At a meeting of the party's Federal Board yesterday, the Lib Dems also agreed the timetable for their leadership election this summer.

Former leader Jo Swinson was forced to step down as leader after she lost her seat at the December general election. The party had been due to start the process in May and announce a successor in July. But the board has now agreed to hold their leadership election from June through to August.

The leadership race will now include "online hustings and online voting".

Acting leader Sir Ed Davey is expected to stand while Layla Moran and Wera Hobhouse have declared their intention to stand.

New MP Daisy Cooper has also not ruled herself out.

President of the Lib Dems Mark Pack said: “Conference plays a key role in our democratic party as well as being an important training and information exchange event. I am therefore pleased we will host an online alternative, the first for any major political party.”

It comes after the Labour Party also announced it was cancelling its annual party conference that was due to be held in Liverpool in mid-September.

The decision was made by members of Labour’s ruling body during an online meeting yesterday.

It would have been the first conference with Sir Keir Starmer as leader.

The party is now planning an online event to replace the conference.

The Conservative Party says planning for its conference is still under way but is being regularly reviewed.