Mary Reid from Kingston, standing for FCC

[cosmolinguist]

What's your name, where are you from, and which committee(s) are you standing for?

Mary Reid from Kingston Borough local party - I live in Chessington. I am standing for FCC.

Are you standing for the first time or restanding? If first time what new thing do you bring that nobody else could; if restanding, what about your record are you most proud of that you think should make us vote you back in?

I stood and was elected for the first time in 2014 and have attended every meeting since then. I am proud of two things. First I chaired the FCC working party which looked at financial exclusion and how to make it easier for people to attend Conference. We set up the new Access Fund which has both attracted many donations from members and has helped around 40 people to attend. Second, I enjoy chairing debates and other sessions at Conference, and was pleased that I successfully steered the very complex debate on 'Mending the Safety Net' in Brighton this year.

Are you standing for any other committees, if so which ones; and if elected to more than one how do you plan to divide your time?

No.

Are you an active member of any SAOs, and if so which ones?

I am actively involved in the Social Liberal Forum, where I am an elected member of the SLF Council and a working member of the Executive. I organise the SLF Conference each year. The SLF isn't an SAO but has a significant role within the party.

If someone asked you on the doorstep, the hustings or on TV to sum up in one or two sentences what the Lib Dems, uniquely, stand for – and then why anyone should vote for us – what are your answers?

The Liberal Democrats are the party of liberty. But people can only be at liberty to make the choices they want about their lives if they are free from the constraints of poverty, conformity and prejudice, so we are also the party of equality and community. Vote for us because we are driven by our values - and we are also pretty effective at getting things done.

What is your view on diversity quotas for committees? Should they be extended to cover more than just gender, scrapped totally, kept as is or something else?

I do have a difficulty with quotas, since I was of the generation which experienced gender quotas (ie ceilings) for Higher Education that conspired to keep women out of university, and it felt humiliating. Although we are talking here about positive action, it still feels humiliating that we need to be protected in some way. In the short-term, however, we do perhaps need to protect gender and ethnic minority representation, and possibly other characteristics as well, but only until the point when the elected members are at least as diverse as the population a a whole. I believe we are moving in that direction.

Secrecy rules prevent the party knowing what committees are doing. What will you do to communicate with members; and in what circumstances is confidentiality justified?

Transparency was my main election platform in 2014. At my first meeting I asked for the minutes to be made publicly available, and continued to chase that until it happened. I also asked for confirmation that nothing on the agenda was confidential unless marked as such. Zoe O'Connell was elected at the same time with similar concerns. She starting writing up the outcomes from the meetings when we decided on motions for Conference, and I published them on Liberal Democrat Voice where I am an editor.

How would you make Conference more accessible for people who currently cannot attend?

I chaired the FCC working group that looked into financial exclusion. We worked with the Conference office to extend the Access Fund so that it could offer financial support to people who might otherwise not be able to attend. The Access Fund has been successful both in attracting donations from members at the point when they register for Conference, and also in providing financial support to a large number of people. There are still some Access issues to be addressed at Conference itself and I intend to raise them. For example, we ask people to raise their cards to vote, sometimes for an extended period during a counted vote, and this can be difficult for some people. We also require 50 people to stand to call for a counted vote, which of course excludes people who can't stand.

What do you think needs to be done to improve the process of selecting the agendas for Conference?

We need to find a way of including committee members who cannot attend the agenda setting meeting in person. At the moment we have dial-in facilities for most meetings, but don't used them for the specific meetings that select motions. The argument is that so many votes are taken that it would be tricky to manage - but I think this can, and should, be sorted out.

The list of all candidates who have answered can be found here.