Political opinion with John Milne MP: Sun shines on 2026 Lib Dem Conference

Last weekend I joined my colleagues, members and volunteers from across the party for the 2026 Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton. Once again, we enjoyed glorious weather, as always seems to happen at our conferences, although sadly I had very little time to appreciate it!

My schedule from Saturday to Tuesday was nothing short of frenetic. It was an opportunity to hear from all kinds of lobbyists for industry, charities and every kind of health condition. At the same time, party members debated policy motions and I spoke at a number of fringe events. The pace was such that I barely made it into the main auditorium all weekend.

It’s now a little over two years since the historic election in July 2024, which brought us 72 seats, the highest number for over 100 years. That makes it a natural time to look back and reflect.

The UK parliamentary system is not kind to opposition parties. The government dominates the timetable. The opportunities for an opposition MP to have a direct influence on legislation are, to say the least, very slender. Nevertheless, our Lib Dem MPs have achieved some notable successes.

Pressure from Max Wilkinson’s ‘Sunshine Bill’ means all newly built homes will be fitted with solar panels, unless there are very strong, specific reasons not to. It will cut home fuel bills, but also protect green fields from use as solar farms.

Pippa Heylings’ Climate and Nature Bill has contributed to the government ratifying the global ocean treaty. And Munira Wilson persuaded the government to agree to a ban on phones in schools.

For myself, in my role on the Work & Pensions Committee, I got the Minister to agree to make free pensions advice available through the Pensions Dashboard, a wonderful new online service that will help people take control of all their pensions. I’m also pushing for a new civil aviation ombudsman so that we can get fair play over flightpath changes around Gatwick, especially around Rusper, Warnham and Slinfold.

But one of my longest campaigns, which I think is about to bear fruit, is for locked Child Trust Funds. 80,000 families cannot access the savings in their Child Trust Funds because the child has grown up with a disability that leaves them unable to manage their own financial affairs. It’s a grossly unjust situation that has persisted through no fewer than 11 Justice Ministers. Today, the signs are that we’re going to get a result. I can’t wait!