Liberal International is to host a prestigious conference next weekend in Edinburgh on “The success of decentralised government.” It will be held as part of the movement’s World Council, the first time it has met in Scotland for nearly thirty years, and will take place in the New Parliament Building on Calton Hill on Saturday morning, 16th March from 10:30 to 12:30.
The meeting will be opened by Liberal International President the Rt Hon. Sir David Steel, MP for Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale who will take the chair.
The panel will be
The leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Jim Wallace MP, will conclude the meeting, for which some seats will be available to the public.
The full programme enjoyed by the 60 or so participants is as follows:
Friday evening: Welcome whisky reception at John Knox’s House, Canongate
Saturday morning: public conference at New Parliament Building
Saturday lunch: at Secretary of State’s official residence, Bute House, Charlotte Square, hosted by the Lord Advocate, Lord Mackay of Drumadoon
Saturday afternoon: private session of Liberal International World Council including admission of 8 new member parties
Saturday evening: reception hosted by the Lothian Regional Council
Sunday morning: Bus to the Borders sponsored by Scottish Lowland, 12 noon arrival at Sir David Steel’s home Aikwood Tower near Selkirk to a bagpipe welcome for lunch preceded by a falconry display by the Scottish Academy of Falconry.
Sir David Steel said “As I near the end of my 2 year Presidency of Liberal International I am proud to host this meeting in Scotland. Apart from our routine business, I look forward to an educative public session from the experience of governments elsewhere.”
Jim Wallace MP comments: “We are grateful for Sir David’s international connections in enabling us to bring to Scotland a real demonstration that self-government within states does work, not in theory but very succesfully in practice. It will follow the Prime Minister’s visit to Scotland the previous day, when doubtless he will be telling us again that self-government is impossible.”
