The Liberal Democrats have announced a fresh leadership election timetable and plans to hold an online Autumn Conference - the first for any major political party - in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

At a meeting of the party's Federal Board last night, the party agreed to holding their leadership election from June through to August. In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the contest will make use of online hustings and online voting.

President of the Liberal Democrats Mark Pack, who chairs the Federal Board, also confirmed the Liberal Democrats decision to hold a digital conference in the Autumn follows "careful consideration of the latest expert advice."

Liberal Democrat Party President Mark Pack said:

"Following careful consideration of the latest public health advice concerning the coronavirus pandemic, the Liberal Democrats are planning to run the biggest online conference in British politics.

"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.

"I am also pleased to confirm the timetable to elect our next Leader. The sad state of our Government today shows how desperately the country needs a vision of an outward-looking, caring country that celebrates diversity and benefits from high-quality public services.

"With our party membership at record levels, I urge everyone else who shares our values to join us in the coming days and vote in the leadership election."

Today we have introduced a Bill to require the Government to seek a two-year extension to the Brexit transition period, in light of the Coronavirus pandemic.

To choose a No Deal Brexit and crash out, when the option to extend the transition is possible, would be an act of national self-harm - especially when our NHS, economy and food supply chains are already stretched and struggling.

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the enormous contributions that workers from all over the world make to our country and our communities.

Tens of thousands of doctors, nurses and other NHS staff. Hundreds of thousands of social care workers. And millions more in sectors hit hard by this crisis, from restaurants and hotels to construction and manufacturing.

The Agriculture Bill had its third reading in parliament on Wednesday (13 May), which saw MPs take a historic vote on a number of important amendments.

Because of the coronavirus lockdown many MPs are working from home, and this was the first ever virtual vote to be held in the House of Commons.

The most important piece of farming legislation to come before parliament in decades included an amendment tabled by Neil Parish, Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton, which sought to protect UK farmers from low-standard food imports.

Following the 2019 General Election, the Federal Board commissioned Dorothy Thornhill and her team of fourteen to conduct an independent review of the Party's performance.

The Liberal Democrats are committed to a fair and open society and reflect that in our internal approach to transparency and accountability. The resulting report is therefore available here in its entirety.

Taxi drivers, hairdressers, cleaners, childcare providers and millions more self-employed people have seen their incomes evaporate as people rightly stay at home to save lives. They desperately need the Government to support them.

We're urging the Government to extend the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme in full until October

How do we improve as a party and achieve greater success in future elections?

That's the theme running through the bumper set of key decisions the Federal Board is looking at next week at our meeting. (Or rather meetings, as to avoid Zoom fatigue, we're splitting one long meeting into halves on consecutive nights.)

Before being an MP, I was a teacher. I'm keenly aware that every day schools remain shut the disadvantage gap widens and the students in need of the most support from teachers and support staff are being left behind. More than this, it's the most vulnerable children I'm most worried about. Are they eating? Are they safe, let alone learning?

The Furlough scheme has helped protect jobs and it is something the Liberal Democrats have campaigned to protect.

So we are delighted the Government has done just that and adopted many of our ideas.

However there are still millions of people that need significant help through this challenging period.

*Could be subject to further change / interpretation / spin in the coming days.

Some possibly useful links courtesy of Andrew Sparrow in the Guardian

Over the last 24 hours the government has published a huge pile of documents giving advice to the public about what it needs to do now.

The UK government has a three-step coronavirus recovery plan. The step one measures apply from tomorrow (13 May). Step two will start on Monday 1 June, or later. And step three will start on Saturday 4 July or later.