National role (Julie Smith)

National Role

Julie has considerable media experience, ran the European Programme at Chatham House in London for four years and is very active in national politics. A keen member of the Liberal Democrats Federal Policy Committee (FPC), having been involved in policy-making in the Party since the mid-1990s, serving on policy groups dealing with security and defence policy, Europe, Liberal Democrat values and on Better Governance. In 2007/08 she chaired the Security Working Group and recently served on the Party's Facing the Future Working Group, which will be debated at Federal Conference September 2011. She also sits as an FPC rep on the parliamentary groups on Business, Innovation & Skills, International Affairs, and Culture, Media and Sport.

Julie became Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Candidates' Association in January 2010, having been on the Executive since 2005. She has been active in organising briefings by frontbench Lib Dem parliamentarians for PCA members both at Conference and in Westminster - a new initiative for the PCA which is much appreciated by members.

Julie is also a member of the International Relations Committee, which discusses various aspects of the Party's international policy and plays an important role in preparing the party's position for LI and ELDR Congresses.

When she's not contributing to policy-making in the party or engaged in Cambridge life, Julie has been active supporting the local teams out canvassing in a range of local by-elections in Camden, Watford, Southwark and at the historic Kensington and Chelsea victory in July 2009 when the Lib Dems won our first ever seat in the Borough. She was a frequent participant in the Henley by-election and also active in the Norwich North by-election

Julie speaking at Federal Conference in 2009

As an academic and a fortiori as a former Head of the European Programme at Chatham House, Julie has organised and addressed a significant number of policy-orientated conferences and workshops in the UK and overseas, including in Japan and Ukraine, as well as France, Germany and the Netherlands. Participants at such events have included leading politicians, civil servants, academics and journalists from the UK and elsewhere. At Chatham House Julie also worked on joint initiatives with three very different types of business - Boeing, Accenture and the law firm Lovells - giving presentations to executives from each of these companies. She was also active in fundraising to support the work of the Programme.

Julie has extensive media experience. She has a strong academic reputation, having taught at Cambridge for over a decade and given lectures for the National School of Government (previously the Civil Service College).