The killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by police in the US has sparked an international reckoning with racial injustice.

The Liberal Democrats need to commit ourselves to combating racism – conscious or unconscious, individual or institutional – wherever we find it, including within our own party.

All too often, we see racism and anti-blackness as a problem specific to America. But here in the UK, many people’s lives are blighted by discrimination and inequality.

Day 2 at Autumn Conference saw two big policy motions passed, speeches by MPs Layla Moran and Munira Wilson, and a Q&A with new Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey. 

Didn’t have time to catch it all? Here’s what you might have missed on Day 2, as well as what’s coming up on Day 3…

Q: What is a Liberal Democrat, who are you targeting, and how will your vision reach them?

I think a political party must always start with our values. The Liberal Democrat values of freedom, equality of opportunity and community – these are our strong values which we’ve campaigned on for years and years, and we must keep campaigning on them.

In terms of targeting, I think there are millions of people who share those values. I think in the recent past we’ve may have been too narrow – I think there are lots of people who will vote for us, I think those values speak to huge amounts of people. The real challenge that we have is to translate them into people’s lives, their everyday problems and hopes. That’s the challenge, as Leader, I need to take on with the whole party.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed every single one of our lives.

For our frontline workers, we need safety, support and fair pay now.

You may have been furloughed from work, or lost your job, You may be one of millions of young people now navigating an online learning environment. You may be isolated from friends or family or have lost a loved one to COVID-19.

With limits on our interactions and activities, our daily lives disrupted, and the economy heavily impacted, there is no way to quickly ‘bounce back’ from this crisis.

Our union is under threat.

Nationalism is a dangerous force, fuelled by a sense of alienation and powerlessness. Brexit has forced divides between our four nations.

Coronavirus and Brexit, two of the biggest issues facing the UK, have demonstrated the inadequacies of our current constitutional arrangements. With growing support for reform across our nations and regions, it’s time to act. It’s time we created a truly federal UK.