As Lib Dems gather for the 2011 party conference, will they remember its democratic nature? Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian The democratic nature of policymaking in the Liberal Democrats, unique among the main parties, is critical to our vitality and one of the main reasons why our activist base is so resilient, despite a lack of press coverage and the unfair voting system. As delegates gather for our annual conference the concern of many has switched from the demand for distinctiveness within the coalition to threats to the ability to make party policy -- and to influence government policy -- through its conference and its elected Federal Policy Committee (FCC). There is broad acceptance that everything in the coalition agreement -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- must be delivered by the government, and that it contains a significant proportion of Liberal Democrat manifesto commitments. By the same token there is a growing insistence that the government should not go beyond the coalition agreement in delivering Tory policies -- unless these are clearly traded off with new Lib Dem policies, endorsed by the party. The health and social care bill is a good example of where this has come unstuck. It goes beyond the coalition agreement into many Tory policy areas, and it reneges on the coalition agreement in respect of some Lib Dem policies, such as democratically accountable commissioners. In March, the party accepted that despite the coalition agreement there would indeed be a top-down reorganisation