The role of the SDP Council for Social Democracy was set out in the party's constitution as to "be responsible for the adoption of the policy of the SDP" (SDP Party constitution V. A. 1 (1a)). The Council met three times a year to consider white papers - unofficial statements of policy drawn up by the Policy Committee - and had the authority to adopt a draft statement of policy or motion wholly or in part or . . . amend it, reject it or refer it back for further consideration (V.6.9). Members of the Council included members elected by area parties, SDP MPs, elected members of the National Committee and members co-opted by the Council.

The annual party conference, held in autumn, was the setting for one of the three meetings each year; the first ever CSD meeting being held in Great Yarmouth at the second annual party conference of the SDP. This second party conference was, like the first, a `rolling conference', held in three different national locations in succession: the first conference `rolled' between Perth, Bradford and London from 9 Oct 1981; the second conference between Cardiff, Derby and Great Yarmouth in Oct 1982. The idea of a rolling conference was described in SDP: the first five years as an exercise in symbolism: a 460mile Odyssey, taking politics to the people. ('Taking politics to the people'); and Crewe and King write of the first conference that the symbolism of the whole occasion worked: the chartered train and the new party were on the move (Crew, Ivor and Anthony King, SDP: the birth life and death of the Social Democratic Party p 141). However, following transport problems encountered during the second `rolling conference' - the conference train breaking down between Derby and Great Yarmouth -successive conferences were convened, more conventionally, at a single location. The final annual conference of the SDP was its ninth, held at the Spa Conference Centre, Scarborough, on 24-27 Sep 1989; arrangements were made for a tenth conference to be held in Malvern, Worcestershire in Sep 1990, but this was precluded by the winding down of the SDP in the June of that year.