At the tail end of the leadership campaign, I wrote for Lib Dem Voice about what our new leader should do during his first 100 days. That boiled down to a media blitz – hitting the ground running, etc, etc. Never mind shadow cabinet appointments or internal party anorakking, the new leader had to be on the front foot with the media before he got consumed by them.

I am delighted to report that I think Nick Clegg deserves 10/10 in the hitting the ground running/media blitz stakes. Therefore by the key measure I set (and still set) Nick Clegg has started his leadership brilliantly. He and his team deserve pats on the back and triples all round.

For evidence to back up this, I could do no better than point you to Fraser MacPherson’s excellent round-up of positive coverage for Nick. There was also a glowing leader article in The Guardian.

Basically, Nick has shown that he has sharp elbows and has managed to wedge himself into many media stories on an almost daily basis. Just take the last week. He championed the cause of the Gurkhas. This almost brought tears to my eyes. Normally, championing the cause of veterans would be the exclusive preserve of the Tories. That well known too-smooth operator and law-breaker David Cameron would normally have been presenting the Gurkhas’ case. So well done Nick for turning that old paradigm on its head.

Then, later in the week, Nick managed to get liberally quoted on the subject of Derek Conway MP and the scandalously lax House of Commons expense rules. Another example of sharp elbows. It looks easy, but I am sure there have been sleepless nights and long hours for Nick and his team in order to achieve his high level of media visibility (for a Lib Dem leader).

Of course, the Lisbon treaty thingy has been the main test of Nick’s leadership. Call me an old-fashioned leader sycophant if you like, but I think he rode out that storm with considerable élan and skill. All party leaders face that sort of week. The crucial test is how they handle it. Nick handled it on the front foot, with considerable grace, humour and equanimity. I was particularly impressed that he did the media rounds on the day of the vote (eg, a particularly energetic appearance on Channel 4 News) and appeared relaxed, rational and human.

You only have to look at what hasn’t happened to see what a great success Nick’s first 100 days have been. Read more »

Just before we knew who our new Leader would be, I wrote one of the pieces on Lib Dem Voice giving him some advice for the first 100 days.

I said:

We all know that our real power base is in local government. And it is here that some of the most interesting initiatives in community politics are being played out by Lib Dem run councils.

So I want to challenge the new leader to capitalise on our distinctive style of leadership out beyond Westminster. He could begin by a fact-finding tour of the country, and, guided by local knowledge, align himself with the greenest or most citizen-centric initiatives that have been introduced by our councillors. Each one will be accompanied by a challenge to the other parties to show whether they have done anything similar.

Well, Nick obviously read this and took note!

He started the New Year with a series of Town Hall meetings. The outward purpose of these meetings is to make himself accessible to local people, but at the same time I’m sure he is investigating those Lib Dem initiatives that are fleshing out our principles in local government.

I hope he’s been pleased with what he has seen; I expect him to have been surprised by the variety of the innovations.

I then wrote this:

This could have both internal and external benefits - it will raise the profile of councillors in the party, and will demonstrate to the country that it is possible to bring about significant changes at a local level. It will also portray the new leader as someone who understands the real local issues that people care about.

We councillors did get a mention in Nick’s speeches at Liverpool, but I think this can be developed much further, and for several reasons.

On the one hand, councillors would feel valued. Councillors who receive recognition will take more risks and push the boundaries of Liberal Democracy yet further.

On the other hand, MPs need to acknowledge that they stand on the shoulders of councillors - very few, if any, Westminster seats have been won without success at the local Council first. We need our Parliamentary colleagues to celebrate what we do, and to recognise that many of us much prefer working in local government where we can bring about change. We have high ambitions, but they are not always directed towards Westminster.

So my advice for the next 100 days?

1. Share your findings about Liberal Democrats in the Town Halls with the rest of us.
2. Put a stronger focus on local government at Bournemouth this year.
3. Have a Town Hall meeting in Kingston and find out how the founding father of neighbourhood devolution is still drawing the community into its decision-making. Here real consultation is the norm for all decisions, right down to street corner meetings with residents on chilly Saturday mornings to decide where white lines will be painted (I write with some feeling…)

* Mary Reid is a Liberal Democrat councillor in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, and blogs at www.maryreid.org.uk

Dear Nick,

Well, not bad. The polls look better and on the doorstep I’ve not had a single person ask me why we got rid of Charles Kennedy.

The Bones Commission was a good idea. It was a less of a good idea to allow those who could be part of the problem (I only say could) set its remit. Equally, I’m not sure that the deadline for submissions was very generous and I don’t think the message got down to the grassroots. But let’s see what comes out of it. But it must be an interim step - to coin a Cableism our organisation must owe more to Trotsky (continuous revolution) than Stalin (continuous bureaucracy).

Meantime, when you want to monitor the state of opinion in the party, I would humbly suggest that Lib Dem Voice (especially the members’ forum) and the range of Lib Dem blogs available to read are probably a better indicator than Lib Dem News. I hasten to add I enjoy LD News immensely - it’s the Tardis of Liberalism.

100 days ago I raised the prospect of what you would say to David Cameron when the inevitable discussion took place about a future coalition. Of course, I don’t know if such a meeting took place, but you have made your position very public and for the time being the issue has been laid to rest. But make no mistake. As we get closer to the General Election and the polls get less volatile and much tighter, the issue will come up again and again.

You’ve made it through the first 100 days; 8 out of 10 so far. You have generated the right mood; you are seen as caring and authoritative without being strident or aggressive. It takes time to build the right public image, but as you have just decided to project your own persona you will do very well.

Turning to the future, you really must make sure your colleagues get out more. We need them on the streets helping us to build local strengths. If you want to win 150 seats over the next 10 years, a lot more work has to go into building up local parties. And next time there is a key vote in the House, just suggest they form a Conga behind you.

Finally, we should do well enough in the local elections in May and this will give you a springboard for what must be a campaigning summer. But the Tories will do well too, so we will have to continue to work our hardest. As for Labour, my suspicion is that they will wish they had banned local elections as a Blood Sport along with Fox Hunting…

Yours sincerely,

Martin Land

* Martin Land is a Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrat activist.

Before we knew who was to be our new leader I rashly penned a piece on what I thought he should do in his first 100 days. Having been asked to reflect on how I think he has done, I went back to elements of my original musings.

Having taken a military perspective, I suggested that our new leader needed to have

* A thorough understanding of our ‘enemy’ - it is after all the ground they currently hold that we wish to take;
I think we have begun to see Nick’s strength in this area, although there is a way to go. He tells a good story about the shortcomings of our opposition, but I think we all need to gather more intelligence on the ground. A few more pre-emptive strikes wouldn’t go amiss! All too often Cameron in particular makes wild claims that are not challenged.

* A realistic appraisal of what, with small (but I would argue effective and fleet of foot) numbers and limited resources, he can achieve;
Nick has demonstrated his own fleetness of foot over this first 100 days, he has attracted a lot of media interest, often against the odds. I like the way he is taking the battle to the enemy!

* A clear strategy;
Nick’s conference speech began to tell a good story, this now needs backing up with the strategy. If we are to take ground, where, how and when? Do we stick to our old target seat strategies? As the party of PR should we be considering more carefully what the strategy looks like, for example in the Euro elections? Are we going to continue to try to be all things to all people, or are we going to be more focused, clearer about what we stand for, and, where necessary, more disciplined?

So our multi-task leader, in his first 100 days, needs to establish his Int Corps, lead his SAS (demonstrating very quickly just how brave he is), motivate the Infantry - and to boot be a good recruiting Sergeant!

Now I am not sure whether the Intelligence Corps has been established (possibly it is so secret we don’t know anything about it!), but I do believe Nick has shown some of the courage of the SAS commander. He has been prepared to lead from the front whilst also supporting his troops.

And, despite the fact that I didn’t support his position on the Lisbon Treaty vote, I think he has shown real leadership there too, well evidenced by the way that even those who “rebelled” against him were still very supportive of him as their leader. Nick has talked about us being anti-establishment, taking risks and being radical. Again, there is already lots of evidence of this, but of course…….I would like to see far more!

In terms of recruitment, early days, but if my non-typical Lib Dem children are anything to go by, they left Liverpool (their first conference) bowled over by Nick’s speech and convinced that if his message could get wider coverage he would win many many people over.

Nick has the presence, energy and passion to attract members. His Town Hall initiative is great. I will be interested to see whether recruitment is already on the increase. I would, though, have liked to see him move more quickly in terms of demonstrating his undoubted commitment to diversity in the party - but I trust that will be rectified very soon.

In general, I think Nick is taking the long view. For example he has not thrown himself into trying to make a name for himself in PMQs - he has been competent and in time I trust he will relax and be able to naturally combine some humour. But, in most new jobs it is wise to spend some time getting to grips with the task. Certainly in his conference speech I had a real sense that here was a man in it for the long run, someone who was prepared to listen and develop and ultimately grow comfortably into the role.

Personally I will continue to disagree with him on some of his preferred methodology and reluctance to accept that sometimes real change also needs adequate funding, I would also love it if he had a Damascus Road moment and revisited scrapping Trident …………… but as I have said before and will no doubt say again, he is a man with whose big picture objectives I totally agree and to use a biblical analogy (with apologies to Laurence Boyce, Joe Otten, et al!), I believe he is the Joshua who has what it takes to ultimately lead us into the “Promised Land”!

* Linda Jack blogs at Lindyloo’s Muze.

Dear Nick,

If you and you staff have the time, I’ve made many comments over the past two months about how the party needs reforming and reorganising.

But that’s not the object of today. I want to talk to you about the most important meeting of your first 100 days. A meeting, of course, that according to its to principle protagonists will not take place. A meeting, we will not be able to read about until one of you publishes your memoirs. I refer to your first meeting with David Cameron.

It’s important that you set out our stall. Point out the unlikelihood of a Tory majority in the next parliament, though he knows that already. Outline the deal-breakers for us for a future coalition government. An end to Council Tax. An end to ID cards. Real reforms in the public sector. Much of this he will agree with anyway.

Make sure he is well aware that the real talking would only start once a hung party comes about in which the Tories (or us!) are the largest party. Make sure that he is well aware that we will fight them tooth and nail and remain their worst nightmare in electoral terms.

It’s the most difficult meeting you face; but probably the most important. But if we want to create a truly Liberal Britain, we have to accept that coalitions are the inevitable consequence of a reformed constitution and that as a party we are mature enough to accept them, however reluctantly.

Yours sincerely,

Martin

* Martin Land is a Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrat Activist.

Dear Nick,

I know you’re knackered, and that you’ve spent the last two months running yourself ragged in this leadership campaign. God knows why. Well, I guess there are 511 reasons why (though it’s mainly ‘cos the party exec reckons leadership campaigns should be run like by-elections, frantically keeping the party four-square in its comfort zone, appealing to its own electorate).

But, whatever the margin, you now have your mandate. You have been democratically elected leader of the Liberal Democrats. Now you must lead.

You must grab the agenda, and make it your own. As Vince Cable has, both with Northern Rock and with the official Saudi visit - and as Chris Huhne did with Labour’s donations-gate - you must elbow your way into the headlines. Thoughtful policy wonk speeches are all very well. But they are no substitute for getting a liberal agenda into the pages of the Daily Mail, or appearing on Strictly Come Dancing. You must do both.

If this leadership election has proved anything, it is that the party wants to be - and be seen as - more spiky, less consensual, more radical. ‘Safety first’ might have been enough to secure an internal leadership election; it isn’t good enough for national leadership of the party.

You must straddle the impossible divide: be taken seriously by the Westminster village media commentariat - whose verdicts of effective leadership are ridiculously informed by the infantile pantomime of Prime Minister’s Questions - but not be absorbed by it. Recognise there is a world beyond Westminster - beyond London - where real people live and work, and show that you and the Lib Dem parliamentary party are a part of that world; not apart from it.

Ming Campbell promised to be the ‘pin-striped radical’, who would ‘rattle the cages’ of the party. His leadership failed to live up to its slogans. You, Nick, must live up to, but go beyond, those slogans.

The national party membership wants you to be different, edgy, radical: it is up to you to use your mandate to link the Lib Dems’ preternaturally anti-establishment credentials to the policies we would implement if we were in government. Easy? Of course not. Impossible? No. Vince has shown how. Speak with confidence, inspired by our liberal values, and the headlines of the media and trust of the voters will soon follow.

You have nothing to fear but fear itself: in your case, it (occasionally) manifests itself as waffle in interviews. Be disciplined: you may despise yourself for repeating yourself - but realise that a constant, truthful message rammed home is vital to establishing the party as a credible contender. We must be mainstream, but never boring. If ever one of your advisers recommends caution trust your own liberal instincts, not their PR-honed blandishments. Don’t be afraid to go it alone: yes, be grateful to those who got you where you are; but don’t be afraid to do what you know to be right, and sod the consequences.

You start from an ironic position of strength: your under-performance as a leadership candidate has served to tamper down the over-hype some of your more enthusiastic supporters wilfully indulged. A better campaign might have led to deferred disappointment; your disappointing campaign must now result in deferred joy.

The next decade as the leader of the only liberal, progressive party in British politics is yours; but you have only a short while to prove that you have what it takes. You must seize the agenda before it’s seized from you. That’s your challenge, that’s your opportunity. Please don’t let us down.

With all good wishes,

Stephen

We all know that our real power base is in local government. And it is here that some of the most interesting initiatives in community politics are being played out by Lib Dem run councils.

So I want to challenge the new leader to capitalise on our distinctive style of leadership out beyond Westminster.

He could begin by a fact-finding tour of the country, and, guided by local knowledge, align himself with the greenest or most citizen-centric initiatives that have been introduced by our councillors. Each one will be accompanied by a challenge to the other parties to show whether they have done anything similar.

Of course, this will only capture national press interest if it is planned with sufficient razzmatazz and imaginative photoshoots.

This could have both internal and external benefits - it will raise the profile of councillors in the party, and will demonstrate to the country that it is possible to bring about significant changes at a local level. It will also portray the new leader as someone who understands the real local issues that people care about.

But first, he needs to give himself a recuperative break over Christmas, and spend precious time with family and friends, because he won’t be seeing much of them in 2008!

* Mary Reid is a Liberal Democrat councillor in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, and blogs at www.readmyday.co.uk/maryreid.

In less than a week, the Lib Dems will have a new leader - either Nick Clegg or Chris Huhne will have succeeded Ming Campbell. Lib Dem Voice is inviting party members to tell us what you think should be his top priorities. Paul Walter and Linda Jack have both had a go. Today it’s David Morton’s turn…

Paddy Ashdown once said that the first thing a third party leader had to do in the morning “was get noticed.” The media’s love of the two party consensus is well known but very real. As it seems that one slip in his first PMQs is what set Ming Campbell up to fail, our new Leader needs to set his own narrative within days. Indeed the 12 days of Christmas….

In the age of the sound bite and the photo op here are my five suggestions for compelling images that would grab attention, highlight social ills, and let us say what we would do about them. Assuming that at least one camera crew will follow our leader, here are some places he should go.

1. Do a night shift as a cleaner in the City of London. With inequality at Dickensian levels and insecurity rife because of the ‘credit crunch’ people are beginning to listen. Before Labour stole Tory policies on taxing non-doms those policies were ours. We need to reclaim tackling inequality as a Liberal issue.

2. Visit an injured service person. I acknowledge the potential for exploitation but the iconography of human injury is air-brushed from the public mind. The media keeps the grim death toll going but the real breaking of the military covenant is how we treat injured soldiers. If one were willing, the effect might be as useful in breaking taboos as Diana shaking hands with someone living with AIDS.

3. Chucking out time at Christmas. It sounds like a Daily Mail agenda but many of Britain’s town centres are now horrific war zones at weekends. The police are over-stretched, the taxpayer picks up the bill, and the vertical drinking chains collect the profits. A party leader, a shoulder-held camera, and an ordinary police patrol would highlight much misery.

4. Prison Works? (If it’s legal) have a Christmas meal in a prison canteen. Ask people tough questions about why they committed crimes and what they are getting in jail that will stop them coming back. The inevitable inmate who can’t read and write and who looks to camera and says this is his fourth time in and he’ll be back four more times will grab attention. If this isn’t legal use a prison visitors’ centre.

5. Make a foreign trip. (Unless of course either Sheffield or Hampshire floods). I think we can do better than huskies, so the new leader should make a speech about the recent Sudanese Teddy Bear incident before pointing out how much press coverage it got - and we have forgotten about Darfur. He then should get on the next plane to Darfur. Then go back and back and back regularly throughout his leadership. Paddy Ashdown made a name by being distinctive about Bosnia. We are an internationalist party.

Of course this isn’t exactly typical ‘Focus Fodder’ and will give some local campaigners the vapours. But it would be difficult to ignore.

* David Morton is Lib Dem Councillor for Headingley ward on Leeds City Council, and prospective Parliamentary candidate for Pudsey. He blogs at The Republic of Hyde Park.

If you would like to submit an article for publication on LDV answering the question, ‘What should the new leader do in his first 100 days?’, please click here, then e-mail your article to .

Vince Cable has deservedly won much praise for his recent performance as acting leader of the Liberal Democrats. He has set a high standard for next week’s victor to match. The danger is that we will treat Vince’s performance as an entertaining interlude before normal service is resumed. Instead, we should analyse and understand the generic lessons that the next leader (and other leading Lib Dems) can learn and apply.

There are essentially six things that Vince has got right:

1) Moral clarity - Politics is ultimately about making moral choices. Vince’s statements make it clear that he has a sense of right and wrong. You may not agree with him, but his moral standpoint is unambiguous. Such conviction is important because voters relate far more strongly to values than they do policies. The battle for hearts and minds takes place on the battleground of values, not ‘carefully-costed programmes’ or ‘ten-point plans’. We need detailed policies so that we have something we could implement if elected, but there is a crucial difference between programmes and values. We need to give people positive reasons to support us. These come from connecting emotionally rather than hoping the voters will pore over policy details. (Anyone interested in exploring this issue further should read George Lakoff’s recent book, ‘Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate’).

2) Focus - Vince’s messages are uncluttered. He has focused on just a few issues (such as Northern Rock and the debt crisis) and has hammered them home again and again. He has avoided the temptation to speak out on too many diverse issues, which would have dissipated his impact. Instead, he has enabled the party to stake out distinct territory and set the agenda.

3) Simple propositions - Note “simple” and not simplistic. Vince’s statements did not abandon intellectual rigour. But there is an art to taking a complex idea and boiling it down to a proposition that anyone can grasp. This is not about “dumbing down” but being concise. As a result, everyone is clear what the Liberal Democrats would have done differently with Northern Rock. For all George Osborne’s shrill point-scoring, can one say the same of the Tories?

4) Balls - Vince has taken risks, but some have suggested that only a temporary leader can afford to do this. Why? There is no reason why our next (non-temporary) leader cannot show an equal degree of testicular fortitude. As Charles Kennedy demonstrated with the Iraq War, bravery pays dividends. Liberal Democrats are too inclined to pull their punches for fear of causing offence. We have acquired the unfortunate habit of adopting policies only to hedge them with qualifications or express them in mealy-mouthed terms. This “on the one hand, on the other hand” approach neither enthuses our base nor challenges our opponents. There is no point having any policy unless we are prepared to argue for it passionately. It’s time for Liberals to come out of the closet.

5) Killer instinct - Vince Cable and Gordon Brown are old friends from way back. This did not inhibit Vince from making his killer “Mr Bean” remark. Politics is not a nice business and there are times when we must be aggressive and go for our opponents’ jugular.

6) Wit - Vince’s jokes at PMQs may not have been in the same league as Dorothy Parker, but they were top notch by parliamentary standards. Wit, when used with economy and precision, can have a devastating effect. It also ensures that you are remembered. Vince himself has remarked that he overheard his jokes being repeated in the pub. Is there any higher political accolade?

* Simon Titley, besides helping to write and produce Liberator magazine, is also a public relations consultant.