As the Scottish Lib Dems prepare on gather for Autumn Conference in Glasgow on Saturday, we have a long campaigning slog ahead of us…..a Holyrood General Election May 2026 and then straight into preparing for the five yearly Council elections in May 2027.  And we will be campaigning hard to gain seats in both!

That may sound daunting but I’m sure I’m not alone in actually looking forward to it.  I joined the party in my late teens (during the merger debate) because I actually want to campaign for a better world. I’d rather do that than sit at home being depressed and frustrated by the mess unfolding around us. And it’s great exercise!

One thing I have noticed is the campaigning burden on our hard working MPs, MSPs and Councillors. They each have a job of work to do to serve their constituents and campaigning comes on top of that. And many of them (especially local councillors) see themselves as the fallback to fill all the delivery gaps they can’t find other folk to volunteer for.

This is neither fair nor realistic if we want our elected folk to deliver for their constituents and not have them burn out in the process!

When it comes to campaigning activities, an elected person is no different from any other   Lib Dem activist. We do it for the party and our shared mission to created a better society – locally and beyond. We should never see campaigning as a favour to the MP, MSP, councillor or candidate.

So, fellow Lib Dems, could we agree the following:

1. We will all try to do what campaigning we can do – and no one who is limited in what they can do because of work or caring commitments or health or other factors should feel guilty if they can’t do more.

2. It’s not the job of candidates/elected persons/party staff to campaign any more than it is our job too as members, supporters and activists. We are all in this together!

3. We don’t campaign as a favour to the candidate or the elected person and so they should not feel bad asking us to take on campaigning tasks.  If we can’t do everything that is being asked we will say so but no one should feel bad for asking or for declining. It is always good to ask and it’s not a sign of failure when a request has to be declined.

4. Some of us are better at some aspects of campaigning than other aspects. Some don’t like knocking doors and speaking to strangers. Not everyone is able to pound the streets delivering leaflets. There are always tasks to be done. We shall not be afraid to suggest where our energies be better focused. But, at the same time, we should be open to be teased out of our comfort zones where possible.

5. “Martyr” is in no one’s job description. Whoever you are in the party, if what you are being asked to do is too much for you to cope with, talk to a party colleague. When we burn ourselves out we are no use to anyone and we owe each other a duty of care to make sure our activist life (as elected people or otherwise) does not destroy us.

Does this make sense? Have I missed anything?

Happy campaigning.

* Stephen Harte is a lawyer and a member in Edinburgh West.