If you want to know how you can spend a wonderful evening in the company of Layla Moran, Siobhan Benita and Dillie Keane, keep on reading.

Did you help campaign to win Richmond Park? Did you spend the summer of 2003 knocking on doors in Brent East? Did you graduate from university and then get on a train so you could help with he last of the knocking up in Cheadle? I did and I helped out in by-elections too numerous to mention where we came within a few hundred votes of winning, saw massive surges in our vote or were simply flying the flag in the face of all the odds.

I don’t, of course, remember Orpington in 1962, but I have heard tell of what Pratap Chitnis did on polling day morning with hundreds of copies of the Daily Mail and many other such stories.

It is after the grandfather of Liberal by-election victories that the Orpington Fund is named. In 2008, the then Chairman of the National Liberal Club, Rev Paul Hunt (himself a veteran by-election campaigner), founded the Orpington Fund to raise money for Liberal Democrat Westminster parliamentary by-election campaigns.

Funds are raised by members donating by standing order and an annual dinner, which this year is being replaced with a reception to refresh the format. To date the Orpington Fund has raised £45,000, all of which is donated to by-election campaigns. Since 2008 we have donated a minimum of £500 to each and every parliamentary by-election campaign (at least ensuring everyone would have enough for their deposit), and considerably larger donations have been made when the circumstances demanded it and the funds allowed for it.

I fear the Orpington Fund has rather hidden its light under a bushel in recent years, and that has to end. Those of us who want to see the fund grow and make greater and greater contributions to the party’s by-election successes, need to make sure we spread the message far and wide.

I’m therefore asking you for help – I’m asking you to come to this year’s Orpington Reception.

The Orpington Reception will take place on Wednesday, 20th March and we have a star-studded line up. Not only do we have the awesome Layal Moran MP as our guest speaker, we’re also going to hear from London Mayoral candidate Siobahn Benita. If there two leading lights of Liberalism were not enough of an attraction, as a special treat we’re going to have live music from none other than Dillie Keane of Fascinating Aida (whom you may also have heard at Glee Club).

Tickets to the Orpington Reception cost just £35, which includes a donation to the Orpington Fund. There will also be opportunities to bid for items in the ever-popular annual Orpington Fund auction.

To book your place or make a donation contact Louisa at the National Liberal Club via [email protected] or 020 7930 9871.

* Theo Butt Philip is a former parliamentary candidate for Bridgwater and West Somerset and member of the National Liberal Club’s General Committee.