I believe that the President of the Liberal Democrats should be elected.
On Thursday I declared my intention to stand as Party President. I believe it is so important for our Party to have a President who is not an MP.
In Nick Clegg we have an exceptional Leader who is at the heart of Government. In Simon Hughes we have an outstanding Deputy Leader representing our Parliamentary Party at the highest level.
What we need is a President who can represent the grass roots. The Party President is the highest representative of the grass roots and should be elected by the grass roots.
As a Council leader and PPC in Ashfield at the last General Election, I know how hard our activists work all year round. The 17% swing we achieved in Ashfield was down to the hard work of volunteers like you. That hard work got us into Government, and now those same grass roots Lib Dems deserve a voice.
With the best will in the world, none of our MPs can be that voice. All of our MPs are whipped by the Government and are not free to speak out, even if they would like to.
The Party President should be a voice for Lib Dem members up and down the Country. They should say what Lib Dem members are thinking and should only answer to those members, not the Government’s chief whip.
We have an historic opportunity to deliver the change we have all fought so hard for. To make Britain a fairer place, to change our politics and put the rights of the citizen first. Lib Dem members who have campaigned so hard to deliver deserve to be represented at the heart of that process.
The President should work positively with the Party’s leadership to deliver our agenda. They should be the voice of the grass roots and should never have to choose sides.
I believe I can be a strong voice for grass roots Lib Dems.
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3 Comments
A question that applies to both you and Jennie. Ideally, the president should be someone with either an established media profile or who has a platform to build one. Like it or not, as current and former MPs respectively, both Tim Farron and Susan Kramer already have that. How would you be able to build your media profile?
Sadly, you’ve no chance. Our lords and masters in the party have already decided it is to be Tim 4 prez. Just look at the bushy numbers he was given at conference.
B&T: I know Tim well and if there is plenty of support for him at conference, it won’t be because ‘our lords and masters’ have decided to anoint him – if anything, that would be a drawback for him. It’s because he’s a passionate, witty and approachable individual who would make a damn fine president (as indeed would all of the four candidates currently declared).