Two recent articles from the Huffington Post speak out in favour  of each candidate for the Liberal Democrats.

First, Jack Davies tells why he is supporting Tim Farron:

It was a cold afternoon in November when, huddled before my computer screen, I typed out a message to Tim Farron, the then party president of the Liberal Democrats.

The message was a call for help. I was hoping to stand for election as the Liberal Democrat PPC in New Forest West and I needed assistance in applying.

I didn’t expect Tim to reply, but to my surprise, he did.

His reply was polite and helpful. He offered to read my application script and pointed me in the right direction with tips on what to say. I was taken aback by the response and even more astounded that so much care was afforded to it.

It is moments like these that inspire people to enter the world of politics, to aspire them to be as good as the politician who has taken the time to talk to them. It certainly inspired me into getting more involved and I set up New Forest Liberal Youth to encourage more young people in the New Forest to become involved.

Editor of The Secularist Conversation Stefan Rollnick explains his support for Norman Lamb:

Norman Lamb very much represents the lifeblood of the Liberal Democrats’ core values – values that are clinging on to what’s left of the party for dear life. With the former position of health minister under his belt, Lamb is set to give Farron his biggest challenge over the next two months.

One of the most neglected issues in modern society is mental health. One in four people will be affected by it, and those who are often receive stigma from wider society because of it. If there’s one person who has put his politics where his mouth is on this issue – it’s Norman Lamb. He doesn’t just bring this issue up to win votes around election time, he campaigns wholeheartedly for this day in, day out. In the very talk I saw him give on this topic, a matter of weeks before 7 May, he didn’t even mention the election once.

Another one of the big debates that is only just starting to break through the wall of the Westminster bureaucracy is assisted dying. Although it may need reform, thanks to a House of Lords with a significant Lib Dem presence, this issue is starting to see the light of day. It may not surprise you to hear that Norman Lamb has openly said to the Independent newspaper that he would back an assisted dying bill.

And a third article looks at the highlights of the leadership campaign so far:

World music-loving Mr Lamb – who flicks through his iPhone playlist to show Dappy brushing up to David Bowie – re-mortgaged his house to help his son launch the career of British rapper Tinchy Strider. He also has the support of boxer Frank Bruno thanks to his campaigning on mental health issues. He says it shows he can “reach beyond our party” and prompt people to “give us another look”.

Mr Farron admits he does not have the backing of pop stars, but admits he has flirted with reviving his own musical ambitions. In the late 1980s he fronted a band “written off as a fourth rate New Order”. He refuses to reveal the name of the three-piece as “you can find it on YouTube”.

We have been looking for this You Tube footage. Apparently journalists are trawling through it too. If you can find it, you will have our undying gratitude. Jonathan Calder gives us a bit of a hand with the name of the band.

But the Huff Po could have chosen less scary photographs of both men.

What is becoming very clear in this contest is that we have two excellent contenders, both of whom have so much more to offer than anyone currently standing for leader of the Labour Party.

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