Writing this in the wake of running an election campaign in Worcestershire I can say with little doubt that money is absolutely vital for the smooth running of a campaigning force and Liberal Youth desperately needs to become a better campaigning force.

But first a little about myself, I have been involved in politics for a number of years now and have been involved in a full campaign a year since joining the party at Aberystwyth University in 2009, a trend that looks as if it will not finish anytime soon. As well as this I have held positions in 2 Student unions, IR Cymru and Aber Uni Lib Dems plus at the moment I am Campaigns Organiser for Worcestershire.

Now to Liberal Youth. Though it has moved on slightly in recent years I feel that Liberal Youth is not seen by the much of the party as slightly immature and is more something to keep the young people happy and feeling important. Also the fact that Liberal Youth mainly relies on the federal party for funding does mean that it has a huge disadvantage compared to the youth organisations of other parties and this does show.

But enough with the problems, here are some of my solutions.

First of all we need to concentrate on building a network of supporters through a scheme whereby they support us with donations and get regular updates on the progress of Liberal Youth not only nationally but locally. This would not only bring in money but also the experience of other Lib Dems and the help that could bring.

Then there is the problem of how to keep them on side, in this we need a good service to our donators including things like a supporters thank you meal, a signed (with a real pen) thank you letter when donating or annually if by direct debit and arguably the most important, using the information that is provided to give them a personalised message about why they should support us and why we need their support.

The other thing to mention is the way that Liberal Youth spreads its funding around. At the moment far too little funding is used where we need to build and the voices are not loud enough in the Liberal Youth clique. To name examples, the funding and support in Scotland and Wales over the last few years has been appalling and though there has been some improvement there is still a huge problem in the way that funding is allocate and something that I will fix if elected.

These are the issues I want to tackle and some of the solutions I have, but a vibrant Liberal Youth will not just be made by more funding but by a more transparent leadership which takes responsibility for helping the whole of Liberal Youth and not just where we are already strongest.

Voting in the Liberal Youth elections opens on Friday 3 May and continues until 12 noon on Wednesday 29th May. All candidates for the contested officer positions have been offered a 500 word piece on Liberal Democrat Voice to be published by the opening of voting. You can find out more about the elections and read all the candidates’ manifestos on the Libertine and if you are a member of  Liberal Youth you can ask them questions on their National Liberal Youth Chatbox on Facebook. Discussion also takes place on the #lyelects tag on Twitter. 

* Rory Roberson is standing for Finance Officer in the Liberal Youth elections.