Liberator subscribers will be picking up the latest edition of Liberator magazine (issue no.341 – September 2010) this week from the Liberator stall at the Liverpool party conference. For those of you not yet subscribing, here’s a summary of the contents:

• The editorial column Commentary questions why the Liberal Democrats aren’t fighting their corner within the coalition and carving out a more distinct position. There is also a lament for the ignorance of the media about the Liberal Democrats, likely to be worse than ever in Liverpool because so many media ‘newbies’ will be showing up.
• The insider gossip column Radical Bulletin begins with a story about the dissatisfaction of the party’s parliamentary candidates with their treatment during and after the general election campaign.
• Our lead article ‘Which twin is the Tory?’ is written by Tony Greaves. The coalition was formed too fast and it’s now becoming clear that Liberal Democrats are expected to promote Tory policies that the party opposes. Disaster beckons unless changes are made.
• To help the many journalists and lobbyists attending the Liberal Democrat conference for the first time, Simon Titley’s Field Guide to the Liberal Democrats provides a handy guide to the different species they can encounter.
• ‘A question of confidence’ – Andrew Duff MEP says that winning the Alternative Vote referendum demands the fight of most Lib Dems’ political lives, but its opponents will deserve a beating.
• ‘Who will manage to Climb Clegg’s ladder?’ – Nick Clegg’s speech on social mobility seemed designed to convince the country that there is more to the coalition than spending cuts. Claire Wiggins asks whether his ideas stand up.
• ‘Minority report’ – Lester Holloway (a Liberal Democrat councillor in Sutton) says that the Liberal Democrats will not secure more elected ethnic minority representatives just by being politically virtuous and waiting for things to change; instead they must grasp positive action to reach out to these communities.
• ‘Sudan – how the West lost the South’ – Becky Tinsley (Director of Waging Peace) says that, as a referendum on the future of war-torn Sudan approaches, the West is poised to tick the box and move on. It may regret being midwife to an extreme new Islamist regime in Khartoum.
• ‘Replanting the Tories’ scorched earth’ – Cllr Richard Kemp (a councillor in Liverpool and the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the Local Government Association) says that uncaring Tories relish the prospect of cutting public services but, once a recovery comes, Liberal Democrats should be pressing for their expansion to help those left behind in society.
• ‘We should be the opposition’ – Simon Molloy (vice-chair of Hackney Liberal Democrats) says that Labour won’t do it and MPs are committed to the coalition, so party members must supply the constructive opposition the government needs.
• ‘All together now’ – Mark Pack (co-editor of Liberal Democrat Voice) says that choosing a parliamentary candidate isn’t just about the person for the job, it’s also whether they will contribute to a team.
• ‘Invasion of the blue parrots’ – Simon Hebditch (who works in the voluntary and community sector) says that the banking crisis showed that those who argue that the state was irrelevant were naïve and gullible, but a new approach to the voluntary sector could help the Liberal Democrats carve out their own view of public services.
• ‘The extremists disguised in Liberal clothes’ – Matthew Huntbach (former leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition in Lewisham) says that the term ‘liberal’ is being abused by those obsessed with hatred of the state and should be reclaimed.
• ‘Ignore the coalition, do the real work’ – Jonathan Hunt (convenor of the embryo LibsLeft pressure group) says the task for activists is to assemble a radical platform to ensure a Lib Dem victory in 2015.
• Letters
• Book reviews.
• Lord Bonkers’ Diary.

What with elections and the like, we neglected to preview our earlier editions this year on Liberal Democrat Voice. You can find them here.
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