In a week or so’s time, the Lib Dems will have a new leader – either Nick Clegg or Chris Huhne will have succeeded Ming Campbell. Lib Dem Voice is inviting party members to tell us what you think should be his top priorities. Paul Walter got the ball rolling yesterday. Today, it’s Linda Jack’s turn…

Paul Walter has certainly set the bar high for any other of us to contribute anything fresh to the 100 day debate. However, never one to duck a challenge, I have chosen to approach the question from a different perspective.

Following on from Paul – and strongly agreeing with him and with some of the comments he has attracted – I would suggest the following (with apologies for the military analogies but hard as it is to believe I did used to be a soldier!)…

We are in a battle – our leader needs to have four things clearly in his mind

· His objectives, tempered by points below;
· A thorough understanding of our ‘enemy’ – it is after all the ground they currently hold that we wish to take;
· A realistic appraisal of what, with small (but I would argue effective and fleet of foot) numbers and limited resources, he can achieve; and
· A clear strategy.

At this stage we are a guerilla force. To try to be some Napoleonesque army ain’t gonna work! So we have to operate as a guerilla force would. We need our leader to be our very own Che Guevara!

In order to do this I would put number one on the list, investment in our ‘Intelligence Corps’ (OK, tad biased there!) – let’s know our enemy, how they think, feel, their plans, their codes, their weaknesses and their strengths. And why would the people in the lands our opponents currently occupy want anyone else to govern them?

Then we need our ‘SAS forces’, led by a brave and inspirational commander, exploiting every opportunity, taking risks, doing the unexpected, continually employing the element of surprise, attracting attention for sheer bravado.

Then we need our ‘bloody infantry’ – a huge band of foot soldiers – willing to go out in all weathers, with little or no recognition, our faces in the community, delivering, delivering, delivering.

So our multi-task leader, in his first 100 days, needs to establish his Int Corps, lead his SAS (demonstrating very quickly just how brave he is), motivate the Infantry – and to boot be a good recruiting Sargeant!

He will also need to clarify objectives – both in terms of where we are going (do we want to be all things to all people; or will we be a clear liberal voice, prepared to sacrifice some votes for the sake of others?) and what we are saying. To refer back to my Risk analogy – to ultimately take over the world you have to be prepared to make sacrifices and consolidate. So, some clear policies underpinned by the elusive narrative we all keep banging on about!

Then to articulate the strategy, one that the whole party can coalesce around, understand and be excited by.

Above all our new leader needs to be seen, all over the place, to have the opposition so preoccupied with reacting to him they will have no resources available to be proactive in attacking us.

Whoever wins next week, I trust they already have their game plan… if not, we may well be in for another rocky ride!

* Linda Jack blogs at Lindyloo’s Muze.

If you would like to submit an article for publication on LDV answering the question, ‘What should the new leader do in his first 100 days?’, please click here, then e-mail your article to [email protected].