The Lib Dems, along with their predecessor parties, have had years of being very democratic: elected reps passing policy at conference, most of which has then sat buried in a dusty policy document in a filing cabinet somewhere in the bowels of Cowley Street.

Occasionally some policy or other gets plucked from obscurity to feature in an election manifesto or – the highest accolade – to be pinched by Labour or the Conservatives, rebranded as their own and even turned into law.

Now the Lib Dems are partners in the coalition government, we’re getting used to seeing big chunks of Lib Dem policy in Government documents, with the promise from a stable, majority government that it’ll end up being enacted.

So you’ve got  brilliant idea: how do you get it on the statute books, or otherwise turn it into reality?

We’ve never been here before and I don’t think anyone knows quite how it’s going to work in practice.  This is roughly what I think will happen, but it may be that when we look back in a few years time, those who succeeded took a different route.  Anyhow, here’s how I think you can give yourself the best chance of success.

Your first priority as a Lib Dem member looking to introduce something new (rather than influence or amend some piece of legislation already going through the system) is to get a motion to Lib Dem conference.  We remain the only one of the big parties that allows members to make policy and you can make that difference.  There’s help available from the party to draft conference motions to give them the best chance of  success.

But that won’t be enough.  Don’t expect all the Lib Dem MPs to start clamouring for your policy to become law just because it’s passed by conference.  After all, how much policy makes it into the manifesto?  A good deal, but certainly not all, not by a long way.

I reckon there are three further steps you should take to give your policy the best chance of becoming law under this coalition government.

First, get some Lib Dem MPs enthusiastic about your ideas.

Second, work with external pressure groups which can promote and lobby for the issue and, if you’re lucky, get it some positive media attention.

And third, get some Conservative support.  It’s especially important for the coalition that, when Lib Dem MPs are pressing for your policy, the Conservative leadership are turning round to their grassroots and getting a thumbs-up from at least some of them.  Even under single-party government, many of the most effective campaigns for legislative change have had cross-party support.

So being in coalition doesn’t suddenly make the Lib Dem conference a law-making body, but it does give ordinary Lib Dem members willing to put in the work a stronger hand than members of any other party in turning our great ideas into reality.

Now its up to us to grab that opportunity.