Tag Archives: 2025 vice presidential election

Fighting for Britain’s soul and bursting the Westminster bubble

Take a moment and imagine at the next General Election, the closing polls come in.

That ping comes through on your phone, the announcement comes up on the TV, the person next to you turns and says “Reform is winning….the exit polls look like tomorrow we’ll have Nigel Farage as our Prime Minister…”.

Then, over the next few years a Reform government takes away the rights and freedoms of millions up and down our country in a toxic wave of populism.

We know sadly the polls show this is very possible but we know it’s not inevitable.

Posted in Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | Also tagged and | 2 Comments

It’s time for a fresh voice – Why I’m standing for Party Vice President

Kamran Hussain profile picture

Editor’s Note: In November party members will be voting to elect our next Party President. At Lib Dem Voice we welcome posts from each of the candidates – one to launch their candidature plus a maximum of one per week during the actual campaign.

I have been told that Yorkshire folk are known for straight talking, so let me start there. I am not from Westminster and it’s not the norm for me to be at think-tank lunches or in the shadow of Big Ben. My political training ground was the streets of Yorkshire, armed with a stack of Focus leaflets and a very questionable sense of direction.

I joined the Liberal Democrats before I could grow a proper moustache. At seven years old, I was already delivering leaflets, probably the only Liberal Democrat in history who liked street level letterboxes! 

Since then, I have worn many hats: solicitor, managing partner, campaigner, regional chair, parliamentary candidate, husband, and dad to brilliant (and occasionally exhausting) kids.

And now, I’m standing to be our next Party Vice President, because I believe this role should mean more than a polite nod from the top table. It should be a real link between our members and leadership, a voice that speaks for members, not sending messages from the top to them.

For too long, the Vice President role has been seen as ceremonial, the party equivalent of cutting ribbons and smiling for photos. But we’re a party that believes in empowerment, in grassroots activism, and in shaking up the establishment. It’s time we brought that same energy to our own structures.

That’s why I’ve come up with what I call, Kam’s 6 to Fix, not because I fancy myself as some political handyman, but because the party internal workings need a few screws tightening and a bit of fresh paint.

1. The voice of members to the leadership

We need to give power back to the members, not just at conference but all year round. That’s why I’ll listen to you and be your independent voice back to the leadership.

2. Supporting candidates and local parties

I have spent years helping build campaign structures across the country. It’s time we make that support consistent and practical, so every candidate, whether in Cornwall, Clydebank, Conway, or Calderdale, feels part of a winning machine.

3. Identifying real solutions for real people

We are great at policy papers, but people want potholes fixed and buses that turn up. From Shetland to St Ives, let’s offer real Liberal answers that make life better, not just leaflets that make us feel better.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 2 Comments

Growing our Movement: A vision for Liberal Democrat renewal

Editor’s Note: In November party members will be voting to elect our next Party President. At Lib Dem Voice we welcome posts from each of the candidates – one to launch their candidature plus a maximum of one per week during the actual campaign.

The news that our membership has halved in five years, is not simply a statistic to be dismissed or explained away, it’s a call to action. As Liberal Democrats, we must confront this reality with both honesty and determination.

It’s been at the heart of my campaign as Vice President, because if we’re going to improve diverse representation we must fix engagement. We need to start at our grassroots. 

Let me be clear: this is not about diminishing the extraordinary achievements of our parliamentary team or our incredible councillors. Our 72 MPs and thousands of councillors are delivering real change in communities across the UK, holding this government to account and winning on key campaigns from justice to the environment. But electoral success and organisational vitality don’t always go hand in hand. We can celebrate our electoral gains whilst acknowledging that our membership base requires urgent renewal.

The challenge before us is fundamental. As we’ve rebuilt our parliament party and council base, we’ve treated membership growth as an administrative afterthought rather than the lifeblood of our movement. We’ve assumed that electoral victories would automatically translate into organisational strength. The numbers tell us otherwise. Whilst we’ve been focused,  rightly, on winning seats, we’ve inadvertently allowed our grassroots foundations to weaken.

A thriving membership base is our connection to communities, and our source of renewal. The drop speaks to a hunger for authentic political engagement, for movements that feel genuinely participatory rather than transactional. Many people are seeking parties that offer meaningful involvement, not just occasional requests for donations or signatures on petitions.

As Vice President, I would implement a comprehensive renewal strategy built on three interconnected pillars.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 13 Comments

Kamran Hussain writes: Representing people from all walks of life, not just “Middle England”

Editor’s Note: In November party members will be voting to elect our next Party President and Vice-President. At Lib Dem Voice we welcome posts from each of the candidates – one to launch their candidature plus a maximum of one per week during the actual campaign.

I grew up in a community with people who do the early starts and the late finishes: the shift workers, the carers, the shop staff who smile even when the till doesn’t balance at home. For far too long, they’ve been told to “tighten belts” whilst the government loosened its grip on the basics that make a decent life possible for every person.

​I’m not interested in Westminster theatre. I’m interested in what lands on individual kitchen tables.​ I want to be Vice President of a party that stands up and represents people from all walks of life in every village, town and city, not just “Middle England.”

Posted in News and Party policy and internal matters | 4 Comments

Kamran Hussain writes: Confronting Misogyny: My commitment as Vice President Candidate

Editor’s Note: In November party members will be voting to elect our next Party President. At Lib Dem Voice we welcome posts from each of the candidates – one to launch their candidature plus a maximum of one per week during the actual campaign.

Misogyny is not just a political issue — it is a deeply personal one. As I stand to be elected Vice President of the Liberal Democrats, I so carry with me the voices of countless women who have been ignored, dismissed, or silenced for too long. I have listened to friends, colleagues, and campaigners tell me stories of harassment, exclusion, and the barriers that still hold women back in modern Britain. Those experiences demand leadership, and they demand action.

The reality for women today is stark. Too many shape their daily lives around the threat of harassment, changing their routines and restricting their freedoms to feel safe. In universities, workplaces, and public spaces, women continue to face discrimination that chips away at their confidence and limits their opportunities. And despite progress, women still face inequality at work, both in terms of pay and recognition.

But misogyny is not only about the most shocking headlines. It is about the culture that normalises women being talked over in meetings, dismissed in politics, and underestimated in leadership. It is about women doing two jobs — one at work and another at home — without acknowledgement. It is about the fact that representation in politics and public life remains far from equal. Progress has been made, but it is nowhere near enough.

This commitment is not abstract for me; it is personal. I have seen the strength of women in my own family and community who carried households, raised children, and led businesses in the face of prejudice. I have seen women candidates in our Party work twice as hard to be taken seriously. And I have seen how resilience is demanded of women in politics in ways men are rarely tested. Too often, the system shrugs its shoulders, leaving women to fight alone.

That is why, as Vice President, I want to make it clear that tackling misogyny is not optional — it is central to who we are as Liberal Democrats.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 1 Comment
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