Tag Archives: kamran hussain

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.