I want you to make a pledge. Don’t worry; it’s got nothing to do with fees or abstinence from alcohol. I want you to make a pledge to do something you know you ought to be doing any way.
Will you pledge to recruit 10 people to join the Lib Dems this summer? They could be 10 completely new members, 10 lapsed members or a mixture. But I need you to make me that pledge today and to fulfil it before we get to our Brighton conference in September.
The most important thing to me is that our Party grows and thrives to ensure that we continue to be the radical force in British politics. All of us need to play our part to build our campaigning capacity – and there is no better and more important way of doing this than by increasing our membership.
We all know that we should be recruiting members, but too few of us are actually doing it. This summer, let’s have our biggest increase in membership ever, lets confound the pundits. But I need you to help me do it.
Will you pledge to get 10 by 21st September? Go on! I’ll lead the way and pledge to you all today that I will sign up 10 new members myself before autumn conference – will you join me? If so please email me at [email protected] and make the pledge.
If you do this and make the pledge, I’ll send you a recruitment kit with everything you could possibly need to get you going – and once you’ve fulfilled that pledge and recruited your 10 members you’ll get an extra special conference invite to an exclusive reception to look forward to with me and some other guests who are even more exciting! You will also get a special badge (control yourselves!) for you to wear to show off your recruitment prowess!
…and once you’ve got your 10, well, you could keep going and recruit some more! Yesterday I pinned a ‘top recruiter’s’ badge on Peter Philips of Ludlow who has personally recruited a whopping 37 members in the last few weeks. Recruitment’s a lot easier than you think and it is absolutely vital, but it won’t happen by accident – it will only happen if we get out there and get asking our voters and supporters to join up.
Let’s boost our membership together like never before. Let’s make the pledge.
* Tim Farron is Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Agriculture and MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale.
Follow @LibDemVoice on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
The Joy of Six 1119
Cheers! Gin Palace to open at Ludlow Food Centre
Are Lib Dems really the most opposed to more money being spent on potholes?
The escalating cost of Tory failure on immigration
Victoria Gardens energy efficiency event #dundeewestend
Stephen Glenn
Michael Kilpatrick
Mary Regnier-Wilson
Andrew Hickey
13 Comments
ohhh, go on then!
Commenting reminder: Please remember to respect our moderation policy which basically asks people to be polite, be on topic and be honest (ie don’t pretend to be more than one person or to be someone you are not). Please remmeber also the point about not making repetitive commments, such as raising the same topic again and again in different threads, unless it is directly relevant to the posts you are making it on.
As you can see from other comments published on the site, wide-ranging and robust debate is fine (including comments critical of the party or the site). However, we do ask for little bit of civility – and the chances are you’ll find that makes your points a little more effective at persuading others anyway!
Thanks.
I’ve delivered for many years but now is the time to explain and defend what we are doing and stand for, membership needs us to do something potential supporters agree with and that is rare.
As we are in a hole, someone needs to stop digging before it is worth filling it up again. I’m okay with asking people to vote for us locally. I’m happy if people join of their own volition. But I’m not going out recruiting until the parliamentary party stops making us all look like fools.
Christine is right, the old Dennis Healy rule of politics is right, if you are in a hole stop digging. When are we going to; student fees, AV which became a kick Nick vote, NHS even though the members of the Lords tried to amend they eventually followed the Tory dominated line. After the HOL vote are we going to roll over, get our tummies tickled and support the reduction in constituencies which is the only reform the Tories want.
Looks like my comment this afternoon was modded out. I didn’t think it was too bad – but perhaps it kick-started a series of other postings that I missed.
Any-who. Much as I appreciate what Tim is trying to do and as party president it is his job, but it would be better to ask us to commit to recruiting 10 people, or just ask us to go out and recruit 10 people. Lib Dems should really steer clear of the word “pledge” for the foreseeable future.
In the 1980’s the ward I lived in was identified as a potential Liberal ward. It was a battle with Labour. Monthly newsletters were distributed. Norman Lamb was a key member of the campaign team. The group met up on a regular basis & we all felt part of a team. Due to work I dropped out of the Liberal scene. Though in the last 5 years I have joined up with the Liberals in Ipswich, Lowestoft & more recently Leeds. In Ipswich & Lowestoft I offered my services for volunteer purposes but I subsequently heard nothing. I recently offered my services to Leeds but I am still waiting to hear from them(excluding a newsletter from the Leeds MEP). Do monthly get together’s exist.
If the Liberal Part wants more members it needs to be more proactive & welcoming of new members. There needs to be a recruitment strategy & then establish a debating environment whereby members feel involved.
Christine, politics isn’t a hole, it’s quicksand. If you stop moving, you sink. We can no longer rely on organic growth to maintain or increase our membership levels – we need to go out and ask. And when we ask, and tell people about the good things we’re doing in Government (they already know about the bad!), they get involved. And that means a stronger party which can get more Lib Dem things done both locally and nationally.
People who’ve supported us for years but never joined are now signing up as members around my region, but we have to make a bit more effort to recruit and engage than we used to.
Show me 10 good reasons for joining an organisation and I’ll show you – not 10, but 100 new members tomorrow.
SHY ? don’t know how to open a recruitment spiel ? May I recommend a silent persuader that requires no effort on your part ? Then go to http://www.libdeminage.co.uk and get yourself a windscreen sticker for your car and place it next to the tax disc. With a bit of luck when you give a lift to friend or stranger your passenger may say casually “I didn’t know you were with the Lib-dems!” and lo and behold your passenger has invited you to preach the gospel. And an added benefit is that he/she is a captive audience for the rest of the journey
“I want you to make a pledge. Don’t worry; it’s got nothing to do with fees”
Since Tim Farron was one of the Lib Dem MPs who actually honoured his pledge on fees, I guess I can just about forgive him for making light of what was a gross betrayal by many of his colleagues.
I think Kirsten has the key point.
What reasons can we give someone for joining the party.
I’m happy to defend us and sing our praises, but even when I convince someone that we’re an alright organisation, why should they pay money to join us?
Tim, will you take up Kirsten’s challenge of providing 10 good reasons for us to give someone to join? 🙂
I am working on the leaky bath from the other end and trying to retain a few tens of members who have reached the position of having no faith in the national party and the parliamentarians by selling belief in the value of our local activity despite what is happening nationally. As you will imagine, this is a tricky job that leaves me little room and no stomach for evangelism given the current state of things. Please come back when we have become a sensibly led liberal and democratic party again.