Before anyone says anything in the comments, yes, I know what follows is a little childish, but it is fun. I also know that all political leaders share personal stories in their speeches, but they do tend to do it with less clumsiness than Ed Miliband did it yesterday and there’s usually more substance from their speech to write about.

My mission to the world, or at least my friends on Facebook and Twitter this morning was simple. If you met Ed Miliband in a park, what would he say about you in his next Conference speech? the creative minds of social media went for it in style. Here are just a few of the replies.

If you’re wondering about the title, it’s a nod to a Stephen Sondheim musical, Sunday in the Park with George, where at one point the characters get fed up at being stuck in a painting.

Jennie was characteristically to the point;

.@caronmlindsay “… and then she told me to bugger off, and if I put her in an anecdote she’d hunt me down”

— Jennie Rigg (@miss_s_b) September 24, 2014

Alisdair was on message:

.@caronmlindsay “I met this man called Alisdair. He told me Labour are weak on the economy, but nobody can forget about it.”

— Alisdair C McGregor (@A_C_McGregor) September 24, 2014

Steve carried on that theme:

.@caronmlindsay “I met this man called Steve and he asked about this thing called the deficit? Have you heard of it? No, me neither.”

— Steve Jolly (@steve_jolly) September 24, 2014

Another Ed mentioned the Lib Dems’ true hero:

@caronmlindsay I met Ed today, he likes Doctor Who and thinks I am not a prime minister in waiting (together)

— Ed Watkinson (@CouncillorEd) September 24, 2014

My favourite, though, came from Juliet:

@caronmlindsay “I approached a woman sat reading. She raised book in front of her eyes & ignored me. Readers, can’t trust em. I memorise.”

— Juliet Swann (@muteswann) September 24, 2014

Over on Facebook, Rob said:

He wasn’t called Gareth. What were the chances?!

Robin got Ed’s style perfectly:

 So I met this man. A man called Robin. In a park. I met Robin, a man, in this park. It was Richmond Park actually, because Robin lives in Richmond. And Richmond has a big park. But it has much more than a big park. That’s what I was left thinking, after my conversation with Robin. Because Robin said to me, “There is more to Richmond than this park, Mr Miliband.” And you know what, conference? That man, that man called Robin, Robin who was in that park – Robin was right. There is.

So did Mike:

 Now, look. If what you’re asking me is, why am I talking about meeting Mike, then I’ve got to say to you, well, look this illustrates my point which I’ll come onto as there’s a simple answer to this issue which is why I will say this. You know, we’ve got to look at all these things and I think deliver the sort of radical, decisive change that the everyday working people of this one nation need together. That’s why I say to you what I do. And I think that’s the right thing to do for the everyday working people of our one nation, up and down Britain.
Let’s be very clear about this. You’ve asked me a question. And I get that. Absolutely. I mean, only today, I was in some part of the country or other, doesn’t matter where, talking to an everyday working person Mike, and he said to me this. He said, “Ed, why do you talk so much but say so little?” And I listened to that everyday working person, because I think that’s the right thing to do and I learnt the right lessons from him, and I said to him. I said, “I’ve listened to what you’ve got to say, and I think you’ve made some important and interesting points. But let me just say this. I think we’ve got to look at the issue in the round together, and do change in the right way, because otherwise, we’ll be learning the wrong lessons and not saying sorry.

Now, look. You’ve just asked me whether I still think the cuts are too far and too deep despite having a conference where I haven’t mentioned the deficit. Well, look. Let me answer like this, that I think it is the right thing to do to talk to Ed Balls about the economy.

Sue Doughty picked up on one of the themes of the speech:

Together we will walk the dog

A Welsh perspective from Maria

 I took this walk through a park at the end of the M4 somewhere. It was far from London. They have parks there, too, you know. I met Maria, and she told me how fed up she was with politics in Wales. She pointed out to me that South Wales is a Labour heartland, where Labour MPs get elected no matter what. Let’s applaud this, Conference – we are where are due to these, erm, loyal voters who vote for us every single time. And, you know, the NHS might not be working very well where I met that woman, Maria, in that park, as she told me… but they do have parks, where you can meet people. Which shows you just how much Labour cares about everybody.

And Hannah, currently studying in Spain, inspired him:

So I met this student. In a park. I think it was a park. It had green space, anyway. And she asked me a question, conference. It sounded like a question. She said to me: “Perderás en dos mil quince.” And it sounded inspiring, conference. May we all take inspiration from the truth that our students are telling me.

Lizzie Jewkes told him how Labour had inspired her:

Let me tell you about Lizzie. Lizzie was inspired to get involved in politics by the Labour Party. Over the years, she’s delivered thousands of leaflets, chatted to hundreds of people on the doorstep and attended dozens of conferences. She’s stood for parliament several times too. We didn’t just inspire her to get active in politics, we in the Labour Party have ensured she stayed active. Thanks to us, 30 years later Lizzie is still active in politics. We ensured she keeps standing up for the low paid, for those who too many politicians ignore. From her humble beginnings as a young mum in Tottenham, north London, patronised and talked down to by the local Labour Party at a public meeting over rate capping in 1984, Lizzie joined the Liberal Party. When Gordon Brown showed his contempt for the low paid by removing the 10p tax rate, Lizzie campaigned for the income tax threshold to be raised, taking 2m of the lowest paid out of tax and making 26m people better off.

Sandy tied in another topical story. What would Ed say about meeting him?

That I purred with pleasure

Photo by ARCHIVED Department of Energy and Climate Change

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings