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 (like this one) plus a maximum of one per week during the actual campaign.
Populists are on the march across Britain.
Reform are surging on the basis of exploiting people’s fears and offering snake oil solutions for their own political gain.
The Conservatives – still a formidable opponent of ours – have become little more than a Farage tribute act.
And Labour are increasingly dancing to this dark tune; Starmer’s “island of strangers” speech was the tip of the iceberg.
It is clear that our country cannot rely on anyone else to credibly fight back against the division, pessimism and envy polluting our politics.
And our communities cannot rely on anyone else to boldly fight for liberal values of liberty, equality, community, inclusion, internationalism, environmentalism, and so much more.
That job falls to us.
The Liberal Democrats must be the first and last line of defence against populism.
I’m standing to be our next President to ensure that our party has the energy, focus, and ambition to step up to this fight – at the ballot box and beyond – at such a pivotal moment in our national story.
To do that, and to win elections everywhere, we’ve got to bring people in, build them up and get things done. In particular, we must:
- Empower party members to win
I’ll work with ALDC and our Campaigns Team to ensure every member is equipped with the campaign tools and networks they need to challenge populism on the ground.
We know that Lib Dem community politics inoculates our communities against division.
- Diversify our party
We need to better reflect the communities we’re ambitious to serve.
I’ll work with the Lib Dem Campaign for Race Equality, Racial Diversity Campaign, Lib Dem Women, Campaign for Gender Balance, the Lib Dem Disability Association, LGBT+ Lib Dems, Young Liberals, and others to craft a strategy to drive greater diversity at all levels in our party, as per the GE2024 review.
- Drive youth engagement
16 and 17 year olds will be voting at the next General Election. We must be ready for this.
Working with the Young Liberals and Scottish and Welsh colleagues (where 16 and 17 year olds already vote in devolved and local elections), I’ll spearhead the development of a youth engagement strategy, to ensure we don’t abandon young voters to the populists who seek to exploit them.
- Champion local government
Our country needs to hear more about Lib Dem councillors’ successes across Britain.
I’ll work with our team at the Local Government Association and our Media Team to ensure we unashamedly shout about our local government work.
I’ll also launch a pilot buddying scheme between some of our Lib Dem council group leaders and parliamentarians to help our leading lights of local government get even more of the parliamentary back-up they need.
- Be a megaphone for our members
Critically, I’ll represent the voice of our members, activists and campaigners internally and externally.
I’ll also use my platform and profile as an MP to reach new audiences with Conference’s bold ideas for a society where people are free from poverty, ignorance and conformity.
We are a party for every corner of England, Scotland and Wales. Our message must ring out from the Cornish coast to the Highland hamlets, from our Northern cities to our Welsh villages, and everywhere in between. There are no “no-go” areas for our values.
So that’s my pitch. But my style involves more than talking.
My style has always been to listen, collaborate and then to waste no time in rolling up my sleeves to get things done, out in the field.
It’s what drove me to launch an award-winning social enterprise supporting young people out of crime, having seen what led them toward gangs.
It’s what drove me to become a councillor in my home ward, and use participatory budgeting methods to pioneer a community-led cost of living emergency fund to support Eastbourne’s Foodbank, which was then the busiest in the country.
And it’s what drove me to beat the Conservatives in Eastbourne and relentlessly pursue and secure reform of the law on domestic abuse as an MP, joining forces with victims and survivors across the country – including my own family.
I’ll apply this same approach of listening, collaborating and acting if elected as President of the party I’ve been a proud member of since I was 16.
And in that tradition of listening, I’d love to hear your take on what we need to do to ensure our party is ready to fight for the soul of our country.
Share your thoughts and get involved through our campaign website.
Let’s get things done – and let’s do it together!
* Josh Babarinde OBE is the Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne and Party President from January 2026. He was the Founder and CEO of Cracked It, London's award-winning social enterprise smartphone repair service, staffed by young ex-offenders.
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13 Comments
I’ve known Josh since the 2010 General election when we were working to elect Stephen Lloyd in Eastbourne and it was wonderful to work for Josh in last year’s contest. He would be an excellent Party President – and I’ve known quite a few in my Liberal/LD membership of just over fifty years.
Josh makes an excellent point about our need to engage in youth engagement and Josh has a proven track record on this.
His recent interview by Nick Robinson in the Political Thinking Series was outstanding.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002fvbl
I am sure Josh would do his best as President, but I take the view that MPs have enough to do without taking on an onerus role such as this. MPs should get on with holding the government to account and representing their constituents. We need someone unencumbered with another important role to be President so that they can devote themselves to it 100%. No MP or peer can do that.
I agree with Mick. I have my doubts that an MP has the time needed to devote themselves to also being Party President. I hope Josh can convince me otherwise.
I also agree with Mick for the same reasons, but, I’d also suggest finding a candidate from a more northern latitude to counterbalance the so called ‘middle England’ tendency currently dominating what ought to be a UK party.
“Reform are surging on the basis of exploiting people’s fears and offering snake oil solutions…”
I think we need a better explanation for the rise of Reform than this. Political parties exploiting people’s fears is nothing new – it is a regular part of most election campaigns. To suggest that this is basically what Reform is managing to do particularly successfully really misses the point. And the point is that Reform is surging because it is addressing concerns that other political parties are either failing, or refusing, to address.
For example, we may think that people who are angered by the sight of thousands of mainly young men crossing the channel in small boats, and then being placed in hotels at taxpayer expense, are mere racists. Maybe some of them are. But when the mainstream parties are unwilling to set out credible solutions, these voters will be attracted by parties (ie Reform) that appear to take the issue seriously.
I notice that Epping Forest District Council has just voted unanimously – including its Liberal Democrat councillors – to ask for the closure of the migrant hotel that has been the centre of protests this week. Perhaps this is recognition that most of the local people calling for the closure are not all ‘blood and soil’ racists?
Great to see a bold vision from one of our MPs!
You have my vote Josh!
I agree with others that an MP should concentrate on their work as an MP. If they do decide to go for something like Party President, they should at least wait until they’ve been re-elected in their constituency.
I feel like I should comment on clearly only the most pressing and urgent issue presented by Josh.
So Josh, why is it you’re stopping in the highland hamlets? Or are our voices not important in the northern isles?
If you want my vote, you need to explain your position on F10. That’s the only time I’ve heard you and am not impressed so far.
When it comes to diversity we need to see some blue collar Liberals joining us and becoming active.
At the moment the party looks far to middle class!
Agree with previous comments here about an MP being unsuitable for President. The last two Presidents we’ve had were by far the best during my 20 odd years as a member a that’s because they weren’t “double-jobbed” with constituency work. Also, there’s always a sneaking suspicion that any MP standing for President is eyeing the role as a rung on the ladder to Leadership.
The only weakness I can see from a cursory read of the above is a lack of mention of collaborating. While it is important to retain our unique identity as a political party, it is also important to work with people from others and none to achieve our objectives. This is from both a practical and more philosophical view point. I do hope also we have a diverse set of candidates from whom to choose our next President.
I think Josh has many excellent qualities and he is clearly an effective MP with a strong media profile.
However, I agree with the posts that say Party President should not be a sitting MP. Mark Pack was an excellent Party President. He stayed out of the media limelight because that is not the role of President, it’s the job of the party leader and Lib Dem MPs and Peers. Instead, Mark was very accessible (and encouraging) to members, turning up at action days, canvassing sessions, social events, etc all over the country. I feel he always had the pulse of party members, so to speak.
MPs do not have time to that, as well as constituency work, parliamentary and media.