Over the past few days, information on how to vote in the Party’s vice presidential election have been emailed and posted to members.
The Vice President is responsible for working with ethnic minority communities. This is the first time there has been an all-member ballot for the election. The Federal Board chose the first VP – Isabelle Parasram, who has stepped down to take a politically restricted role.
There are six candidates in this election, listed in alphabetical order of surname. If you click on their name it will take you to their manifesto.
Voting is open until 10th December. I would recommend holding off casting your ballot until you have seen the candidates in action at one of the hustings events. Conference chose to impose a zero spending limit on candidates for their campaigns. The Federal Board had offered conference a choice and the arguments in favour of a zero limit prevailed. These were based on making the contest more accessible.
It does mean, though that the campaign is restricted to social media and that means that many members will not know anything about it. There are posts in the internal elections discussion group on Facebook where the candidates are being questioned.
Hustings have never been more important. These provide members with the chance to listen to the candidates’ pitches, and see how they think on their feet in response to questions. There are three planned so far, all online. They are:
Scottish and Welsh Party joint event
Thursday 25th November, 19:00-20:30
English Party
Saturday 27th November 17:00-18:30
Racial Diversity Campaign
Wednesday 8th December, 18:00-19:30
More events may be added and we’ll update this post if that happens.
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Daniel Walker
Alex Macfie
Tanya Park
7 Comments
I thought I knew who I wanted to vote for, but now I’ve read the manifestos of candidates I wasn’t familiar with I realise I’m spoilt for choice and hope to attend a hustings.
This is an important role and I want someone who challenges us to do better.
@Fiona
I already knew two of the candidates reasonably well from their previous work, but I agree with the article; their performance at the hustings will be important in making a decision as to which order to place the candidates in. I’m reasonably confident that any of the six is capable of doing a good job in this role.
I hope one of the hustings is going to be on Zoom, or even recorded and posted online.
That way Lib Dems not living in the UK, or who cannot get to a hustings, will also be able to make an informed decision.
@Steve Comer – “I hope one of the hustings is going to be on Zoom, or even recorded and posted online.”
It would also indicate whether the party has truly embraced the post CoVid19 and COP26 world or not…
Steve and Roland might have missed this in the text of the article:
“There are three [hustings] planned so far, all online”
It would be interesting to know what they all think about the selection in Winchester and what it says about the party.
Where can people find out about/register to attend the hustings please? This is the only place I’ve even seen the dates listed – the link on the main party website just says they are tbc: https://www.libdems.org.uk/candidates-vice-president