On being a Lib Dem in 2012

I remember the good old days of being a Liberal Democrat. The days when I could argue about politics for hours, be proud to wear a yellow rosette and generally feel superior about my political views.

I am not saying I don’t support the Lib Dems anymore, I do. It’s just that now in debates I have to explain a lot of policies, dispel a lot of lies and myths and at times simply apologise for the mistakes. It usually involves a long rant at me where I feel like I have to defend not just the party but myself for supporting it. Don’t get me wrong I love debating and thanks to my legal training I am quite good at it. Recently, however, I found it so frustrating and disheartening.  The worst is when I agree with people who are having a go at me (about tuition fees for example). It is easier not to tell anyone that I am a libdem at all!

My driving instructor likes telling me that the libdems won’t ever be in power again because they destroyed the country worse than Thatcher did. I know it is not true but I tend to laugh it off rather then get involved in a long argument.

I had a bad experience of my own last year. I was the agent for a local by-election and did badly. We came forth after the BNP, since then my candidate defected to Labour. In a way I still haven’t completely recovered from that and lost a lot of my campaigning spirit.

I agree with Tim Farron when he says that ‘With just 23% of the vote, we’ve got three-quarters of our manifesto into government policy. Let’s focus on that success, and stop apologising for the quarter we didn’t get.’

He didn’t, however, say how to recover from bad losses, get into the righteous mood of fighting for our principles and stop being ashamed about bad calls like tuition fees. Any ideas?

Tim Farron for President

I support Tim Farron for president because he is an outstanding public speaker, very strong campaigner (witness his massively increased majority from 267 to 12 264 last election) and very good in the media.

Times are challenging for the Liberal Democrats. Lots of people who are not used to Coalition government don’t see the difference between us and Conservatives anymore. We need someone who can be ‘our distinctive voice in the Coalition’ and ensure that our Parties values don’t get lost. He is in a position to speak out for members and the Party and help reach people outside.

Part of the President’s job is to inspire and motivate activists and supporters. I think he is one of the most inspiring politicians of this ‘new generation‘.

He represents a Northern rural constituency which will help us break out of the Westminster and London bubble.

If  Tim was not running  I would support Jennie Rigg in the election. I would feel more represented as a member because she is like me geeky, alternative and bi-sexual. It is just that Tim is in the race. I however wish her all the best in her political career and hope that she will go far.

Back to Tim, for me is the right candidate for the job. If you feel the same, then sign his pledge on the web-site http://www.timfarronforpresident.org.uk/