Nominations for the Liberal Democrat Leadership election will close shortly,
what looks like the only two candidates: Jo Swinson and Ed Davey have declared
and are well underway with their respective campaigns.
This Leadership election comes on the back of some outstanding Local and
European election results. The Liberal Democrats are back and are now a force
to be reckoned with from every side of the political debate. We must seize this moment
and continues the upward trajectory set by the local and European campaigns.
The next leader of the party is likely to remain the leader for many years to
come and will play a huge role in shaping the future of British Politics as well
as Liberal policy as we move to be Britain’s biggest and loudest party.
Being the Leader of the Lib Dems is no easy task, having worked closely with
a former leader as a well as in the Leaders office I can safely attest to the daily challenges the
job brings. The skills required by the leader are wide-ranging and intense. The
The leader must be able to perform consistently on every media platform to take
advantage of rare media coverage, they must be able to connect with the large
coalition of voters the Lib Dems need to make a difference nationally and they
must also listen and pay attention to members and supporters as without the activists and members
being fired up leaflets don’t get delivered and campaigning doesn’t happen, the
the net result being: elections aren’t won.
I believe that Jo Swinson has all these skills in abundance.
Ed Davey has also shown that he is a consistently good performer when doing
media as well as a brilliant campaigner inside and out of the house of commons,
he is a key asset to the party and would make an excellent Deputy leader or
Party President, but this time I am backing Jo.
Jo has shown that she is able to deftly convey the party’s message in every
situation as well as reach out to voters across the political spectrum in her campaigning
efforts. Jo has also ensured that the party remains open for anyone who agrees
with our message, including extending an invite to Change UK, but Jo has made it
absolutely clear that any new members must share our unashamedly radically
liberal message, this is a view I greatly support. Jo’s openness to build cross-party support is refreshing in a time when British Politics is as divided as
ever.
A party led by Jo Swinson will be a scary prospect for any opposition and I
believe she can win in Conservative and Labour facing areas across the country,
Under her leadership, we will have many more fantastic nights such as the election
results for the locals and Europeans this year. We all want to replicate that
feeling of immense pride of being a member of this party; I believe under Jo we
will be getting used to that feeling.
The one aspect that for me and many members is most important to get out of
this leadership election is for it to remain clean and respectful throughout. We
are very lucky to have two excellent candidates who have the parties best
intentions with them at all times.
We are an example to every party on how to conduct internal affairs. Let’s
hope the current tone of the campaign is kept throughout.
The next few months and years as a Lib Dem are shaping up to be a very exciting
time for activists, let’s take advantage of this huge opportunity by electing a
strong, fierce and exciting new leader in Jo Swinson.
Jamie Dwan 