Congratulations to Tim Farron, new Liberal Democrat President Elect

I spent yesterday at the fabulous PICamp event in Edinburgh - of which more later, probably tomorrow, given the F1 today.

One highlight of the day was when my friend Emma came up to me to tell me that Tim Farron had won the Liberal Democrat presidency by 1643 votes over Susan Kramer.  The margin of victory is a tribute to the high quality campaigns run by both Tim and Susan over the last 6 weeks.

Susan had some very good ideas about improving communication within the party which need to be taken on board.

I am delighted for Tim and for his campaign team who have worked tirelessly and enthusiastically.

The turnout was disappointing, but I suspect this is a function of our Party's rather ridiculous system of not giving presidential candidates membership lists. In previous campaigns, candidates have had months if not years to build up their own contacts. I add my voice to Jennie's in calling for a change to all the Federal Election rules. I mean,  we are a party which believes so strongly in campaigning, yet we don't allow our own candidates for internal elections to do it. I could see the rationale 30 years ago, when it would have taken some money to build a national profile, but in the days of the internet, anyone can afford to do so.

Anyway, congratulations again to Team Farron. I will be watching Tim to make sure he keeps to his word, but he usually does, so I'm expecting great things from him. I think he will be perfect at cutting through the bile Labour are throwing at us and we need a champion of his calibre.

Here is the video of the declaration at Cowley Street yesterday. It's available on You Tube here.

Helen Duffett chairs Presidential Hustings with Susan Kramer and Tim Farron

I have just had an e-mail from them at Lib Dem HQ alerting me to the fact that the online presidential hustings I mentioned the other day is now up on You Tube here.

Helen Duffett did a fabulous job, clear, assured and confident, of keeping the two candidates under control - although, to be fair, there was just high quality debate.

You already know that I'm supporting Tim Farron, and I'd recommend you read Sara Bedford's endorsement of him which she's posted today. 

Anyway, sit back with a cup of tea and a biscuit and enjoy the almost hour long hustings in full, where the candidates talk about how to maintain our distinctive message, grassroots campaigning, the AV referendum, tuition fees, diversity and keeping members onside.

Tim Farron's video presidential pitch

Blogging has been light and may well continue to be so over the next few days. This is purely because it's the school holidays and I'm having some Mummy and Anna time. I also seem to be having a lot of sneezing time this morning, much to my annoyance. I won't be able to avoid some comments on the Spending Review, and I'm thrilled that we've kicked the replacement of Trident into the long grass - a big Lib Dem win for the coalition - but I'll be quieter than usual.

However, just in time for the Presidential Election ballot papers to slip through the doors of Party members (and a particular hello to the thousands of you who have joined the Party since May and are doing this for the first time), that nice Tim Farron has produced this video to entertain you in my absence. It's all very nice and atmospheric with music and everything and I think it shows why we need him as President. I think he has, and will have, his finger firmly on the pulse of the Party, being accessible to members and he is exactly the type of no-nonsense bruiser we need to cut through the bile our opponents are throwing at us.



The Party's having an online hustings tonight at 7 pm, chaired by The Divine Ms Duffett from Liberal Democrat Voice. We'll be able to see it on You Tube later, but you can submit questions in the comments thread here by 5pm today.

Caron decides: Tim Farron for a "stardust" President

The thing about sitting on the fence, is that it's pretty uncomfortable. I knew I'd have to make my mind up at some point, but I didn't expect that the decision would be as clear as it has become. And, to be honest, I'm surprised at the decision I've made. At the start of this, if you had told me I'd be voting for Tim Farron, I'd have laughed at you. The thought of electing an MP to the position of representing the grassroots was one that was difficult for me to reconcile, but I think this week has convinced me that Tim is the right person for the job at this time.

Here's why:

• He keeps his word - and this tuition fees issue is not an isolated example. He's done it before as he was one of the three who resigned from the Shadow Cabinet over the slightly weird position we took on the Referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
• He knows about campaigning - turning a majority of 200 ish to one of 12000 takes some energy, knowledge and commitment.
• He knows about fundraising which is something the Party really needs to focus on now we don't have Short Money any more.
• He's been right there in the story of tuition fees this week, on every news programme that would have him, saying he's going to honour his pledge. I don't think a non MP President would get as much coverage.
• I think he would make sure we were positively in the story on other issues - he'd be hunting down Nick Robinson et al, not waiting for them to come to him.
• We need someone pretty forceful and terrier like to take on Labour and all their assorted nonsenses. Tenacious Tim is best placed to do that.
• He's willing to take a risk - his intervention in the most controversial debate at Scottish conference shows integrity and good judgment.
• He gave me direct answers to questions that bordered on rudeness

We have the most challenging few years ahead for our party that we've had in my political lifetime. We need an exceptional person, someone with a bit of political stardust to be out there fighting our corner. I'm willing to take a bet that Tim is that person. He had better not let me down.

Tim Farron's answers to my blog questions

You might remember that a week ago last Thursday I had a bit of a strop about the forthcoming party presidential election and posed 4 questions I wanted answering by the Presidential candidates. Although at the time I did tell you that he had replied by e-mail 3 hours and 23 minutes later, I haven't yet got round to publishing his answers.

I never did hear anything from the Kramer camp, but I can't really hold it against them that they don't read my trashy little blog. This morning I've e-mailed that post to them to see if they want to answer the questions too and if I get a response, I'll publish that.

Anyway, here are my questions and Tim's answers. 

If the Party membership is uneasy about action taken by the Government, what will you do?

Firstly thanks for the opportunity to answer these questions.  In terms of question one as any good politician I am going to argue with the premise of the question.  I am a Liberal Democrat – I am not the Tories or the government, my job will be everyday to argue our distinctive case and why people should vote Liberal Democrat.  I will regularly meet with Nick Clegg and government ministers and make sure that members are heard loudly and clearly.

My job is to be the voice and soul of the party and this is what I want to be.  This campaign will show what kind of president I will be if elected – hardworking, proactive, high profile and constantly listening to members.
We all know that the Liberal Democrats are distinctive and independent but how will you work to get that message across to the voters?

Ros stood down ( I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank her for the all she has done and agree with you that she has been a fantastic president) because she felt that the nature of the role has changed.  The party president needs to be a winning campaigner and strong media performer – I believe I am both of those.

I will work with the press office and the campaigns department to make sure members regularly know the rebuttal lines for the doorstep and hear a positive Liberal Democrat voice in the media.  I believe I am best placed to be that person.

What will you do practically to support Scottish Liberal Democrats between now and their elections next year? (and the same could be said for Wales, too)

One of the first things I will do if elected is to sit down with the campaigns team and devote our time and effort to winning these elections, the AV referendum and the local elections over the UK.  I want to re-energize local parties and make sure that they feel that the party is there for them and they are being listened to.  But I want to be the party’s campaigner-in chief.

I will be knocking on doors from Inverness to Cardiff.  We have a strong and positive message to sell – I want to get out there and do that.  

How will you improve diversity in our representation at UK level?

Diversity is a key issue within our party – we are well behind where we need to be if we want to demonstrate that we are a truly representative party. I want to bring in a region by region strategy to make sure that we  improve BME representation and the number of women MPs.  I also want to make sure where BME and women candidates stand they get the support, mentoring and encouragement they need.  Finally they need money and I want to see the party financially support women and BME candidates so much better than they currently do – I’m good at raising money, and the campaign to ensure that BME candidates are selected and then elected will be a top priority.

Tim Farron replies to my blog questions

Yesterday, I published this post saying how generally fed up with the Party Presidential election I was and how I couldn't make up my mind who to vote for.

That is still the case. I haven't decided who to vote for and am going to take my time over it. I will vote, because I'm lucky enough to be in a party which gives each of its members a vote in these things and I think it would be wrong of me not to play my part and have my say.

It is only fair to tell you that at 17:23 last night, 3 hours and 23 minutes after I published the post, I had an e-mail from Tim Farron with answers to my questions. Some of them generate new questions which they should. I've also had a canvassing call from one of his team - who also happens to be one of my best friends.

I am not going to publish them yet, but I will in due course.

Ok, Tim Farron and Susan Kramer, why should I vote for you?

I am feeling completely scunnered with this Party Presidential Election. And while I'm at it, much though I love Liberal Youth to bits, I share Michael's unimpressedness that their Executive were so quick to back any candidate, especially at a time when they were signing up new members as the university terms start who were perfectly capable of making up their own minds without direction. Being told what to do by any organisation winds me up immensely, so their move may yet be counterproductive.

Ros Scott is the best president this party has ever had, bar none. She is a brilliant chair of the Federal Executive - and steering it through the Coalition negotiations in relative harmony took calmness, the best interpersonal skills and empathetic leadership.  She threw her heart and soul into supporting campaigning across the country. She's been contactable and she listens to what people have to say. She comes as close as you can get to being irreplaceable.

And then Jennie, the only genuine grassroots candidate for President didn't get on the ballot. She would have really added a realism and a perspective to the election that will now just not be there. It was always going to be a tough challenge to get the required nominations in 2 weeks. Ros Scott spent a year and a half at least touring the country before the 2008 election in which she so comprehensively beat the frontrunner, Lembit Opik. Jennie had two weeks. She has loads to offer this party and I hope that whoever becomes President listens to her.

I'm in a dilemma now, because I genuinely don't know who to vote for. I think I'm just going to enjoy that for a while, and let them fight for my vote. All too often, I determine I'm going to be neutral in these internal party elections, but then I make my mind up quickly and end up throwing myself into a campaign. My track record isn't good, but I'm determined not to this time, for at least two weeks anyway.

Both Tim Farron and Susan Kramer have enormous strengths. I've telephone canvassed in Tim's constituency during local elections and I know that the very mention of his name, even to someone who says they're voting Conservative, brings forth a string of compliments that's almost embarrassing. You have to admire someone who increases his majority from next to nothing to 12,000.

But good people lose, too. Some of the best campaigners in the party lost their seats in May and that's no reflection on them. Sadly, Susan lost out to the eye-wateringly rich Zac Goldsmith in a very tough fight. She's a huge loss as an MP. I still remember her 2000 campaign for London Mayor. Her's was the first high profile political speech Anna ever listened to - as a 3 month old at the Party Conference in Harrogate in 1999. I was instantly impressed with Susan and her pledge to walk along every single High Street in London. I seem to remember yellow Doc Martens as well, but I can't find any evidence to back that up.

Just as an aside, if websites were my only deciding factor, Susan would win my vote hands down. Clicking on Tim's you get a block of text with a massive "endorse me" form. Susan's has video, 3 clear points as to why to back her and all the information you need on the front page.

But it's not down to that. Both of them, fabulous though they are, have issues that worry me greatly.  Put simply, they're so much a part of the London Centric Westminster Bubble that I don't see how either of them can properly represent my views as a member. In addition, as far as Tim is concerned, I don't see how as an MP working 70 hours per week minimum, even he will have the energy to put another 30 in to do the job of President properly. Although if anyone can, I concede that it's him.

Susan may not be an MP any more, but she's only just outside the bubble. Tim is still at its heart. But representing a northern constituency, he has at least a feel for what life up north is like.

I guess who gets my vote will boil down to who answers these four questions to my satisfaction:

If the Party membership is uneasy about action taken by the Government, what will you do?

We all know that the Liberal Democrats are distinctive and independent but how will you work to get that message across to the voters?

What will you do practically to support Scottish Liberal Democrats between now and their elections next year? (and the same could be said for Wales, too)

How will you improve diversity in our representation at UK level?

These are not the only questions, but they're the issues which are weighing heaviest on my mind right at this moment.

And as an added bonus, thanks to a lovely Facebook friend who phoned me and pointed me in their direction, are two 90 second videos in which Tim and Susan set out their stalls, filmed by Alex Folkes and posted here and here on You Tube, and embedded here in no particular order

Last chance to elect a grassroots President - #Riggtheelection

Ten days ago I wrote about why I was supporting grassroots activist and fabulous blogger Jennie Rigg to be our next President:

 Ok, so she hasn't been in the Party since she was in nappies, but in the years she has been around, she's impressed a lot of people with her intelligence, her plain speaking and her originality. One of the reasons I've always loved her blog is because I think it explains what we're about to ordinary people who have no interest in politics. She has the intellectual rigour of having achieved a law degree combined with real, tough life experience. You only need to read her blog to see that she gets what life is like. She is completely where the Party is at on the subject of things like welfare - have a look at this recent post on benefit "fraud" and tax "evasion" Then go and look back at the way she tailored posts to people during the election, telling them why they, with their concerns, should vote Liberal Democrat.

I think that now more than ever, we need a real voice from the grassroots to be part of a leadership team that works together to ensure our distinctive voice is heard.

Nominations close on Wednesday. Jennie has been collecting signatures from all over the country. If you are a voting rep, or you know one who hasn't signed a nomination form, please download the form from the members' area of the Party website, or e-mail me and I'll send you a copy, sign it and persuade as many eligible people as you can to sign it too and send it to Party HQ at Cowley Street first class tomorrow.

Ed might think he gets it, but Jennie actually does because she's lived it.

Thank you for your help!

Jennie's campaign steaming ahead at #LD Conf #Riggtheelection

There is only one of the four Party Presidential candidates who wouldn't get a flea in their ear for waking me up with a phone call.

To be fair on Jennie, it was 9:35 and I should have got my backside of bed long before that.

Anyway, it really lovely to talk to her and to hear about how her Presidential campaign is gathering pace in Liverpool, with the first Parliamentarian signing her nomination form today. She's collecting loads of signatures. I think it's great that our Party has the sort of open structure where any member can have a go at running for high office. That sort of openness is hardwired into our constitution and should be encouraged.

Someone asked her some questions about why she felt she was the best person for the job, and she answered them on her blog here. She went into loads of detail, outlining how she would do the job full time and how she could fulfil each of the 3 roles of President: chairing the Federal Executive, representing the grassroots to the leadership and representing the Party to the outside world.

Her answers are detailed and at times she's more honest about her shortcomings than you'd expect from someone running for political office, which is a good thing, I think. Our politicians need to be allowed to be human beings.

In her answers she promises to be contactable, open and transparent. To me she has a good combination of forthright, feisty plain speaking and the soft skills in terms of team building and negotiation that the job requires.

If you're reading this and you're at Conference, and you're a rep - go and talk to Jennie and sign her papers so we can get her on the ballot.

Rigg against the Machine #LDPres

So, there are, at the time of writing, 4 hopefuls holding their hats at the edge of the ring for the job of Party President.

The Establishment's boy is Tim Farron,MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, a man with a zest for life and the energy of at least 20 normal people. His capacity for work is enormous. You can tell that he's popular because he turned a wafer thin majority in 2005 into a whomping one in 2010, taking 60%  of the vote. I know people who have worked for him and they think he is brilliant. Having said that, I will not be voting for him despite his general competence and pleasantness.

The first is that I don't believe that you can effectively represent the grassroots of the Party to the leadership from inside the Commons bubble. I could live with a peer as President, but not, under any circumstances at this time, any MP. Not even Simon if he was going to go for it. In Scotland I saw the entire power of the Party disappear into Holyrood and I don't think that's been healthy and I don't want to see it at Federal level.  Equilibrium up here has been restored a bit, but not enough, out of Government and we're going to have to be vigilant to ensure that the leadership actually listens to what the Party has to say.

Now I'm not saying that the Party and our MPs and Ministers should be at each other's throats. Far from it. I wrote some friendly advice to our new ministers just after the coalition was formed. In the main, I think they've tried to do the sorts of things I outlined. As I said at the time:

Our party is not one that just blindly obeys its leaders. That will never change and nor should it. Part of being a liberal is understanding and relishing in diversity and debate. That's not always easy for leaders to deal with and it won't always be possible for them to find the energy to inspire. The party and the ministers will need to have a bit of give and take on both sides. I was glad to see that there has been proper thought to how to maintain the relationships within the coalition - similar thoght needs to be given in how to ensure that relationships between the ministers and the party stay as cordial and mutually supportive as possible.

It's to avoid the sort of cycle of grumpiness and suspicion that happened in Scotland that I really think we need to have someone who is genuinely outside the bubble having an open and honest dialogue with our ministers and leadership team, giving a perspective that they may not have thought of.

Next up is Jason Zadrozny, again someone with the drive and vision to turn Ashfield, near where I used to live, from a safe Labour seat to one where the Liberal Democrats came within a tiny whisper of victory. I've never met him - we'd moved back up here by the time he started to work his magic on Ashfield, but he's clearly established himself as a skilled campaigner. I don't know what he'd be like as a representative, though. Would he present the feedback from the Party well or be absorbed into the Bubble's hive mind?  And, it has to be said,  given the lack of women at a senior level in the Party, with only 2 out of 20 ministers being female, do we need another man replacing a woman as President? Not, I would suggest, when there are good women putting themselves forward.

One is Susan Kramer who so annoyingly lost out to Zac Goldsmith in Richmond Park in May. She's great - I became a fan of her's when she campaigned to be Mayor of London and she's impressed me many times since. And it's the London bit that's the problem for me. The Party is pretty London-centric. It's an inevitable consequence of having meetings in London at 6pm on a weekday night.  We have the same issue in Edinburgh.  We need to find ways of ensuring that people outside the capital are able to attain high office within the Party.

That leads us to the fourth candidate, Yorkshire's Jennie Rigg. Ok, so she hasn't been in the Party since she was in nappies, but in the years she has been around, she's impressed a lot of people with her intelligence, her plain speaking and her originality. One of the reasons I've always loved her blog is because I think it explains what we're about to ordinary people who have no interest in politics. She has the intellectual rigour of having achieved a law degree combined with real, tough life experience. You only need to read her blog to see that she gets what life is like. She is completely where the Party is at on the subject of things like welfare - have a look at this recent post on benefit "fraud" and tax "evasion" Then go and look back at the way she tailored posts to people during the election, telling them why they, with their concerns, should vote Liberal Democrat.

Please could you bear with me and do two things for me:

Firstly, have a read of this post in which she sets out her reasons for standing:

Secondly, if you are going to Conference please make a point of finding Jennie - which won't be difficult because she'll probably be trying to find you too - and spend some time talking to her about your aspirations for Party and what you want to see happen. Listen to how she would help take your ideas forward and consider signing her nomination form.

I really think that Jennie, with her skills and background, could be a fantastic asset to the Party's leadership team.