How to help the Liberal Democrats #LibDems

Maybe you've been inspired by Nick Clegg's positive message today, when he said:

"It is a very exciting opportunity for everyone in Britain who wants fairness and real change, who wants something different.

"This isn't the old politics of a two-horse race between Labour and the Conservative Party. The real choice is between the old politics of Labour and Conservatives and something different, something new and that is what we offer."

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Maybe you were impressed by Vince Cable's knockout performance in the Chancellors' Debate last week.

Maybe you have been helped by a local Liberal Democrat Councillor like Daisy Benson or Allan Knox and were impressed by the work they did.

Maybe you were angered by the emptiness in both Brown's pitch, which was basically "vote for us because we're not the Tories?" and Cameron's, who explicitly said "we don't want another 5 years of Gordon Brown."

Perhaps this has motivated you to get involved for the first time, to help in a campaign. It is a great experience. Some of the best fun I've had in my life has been amidst the pressure of an election campaign. There are all sorts of things you can do from stuffing envelopes to delivering leaflets to telephone canvassing to putting a poster up to entering stuff onto a computer to knocking on doors. You can do as much or as little as you want to and you meet all sorts of fabulous people.

Wherever you are in the country you can volunteer here.

I just wanted to mention a few campaigns where friends of mine are standing and who have a real chance of winning. First there are the two energetic Edinburgh candidates, Kevin Lang in North and Leith whose HQ at 5 Bonnington Road Lane is now up and running and who can be contacted on 07786 062 302 and Fred Mackintosh in Edinburgh South, only 405 votes behind Labour who have only just selected a candidate, is based at 4 Grange Road Edinburgh, 0131 662 1513. There's also Katy Gordon in Glasgow North, contactable on 0141 221 3167. In Aberdeen South, local campaigner John Sleigh, who was instrumental in the effort to save Doonies Farm has only 1348 votes to make up. He can be contacted at 173a Crown Street, or 01224 571959.

South of the Border, if you happen to be near Watford, where Nick Clegg is today, Sal Brinton is in a very good position to beat the sitting Labour MP. The added bonus of helping in her campaign is that fellow blogger Sara Beford keeps the Army marching on its stomach with a delicious array of home baking.

Ed Fordham in Hampstead and Kilburn needs only 474 votes to win. He also has been fighting an energetic campaign for several years.

Finally, Bridget Fox, in Islington South and Finsbury, heroine of the emergency motion at Liberal Democrats' Spring conference, whose work has helped to ensure that Lib Dem MPs are opposing the controversial Digital Economy Bill would also make a fabulous MP.

These lovely people will all be able to find you something to do - you never get to the end of your work in an election - there is always more you can do to get your message across or help local people.

It was during the 1983 election that I as an idealistic 15 year old casually wandered into the SDP HQ in Wick looking for a copy of a manifesto - and I've never looked back.

If you want to make a difference in this election, come and join us!

Lib Dem Voice root out authoritarian MPs

If you do nothing else over the next few days, and you weren't actually there, listen to the podcast of the Lib Dem Voice fringe at Conference which you will find here..

It is brilliant. It has drama, it has rebellion and insubordination, it has humour. Daddy Alex's open defiance of Helen will delight as much as it shocks.

The point was to unveil their new website which enables you to determine how authoritarian any MP is based on their votes on a series of crucial votes on such things as control orders, detention without trial, ID cards, the DNA database and freedom of speech.

I found it interesting to compare two MPs elected in by-elections a few months apart, Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie, who got a meagre 3 out of 70 and my own MP, Jim Devine who got 56 out of 90.

I think this is a useful tool in determining which MPs are the most authoritarian if these issues are important to you, but, as Daddy Alex alluded to, these 10 votes are only an indication and there are many other issues which could be considered.

It does, however, come with a huge health warning as far as I am concerned. Iain Duncan Smith, one of the most socially reactionary politicians in the UK, comes out with a low 15 on this scale. This does not in any way mean he's actually a liberal. If you'd included votes on gay rights, such as gay adoption rights, for example, I expect that would bump up the scores of most of the Tories.

There was also a discussion on the Digital Economy Bill which to me is a fundamental issue of freedom and fairness and one in which we should be standing up for ordinary people and their right to access the internet. Mark explains the latest developments and how things will unfold tomorrow. This is the full text of the motion up for discussion. I wish I was in Birmingham to vote for it. Passing it is one of the most important things we can do this weekend. Daddy Alex likened it at the fringe meeting to Margaret Thatcher bringing in house arrest for home taping and suggested that even she might have balked at that.

I think the way that Bridget Fox and Julian Huppert have led the way on this shows that they would be fantastic MPs - and both of them have a very good chance of being in the House of Commons after the electoin. Let's hope they both get there.