Transcript of Ming’s podcast on the day the ballot papers went out
Today’s the day the ballot papers go out and it’s for the membership to determine who they think is best qualified to take the Party forward, building on Charles Kennedy’s remarkably successful legacy of the best result for over eighty years for our Party.
When deciding who should lead the Party I think people are entitled to look for three different things. Energy, I believe I have that in abundance. Values, I joined the Liberal Party under Joe Grimond and my values are still the values of Liberalism and Liberal democracy. And judgement, on that I point to the position I took in relation to the Iraq war and the extent to which we have continued to pursue the Prime Minister because we believe the war was brought to us on a flawed prospectus and has done great damage to our reputation and indeed brought great instability to the Middle East.
But the Party’s been through some turbulent times, of that there is no doubt. But going round the hustings as I have been with both Simon Hughes and Chris Huhne it’s perfectly clear that there’s an appetite for getting back to the political agenda and if we do that among ourselves then we’ll have no difficulty in reconnecting with the people of the United Kingdom. I’m up for the fight and I hope you will think so too.
I believe leadership’s about taking responsibility and discharging it. But I also believe it’s about making sure that the best talents in the Party get the best opportunity. We’ve got an extraordinary generation of young men and women who’ve joined the Parliamentary Party here at Westminster in the two elections of 2001 and 2005. It will be my task as a leader with experience and maturity along with people like Vincent Cable who share the same qualities to make sure that we have a proper blend of youth and experience. That way we will best take advantage of the huge political opportunity that lies in front of us.
