A list (with Twitter accounts) of the other executive members elected is on Liberal Democrat Voice.

Please get in touch if you’re able to help with Liberal Youth in any way – I’m @chrisjenkinson on Twitter.

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I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but I felt it was time to write something after hearing the news of our ministers and spokespeople talking about and trying to defend our poor election results.

I know that once you’ve accepted the (correct, in my view) position that there needs to be significant spending cuts and tax rises you have to decide how to allocate the remaining resources, and that there are hundreds of incredibly deserving government projects (not always in delivery, but often in principle) which are facing major reductions if not closure altogether. Prioritising the remaining funding would cause anxiety to any decent person – as our Lib Dem ministers are. We’re having to say no to projects we’d like to say yes to.

But that’s not the point. The point is that leaving our response to challenges about “why are you cutting X” cannot be left at “it was a tough decision to make”, which is what I’ve seen far too often. It doesn’t help anyone negatively affected by service closures or losing their job. It doesn’t make them more likely to support what the Liberal Democrats are delivering in government.

It would be too easy to blame the media for encouraging an atmosphere of soundbite politics, but if we have to have soundbites, let’s have a good one based on what we’re doing, not on how hard it is being in government – we aren’t after the pity vote after all.

Perhaps we could base our narrative on this:

We’re cutting project X because the country’s deficit is comparable to Greece’s. Because we’re cutting X, which Greece’s politicians didn’t do, we aren’t being bailed out by Germany and the IMF, If we didn’t cut it now we’d have to cut twice as much in the future as the national debt grows, interest rates on government borrowing rises compounding the problem.

The Lib Dems’ priorities in government are taking low earners out of tax, putting more money into primary education with the pupil premium, rebalancing our economy to limit the damage reckless bankers can do, and cleaning up politics after the expenses scandal.

These weren’t Labour’s priorities during their 13 years in power, and they aren’t the Tories’ priorities now. It’s only because almost 7 million people voted Lib Dem in 2010 and we entered government that we’re finally able to deliver these policies.

I’m not criticising the leadership for being imperfect. I’m not criticising overall what the Lib Dems are delivering in government. Our message needs to change – we don’t deserve an easy ride so why are we expecting or pleading for one? Sharpen up, make it relevant and we’ll pick up next year.

If you don’t vote this chance may be lost for a generation. Please make me happy – vote YES!

Please send me an email at chris@chrisjenkinson.org with the following information: your full name, your party membership number, your mobile phone number, and optionally a message of endorsement which I can publish. If you hold a position within the party please include that as well.

I’m very grateful for your support – I promise to work hard and be an effective Finance Officer if elected and make next year a fantastic year for Liberal Youth and the Liberal Democrats!

If you’d like to support my campaign, please:

• Become a fan of my Facebook page
• Follow me on Twitter – @chrisjenkinson
• Join my organising group if you’d like to help out!

Here’s my key bullet points for why you should vote for me:

• I’m experienced with finances – as a sabbatical officer and trustee of my students’ union I’ve been jointly responsible for a budget of over £4m and individually responsible for a budget in the £1000s. I’ve also been on the finance committee while a school governor scrutinising equally large budgets.
• I’m a team player – the finance officer needs to work with others, not just on the executive, but with Liberal Youth members across the country and with the main party. I’ll work with your branches to make sure you get the support and resources you need to deliver effective campaigns.
• I’ll prioritise increased funding – the party and youth wing are facing difficult times, so we must work harder to raise money outside our normal sources.

I’ve been a member of the party since 2006, and helped establish Liberal Youth Manchester as one of the most successful branches in the country. It assisted in the re-election of John Leech MP and the first time election of several councillors, in addition to its own successes electing many members over the past few years (including myself) to the University of Manchester Students’ Union executive and council. I’ll bring my record to Liberal Youth nationally.

Messages of endorsement most appreciated!

Every government in the world got that wrong – and that’s why a fortnight ago I said sorry for the part I and the last Labour government played in that. When the City and the Tories called for lighter regulation, we should have ignored them and been tougher still.

Why Ed Balls felt the need, only a year after Labour’s historic third-term re-election to take lessons from the Conservative party – especially one committed to following Labour’s spending plans and one which had been led by the self-styled “heir to Blair” for the past few months – is really beyond me. It is not difficult to be tougher on the banks than the current Shadow Chancellor was when he actually held a finance-related government portfolio.

If Ed Balls is apologising, he should just do so unequivocally. While he is finally apologising his role in enabling the current financial crisis, he could also perhaps admit he has only recently converted to Keynesian economics – else what explains the lack of money put aside in the early-to-mid 2000s?

Oh wait. The last time the Lords was radically reformed was in 1911, by a Liberal government. The Conservative party and the Labour party have been in government on and off since then, and between them have accomplished the massive reforms of:

• Reducing the time the Lords are allowed to procrastinate with legislation.
• Introduced life peers.
• Removing some hereditary peers from the Lords, while leaving almost 100.
• Um, held a vote on whether the House of Lords should be elected and if so how much
• That’s it.

Actually, some credit to Tony Blair here. His government delivered about half of the reforms to the House of Lords in the past 100 years!

In the coalition agreement Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats secured, as government policy, a wholly or mostly elected House of Lords, which will be voted on in the next few years. It’s not 100% elected, the preference of most Liberal Democrats, and it leaves in Church of England bishops, so the fight is not yet won.

But it has been delivered in the face of scepticism from the Conservative party (ranging to outright hostility, with honourable exceptions), and general inaction from the Labour party.

The Liberal Democrats have been in government for less than a year, and have made more progress towards ensuring our country’s laws are set by elected citizens than the Conservatives and Labour did in the last 100 years.

If you’re unhappy with the proposals not going far enough, don’t campaign against the person delivering the most progress in 100 years – campaign against the roadblocks to reform – they’re the ones wearing the blue and red rosettes.

I think Labour will be more happy with the second burst of anger, which starts just before the 31-minute mark on BBC iPlayer. “I wish the Shadow Chancellor would occasionally shut up and listen to the answer!” Much cheering from the Tory backbenches. It was indeed funny to watch, as was the brutal putdown of the anonymous Labour backbencher previously. After the Speaker had calmed the house he mentioned he found Ed Balls the most annoying person in British politics. Another win for Balls.

Balls’ mission, as he sees it is to hold the government to account, and to do this by getting under their skin and irritating them as much as possible, to undermine their credibility. He’s doing this in a way which doesn’t seem to be in Ed Miliband’s nature.

It was excellent to watch – I watched it twice. But it’s strengthened Balls’ position as someone who can make the often unflappable Cameron lose his cool. Another win for tribal politics.

Charles Kennedy just made an excellent point about this on This Week – all joviality and the like aside, they are thinking regularly about how the 2015 general election will be fought in this “new politics” world with coalition governments. Should we be worried about the Lib Dems being subsumed into the Conservatives as some Lib Dems believe Nick Clegg is leading us towards? I don’t think so, and it doesn’t look like Charles Kennedy does either.