What happens when you try to bet on Layla Moran, and what London Lib Dems should watch out for

Emails with voting information for the London Region Executive elections have been hitting inboxes of party members across London today.

These contests tend to be relatively low profile, but canny regional chairs and smart regional executives can make a huge impact on the party’s success in their patch – and when done badly, these roles can be a huge deadweight on the rest of us.

So if you are a fellow London member, do look out for the email and vote.

One of the candidates for London Region chair is Ben Sims, author of a great piece on becoming a Parliamentary candidate and holder of my favourite story about the Liberal Democrats and betting. As I somewhat recall, it goes something like this.

A little while back he decided to place a bet on Layla Moran becoming the next Liberal Democrat leader. He went into a betting shop and asked to place the bet. He was met with a confused look.

“Lib Dem Leader? Is that the fancy name for one of the races at Haymarket?”

“No, it’s a party.”

“A party? Like a disco? We don’t take bets on…”

“No, no. A political party. You know, like Labour.”

“Ah, got you. So you want to bet on this Layla replacing Jeremy Corbyn?”

“No, he’s a different party. I’d like to place a bet on the Liberal Democrats.”

“On Jeremy Corbyn becoming the leader of the Liberal Democrats?”

“No, not him. On Layla Moran.”

“So who’s she?”

“The person I want to bet on.”

“I’m going to have to ring my HQ to get a price.”

“Thank you.”

(With apologies to Ben who may claim it was much easier than this.)