The election review – building a brighter future for the party

The following email is going out from me to party members and supporters this afternoon:

Today our independent review of the general election has published its report.

We asked for this to be frank, thorough and challenging – and it is. More than 20,000 of you contributed your views to Dorothy Thornhill and her team. Thank you to everyone involved.

This review challenges us to change as a party and to change the country for the better.

It makes a series of clear recommendations about how we can improve our campaigning, plan better, build on what worked well locally, and win more votes and seats. You can read it here.

Our Board will be meeting shortly to start working out the next steps and I will keep you updated on what we decide. 

After the highs and lows of last year, it is imperative that we raise our game. The sad state of our government today shows how desperately the country needs the Liberal Democrats as a strong and renewed force in local, Westminster and Devolved Governments.

We’ve started already. We’ve pushed the Government into changing its policy on compensation for relatives of NHS staff, on furlough for workers and on support for small businesses.

And we’ve started changing how we work as a party too: listening more to our councillors and activists on the ground, and being more open in how we work.

There is a lot to do. Over the coming weeks, we’ll draw up a detailed and thorough plan for how we improve. All of us who share an alternative vision for society have a responsibility to learn the lessons of this report.

Seeing our values in action makes me hungry to elect more Liberal Democrats champions. 

As a new President of our party, working with a Board newly in post and with a leadership election ahead, I’m confident that we can be the strong force for good that our party has always set out to be.

The country needs us.

Best wishes,

Mark

The 2019 Liberal Democrat election review