Willie Rennie is new Liberal Democrat Campaigns Chair

Willie Rennie has been elected (unopposed) as the new chair of the Liberal Democrats’ Campaigns and Communications Committee (CCC). His predecessor, Ed Davey, announced he was standing down earlier this year.

Willie brings a strong campaigning pedigree to the role, being not only a Parliamentary by-election victor himself (and anyone who can remember the political circumstances of January 2006 will, after shuddering a little, recognise just how strong a candidate he was) but also a former Campaigns Officer with a good record of victories.

Having a Scot in the role should help ensure that feathers stay unruffled over how the party’s campaigning matches up with the different devolution arrangements around the UK. Earlier this year he chaired the European election campaign, winning plaudits in the party for bringing together the different elements of the campaign in a much happier way that some previous campaigns.

In other words – he’s got a good CV for the job, expect incremental improvements but he’s unlikely to signal a huge change in course in the party’s campaigning.

A word about Ed , who was chair of the CCC during a large part of my time working for the party. He understood campaigning – having pulled off a surprise victory in his constituency in the first place and then turning it into a massive majority. But he was also always interested in trying out new techniques and learning from outside politics and indeed outside the US.

Having become a father earlier this year and with a wife who is fighting a seat at the next election too, Ed sensibly decided chairing the CCC was one job too many.