Lib Dems tweak slogan, but more drastic action is needed

Take a look in the bottom right corner of this new graphic produced by the Liberal Democrats:

See that text in bold? “Opportunity for Everyone” has until very recently been the mostly forgotten third part of the party’s national message.

It’s been there in theory since the start of Stronger Economy / Fairer Society but has been mostly missing from speeches, slogans and artwork even though Paddy Ashdown always talked about it being for him the most important part of the message as it is the part that best captures the difference in Liberal Democrat approach.

It also has strong echoes of the sorts of slogans tried out during his time as leader. The party then tended to go through new slogans at a rate not far short of my consumption of chocolate bars, but ones such as the mid-1990s “Unlocking Britain’s potential” get to the same idea of liberalism being about giving people the opportunities and support to be whoever they want to be.

A sensible tweak to the party’s slogan, but bigger work is also needed on the party’s strategy, something that will be covered in the next edition of my monthly email newsletter, Liberal Democrat Newswire, going out on Wednesday morning. Sign up for it here and make sure you don’t miss out.

In the meantime, you can browse the previous editions online.