Waiting for the outcome of the nomination count for Party President felt a wee bit like that scene from The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon explains about Schrodinger's Cat.

You know, where as long as the box is closed the cat is both dead and alive?

The relief when they cat was actually alive, and I was nominated, was huge!

Download the manifestos

Voting for the federal board election will open at 9 a.m. on 29th October 2019. You can find out more about all the internal elections here: www.libdems.org.uk/internal-elections

A note on the manifestos: The order in which candidates' manifestos appear was generated at random using the =RAND() Excel function. The document contains all the manifestos that were correctly supplied by the deadline for candidates supplied by the Returning Officer.

Voting for the federal board election will open at 9 a.m. on 29th October 2019. You can find out more about all the internal elections here: www.libdems.org.uk/internal-elections

A note on the manifestos: The order in which candidates' manifestos appear was generated at random using the =RAND() Excel function. The document contains all the manifestos that were correctly supplied by the deadline for candidates supplied by the Returning Officer.

When I became an MP in 2015, I could never have imagined we would find ourselves in this position. Through the prudent and practical decisions taken during the coalition years, the economy was recovering and our country was on the up.

Coming from business, joining the Conservative Party seemed the logical thing to do. But two general elections and an EU referendum later, the landscape has shifted beyond all recognition.

I am delighted to announce that Heidi Allen has joined the Liberal Democrats.

I'm delighted to welcome Heidi to the party. She has been a tireless campaigner for a people's vote and has time and time again put the country's interests ahead of her own.

I'm absolutely thrilled for Heidi to join our fantastic and ever-growing team and I know that her skills, experience and passion will be a real asset to our party.

Antony Hook discussed with Irish MEP Billy Kelleher, from Fianna Fáil, the intricacies and the importance of the 'backstop' in the Withdrawal Agreement signed between Theresa May's government and the EU 27 and why Boris Johnson's latest proposals to the EU threaten the peace in Northern Ireland.

Mr Kelleher was damming about Johnson's proposals made on 3 October: "Well I'd think they'd be very damaging being truthful. The Good Friday Agreement is about peace on the island of Ireland, it's not just about trade and commerce it's about how people live on a daily basis in the border areas"

Introduction

The Liberal Democrats are a Federal Party comprising England, Scotland and Wales with all their powers defined by the Party's Constitution. This principle embodies one of our most deeply held core values, which is our belief in the devolution of power to the most appropriate level.

Consequently, the separation of power between the Federal and State parties is enshrined in the Constitution, and can only be varied with the agreement of Federal Conference and the Conferences and Conventions of all three state parties.

This has undoubtedly been a great start to the year. Thanks go to all the local campaigners who over the years never gave up and continued to deliver Focuses, campaign and push the Lib Dem message in their communities. When the opportunity came following Tory mismanagement of Brexit, we were ready and prepared to secure gains in the local elections. Over seven hundred local council seats gained - fantastic!

It was Abraham Lincoln, the 16^th President of the United States, who said, "Determine that the thing can and shall be done and then we shall find the way."

That describes, somewhat, where the Chair of The English Party (EP), Tahir Maher, and I are at in relation to co-ordinating my efforts, as Party Vice President, with the EP in working with BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) communities.