Liberal Youth election - vote, vote, vote for Valladares!

There are those who might think that two, effectively, three sets of elections as Returning Officer for Liberal Youth might make the prospects of another, how can I put this, less than enticing.

However, what I learned from my period as Returning Officer is that having a few old hands around with a knowledge of how things work, what constitutions do and who can help when issues arise is good for an organisation with a relatively high churn of activists and leaders.

And so, I would like to take this opportunity to do something that I promised to do a few months ago, i.e. I am going to put my name forward for election as an Honorary Vice-President of Liberal Youth. I would like to go further than that. The Honorary President and six Honorary Vice-Presidents are expected to nominate one of their number to be Chair of the Appeals Panel and, if elected, I would wish to be considered for that role.

As someone with a working knowledge of Liberal Youth, with a copy of their Constitution in their laptop, and a sense of the possible, the desirable and the practical, I feel that I can serve Liberal Youth in a sensitive manner, respectful of the fact that it must always be a member-led organisation with an institutional memory application in the form of the Honorary Officers.

So, if you're going to Manchester in just over a week's time, think of me when you cast your ballot paper...