So, the starting gun has been fired, and the process of gathering nominations is underway in earnest. As far as I can tell, we have three candidates plus a potential fourth, so it's probably fair to start considering them in terms of potential pluses and minuses.
Josh Babarinde
An MP is not necessarily the best person to be Party President. They have a responsibility to their constituency electorate, although there's nothing to say that they can't juggle the two competing roles. There will be those who wonder why Josh is doing it, given that of the four MPs who have held the role, two went on to be Leader, a third lost contests for the leadership before and during his Presidency and the fourth was Robert Maclennan, who had already been Leader of the SDP.
There will also be questions about his ability to navigate the internal workings of the Party, given that I'm not aware that he has served on any Party committees and his local government experience is limited to two years on Eastbourne Borough Council. That's not to say that he hasn't got the skills required, but that I haven't seen them displayed.
On the plus side, he has a strong personality, is likely to be good in the media and is a proven campaigner, as his campaign for the Presidency has already demonstrated.
Prue, on the other hand, I've known for a long time, given that we both operate with the field of candidate selection. She certainly knows her way around the Party, having served on a wide range of Party bodies over the years. She can certainly campaign, and I don't doubt her liberalism.
The questions here relate to both her media skills and her ability to influence the direction of the party and to be taken seriously by the Leader and his entourage. Whilst I have to accept that Mark Pack has clearly been effective as President, is he an exception, or merely the first of many non-Parliamentarians to fill the post?
Natalie Bird
I can't find a picture of her that I am happy to use, which perhaps suggests one of the core challenges to her candidacy. She has apparently announced in a private Facebook group that she is running but, until today's piece in Liberal Democrat Voice, there appeared to be no trace of a public campaign for the post.
She will doubtless be seen as a single issue candidate, acting as a champion of those who might be considered transphobes, and her first formal statement is rather policy heavy, not something that Presidents have traditionally sought to lead on. Her liberalism is not mine, and my only experience of hearing her speak was not entirely convincing, regardless of my views on the content.
I also suspect that name recognition will be a problem, given that most of those who will have heard of her at all will associate her with her legal action against the Party.
Finally, there is a rumour that S R Forster is thinking about running for the position, according to an old friend who runs a private Facebook group on internal party elections. I'll be honest, I have no idea who that is, why they want to run or what their key priorities are. That does not suggest a winning campaign, but maybe more will emerge from her or anyone else who suddenly decides to announce their candidacy.
We'll find out how many candidates can persuade two hundred fellow members from at least twenty Local Parties or SAOs to nominate them, I guess...
