I have decided to support Chris Huhne to become Federal Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party. The party is fortunate to have two excellent candidates but, having read their respective manifestos, listened to television and radio performances and attended the hustings in Edinburgh, I will be voting for Chris Huhne.
I was looking for two key qualities. One was the ability to articulate Liberal Democrat policies in a way that would stand up to public scrutiny, parliamentary scrutiny and the hugely demanding requirements of today's media. I have been very impressed by the way in which Chris has handled the Shadow Environment portfolio and in recent weeks has shown an ability to handle a range of topics from the economy, through deprivation to foreign affairs very effectively while under pressure.
The other quality I was looking for, and for me the more important, was a commitment to lead the party on the basis of fundamental Liberal Democrat values and principles. Liberty is denied for too many by the scourge of poverty and deprivation, so Chris's commitment to reigniting the values of social liberalism to tackle that inequality struck a chord with me. As did his commitment to campaign for a Bill of Rights to roll back the Labour government's erosion of the rule of law and the need to rebalance our foreign policy if we are to combat terrorism. Last is his grasp of the need for sustainable development as the only way to achieve real economic growth and at the same time tackle the challenge of climate change.
I believe Chris's experience in Europe means that he sees the UK in its proper context and that he understands well the importance of a devolved Scottish Government within the federal framework of the UK.
Ross Finnie MSP, 91 Octavia Terrace, Greenock.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article