This is what it will take to restore the UK’s life force after 10 years of Conservative leadership

If we’re to move on from the last decade, the Lib Dems need a political comeback. And I am the candidate who can make it happen

Let’s be honest, over the last decade, the Liberal Democrats have lost support and seats at all levels. Putting our heads in the sand or sugar-coating the stats won’t help. At 6 per cent in the polls, we are in a sink or swim situation.

On the one hand, these poll ratings make me incredibly sad. Not just for our party, but for our country too.

With a “more of the same” approach, the Lib Dems risk becoming invisible at a time when the UK needs a strong liberal voice to challenge Boris Johnson’s isolationist Conservatives. Not to mention the need to call out and expose authoritarianism abroad.

If the Liberal Democrats aren’t stepping up and getting noticed, then who else will make a case for a fairer, greener and more compassionate society, driven from the bottom up? Who else will champion small businesses and prioritise tackling discrimination in all forms?

It’s a tricky predicament, but it’s one that motivates me. Today, Liberal Democrat members have a chance to vote for their next leader, and I’m urging them to seize the moment to change course.

This is why I am standing. To renew and revitalise our party, and to win back trust, so that we can win again and deliver positive change to our communities.

There is a place for bold, liberal ideas in this country. I know this because, since the December elections, I have been listening. I travelled to talk to voters in Leeds, Sheffield, Wales, Devon and Cornwall and I’ve since held over 300 online listening sessions with our party members and voters.

My vision for the country is informed by opinions and ideas from the grassroots. And it’s underpinned by the liberal notion that everyone should have an equal opportunity to thrive, and the security to live life in the way they choose.

Under my leadership, I’d encourage a renewed Liberal Democrat party to put forward ideas like a universal basic income to protect people from poverty and ensure no one is left behind. I would advocate a reformed approach to lifelong education, which reduces inequality in the early years, empowers teachers to create a broader curriculum and prioritises adult retraining. And I would give the environmental crisis the attention it needs by committing to a carbon-negative (not just neutral) society.

The economy, education, the environment. By offering solutions which improve people’s lives in the areas they care about, we will speak to a broad base of voters and communities again.

And while the party would produce the full policy offer, as the leader, I would turn the prose into poetry and communicate this to voters. I’ve proven throughout this campaign that I can get media cut-through, and credibly put forward progressive ideas.

It’s what Paddy Ashdown and Charles Kennedy did so well, and it gave us the weight and space to start talking about other important issues, too. We need that again. We need to provide a voice for electoral reform, devolution of power, digital rights and working closely with our European allies.

And like Ashdown and Kennedy, I will work with others to secure progressive change and improve people’s lives.

I’ve ruled out a coalition with Johnson’s Conservatives. And I would avoid another top-down voting pact. But where we can work cross-party on an issue by issue basis, we should.

And where more tactical arrangements with other progressive parties arise in local areas and constituencies, we should welcome those too, if it helps us achieve the ultimate goal of removing Johnson’s Conservative government.

It’s what I did in my constituency. I built a plan and a vision which gained support from moderate conservative voters, as well as voters on the centre-left. The Greens even stood down and campaigned for me. The result was a 10,000 Conservative majority overturned, and a new Lib Dem MP.

In this leadership election, I am the candidate who can move us on from the last decade, rebuild trust and power a political comeback. The momentum is with my campaign to move our party and country forward, and I’m urging members to show their support by voting for me, and voting for change, today.

Layla Moran is MP for Oxford West and Abingdon and a candidate for leadership of the Liberal Democrats