Liberal Democrat membership is UP.
Originally published by East Midlands Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrat Voice announced that the Party increased its membership over the last quarter (July - September) - growing for first quarter in a decade outside elections.
The first response in the comments read: "as a loyal Liberal Democrat ... I can say that it is a big fat lie".
Well, it was no lie. The Party did indeed grow in both England and Wales, if not yet Scotland. We have invested in a great new members pack (there is an easy way to get sight of one - sign up a new member) and keep trying to improve our service levels. But this is all thanks to those who simply went out and asked people to join: in Ashfield, in Kingston, in Bosworth, in East Dunbartonshire, in Mid-Dorset and North Poole, across Wales, and Liberal Youth almost everywhere.
And in this quarter the new membership deal kicks in for local parties - if you grew as a local Party then you get to keep far more of the income from all of your members (up to 40%).
Membership matters to us because it is all we are - we have no union or big business backers. We represent a strong intellectual tradition and a sense of community but at the end of the day, as a party we are simply a collection of members. Last quarter's growth was the first outside a General Election campaign since records began. Doing it twice in a row would set a trend. And only you going out there to ask someone to join will make that possible.