Perhaps unlike some of those who contribute to this website, I do not know Nick Clegg personally and can therefore only judge him from his television appearances, writings and what is written about him in the press.

He appears to come in for considerable criticism largely, as far as I can see, for being in coalition with the Conservatives, although some threads on this website also seem to have other reservations about his leadership.

As far as having joined the coalition is concerned, I believe that it is unfair to pillory him for what happened in May 2010. He stood by the principle that the Conservatives were the largest party and that he should therefore support them, rather than seeking to form a government with Labour, with whom many in our party appear to have greater sympathy. In taking this view, he clearly believed that he was reflecting the will of the people and - given the Conservative's 7.1 percentage point lead over Labour - he was perhaps right (the Tories had 36.1% to Labour's 29% - and our 23%). Of course, had we had proportional representation, the situation would have been rather different, because we would have had a much larger number of seats.

For good or ill, one thing that Nick Clegg has achieved is to give the party considerable experience in government, something that it has not had, other than at local level, for several generations. Some might argue that the criticism he has gathered for supporting an unpopular government will count against the party this May. But more mature reflection amongst the electorate should recognise that, for all the things that we have not been able to achieve whilst in government, Nick Clegg's leadership has allowed the LibDems to push thought a number of initiatives such as:

• Increasing the level at which income tax is levied, lifting more than 3 million of us out of the income tax net and saving 25 million more £800 a year;
• Restoring the link between state pensions and earnings;
• Encouraging 190,000 more affordable homes to be built and bringing 70,000 empty homes back into use; and
• Increasing the number of apprentices by 78%, to 1.5 million, since 2010.

And these are just some of the ways that we have been able to help ordinary people in all parts of the nation. Just as importantly, the Liberal Democrat members of the coalition have been able to prevent some of the more extreme measures that the Conservatives wanted to enact, by such actions as:

• Stopping a massive increase in the inheritance tax threshold, which only helps the rich;
• Blocking a drive towards regional pay deals that would have disadvantaged workers in the north;
• Avoiding a weakening the protection afforded by the Equalities Act; and
• Ensuring that the housing benefit remains available to young people.

The scale of these achievements should be something that we trumpet during the next four months, not for which we apologise.

As someone commented on my last article, "generating negatives vibes within the party about approach and/or leadership … (is) … like starting a marathon by shooting yourself in the foot." If we really want a Liberal Democrat government - one that will apply our individual-centred membership-driven philosophy - we need to pull together and show a united front in a way that neither the other two main parties can achieve.

Nobody wants to limit open discussion, but perhaps this should be limited to policies, not personalities.

* Stephen Phillips spent his entire career in financial services, spending the last decade writing on insurance, investments, pensions and mortgages. Latterly, he also wrote a monthly economic review that was issued to the clients of a large number of independent financial advisers. He has been a member of the party since 2013.