Vince Cable launches ‘moderate Momentum' in radical Lib Dem shake-up
2 min read
Vince Cable will today launch a new membership scheme aimed at boosting Liberal Democrat support and creating a "movement for moderates".
The initiative will allow supporters to register with the party for free and vote in future leadership contests.
The Liberal Democrat leader will announce the scheme in a speech in central London this morning in which he is also expected to set out the timetable for his departure from the job.
Sir Vince will say the party aims to mimic the success of other groups that have galvanised political support online such as More United, 38 Degrees, Avaaz and Change.org.
He will say: "I want our party to do that and to offer our movement a political arm within Parliament. So it is not just a protest group banging at the door, but a movement with a voice on the inside - our parliamentary party.
"The Liberal Democrats are not a socialist party concerned with extreme-left entryism or a right-wing party trying to keep out extreme right-wingers. We are a centre-ground, pro-European, liberal and social democratic party, welcoming like-minded supporters,” he will say.
“This will be a movement for moderates."
On his plans for a major shake-up of his party's rule book, he will say: "We should widen membership with a new class of ‘supporters’ who pay nothing to sign up to the party’s values.
"They should enjoy a range of entitlements, including the right to vote for the leadership and to shape the party’s campaigning online."
The planned changes have been likened to the revolution within the Labour party inspired by the likes of Momentum.
But spokeswoman for the group Laura Parker said: “Lowering membership fees and making more memes are not going to solve Vince Cable’s problems.
“The rise of Jeremy Corbyn shows that technocratic tweaks can’t stand in for a big, bold vision of how to transform Britain.
“Momentum’s key ingredient is the energy and enthusiasm hundreds that thousands of people have for this radical political vision.
“Without it, a ‘Moderate Momentum’ will remain a sad contradiction in terms.”
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