I’ve had a busy afternoon working on various projects for the Lib Dems. As is so often the case, when a Sunday has disappeared full of Lib Demmery, the question “why do I bother?” flashed (oh so briefly, for I am a sworn loyal footsoldier of the yellow peril) across my mind.

Supporting a third party in a country without proportional representation can sometimes be difficult – we don’t tend to  have the motivation of the prospect of imminent government to call on.

So for anyone else who finds themselves wondering tonight whether their Sunday would’ve been better spent in support of some other cause, I thought I’d share with you the answer I refer back to whenever the “why bother?” question comes up. It comes from the closing sentences of Simon Hughes‘ final speech as President of the party, in September of 2008.

Over the last four years I’ve been humbled by huge support, and love and kindness by many of you, and I thank you for so many good times.

Four years ago, members of my family were sitting in those seats as I became Party President, my good mother among them. Last year I had to dash from the platform of conference to the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham, where she was fighting for her life.

On that day a combination of fantastic NHS care, and bluntly the miraculous, pulled her through.

Sadly, in November, she died.

But from conference when we were by the bedside in Birmingham, we heard a round of applause in solidarity for our family. For my younger brother, who is one of our councillors, and for me.

That warmth of gesture shows to me that we’re more than just a group of people who carry the same card in our handbags or our wallets. We’re more than just a group of people with personal ambitions. We have a collective vision, and we have a collective hope. Our vision is far bigger than the aspiration of any one of us as individuals, and our hope is to honour our mothers and fathers by building in this country a fairer, more compassionate and more prosperous future.

That’s why we are Liberal Democrats, and that’s why we don’t just deserve to succeed, we will succeed. Don’t ever give up on that cause – it’s the most wonderful thing you can do.

You can’t argue with that, eh?