Thank You, Mr Speaker…

[This post was originally written for The House of Twits]

… for allowing me to catch your eye and make my maiden post here today.

I was surprised but very honoured to be asked to contribute to a House of Twits blog section and to represent the Lib Dems on it here. I think Twitter is brilliant as a social tool and excellent for politicos like you and I. I know many who try and use Twitter as a campaigning tool and to them I say, ‘good luck to you’ and if you can get it to work for you then I congratulate you on a job well-done.
That’s not what I like to use Twitter for though and, indeed, it’s not where I see Twitter in the political sphere. There’s obviously a huge opportunity for spreading a message quickly as we saw with the effect it had on the mobilisation of the Tehran protests. By and large, though, I don’t believe Twitter will be very effective for party political campaigning. The message is too short and will probably only reach or be re-tweeted by people who support you anyway.

Twitter is a tool though. It’s a magnificent way of spreading and hearing news earlier than most news agencies. It’s also a great way of communicating with your political adversaries and allies. Through Twitter I’ve exchanged my (truncated) thoughts with MPs such as Jo Swinson and John Prescott – and occasionally had replies. I’ve debated Lib Dem policy with fellow members and argued against other parties’ policies with their own activists such as Wes Streeting, two-term President of NUS.

Where it really gets interesting though, is with the grass-roots activists: those who can afford to give you the time of day regularly. People who really care about politics but are not so marred by it at the professional level that they have reached the point of petty party tribalism. It is with these Tweeters that I find myself addicted to TweetDeck on my computer and UberTwitter on my BlackBerry. Politics should not be about point-scoring and beating down your opposition. Politics should be about debate: always impassioned but friendly, where possible, and not averse to compromise where necessary. It is these qualities which are too often lacking in the modern day political sphere but qualities that I refreshingly see coming through on Twitter. (Possibly because in 140 characters there is little space for vitriol!)

It is in this spirit, then, that I gladly accepted the invitation to contribute to a multi-party blog here on House of Twits. It is with this spirit in mind that I look forward to the opportunity with great excitement.

To debate and discussion. Aiming to convince but if failing in that, hoping always to engage. I gladly give way, Mr Speaker, to the Honorable member across the House…