I’ve stirred up more controversy over on Lib Dem Voice with an article about how to make prisons work. For a read and to join the debate click here

 This is the make or break question for the Lib Dems. We put fairness at the heart of our manifesto. We complained that under Labour Britain had become more unequal and less socially mobile: we promised to reverse that.

However, after last week’s budget there is a real fear that the gap between rich and poor will become a chasm. Sure, there are “progressive” measures in the budget - the lifting of nearly a million of the lowest earners out of paying tax altogether, the raising of CGT to 28%, the bank levy.  And sure it is Lib Dem pressure and influence that has delivered this. But seen as a whole, in the words of the Institute for Fiscal Studies “the overall impact was regressive“.

The line “we are all in this together” (stolen, I believe, from “High School Musical”) is wearing increasingly thin. Yes, everyone is making some sacrifices, but, according to the IFS, the biggest sacrifices will come from those least able to afford them. The rise in VAT, for example, will hit the poorest hardest because it is those on low incomes who end up having to spend most of what they earn. This is dramatically backed up by the analysis from the IFS which showed that the impact on the poorest 10% of the population will be more than double that on the wealthiest 10%.

But fairness is not simply about how whether the austerity measures hit the rich or the poor the hardest, it is also about sharing the burden between young and old. To be blunt, pensioners get a much better deal in this budget than young people. When such savage cuts are being made elsewhere - in jobs schemes for young people for example -  it is a nonsense to continue free bus passes for the over 60s or the winter fuel allowance regardless of income. Politically, pensioners wield tremendous clout for the simple reason that they vote in the biggest numbers. At the election more than 75% of over 65s voted, compared to fewer than 45% of 18-24 year olds. At the same time the membership of political parties is dominated by retired people. Perhaps the strongest reason for young people to get involved in politics is that if they don’t their interests will be trampled (over rises in tuition fees, for example).

The final point I want to get off my chest is over the sheer dishonesty of the debate before the election. Labour  buried its head in the sand and refused to face up to the scale of the crisis for public finances. The Tories told us virtually nothing of what their tax and spending plans were. On 1st April 2010 David Cameron told Sky News “Our plans do not involve a rise in VAT”. None of us spotted that it was April Fool’s Day. For the rest of the campaign the Tories got away with this bogus claim. I am not making these observations to score political points - the Lib Dems can also be criticised too for not being frank enough. My demand is for a more honest politics. There is a huge debate to be had over how to cut the public debt and the public have been shut out of it.

At the next election we mustn’t let our politicians get away with ducking the issues so spectacularly. We must demand answers, so we know what choices we face.

P.S. No-one reading this should imagine for one moment that I am turning my back on the Lib Dems or on the Coalition Government. The arguments for the coalition set out in my earlier article “Time to Put Our Tribal Instincts Aside” are still valid. But Lib Dem members should feel free to speak our minds and demand that our government makes Britain a fairer country to live in.

A recent poll showed that, with 81% support, a cap on immigration is the coalition’s most popular policy. Never one to follow the herd I’ve posted an article attacking this policy on Liberal Democrat Voice (click here), which has prompted a lively debate!

I believe that once the implications of a cap are properly understood that 81% support will plummet!

Blueprint for government now available on national party website. Click here!

Today is an exciting day for democracy: the birth of the new politics that we have argued for so long.  Above all, it is a chance to put into practice the key policies that for years we have only been able to talk about: fairer taxes, a pupil premium, banking reform, measures to create a low carbon economy and a referendum on changing the voting system.

But let’s be blunt: for many Lib Dems a deal with the Tories is a bitter pill to swallow. Over the years there have been important policy differences between us. Instinctively many of our supporters see the Tories as the enemy, and a few have e-mailed to tell me so. Asking Lib Dems to support the Tories can seem like asking a Spurs fan to spend a season supporting Arsenal.

However, let me be equally blunt in spelling out why these tribal instincts must be put aside:

1) I have spent the last month arguing for a “new politics” based on politicians working together. If our first actions after the election had been to reject that and refuse to work with others, the voters would have rightly concluded that talk of a new politics was no more than an election slogan.

2) Propping up a defeated Labour government could never have worked. The “Rainbow Alliance” idea was pure fantasy. It would never have led to stable government and it was rapidly becoming clear that many Labour MPs felt it was time for their party to quit.

3) Some people have argued that we should have let the Tories form a minority government, but played no part in it. I believe that this would have been deeply irresponsible -  it would have led to weaker, less decisive government. It would have been a classic case of putting party before country.

4) For me it comes down to this: what are we in politics for? We can choose to play at politics or we can get our hands dirty and actually make a difference. Let me give one example. In hard policy terms our involvement means that the new government is committed to raising the tax threshold to £10 000. This will change lives: it will lift people out of poverty, it will give people an incentive to get off benefits and into work. The Tories have also now agreed to reverse their inheritance tax policy. So there is a clear shift from helping the rich to helping the poor.

There have been concessions on both sides, some of them painful, others - I suspect - something of a relief. I am rather glad we have committed not to enter the Euro in the lifetime of this parliament - as events unfold in Greece no-one is rushing to join right now!

On a personal level, being on the side of the government is a totally new experience. I am clear that my role will not be that of a “cheerleader” for the regime. I will support where I can, but feel free to criticise too. It is important to work with others, but I have no doubt that, as party members, we will keep our independent spirit.

Thank you to the 14,948 people who voted for me (up from 11,821 in 2005). More people voted Lib Dem in this constituency than ever before, giving us a record 28.5% share of the vote. I am truly proud of the positive, energetic campaign we ran. In particular, I am delighted that many first time voters have wanted to help and be involved. In my visits to Challoners, Chesham High and Amersham College I was struck by just how enthusiastic and interested the students were.

Congratulations to Cheryl on being re-elected and to all my rival candidates on conducting an intelligent and civilised campaign.

What happens now is up in the air…but I will continue to campaign for the principles of fair taxation, giving everyone a fair start in life, protecting our environment and political reform. To everyone who has helped me put this message across, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Now to get some sleep…

At this election we have the chance to create a new way of doing politics: a fair system of voting, the right to sack corrupt MPs and a cap on political donations to curb the influence of trade unions and big business.

We also need an end to the old confrontational style of politics. You will hear a lot of scaremongering about hung parliaments - but in most of Europe politicians have learnt to work together. In fact Greece, the country in the biggest mess in Europe right now, is also virtually the only country with a one party government, and is turning to countries with coalition governments, such as Germany, to bail it out. We need our politicians to put short term interest aside, face up to and agree a “road map” for reducing public debt.

Locally, our politicians must work together to oppose a High Speed Rail route through the Chilterns AONB. Having grown up in Amersham and living in the constituency with my young family, this is an issue close to my heart. Whoever is Secretary of State, we must keep up the pressure and, come what may, as your MP I would vote against any route throught the AONB.

Setting out detailed spending cuts in our manifesto of some projects, enables us to invest in priority areas, such as education. We are not just against the expected increases in tuition fees, we are committed to their abolition. Access to university should be based on ability to learn, not ability to pay. Fairness is the guiding principle.

The campaign has been exhausting, but exciting. I have loved the hustings, loved the “Vote Starkers” facebook group set up by Chesham High students after my visit there, loved taking my campaign to every town and village in the constituency. Thanks to the hundreds of people who have written to me and thousands I have spoken to face to face. It is exactly this type of interaction that keeps democracy alive.

I am very pleased to support our local petition against a high speed rail route through the AONB. It is exciting that our community is beginning to come together to show our opposition. The petition is very simple:

Petition to the Secretary of State for Transport

We the undersigned call on you to abandon the Government’s plans to build a high speed rail route through the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

You may already have been asked to sign by campaigners working the streets near you.

Otherwise click here to sign online now

(You will need to give a valid email address when you sign - this is used instead of a physical signature)

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Move over leaders! Last night we finally held the first public hustings where all the candidates were able to turn up.

I enjoyed it immensely, and was pleased to get the largest round of applause of the night for suggesting that all us candidates agreed so violently on our opposition to the proposed HS2 route that we could work together to prevent it.
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As a Lib Dem candidate, this election can seem like a David and Goliath contest. I have no rich mates in Belize, I get no money from the Unite trade union. I am feeling incredibly positive, however, because in recent months so many people have joined our team of local volunteers. My campaign is made possible because of hundreds of ordinary people each doing their bit - this is politics as it should be and I am proud of that.

If elected to parliament I will live in the constituency and commute, just as I do now. Long before the expenses scandal broke I was campaigning against commuter belt MPs claiming for second homes.

I want to represent this constituency in parliament because it is my home. I grew up in Amersham, and now live in Chalfont St Giles with my young family. Protecting the communities and countryside in the Chilterns is a cause very close to my heart.

At national level, I am happy to be part of a party putting forward Vince Cable for Chancellor, that has set out HOW we would reduce public debt, rather than simply talked about the need to do so, that proposes fairer taxes, that plans to phase out tuition fees and that is serious about tackling climate change.

In the next month I will be in every town, village and street in the constituency putting forward our case.