Liberal Democrat growth resumed

Mark Pack reveals the following figures from committee reports to the forthcoming Liberal Democrat spring conference:

• Overall Lib Dem party membership rose by 950 in the 2013 calendar year, ending the year on 43,451.
• The federal party budget was for a £2,000 surplus in 2013; it has come out at £480,000.
• 38% of Westminster Parliamentary candidates selected in strategic (i.e. target) seats, excluding held seats, are female, compared to 27% of approved candidates overall being female. (Plus the situation in held seats where MPs are retiring is rather promising.)

This gives the lie to Labour jibes that our membership is falling, and contrasts with the parlous financial state in which the Labour party finds itself.