New look website for Lib Dem conference

Friday, 4 March 2005 12:00 AM

Ahead of the Liberal Democrat spring conference in Harrogate, the party has launched a new website it believes will invigorate its web presence.

Charles Kennedy is set to arrive in Harrogate late Friday afternoon and will give his keynote conference speech on Saturday lunchtime. On Sunday Mr Kennedy is set to address Lib Dem activists on the upcoming general election campaign.

The new-look site site organises all the Liberal Democrats' policies, press releases, parliamentary statements and people according to topic - such as crime and justice or international affairs.

It also contains a list of prospective parliamentary candidates and local contact information and the option of an RSS feed, which would allow subscribers to receive Liberal Democrat stories directly to their desktop.

Sandy Walkington, the Lib Dem director of general election communications, said he hoped the website was as accessible as possible to the public and predicted that the web would play a massive part in the upcoming election.

Mr Walkington said: "The website is designed to be as accessible as possible and encourage participation. In an age when voter turnout and political participation is falling across the country this website provides an easy and attractive way to find out more about the party."

He added: "It is likely that the internet will play a bigger part in the forthcoming election than any previous contest. In last year's US presidential election 55 per cent of voters received a personal email from a friend or someone close to them about the election. It is clear that the internet is no longer an addendum to a campaign but a vital communication outlet."

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