Steven Edmondson's Blog: August 2008

LIBERAL YOUTH is an embarrassment to the party.

That's an understatement.

There are many, many things wrong with LIBERAL YOUTH. So, deftly avoiding any area of substance, let us go over my most petty complaints.

1- Upon accessing the website, (don't bother, it's awful), you are met with this paragraph:

"Welcome to the website of LIBERAL YOUTH. We're the youth and student movement for the Liberal Democrat party. We set our own policy, run our own campaigns and speak our own minds."

That is appalling, laughable and unforgivable. It sounds like something my year 8 english class would write, it's just dreadful, juvenile and trite. Who ever wrote that abomination is an idiot.

2- Stop, for gods sake, using capital letters every time the words 'liberal' and 'youth' are used in conjunction. It looks dreadful, and undermines any potential, and there isn't a lot to begin with, that the site has of supposedly representing a credible political movement. Again, it's juvenile.

3- Change the name back to Liberal Democrat Youth and Students. Because at very least you didn't insist on capitalising it all the time. The Liberal Democrats may be Britain's most prominent liberal party, however I don't hold the delusion that we have or should have a monopoly of liberalism. You can be liberal, and a youth, without being a Liberal Democrat or indeed a LIBERAL YOUTH. The connection with the party should be clearer. Also, LIBERAL YOUTH sounds juvenile, (I'm spotting a recurring theme here). At very least Liberal Democrat Youth and Students sounds like it might mean something.

4- Don't highlight the word Liberal with yellow backing every time the word comes up on the site, it looks ridiculous.

5- Delete every ounce of text existing on the site. Trust me. It's wanky.

6- Why is there a calendar on the top right-hand side of every page? It's clutter, and no one wants to use the LIBERAL YOUTH website to check the date, that's just stupid.