Today, Her Majesty The Queen opened the new parliamentary session. But we have exactly the same problems as we did in the last session: a government with no majority, no leadership and no realistic plan for our country.

I used my speech in Parliament today to give a warning to my fellow MPs.

Here's my speech in full:

I know it's tempting fate and that I shouldn't really, but this week I have not been able to resist the temptation to think what life might be like if I were to win the Presidency.

So I decided to think what a week might be like in this possible future, combining my job as MP with the job of President.

Our experience has taught us that the best campaigns are built on personal stories.

They give an emotional and personal connection beyond cold, hard facts.

So to help our campaign to stop Brexit succeed, we have a very specific request.

Can you tell us how Brexit is personally affecting you and your family?

Parliament is in deadlock and we are preparing for a GE to be held soon. The Liberal Democrats will go into any election campaigning to win, fighting for our place in the European Union, where we can work internationally to tackle the Climate Emergency.

Help us make that happen.

Be ready to vote for the Lib Dems by registering for a postal vote now.

I'm the son of immigrants, one parent from Germany, the other from Poland. My own family history is in miniature the troubled history of Europe in the previous two centuries, scarred by the horrors of extremism, despotism and war - and then my parents making a new home together in our country.

It's why for me our liberal democracy, despite all its many flaws, is so precious. We need to step up to protect against the extremists and populists.

Probably the most common question I've had so far in this campaign is 'what's the role of President?' It's an important question because it gets to the heart of what we need to do to be more successful in our ambition to build a fair, free and open society, as it says in our constitution.

One part of the role - being the voice of the grassroots in the room with the party leadership - is one all previous Presidents have taken seriously. But what else they do with the role has varied depending on the circumstances.

I'm the son of immigrants, one parent from Germany, the other from Poland. My family history is in miniature the troubled history of Europe, scarred by the horrors of extremism and war - and then my parents making a new home together in our country.

It's why for me our liberal democracy, despite all its flaws, is so precious. We need to step up to protect against the extremists and populists.

Waiting for the outcome of the nomination count for Party President felt a wee bit like that scene from The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon explains about Schrodinger's Cat.

You know, where as long as the box is closed the cat is both dead and alive?

The relief when they cat was actually alive, and I was nominated, was huge!

Download the manifestos

Voting for the federal board election will open at 9 a.m. on 29th October 2019. You can find out more about all the internal elections here: www.libdems.org.uk/internal-elections

A note on the manifestos: The order in which candidates' manifestos appear was generated at random using the =RAND() Excel function. The document contains all the manifestos that were correctly supplied by the deadline for candidates supplied by the Returning Officer.

Voting for the federal board election will open at 9 a.m. on 29th October 2019. You can find out more about all the internal elections here: www.libdems.org.uk/internal-elections

A note on the manifestos: The order in which candidates' manifestos appear was generated at random using the =RAND() Excel function. The document contains all the manifestos that were correctly supplied by the deadline for candidates supplied by the Returning Officer.