To: letters@guardian.co.uk

Sir,

This Lib Dem is unperturbed (Poly Toynbee, Feb 10th) by thought of a Huhne win. Writing to him within hours of Charles Kenendy's resignation I tried to set out why I thought he would be the best leader for our party:

Here is a man who understands how economics can be made to work for people, instead of shackling government, and currently reducing politics to a PFI contract for the best deckchair manager on the Titanic.

Someone who has been at the guts of democratic Europe and can show this country how we can scrutinise and hold it to account for our benefit.

Instead of an international development policy that puts Bono and Bob at the centre, Huhne has made the economics of global poverty reduction a personal speciality and passion.

He is a localiser who actually benefits from not having spent years in the belly of the Westminster/Whitehall Leviathan and has seen how meaningful devolution brings power, choice and efficiency to communities across Europe.

And an environmentalist who understands that tackling climate change is about more than whether the House of Commons has adequate shower facilities for its more active commuters.

For all these reasons and more, other parties should be perturbed if we choose Chris, but the country should be reassured that a distinctive third force in politics will radically shake up those moribund and failing structures that presently more often blight than benefit our lives.

Sincerely,

Jock Coats