What do the 50% tax band, the Pupil Premium and ending the detention of children in immigration detention centres have in common? The answer is, of course, that these are policies in which the Liberal Democrats have been active since the formation of the coalition last May. Problematically for the party, that seems to be about as far as we’ve been able to drag the link between these issues – indeed, between a wide array of policies upon which we’ve been working over the last few months. We are coming face to face with a horrid truth about the Liberal Democrats – we lack a coherent narrative of Britain for the 21^st Century.

This is not for want of trying – the party has produced many admirable efforts to generate a vision for the party, or liberals more widely, of this country as it moves forwards. But the problem is that they are scattered about in conference papers, books and newspaper articles. Even the 2010 manifesto shirks the dirty job of laying down what we really stand for – talk of fairness is, in my eyes, a poor substitute for talk of liberalism. No-one is ever going to stand up and argue for unfair policies – from Caroline Lucas to Nick Griffin, all are in favour of fairness. What we must be is in favour of liberalism; and a liberalism that we define.

The rich intellectual heritage that we as a party have should help, as will our allegiance to this same heritage. For example, we’ve been committed internationalists since the 1870s and Gladstone’s revulsion at the atrocities in the Balkans – a commitment that has led us to supporting British membership in Europe, international law and new international organisational structures to respond to climate change and financial markets right up to the present day. With localism, environmentalism and pluralism, the story is much the same.

I would contend that we are yet to weave this rich heritage into a convincing tapestry of a governing philosophy. The point of articulating this vision is very simple – people have to know that we share their vision for this country. We’re never going to get back to winning votes and seats and councils if we don’t make this stand – if we don’t demonstrate what we see this country becoming under a Liberal Democrat government. We need to come face to face with the tensions that some detect in our policies – is the 50% tax rate compatible with the social mobility that we’ve spoken of at length? Why, for that matter, is social mobility a good thing? It is not enough, as we saw with AV, to proclaim that an idea is good because the existing system is bad. We must articulate both the merits of the idea and the way that it joins with our other ideas to produce a coherent vision.

This is how you succeed in a coalition. People can see what you stand for, where you’ve made compromises and what you would do otherwise. Every other tactic is effectively a temporary measure in the meantime. The policies you defeat or launch can be as unpopular or popular respectively as you want, but it will mean nothing in the grand scheme of things if you do not have a convincing story as to why these things tie together. So what do banning images of semi-naked women, executive pay restraint and cracking down on tax evasion have to do with each other, conference? I fear we’re letting ourselves drift sideways in the name of a quick headline.

The best way to respond is to start with the basics – a panel of experts to consider what being a liberal means in 21^st Century Britain, and a move to rename the party “the Liberal Party” once more. We are never going to win back votes and trust if we continue to paddle at the edge of the ocean of liberalism, with a name that suggests a mucky compromise and little in the way of deep intellectual roots. The Liberal Party gave this country Keynes, Asquith and Beveridge. It is time to return to that hinterland of thought and begin anew. We can build a vision of Britain; we have the membership to bring that to people through campaigning. It will mean sacrificing some sacred cows at first – but the end result will be a strong, clearer message for us to bring to the people of Britain. Then, and only then, can we get back to the business of winning here, there and everywhere again.