Lib Dem members will have got their third and final e-mail from Cowley Street on behalf of the leadership campaigns. Susan Kramer’s for Chris is reprinted below. I’ve found the debate on meritocracy and equality which has raged across different Lib Dem blogs (e.g. this post from James Graham) during this contest to be really stimulating . It will be interested in what bloggers make of the bold statement on equality by Chris in Comment Is Free and by Susan in this e-mail:

Dear friend,

Like many of you it took me a while to decide which of the two excellent candidates to support for the leadership of our party. Clearly both could do the job well and choosing between them was not easy. But I came to the conclusion some time ago that Chris Huhne would be the best leader for our party.

Chris cares so much about the issues that are dear to my own heart. He is absolutely determined that we should be doing much more to tackle poverty. He has argued that we should aim to remove all those on the minimum wage from income tax and boost child benefit and child tax credit. As the fifth largest economy in the world it cannot be right that 3.8 million of our children are born into poverty – and, of course, those children do not outgrow the blight on their life chances. It stays with them into adulthood and passes on to their own families.

For thirty years we have had rule by Conservative and Labour governments who do not care about equality, who argue instead for a meritocratic society which simply puts up new barriers for children born into poverty. We must not follow their example.

Chris talks about the big issues – the ones that really matter to the electorate – the need for excellence in our public services. We have to stop the middle class drift out of state schools that is now happening in our cities. His proposal to level funding between state and independent schools will go a long way towards ensuring that no-one will feel that their children are getting second best by staying in the state system.

And his strength on the economy is impressive. With an economic downturn looming on the horizon we need a Leader who can really take on Brown and destroy the iron chancellor myth. For me that person has to be Chris.

I was elected to Parliament just over two years ago and since then I’ve really got to know Chris well. I have watched him bring energy and passion to his environment brief. He’s proved himself a great communicator who gets our message across effectively – our poll ratings on green issues have gone up and up under his leadership.

Now we need him to take on the whole range of issues as our Leader. I am confident that he has the guts, spirit and determination to get us in the spotlight and win us more and more new votes – and my confidence in Chris is shared right across the Party. His support comes from all quarters, both politically and geographically. MPs like Evan Harris, Lynne Featherstone and Paul Holmes, eminent names from the House of Lords such as Navnit Dholakia, David Steel and Bill Rodgers, 11 out of the 16 MSPs and long-standing party activists like Tony Greaves and Richard Kemp.

Please join us in giving Chris Huhne your vote in this leadership election.

With best wishes,

Susan Kramer MP