Back in 2010 after a General Election that left our party with the balance of power in a hung parliament the Liberal Democrats went into coalition with the Conservatives.
Every section of the party overwhelmingly supported this move and after decades out in the cold Liberals were finally back in government.
The circumstances weren’t ideal given the dire economic situation, and for a party that faced the Tories as the main opposition in many areas, it was sure to be difficult electorally over the coming five years.
That said options were limited, Labour were the clear losers, and the parliamentary arithmetic made a deal with them impossible.
A coalition or confidence and supply arrangement with David Cameron’s Conservatives were the only realistic choices.
Liberal Democrats joined the cabinet, became ministers, and an agreement was concluded on legislative priorities.
Many said the arrangement wouldn’t last long, but in fact, it stayed the course for the full five years.
Yes, it was difficult at times, tuition fees, the AV referendum and the abortive attempts to reform the House of Lords spring to mind.
In the elections that occurred during that period our vote suffered badly, hundreds of councillors lost their seats, and we were punished heavily in the other tests of public opinion.
Winning the Eastleigh by-election was one of the few high points.
Then in 2015, we went down from 57 MPs to 8, and the experiment was over with the Tories getting back with a small majority.
Since then we have seen a bit of a recovery, but we are in many ways still coming to terms with that period when we were in government.
The discussion threads here on Lib Dem Voice often include references to some of the more unpopular things our MPs voted for while in the coalition, and our political opponents are quick to remind us of the same.
We need to move on.
So how do we do that?
Well, firstly we need a narrative that includes highlighting the positive things we achieved and acknowledging the ones that we feel that didn’t work out so well.
For example, raising the income tax threshold was a great policy, supporting tuition fees not so.
Secondly, we need to keep developing a policy programme for the future and establish ourselves as a radical alternative.
I am very keen on a new Beveridge type approach offering Liberal solutions in the areas of employment, housing and welfare.
Both Labour and the Tories wanted to destroy us, they still do.
The good news is they failed we are in pretty good shape; our activist base is strong and membership growth.
The coalition blues are still there though, and now we need to banish them once and for all.
* David is a member of Horsham and Crawley Liberal Democrats