Sir Menzies Campbell's resignation has presented the Lib Dems with a massive opportunity to get back on track.

Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne are the favourites to become the Liberal Democrats' third leader in two years but whoever takes the helm at the party will immediately be expected to grab more attention from the electorate and the media then Ming ever could.

At the centre of any plans to resurrect the party should be a renewed commitment to bag ethnic voters and get more Black and Asian MPs in parliament.

Before the last general election I met several senior politicians in the Lib Dems who were attempting to lure Asian voters away from Labour.

This included, the party's then leader Charles Kennedy and mayoral candidate Simon Hughes.

At the time I was editor of a newspaper serving the British Asian community and both asked me about my thoughts on how the party was perceived by Asians.

I told them that I felt that second and third generation British Asians, were, in general, liberal in their views and the war on Iraq had left many seeking an alternative to Labour.

They spoke passionately about taking on the issues that mattered to ethnic minority groups and central to this would also be a plan to put up more BME candidates in future elections.

With the Tories spewing out the usual anti-immigration rhetoric at the time, it seemed the stage was set for the Lib Dems to make massive gains, bolstered by a boost in ethnic voters.

When Sarah Teather won the Brent East by-election in 2003 it showed that the Lib Dems could capitalise on the anti-war sentiments and dismay being felt over the Labour party's general shift to the right under Tony Blair.

They looked set to reach - and keep hold of - a whole new generation of voters.

But in reality, they blew it and the party's popularity has spiralled downwards since 2005.

Their plight has been worsened by the resurgent Tories who have taken the initiative on issues where the Lib Dems once held sway, such as the green agenda.

And while the Lib Dems are no strangers to campaigning on environmental issues they could really appeal to the electorate in the next election by championing human rights.

In the Muslim community for example, feelings run high over issues such as anti-terror legislation, the 'nanny state' and Guantanomo Bay, and the Lib Dems could present solid counter-arguments on such matters.

But crucial to all of this should be a solid plan to get more non-white politicians involved with the party.

The party talk a good game when it comes to the issue of ethnic representation but influential Lib Dem figures, such as Lord Navnit Dholakia and prospective mayoral candidate Fiyaz Mughal are said to be unhappy at the woeful lack of progress in this vital area and will push to make it a priority for the new leader.

Nasser Butt, a long-standing campaigner for the Lib Dems gave a damning indictment of the problem at the party's recent conference.

"We have done nothing on the ground to change anything in order to get any BME candidates selected to any parliamentary seat.

"There is no willpower, there is no will, there's no commitment to actually do things properly once we have made these promises.'"

And its not just Black and Asian politicians they should be trying to bring into the fold.

In some constituencies, particularly in London, support from emerging groups such as the Somalian or Polish communities could prove to be crucial in winning key seats at the next election.

To do this, Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems need to recruit talented individuals from these groups, in addition to Black and Asian communities, and groom them into the political stars of the future.

Theoretically the Lib Dems could have the edge on this over the Tories - where David Cameron's priority candidates have been constantly snubbed by many of the party's local associations.

Whether it be Clegg or Huhne, at the top of the new Lib Dem leader's list should be a commitment to deliver on their promises to get more ethnic candidates into parliament and devise a strategy to woo ethnic voters like never before.

If they get that right, then the Lib Dems will go a long way to putting all the back-stabbing and instability of the past two years behind them.