CONFERENCE NEWS
Note: Because of the length of this speech it has been split into three
pages
[Click
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Let me start by asking some questions:
What kind of country is it where the government responds to the threat of climate change by allowing green taxes to fall as carbon emissions rise?
What kind of country is it where the richest in the land pay a lower rate of tax than the people who have to clean their offices?
What kind of country is it where the government halts a criminal investigation into corrupt arms sales to placate commercial interests?
What kind of country is it where the government colludes with the Tories to exempt MPs from freedom of information?
What kind of country is it where the government sneaks out a short statement on the last day of Parliament signing us up to host America’s Son of Star Wars on British soil?
And what kind of country is it where the government leads us into an illegal and disastrous war and then stops people from protesting against it?
Well, I’ll tell you what sort of country it’s not:
It’s not a liberal country.
That’s why the Liberal Democrats have never been more necessary than we are today.
Last year at our conference I made it clear that under my leadership the Liberal Democrats will always put substance ahead of spin.
And this year we have gone even further in setting out distinctive policies to pave the way to a better future for Britain.
Take climate change.
The film that you have just seen makes an overwhelming case for action on the environment now.
This party – and this party alone – has committed to deliver that action.
In England, Wales and Scotland, the Liberal Democrats are leading the fight against climate change.
Last week the Green Alliance rated our environmental policies top of all the major parties – just as Friends of the Earth did in the recent Scottish election campaign.
And on both occasions the Conservatives scored zero.
Only we have the honesty to propose raising tax on pollution in order to cut tax on income.
Only we have the foresight to map out the route to a zero carbon Britain.
Only we have the vision to insist on British leadership in the international effort to tackle climate change.
You might have noticed this week that we have one or two critics in the media.
Well, I’m happy to say that I answer to you and not to the media.
Thank goodness. That’s why we Liberal Democrats can confront the difficult issues.
Take tough decisions.
Yes – and say controversial things too.
That’s what real leadership is about.
That’s what my leadership is about.
That’s why we - the Liberal Democrats - are at the cutting edge of the debates on tax, poverty and crime.
And I won’t have it any other way.
When we go into the next election I will tell the hard, uncompromising truths about the state of this country.
And about the radical action needed to change it.
That’s the honest way to earn peoples’ trust.
That’s the only way to earn peoples’ trust.
That’s the Liberal Democrat way to earn peoples’ trust.
But radical action doesn’t feature on Labour’s agenda.
Gordon Brown spent the last decade wanting to move into number 10.
But the most extraordinary thing he has done since he finally got the job is to praise Margaret Thatcher.
It’s like a soap opera. It’s certainly an identity crisis.
Gordon wants to be like Maggie.
But he doesn’t want to be like Tony.
Tony also wanted to be like Maggie.
But Maggie only wanted to be like Ronnie.
Now Dave, he wants to be like Tony.
But he doesn’t want to be like William, or Iain, or Michael.
And certainly not like Maggie either.
Confused?
You must be.
But you can be clear on this:
I don’t want to be like any of them.
And what about the Tories?
This year, David Cameron is going back to basics.
Last year the Conservative conference was about health, happiness and the sunshine glinting through the trees.
This year it will be flag, fear – and foreigners.
But why the right-turn?
I’ll tell you why.
Because he’s under pressure.
And without convictions of his own, the Tory leader is buffeted by the beliefs of others.
He’s done a u-turn on grammar schools.
An about turn on identity cards.
And a wrong-turn on human rights.
Margaret Thatcher would have to concede:
He turns if you want him to.
The laddie’s all for turning.
But we’re not for turning – we know exactly what we stand for.
Our next manifesto will be a programme fit for the purpose of government in twenty first century Britain:
Radical, responsible – and liberal.
You know, we might need that manifesto soon – very soon.
But let me assure Gordon Brown of this:
Whenever he calls the election - whether it’s next week or next year - we’ll be ready.
Whenever he calls the election he will face a Liberal Democrat party determined to rattle the cage of British politics.
Whenever he calls the election he will face a Liberal Democrat party which will compete for every vote and for every seat:
I will make every effort, seize every opportunity, work every day to return the maximum number of Liberal Democrat MPs in the next House of Commons.
And I know – I know – that I can expect nothing less from you.
You proved it last year when you helped Willie Rennie win that stunning victory in Dunfermline: Gordon Brown’s own backyard.
And you proved it this year too when so many of you came from across the country to campaign in Ealing Southall and Sedgefield.
In both contests your hard work and commitment ensured that the Liberal Democrats emerged as the principal challengers to the government.
And the Conservatives – David Cameron’s Conservatives – were pushed into third place.
But great campaigns need great candidates – and that’s why we offer our thanks and congratulations to Nigel Bakhai and Greg Stone.
And you know we have three equally talented candidates on our short-list for mayor of London.
Chamali Fernando, Fiyaz Mughal, and Brian Paddick.
Whichever one wins the nomination, I am certain that they will have enormous fun taking the fight to Ken Livingstone.
And even more fun taking on the Tories if their candidate is one Boris Johnson:
Boris Johnson: imagine that -
The blondest suicide note in history.
Now when it comes to the next general election, I believe there is some speculation that age will be a factor.
You bet it will.
Because I’ll make it one.
Because with age comes experience, and with experience comes judgement.
And when you are deciding whether to send our young men and women to war, it pays to have that experience and it pays to have that judgement.
So, if military action is proposed against Iran, who should the British people trust to stand up to George Bush?
Should they trust the Labour and Conservative MPs who voted for the war in Iraq?
Or should they trust the Liberal Democrats who stood – steadfast - against the tragic folly of that decision?
While we stand by our record, our opponents seek to hide theirs.
Mr Brown is working hard to convince us that there has been real change in Number 10:
That his arrival has somehow wiped the slate clean.
That the last ten years of waste, failure and disappointment are to be forgiven and forgotten –
Well, not so fast Gordon.
You spent a decade blaming everything on the previous Conservative government.
But as Chancellor over the last ten years you had unparalleled influence over government.
You could have raised green taxes to tackle climate change.
You could have stopped the ineffective, expensive and unnecessary identity card scheme.
And you could have prevented Tony Blair from embarking on the catastrophe of the Iraq war.
But you didn’t.
This is your legacy, Mr Brown:
The environment degraded.
Civil liberties eroded.
Iraq invaded.
Not to mention the record for which you - and you alone - were responsible as Chancellor.
A smash and grab raid on private pensions.
A steady, disturbing rise in the number of home repossessions.
And a national economic backdrop of £1.3 trillion in personal debt.
With a record like that it’s no wonder that the Prime Minister wants to start afresh.
But it’s a record for which we will ensure that he takes responsibility:
In spite of your claims of change, Mr Brown, not much really has changed.
New Labour remains blue Labour.
And you’re still wrong.
Wrong on nuclear energy.
Wrong on council tax.
Wrong on student fees.
And you are wrong, wrong, wrong on detention without charge.
We don’t need a change of tone in this country:
We need a change of policies.
And you, Gordon Brown, have not delivered.
Click here to read part two of the speech
