CONFERENCE NEWS
Conference, this is the third time I’ve spoken at this rostrum in 36
hours.
You really get your money’s worth out of me.
So, let me be clear.
This is the last time that I will be addressing you as Leader of the Liberal Democrats ... while Tony Blair is Prime Minister.
And after him, the whole game changes.
As I pledged to you in that debate yesterday.
That great debate.
A debate that no other party could have held.
A debate which showed the Liberal Democrats at their best.
As I pledged to you, I will not sit on the fence.
I will not sit on my hands.
I will continue to lead from the front.
I know no other way.
You know, a day never passes now without Tony Blair offering us some new gift wrapped solution.
A global energy crisis - don't worry, just before I go there’s time to buy a new set of nuclear power stations.
The crisis in the Middle East - don't worry, just before I go I alone will bring peace to Israel and the Palestinians.
Domestic gun crime - don't worry, just before I go I’ll have a summit at No 10 and give you yet another criminal justice act.
The Prime Minister is hunting for his place in history.
He’s like a man in a supermarket with two minutes to go to closing time.
He's doing it with such energy that it would make Victoria Beckham look restrained.
This frenzy of activity is designed to obscure a record of failure.
Because the true story is depressing.
The nuclear energy consultation?
Ruled illegal.
Britain’s influence abroad?
Sullied and diminished.
Our National Health Service?
Beds closing, operations delayed, nurses pay being cut.
And just this week doctors on the dole.
After ten long years, the cabinet has moved on.
The British people have moved on.
And so too should the Prime Minister.
The Blair premiership is finished.
And while Tony has been concentrating on his legacy, Dave’s been ducking and weaving.
He wants to keep his past private.
Well, I can understand that.
If I had his past I’d want to keep it private too.
Come on Dave - it's time to come clean.
Admit your guilty secret.
In your youth, you were a Tory Boy and your heroes were Michael Howard, Norman Lamont and John Selwyn Gummer.
You know, with pin ups like that, frankly, I'd want to keep my past private too.
But seriously, it's not your youthful indiscretions that worry me - it's your adult misjudgements.
Teenage kicks are one thing, but you’ve got to grow up some time.
It’s time you admitted your mistakes.
Particularly your support for the Iraq war.
A moment when you gave the Prime Minister license to fight a war without legitimacy.
A conflict which has left Iraq on the verge of civil war,
The terrorists emboldened.
And the region destabilised.
Britain needs a new direction.
In 1997, Britain needed a new direction too.
Eighteen years of Conservative government had left Britain’s public health and education in a mess.
Mismanagement of the economy had led to boom and bust.
And the Tory approach to international affairs had left our seat at the European table empty.
Our influence dissipated.
And our national interest prejudiced.
Was it any wonder that the British people wanted change?
Now 10 years later Tony Blair is working out the last few weeks of his notice.
So let’s take a look at the true state of Blair’s Britain.
To be fair, first, on the plus side.
Much-needed economic stability brought by independence for the Bank of England – a Liberal Democrat proposal.
At last, the necessary investment in our public services – a Liberal Democrat priority.
A Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly – a Liberal Democrat principle.
But whatever achievements have been made, there remain so many disappointments.
So many missed opportunities.
So much failure.
Let’s just look at what’s gone wrong on Tony Blair’s watch.
On the economy, personal debt is spiralling out of control.
The tax system is over-complicated.
And the housing boom is penalising first time buyers.
The gap between the rich and the poor is wider now than it was under the Conservatives.
Let me say that again, the gap between the rich and the poor is wider now than it was under the Conservatives.
Tony Blair’s failure – yes.
But Labour’s failure too.
In the Health Service, hospitals are in deficit.
Wards are closing.
Jobs are being lost.
In education, children from poorer backgrounds are falling behind.
Truancy is at record levels.
Students are saddled with debt.
We are now ranked bottom – yes, bottom - of the UNICEF league table for child well-being.
You know what that is?
That is a disgrace.
That is a national disgrace.
And on the international stage, our Prime Minister and the American President have created an axis of conflict from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.
The Middle East peace process is in deep freeze.
Iraq is close to civil war.
The Taliban are regrouping in Afghanistan.
And now there is the threat of military action against Iran.
Britain’s foreign policy under Blair is neither independent nor effective – and it no longer serves the national interest.
On Crime, there has been abject failure at the Home Office.
The prison population is at record levels, and re-offending rates are the highest in Europe.
This Labour government has given us twenty three new bills relating to criminal law since 1997.
It has imposed on us some of the most authoritarian peacetime legislation this country has ever seen.
More than 3000 new crimes have been put on the statute book.
And yet the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour has not diminished one bit.
On the Environment, we need action and tough choices on energy, transport and aviation emissions.
We need Britain to lead by example and live up to its responsibilities to future generations.
And yet even last week David Miliband downgraded the climate change bill to draft status.
Instead of action, yet another year of delay and indecision.
Is it any wonder that trust in this Labour Government has evaporated?
You know, I’m not surprised about that.
When I travel around this country my anger rises as I see the daily problems faced by decent British people.
Parents who can’t get their children into the local school.
Young couples who can’t afford decent housing.
Older people struggling on the basic state pension.
This is the frustrated majority of Britain.
The frustrated majority being let down by this Labour government.
The frustrated majority who have been let down by Tony Blair.
He was the prime minister who promised so much, but who has delivered so little.
Well, Labour may have given up on the big challenges facing our country, but I tell you this: this party never will.
And now we are faced with the prospect of Gordon Brown as prime minister.
This Chancellor of the Exchequer has had more control over the direction of government policy than any Chancellor in living memory.
This man, who has written the cheques since 1997, has had unparalleled influence within Whitehall.
Why on earth should we believe that Britain will be better governed if he moves from No 11 Downing Street to No. 10?
Why should we believe that more of the same is what Britain needs?
I’ll tell you what this country needs.
This country needs a fresh direction.
A liberal and democratic direction.
Britain needs a government that is prepared to reduce inequality.
Britain needs a government that will uphold the rule of law.
Britain needs a government that will preserve our traditional freedoms.
Britain needs a government that will take on the challenge of climate change.
And Britain needs a government that will restore our international reputation.
The question is – can Gordon Brown meet that challenge?
Does he have the courage to take Britain in a new direction?
Is he the man to create the liberal and democratic Britain that we need?
I’ve got five tests for Gordon Brown.
First, end Labour’s authoritarian attack on civil liberties.
Identity cards will not stop terrorism.
They won’t stop illegal immigration.
They won’t stop fraud.
And they won’t stop crime.
Don’t spend billions of pounds on an expensive, ineffective, and unworkable identity card scheme.
Spend the money on our police and security services instead.
Second, grasp the challenge posed by climate change.
The environmental efforts in the Chancellor’s budgets have been risible.
Make the green tax switch so that we tax pollution more and earnings less.
Third, break open the poverty trap.
How can it be fair that over two and a half million pensioners live in poverty?
How can it be fair that over one and a half million families are on waiting lists for social housing?
And I want to ask Gordon Brown how can it be fair that in 21st century Britain six out ten children in Glasgow – the city where I was born – live in poverty?
Give pensioners a proper income without the humiliation of the means test.
Give families the opportunity for decent housing.
Give our children a proper chance in life.
End the dependency culture.
Give people a hand up, not a hand out.
And my fourth test, trust the people.
Since 1997 Labour has accumulated power, when it ought to have dispersed it.
Take localism seriously and free local communities from the shackles of Whitehall.
Scrap the unfair Council Tax which penalises pensioners and poorer families and hamstrings local communities.
And fifth, Britain’s foreign policy should not be set in Washington.
What do we know about Iraq?
I’ll tell you what we know.
The President made the decisions, the Prime Minister argued the case, the Chancellor signed the cheques and the Tories voted it through.
The British-American relationship needs to be rebalanced.
And sooner rather than later.
There are ominous signs that some in the United States might consider military action against Iran.
But strikes against Iran would buttress the regime,
Destabilise the region,
And put British forces in Iraq at risk.
So, Mr Brown, announce now that Britain will not support and will not play any part in an attack on Iran.
And while you are at it, repudiate the Prime Minister’s desperate efforts to lock us into the United States plan for a ‘son of star wars’ missile defence system.
So, these are the five tests for Mr Brown if he is going to make the change of direction that Britain needs.
And if he meets these five tests he will have changed direction.
He will have changed direction, and embraced liberal democracy.
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