I would like to thank all Liberal Democrat members whose support led to my election yesterday as Party Leader. Now is the time for our party to come together to work for a more liberal Britain. Politics is out of step with the liberal instincts of the British people: we must change that.
When I look at Britain today I see a country stifled by the policies of successive illiberal governments – both Labour and Conservative. Our civil liberties have been casually cast aside, our public services are run by giant, faceless and often incompetent government bureaucracies, and our poorest communities suffer with security and opportunity in short supply. Britain is a rich society full of ambitious people with energy and drive, but where families nonetheless struggle to meet their monthly bills and achieve a good balance between the demands of work and family time.
I am determined that our party will point the way to a better future for Britain: the liberal country that the British people want it to be. We can do that by trusting the citizen, taking radical action, and ending the stifling grip of the two-party system.
I want to open up my party, Westminster, and British politics as a whole. I intend to hold regular and public Town Hall Meetings, and to spend at least one day every week listening and campaigning outside Westminster, reaching out and engaging with families and individuals throughout Britain who feel disconnected from politics.
I started that process today.