Yesterday, climate change spokesperson Wera Hobhouse delivered this keynote speech to Conference. Here it is in full.
Good morning everybody
It is wonderful to see you all here at the start of a great conference.
We are in a very good place.
Look at what we have achieved since our last conference only 6 months ago.
Number of councillors UP
Number of MEPs UP
Number of MPs UP
Membership UP
Polling UP.
Is there anything that can stop us now?
Here is an easy question: Who in this Hall is a Liberal Democrat?
And who in this hall believes the Climate Crisis is the biggest challenge of the future and we have a moral duty to solve it?
Think about it.
This is who we are.
Being a Liberal Democrat and being an environmentalist go hand in hand.
Our values for a free open tolerant and globally fair society place us right in the centre of the fight against global climate chaos.
Let me remind you of the preamble of our constitution.
‘The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair free and open society in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty equality and community and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty ignorance or conformity.’
We fundamentally believe that all people are equal and have an equal right to freedom and prosperity.
That freedom and prosperity for all has to be fought for and safeguarded because it is easily threatened.
Nobody can be free who lives in poverty, nobody is free when displaced or threatened by war.
The Climate Crisis will affect us all. If we allow it to get worse it will create huge global inequalities.
Some parts of our planet will be much worse hit than others, creating extreme poverty and hardship, displacement and possibly war.
We Liberal Democrats make no distinction between people on the basis of race gender or religion.
It matters deeply to us how other people are doing not just in this country but anywhere in the world.
That is what makes us an internationalist party. People in China or Argentina or Nigeria or Iran are our neighbours.
That is why we call out against human rights abuses wherever we witness them.
And that is why we feel particularly called upon to avert a climate catastrophe.
This is our call!
This is who we are!
This is why each and every one of us should be proud to be a Liberal Democrat!
The rise of populist and nationalist leaders across the world directly threatens our democratic values.
It threatens the institutions that have guaranteed our rules based international order.
But additionally what is staring us in the face now is that these populist nationalist leaders also threaten our efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
Whether it is Trump or Bolsanaro or Putin or any other dictator across the world, they all actively encourage activities that create environmental chaos, division, social instability and economic disruption.
Because these are the conditions on which they thrive.
Populist leaders create and deliberately exaggerate the fear of foreigners.
They use this fear for their own personal and self-centred ambition.
Fear is a powerful emotion that blocks out any rational argument.
We cannot ignore the huge dangers to international peace and cooperation that these authoritarian leaders pose.
Climate breakdown will play into their hands.
The potentially huge displacement of people give the perfect excuse for populist leaders to shut down the borders and pull up the draw bridge.
The cry of each and every one of these leaders is ‘my country first’.
They do not care about anyone else.
Look at the devastating destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
It would be naïve to think Bolsanaro turns a blind eye for mere short term financial gain, and has no regard for the long- term global implications of such destruction.
More important to realise is that burning down the rainforests and exacerbating the climate crisis is consistent with his disruptive political agenda.
It matters to stand up against these populists and nationalists.
Not just because of the threat to our open society but because of the threat to our planet.
We must fight this.
That is why we are in politics.
That is why we are Liberal Democrats.
Our Liberal Democrat resurgence in the local and European elections give me great hope.
There are millions of people who will not lie down in the face of populism and nationalism.
We must stand with them, and lead them.
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