In addition to Nick’s ‘national’ new year message (read or watch), he has also been garnering regional coverage for his vision for the country. In today’s Yorkshire Post he writes:
I want 2008 to be the year we fix politics. There is no longer any question in my mind: politics is broken. It’s out of step with people’s lives and out of step with the modern world.
The instincts, the desires, the hopes and the fears of the British people are no longer reflected in our government or our political debate.
We have a choice. Either we give up on politics altogether, or we reinvent it for the 21st century.
As the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, I believe Britain should take the second path, towards a new kind of politics, that listens, responds and delivers.
I want us to have a country where rights, freedoms and privacy are not the playthings of politicians, but safeguarded for everyone. A country where political life is not a Westminster village freak show, but open, accessible, and helpful in people’s everyday lives.
A country where parents, pupils and patients are in charge of our schools and hospitals, and where fine words on the environment are translated into real action.
And, above all, a country where social mobility becomes a reality once again, so that no-one is ever condemned by the circumstances of their birth.
And how will we do this? Read the full piece to find out more.
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7 Comments
This is an excellent piece written by someone who has really thought about the type of Britain they want to see in five, ten or fifteen years time. Nick Clegg now needs to follow this up by putting forward practical policies, firstly for approval by the party, and then the country to ensure that this vision becomes a reality. Maybe the one day conference at the LSE next Saturday will see the start of this process. Good luck!
I really liked the article too. To be honest i think that we have already got a lot of these ‘practical policies’ through conference already.
The real task now is to ensure that they come across as radical, distinctive and high-profile enough for people to begin to understand what Nick and the Liberal Democrats stand for.
Nice sentiments – but how?
“Nice sentiments – but how?”
That’s the trouble with policy wonks, their always better at the former rather than the latter!
Looking at the whole article…
“If we are to create a real opportunity society, parents and pupils need to have far more control over our schools.”
Q. How? What does this mean in actuality? Removing schools from LEA and having them self-funded? What does control mean?
“Power should be devolved to communities – and the poorest children given extra help, with funding boosted to the level of private schools, so they aren’t held back by their family background.”
Q: I would be interested to know what the difference in funding between the average private and state schools. Does that mean all state school kids funding is boosted to private schooling levels. How much would that cost and how would that be paid?
“The NHS must become more responsive, too – under the control of local communities, and opened up, so patients can have a say in their care, instead of being shoved from pillar to post by the system.”
Q:Is having a say the same as control? Are people shoved from pillar to post in the current system and if so how would this change practically? Devoling power sounds like breaking away from the NHS umbrella into more Trust Hospital.
“If we are effectively to tackle crime, which ruins lives, especially in the poorest communities, then it is time for people to own our criminal justice system once again. New community courts should be set up in every town and city in Britain.
Those who commit minor but visible offences like vandalism should have to explain themselves to victims and members of the community. Together, they will be able to decide how offenders can makeup for the damage they have caused.”
Q: How would a community court be run? Is it a talking shop or can ordinary people pass judgement? Is that different from the current system of juries? Or does the victim have a say – and what constitutes a say – does that mean they just get to say what happened and what punishment they would like to see?
As you can see I’m not too clued up with schools, hospitals and judical system nor detailed previous Libdem policy and I know Nick Clegg has only got in – but I worry when politicians give very broad brushstoke statements (as most of them do) but I can’t work out exactly what the policy is.
The general feel of the Libdem message from now on is, I think, to break the stagnation and waste evident in Britain and the state, without chucking whole communities onto the scrapheap like the Tories would do.
Clegg’s speech is a good start. He must stay brave though, and sound different.
Of course the sentiments are good. I am sure that very similar sentiments could come from a CCHQ press release.
There are a couple of points, though. The first is when he says that he will listen to what non-members have to say on key issues. The problem here is that if this process is to be anything other than window dressing then he not only has to listen but offer to change policy as a result of listenting. Now, even were able to do this (AIUI conference has a big say on Lib Dem policy so the leader can’t directly promise anything) I can’t see him e.g.changing his position on Europe just because the majority of people are against the current structure of the EU.
The second thing is how, in practice, you balance localism with equality. E.g. if you let patients decide the priorities of the local PCT (somthing I would agree with) then you have to accept that different areas are going to diverge and so a given problem may be addressed differently according to where you happen to live. Now, you can quite reasonably argue that this is a strength (local areas respond to local needs) but you can bet that the term “postcode lottery” will be hurled around pretty sharpish.