Nick Clegg’s speech: 5 initial thoughts from me – and reaction from members and pundits

Nick Clegg has just delivered his seventh conference speech – you can read it here. Five quick thoughts from me:

1. It’s rare to remember party leaders’ speeches. However, I’ve a feeling this one will be remembered. Not necessarily stylistically — its rhetoric or his delivery — but for a government policy announcement: the emphasis on mental health-care which Nick made a centre-piece and which he has said will be on the front page of the party’s manifesto. Yes, there were plenty of positioning soundbites. But, more importantly, this announcement demonstrated, better than any finely crafted words, the point …

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IN FULL: Nick Clegg’s leader’s speech to conference

Clegg SpeechHere’s the text of Nick Clegg’s speech to the Lib Dems’ autumn 2014 conference:

Before I say anything else, I’m sure I speak on behalf of all Liberal Democrats when I say that our hearts and condolences go out to the family and friends of Alan Henning and David Haines for their tragic loss.

These were good men. In the work they did they stood for hope and compassion – the things that everyone in this room believes are more important than anything else. We have to take on the cowards who

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BBC: “Nick Clegg not executed on stage until 1320”

That was the rather startling tweet from BBC South-East reporter Louise Stewart:

But it turned out to be a typo rather than a stay of execution:

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Je ne regrette rien? Would Lib Dem members have voted for Coalition knowing what we know now?

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum  to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Almost 600 party members responded to this set of questions – thank you – in a supplementary poll run last Thursday and Friday.

Since the Coalition began, I’ve been asking the question about whether members support the party being in coalition with the Conservatives. Pretty consistently, across more than 20 separate surveys, around 80% have said yes. But I realise this question is, to some extent, skewed by the fact that we …

Posted in LDV Members poll | 28 Comments

Nick Clegg on the “great liberal cause” to boost mental health care: “I want this smack bang on the front page of our next manifesto”

Nick clegg rally glasgow 2014Nick Clegg will announce a new Coalition Government policy in his leader’s speech to the Glasgow conference today – putting mental health provision on a par with physical health by announcing waiting time targets for people with mental health problems in England for the first time.

He’s expected to say later that “Mental health conditions are one of the last remaining taboos in our society, and yet they will affect one in four people” and to make three commitments:

  • “if you are waiting for talking therapies to help
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    Wednesday debates open thread: Nick Clegg’s speech

    Traditionally not many people turn up first thing on the last day – most are sleeping off Glee Club – but it would be a shame to miss the second emergency motion. After that the day builds up to the Leader’s speech,  with, unusually, no break for lunch and no lunchtime fringes. (I wonder how many of us will be finding ways of wasting our time in Glasgow because we had assumed it wouldn’t be over until 3.30pm at the earliest?)

    So for the last time this year, do add your comments about any debates and speeches in the auditorium.

    Posted in Conference | Tagged | 16 Comments

    Glasgow Gossip: Fashion special

    After all the obsession with Nick Clegg’s clothes yesterday, here’s some more Glasgow Conference fashion:

    Here are Reading’s John Grout resplendent in yellow trousers with candidates for Reading East and West Jenny Woods (left) and Meri O’Connell.

    john grout and co

    Nottingham’s Sarah Brown resplendent in her crocheted black and yellow dress which she made herself. She takes commissions and does a great line in glittery crocheted Santa hats:

    sarah brown

     

     

     

    And this fellow was part of a Friends of the Earth campaign to get solar …

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    The Independent View: Liberal Democrat vote on flooding shows politics of climate change is shifting

    Liberal Democrats have this morning voted to protect hundreds of thousands of households from flooding and climate change.

    The welcome move is thanks to the passage of a policy motion, tabled by Lib Dem activists Duncan Brack and Neil Stockley, that calls on the Government to “Ensure flood defence spending is kept in line with that needed to protect against climate change impacts”.

    Current flood defence investment is far below what’s needed to keep pace with our changing climate. As heavy rainfall increases and sea levels rise, numerous experts have urged that Government investment in flood protection should rise correspondingly. The Environment Agency made such recommendations in 2009, but these were ignored by Chancellor George Osborne, who cut the flood defence budget by £100million. The Committee on Climate Change calculates that a huge shortfall of £500million has now emerged between what’s being spent and what’s needed.

    Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | 5 Comments

    Conference Speeches: Tim Farron: Time for ambitious, active, liberal government

    Tim Farron’s final speech to Conference was a cracker. Continuing the theme from his lecture to Social Liberal Forum Conference in the Summer – in fact he may have used some of the same lines – he made the case for a bold, distinctive liberal party to rebuild the country’s infrastructure for the 21st century.

    He also made a powerful challenge to the Tories on human rights, asking Cameron directly to explain what it was about the right to life or freedom from torture that he found quite so frustrating.

    He is trying to map out a way in which we can acknowledge the concerns of those tempted by the likes of UKIP without pandering to them. Here is the speech in full:

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    Conference Speeches: Kavya Kaushik from Saturday’s Rally

    We have managed to get hold of a  wonderful speech given by former Liberal Youth co-Chair Kavya Kaushik at Saturday’s rally in which she talked of the joy of campaigning across the country and of the importance of defending our liberal values. Here it is in full:

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    Tall and Lindsay make the Liberal Democrat “power list”

    The  Times (£) today publishes its list of the Top 50 most influential Liberal Democrats which has been compiled by blogger turned LBC presenter Iain Dale. This site’s two co-editors and our Associate Editor are both in it.

    At 33, Stephen Tall is described thus:

    Last year Tall replaced Mark Pack as co-editor of the hugely successful Liberal Democrat Voice, the must-read site for party activists. A research associate at CentreForum, he is usually more at home with the politics of David Laws than of Simon Hughes, but rarely picks factional fights as a critical friend of the party who prefers to talk up its achievements rather than knock them down.

    This is all fine except its not accurate that he replaced Mark Pack. They worked together for several years.

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    Tuesday extras open thread: Ending in Glee

    This is almost your last chance to fit in some fringe experiences this year – there are no lunchtime fringes tomorrow, and only six early ones.

    Tuesday begins with Britain’s global economic recovery and ends with Glee Club – make what you will of that. In between you can update yourself on such diverse topics as residential care, criminal justice, rail, disability employment, welfare, immigration, tourism, food security, tax avoidance, garden cities and devo-max for Manchester.

    Tell us how your day is panning out.

    How to find out what is happening

    You can view or download the directory, which lists all the fringe …

    Posted in Conference | Tagged | 1 Comment

    Tuesday debates open thread: The big one – our pre-manifesto

    The main event of the day is the pre-Manifesto debate which will take up most of the morning, giving way only for football.

    The first emergency motion will take place this afternoon. Delegates have been voting on which two motions to take.  In between there is a chance to hear Norman Lamb, Edward Davey and Tim Farron, and to discuss our aging society.

    So what ‘s does the agenda look like?

    Posted in Conference | Tagged | 31 Comments

    Glasgow Gossip #2: Jumpergate

    If you’re interested in welfare, you’ll know thatGeorge Potter has been one of the most ardent campaigners against the Coalition’s welfare reforms. And, true to form, he spoke in yesterday’s welfare debate. However, it’s not what he said that riled Louise Mensch. It’s what he was wearing.

    She was reacting to George’s tweet showing the BBC picture of him speaking:

    In a series of tweets, Louise and others slated his fashion choices and accused George of whining when he complained.  Have a look at these:

    Posted in News | Tagged , and | 18 Comments

    Hung Parliament: what Lib Dem members think will happen… and what you want to happen

    Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum  to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Almost 600 party members responded to this set of questions – thank you – in a supplementary poll run last Thursday and Friday.

    (All figures below are compared with the last time we asked this question, a year ago, in September 2013.)

    68% of Lib Dem members predict another hung parliament in 2015

    Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged and | 76 Comments

    Opinion: Party conferences don’t matter to voters

    Glasgow conference 2014I’m lucky enough to live near Eastleigh in Hampshire, and I often need to go into Southampton for work. If I get a chance at lunchtime I go for a stroll on Southampton Common, a large open space close to the city centre. One of my favourite parts of the Common is Southampton Old Cemetery, an area of overgrown graves and tombstones that has largely been given over to wildlife, but where you can still wander around and read the inscriptions, still see the little details of other people’s lives and deaths.

    Among the overgrown memorials that I wandered past last week was one to a former mayor of Southampton, who, his headstone recorded, “died early on Sunday morning”. Why was this important, so important that it was carved in stone along with his name and dates and political achievements? Because for most people, it’s the little things that really matter, not the big ideas. Yes, people care about the environment, but generally they’re more interested in the smell from their drains than in the melting polar ice cap. People care about the deficit, but they want to know if bread is cheaper in the local Co-op or the out of town Morrisons. People, by and large, have an opinion on immigration, but unless their opinions have crossed the border of bigotry, they’re more interested in whether Vaclav next door plays music at 3am than in whether he should be in the country at all.

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    The Independent View: Constitutional reform is back in fashion

    ERS logoFor so long, those who care passionately about political reform have been told there are more important things to worry about – that tax, welfare and housing will always take precedence over the constitution and questions of process.

    The Scottish independence referendum has almost put an end to that kind of talk. As the Liberal Democrats have always known, politics and the constitution fundamentally shape the collective decisions we make, and are therefore of the utmost importance. The referendum also undermined the old put-down that no one cares about constitutional reform. Try telling that to the 97% of Scots who registered to vote, or the 85% who went to the polls. When the stakes are high enough, people will get involved.

    Posted in The Independent View | Tagged and | 3 Comments

    Opinion: Conference season so far – and what’s with the Tories and Human Rights anyhow?

    Normally, as you all know, Lib Dem conference comes before Labour and Tory conferences. But this year, due to the timing of the Scottish independence referendum, Lib Dem conference is the last one up.

    This means that for those of us who luckily (or unluckily, depending on your point of view) form part of the travelling circus that does all three conferences each year, instead of turning up bright eyed and bushytailed at our conference we’ve already done Tory conference, usually a killer health wise. I myself already have a mild case of conference flu that I’ve taken to Glasgow with me.

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    Conference speeches: Kirsty Williams: Liberal Democrats are the radical, positive choice

    Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams gave her keynote speech to Conference this morning. Full of passion, radicalism and determination to fight the divisive, dog-whistle politics we are seeing more and more of these days. I don’t think I have ever wanted to run out of the hall and get a speech up on here quite so much. I have to say to Paddy that if he doesn’t make sure Kirsty is on telly every single day of the short election campaign and as much as possible between now and then, I will actually challenge him to a fight. And I will win.

    Here it is in full. I particularly loved the section on why Scots voted yes. She was realistic and shows the sort of attitude that I felt that we needed to see more of during the campaign. And she said it straight, that complacency in Westminster allowed nationalism to thrive in Scotland.

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    Who’s up, who’s down? How party members rate the performances of leading Lib Dems

    Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum  to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 735 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

    LDV asked: How would you rate the performances of the following leading Liberal Democrats and government ministers?

    Full results are published below, but here’s two key lists for those who want to cut to the chase… (with comparison to April 2013 ratings in brackets)

    Top 5 Lib Dem performers in the Government:

    Posted in LDV Members poll | 8 Comments

    Opinion: Confronting gender inequalities in the workplace

    Handshake man - womenI am proud to belong to a party that strives to represent the unrepresented, defend the rights of minorities and works hard to achieve equality for all. Our work in government to tackle inequality has improved the lives of many and made society as a whole fairer. But, whilst we have made real progress in improving the deal for women in the workplace, it remains unacceptable that in the 21st century women remain underrepresented at the top and suffer significant pay disadvantages throughout many organisations.

    At conference in Glasgow, the Federal Policy Committee will present its policy paper Expanding Opportunity, Unlocking Potential. A paper that addresses, amongst many other vital issues, the lack of women on boards and ongoing gender pay disparities. I wanted to take the opportunity in this blog to outline the difficulties women in the workplace still face and set out what measures we propose in the paper to address them.

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    Monday extras open thread: Breakfast, lunch and party

    Today is the day to do breakfast. Let us know if it was worth getting up early to attend one of the many breakfast fringe meetings.

    There is much going on throughout the rest of the day – have you noticed that fringe meetings have crept into the business day now?  Whether you want to hear about good parking management, drink driving, end-of-life priorities, aviation, experiments on animals, mental health, farming, trams, police constables or internships, you may want to end the evening celebrating the UK music industry at a party with Danny Alexander.

    Here’s a photo of Stephen Tall not paying attention …

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    The Independent View: IFS Director Paul Johnson – Balancing the books: some unpalatable choices

    Paul Johnson is Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He will be speaking on ‘Balancing the books – tax and spending choices in the next Parliament’ alongside Ian Swales MP and Anne Fairpo of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, with BBC Scotland’s Business and Economy Editor Douglas Fraser in the chair, at 6.15pm on Tuesday at the SECC (Dochart 1). All conference attendees welcome.

    We weren’t supposed to be here. When George Osborne delivered the Coalition’s first Budget in June 2010 the plans he set out suggested that the job of rebalancing the nation’s finances would be more or less …

    Posted in The Independent View | Tagged , and | 13 Comments

    Monday debates open thread: Flooding and equal marriage (unconnected, of course)

    There is a definite theme to this morning’s agenda – climate change, flooding and housing – while the afternoon highlights core Lib Dem values with a presentation on equal marriage followed by a debate on equalities. In between we hear from some of the heavyweights in the party (in the non-literal sense) and we throw questions at Nick Clegg.

    Please adds your comments on anything that is happening today in the main hall.

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    Who should be the Lib Dem shadow chancellor in 2015 – Vince or Danny? Here’s what Lib Dem members think…

    Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum  to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 735 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

    ldv vince danny

    Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged and | 15 Comments

    Conference Speeches: Steve Webb: “We spend £37 billion on pensions tax relief, mostly on well-off. Next Government will need to address the unfairness

    Continuing our series of Conference speeches reproduced in full, here is Steve Webb’s from this afternoon. He said that he wants the next Government to look at tax relief on pensions and he looked back on the work that he had been doing on pensions over the last four years. He also revealed that the donor who gave £1 million to UKIP is standing against him in May. If this bothers you, If this bothers you in any way, you can donate to his local party here.

    Those of you who were paying attention to the news last week will have seen the story of the former Tory party donor who has now given a million pounds to UKIP.   What you may have missed is that he has announced that he will be standing against me at the next General Election.

    This sort of announcement certainly focuses your mind on the issue of fund-raising, and our next jumble sale will have to be a real corker!   Indeed, if anyone in the hall would like to help us level the playing field in Thornbury and Yate, I will be available to receive donations, but nothing over £100,000 please..

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    Conference Speeches: Willie Rennie – “If you want to stop the talk of ‘the 45’ or ‘the 55’ and talk about ‘One Scotland’, to take forward a programme of reform to unite the country, then we are your party.”

    Willie Rennie challenged Nicola Sturgeon to reveal whether she is a Borgen Liberal or a Salmond Nationalist. He was also keen to emphasise that more powers must be delivered. He said that Labour and the Tories must not be timid in their approach:

    For the first time ever the people of Scotland were given the power. 

    The democratic power to decide whether to continue our relationship with our friends in the rest of the United Kingdom.

    With ballots not bullets. 

    By the people not the Lairds. 

    After open debate not behind closed doors. 

    I am so proud that people quietly, but with confidence, said no to independence.

    And in numbers now rarely seen in democracies they said yes – yes to partnership, yes to sharing, yes to our common endeavour and yes with an open hand;

    Comfortable in our own skin, generous in our compassion, proud of who we are.

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    Conference speeches: Alistair Carmichael – Coalition with Tories is like having a cat

    Here is Alistair Carmichael’s speech to Conference morning, strangely devoid of news of his victory at the Lib Dem Disco last night.

    Good morning conference and welcome back to Glasgow.

    It has been quite a year since we last met here.

    Last November this was a city united in grief when Police Scotland’s helicopter fell from the sky and crashed into the Clutha Vaults pub at the other end of Argyle Street, killing ten people.  The response from the people of Glasgow at that time was remarkable.   They showed the truth of the slogan that is on the lanyards most of you are wearing today – People Make Glasgow.

    In July we hosted the best Commonwealth Games ever.

    We saw some truly memorable world class performances.

    No sooner was that over than we led the nation and the Commonwealth in commemorating the outbreak of World War One in 1914.

    And then we had a referendum.

    I confess I am speaking from a text this morning but I think that even without it I might have managed not to do a Miliband and forget to mention it.

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    Conference Speeches: Paddy Ashdown “You were never this nice when I was leader”

    ipaddy 2014 glasgow rallyHere is Paddy’s speech from the rally last night.

    OK – now it begins.

    What comes next is the fight of our lives.

    And it’s going to be tough.

    But I am up for it and I know you are too.

    As a liberal I am used to fighting against the odds – tell you what, I relish it

    And taking a small band of trained and dedicated insurgents onto enemy territory against the odds – its what I was trained for – what I am used to

    -its what we have had to do before

    -and I am immensely proud, this time, to be doing it with you.

    We all know what we have to do.

    You’re the best street campaigners in British politics

    – now you are going to have to prove it – again.

    Now, we have a message – A STRONG ECONOMY, A FAIR SOCIETY; OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE.

    Posted in News | Tagged | 30 Comments

    Conference Speeches: Jo Swinson to Conference rally

    Jo swinson 2014 rally glasgowHere is Jo Swinson’s speech to the rally last night:

    Conference – hello and a very warm welcome back to Glasgow!

    It may still be a bit wet and chilly, but it’s still the friendliest city, and most importantly, still in the United Kingdom.

    A lot has happened since we met here last year.

    Fantastic year for sport:

    Winter Olympics, record medal haul for the UK

    Huge success of the Commonwealth Games here in Glasgow this summer – inspiring athletes from 13year old swimmer Erraid Davies to Jo Pavey’s fantastic gold medal at 40

    England won the World Cup – obviously in women’s rugby

    We’ve seen some key political milestones:

    No one pays income tax on the first £10,000 they earn

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