Welsh Liberal Democrats have been gathering in Cardiff this weekend for their first Spring Conference since Jane Dodds was elected leader.
She used her first keynote speech to showcase how Liberal Democrats could offer hope to those who are struggling, as the South Wales Argus reports:
While she didn’t shy away from the party’s recent troubles, saying “There’s no denying we’ve had a difficult few years”, Ms Dodds added: “While the wounds of the last few years are still visible, we are still fighting.”
And she said one of the party’s top priorities must be to battle homelessness and poverty.
“As the nasty party in Westminster doggedly pursue deeper cuts in public finances, we see vulnerable people scraping by to survive, without access to public services, with no hope for their future,” she said.
“We need to give them that hope.”
On Brexit, she said: “We have to be clear in our opposition to this government’s disastrous handling of the biggest decision our country has faced in a generation.
“And, that whether we like it or not, Wales voted to leave the EU.
“But, and it’s a big but, it was not on the basis that we would leave under any circumstances.”
Concluding, she said: “We need to make sure we have the ideas in place that address the needs of communities and people living in Wales, and we have to translate these ideas into winning votes.
Her speech won praise from Willie Rennie:
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