Tag Archives: welsh liberal democrat spring conference 2016

Summating, @ElunedParrottAM says we all need to tell why we love the EU. #wldconf pic.twitter.com/wmxhvEpo15

— Caron Lindsay (@caronmlindsay) February 7, 2016

Former MEP Peter Price kicks off the Europe debate saying “Stonger In” is an understatement. We can’t be anywhere other than where geography and history has placed us.

Go home and start digging, he says – not the conventional way to open a debate – but see what continent you are in. Then he talked about how we’ve spent 20 centuries being interested in what goes on in Europe, so why would we opt out now?

The EU, he says, has come a long way since its foundation. Many people have forgotten it’s guaranteed the peace these last six decades. We have shared democracy, human rights and openness, research programmes in which UK universities lead, potential to halt climate change by working together, co-operation in fighting organised crime and opportunities for young people to travel and study.

He asks us to imagine if we were outside. Would we be more able to deal with these challenges. Get campaigning, he says, it’s not enough just to support the motion.

This is being posted much later due to lack of wifi, but I hope this gives you a flavour of the debate.

Aled Roberts’ speech

Aled Roberts was introduced by chair Mark Cole in Welsh and delivered his speech in Welsh. He highlighted education:

Let’s not forget that the Lib Dems secured the Pupil Premium while not even in Government and have had it virtually trebled in the past 5 years as well as extending it to early years. Imagine what we could achieve if we were actually in Government?

Class sizes in Wales under Labour are among the highest in the developed world. Over 71740 infant pupils are taught in classes of more than 25 with 59% of infant classes having more than 25 pupils.

The younger the pupils, the more time and attention they need from their teachers. We would invest in more teachers to give them the time to focus on each child’s individual needs.

Manifesto Debate

Chloe Hutchinson talks about benefits to young people on a range of issues from housing to votes at 16. She says she’s proud to support the manifesto motion and calls on Wales to vote to stay in the EU.

Speaker now highlighting the fact that equality impact assessments will be done as a matter of course and that this will help to win back the trust of a more diverse range of people.

IR Cymru speaker Rhys Taylor now talking about the need for politicians to consider needs of young people as today’s generation faces being poorer than parents. He is glad to see policies which reflect the concerns of young people from skills development, environmental sustainability and access to physical and mental health services.