A link to the whole speech and a cut down version that may or may not reflect accurately on the greater version....
http://www.libdemvoice.org/we-need-t...ull-49791.html
Neva had lived through the war. She’d lost loved ones, witnessed the devastation, the grief and the tragedy of war – and she became convinced that we must work together to build a world where hatred and war might be overcome.
She wanted to join a movement that would fight for tolerance, peace and freedom, for the things that would make a repeat of that war least likely.
Because every family, every small business, everyone in Britain deserves a clear path to fulfil their own ambition.
When a community is tested, you see it’s true character. And as we can see by being here for Conference, York is open for business – Cumbria, the Scottish borders, the north, we’re all open for business.
Even when this Government is barely lifting a finger to help, the spirit of the people is the real Northern Powerhouse.
we fought back by making a virtue of the fact that there is more to life than Westminster.
Westminster’s rules are laid down by parties that have an opposite agenda to ours – with powerful vested interests to protect, not people to liberate. For the establishment parties it is the best Old Boys’ Club in town, and they have stacked the rules to protect it.
We arrive in the big league on our terms. But we too often attempt to remain on theirs. When we ran the biggest councils in this country, Liverpool and Newcastle, Bristol and Cardiff, Edinburgh and Sheffield. We did so because of who we were. We were never the council’s representatives to the people, we were the people’s representatives to the council. And as we rebuild we will – and must – continue to be the people’s representatives in Parliament too.
We must return to our roots. No matter the office, always remaining true to our instincts. It’s time to focus not on Parliamentary games, but on real life. It’s time we got back to community politics.
On housing… A decent home isn’t just a roof over someone’s head; it’s an opportunity to get a job, it’s an opportunity for security and peace of mind.
So tackling the housing crisis must be the first priority for any community politician.
Build more affordable homes… Invest in house-building… set up local housing companies by councils…create a Housing Investment Bank to bring in private capital… and allow councils to borrow to build.
On education… The Pupil Premium not just a few pounds chucked into the pot; It’s tailored support to help a child thrive. Education is what creates the level playing field so that every individual can play a full part in their community. We will defend the pupil premium we fought to introduce, fight short-sighted cuts to school budgets, and challenge political interference.
On the environment… Climate change isn’t just a fashionable campaign, it is a battle for the future of our planet. The environment is local. Home insulation, solar panels, flood protection. The world around us, the air we breathe and the land we rely on to survive, are under threat.
And on health… Parity of esteem between mental and physical health isn’t just technical jargon. We will stand alongside Norman Lamb as he leads our battle to make sure someone with a life-threatening eating disorder has the same right to treatment for their condition as a patient with cancer.
Housing. Education. Environment. Health. Essential for our communities. Essentials in life. All relying on Britain’s incredible public sector, and the people who work in it.
Our focus is 100% on people. How will this Budget impact the lives of those around us? Osborne asks how will this play in the Daily Mail. We ask, how will this play in daily life?
If the Chancellor really wanted to help the economy, he should invest in, and help our local communities. Because its time to give public sector workers the pay rise they deserve. It is time to be active and ambitious by investing in capital spending on housing, broadband and public transport. It’s time to support the skills people want and need for the future. It’s time to make the tax system work for small businesses.
Communities thrive when enterprise and small business can thrive. But far too often the cards are stacked against them.
It will be the new micro breweries, the community hubs, the app developers, the new firms in our communities who will make the difference.
Some small businesses are small for good, the backbone of our economy. Some small businesses are small for now. If we back them they will build our future. We need a system that works for all small businesses, the small for good, and the small for now. Ensuring the tax system is a level playing field will take some work.
David Cameron, your treatment of the Afghan interpreters is a disgrace.
So, when you are a new leader, you fight to get attention, to make a mark. A journalist said to me the other day ‘all I know about you is that you’re that bloke who keeps banging on about refugees’. He meant it as a rebuke. I took it as badge of honour.
In Calais, Cologne, Lesbos and in refugee centres here in the UK I’ve only met a hundred or so of them. But they are meetings I cannot forget. I will not forget.
Refugees in Germany, welcomed, trained, empowered – transformed into enthusiastic, tax-paying Germans. Refugees in Britain, held in contempt, trapped, their talents wasted, and let down by people who act in our name.
Here are the questions that we must all answer. We belong to the biggest most successful market on the planet. Are we more prosperous staying in, or getting out? We live in dangerous times. Are we safer alongside our friends and neighbours, or isolated. We face vast international challenges: climate change, the refugee crisis, a global economy. Do we best tackle these together or on our own?
And our national security is being challenged by more than the referendum. Right now the Government are using it as an excuse to extend snooping powers. Theresa May won’t just have access to your Facebook messages, but to everything from your medical records to your child’s baby monitor. And it’s not just MI5 and MI6 – your local council will be able to know where you’ve been and who you’ve spoken to, as will the tax office. Not even the Home Office can pretend that this is purely about keeping people safe.
Trying to fight terrorism by gathering more and more irrelevant information is illiberal and totally counterproductive. The haystacks of information will become so huge that finding the needle will be near impossible. No matter what the government calls it, don’t make any mistake – this is the Snoopers’ Charter back again and we won’t have it.
This is what we’ve come to expect from the Conservative Government. Here’s a party which took office, backed by just 36% of British voters. They cling to a tiny majority of just 12, yet govern with a care-free arrogance, decimating social housing, demolishing green energy, and demonising refugees. And they are taking their chance to change the rules in their favour.. attacking public funding for the opposition to hold them to account, opposing Lords reform, gerrymandering boundaries and undermining the independence of the BBC.
Let me be clear about this. I’m not angry because Labour is now run by the kind of people who used to try and sell me tedious newspapers outside the Students’ Union. That’s their funeral.
I am angry with Labour because their internal chaos is letting this government off the hook. The Corbyn agenda is about taking over the Labour party, not rescuing Britain.
We know, that no matter where you’re from, your parents’ wealth, the colour of your skin, your gender, your faith, or who you love, you must have every opportunity to succeed. And you have a home with us.
Together we can show a liberal vision for Britain that isn’t obsessed with self interest, or the here and now, but the long term future of our country.
