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Leader’s Speech For Welsh Liberal Dem Conference

<<Check Against Delivery>>

11 March 2006

Well, 2006 has been pretty boring hasn’t it?

I mean, apart from dramatic announcements, spectacular resignations, fevered speculation, by-election triumphs and getting a new leader … I can’t really think of anything important that’s happened.

Okay, it’s been a bit turbulent, and not all of what has happened has been positive. But periods of transition are always a bit scary. Which is why it’s perhaps surprising that, after 12 hectic weeks, we’re in as good shape as we were before it all started getting colourful.

Way back in the distant past- by which I mean mid-January- many Westminster gossip merchants were declaring our party dead in the water. But the political obituary writers completely misread the political landscape.

Across Britain, our party has its highest number of seats for 83 years. In Wales we have more MPs than at any time since 1923. Is this a recipe for decline? I don’t think so.

Having come through our transition phase, we also find ourselves faced with the chance to do really well in the Welsh Assembly elections next year.

Our party is stronger, bigger and more united than it has been for decades. Most parties go through a transition when they’re at their lowest ebb. With us, that wasn’t the case. Instead of recovering from a position of weakness, Ming has the chance to build from a position of strength.

Ming Campbell inherits a party of talent, principle and commitment. In this room you have some of the brightest young MPs and AMs in the country. (And us old folk remember the time when there was just Alex Carlile. He was leader of the Party too, but that’s partly because he WAS the Party!)

In Ming himself we have a leader who didn’t support an unjustified war in Iraq, and who doesn’t describe himself as a “Conservative Liberal.” He’s a true statesman, with the gravitas and clarity of thought to move this Party to another level.

I’m very glad he has decided to reappoint me to my roles in Wales and Northern Ireland. It’s good to be in his team, and I’m sure that you’ll agree it was good that his commitment to us was proved by his attendance at our conference last night.

So, the signs are good for us. If you want proof of the strength of liberalism in the UK, look at the behaviour of David Cameron. The British public wants liberal solutions - that’s why Cameron the Chameleon has been trying to dye himself yellow. But in reality, the Tories are all over the place. Their back bench Welsh MPs are fervently anti-devolution, which their front bench pretends a new age of Tory gentility is sweeping the party.

The public aren’t fooled. Look at Dunfermline. A fantastic victory in the back yard of the Prime Minist- sorry, Chancellor.

And look at the choice Welsh voters face.

If ever you wanted proof of the vacuous nature of David Cameron’s reforms, have a look at the Welsh Tories. Cameron likes to present himself as Little Blue Riding Hood… Well he’s leading some Big Bad Wolves.

Three weeks ago, in a devolution debate, a Tory MP, who shall remain nameless, argued that giving further powers to the Welsh Assembly was "like giving a latchkey, a bank account, and shotgun to a 10 year old." He went on to say "these people should not be trusted with more powers under any circumstances."
Presumably, this is new progressive face of the Conservative party! It seems more in tune with 19th Century England than 21st Century Wales.
The Tories in Wales are out of touch, out of place and out of time. Cameron’s words can’t hide their true nature. Remember- just because the big bad wolf buys aftershave in Notting Hill, doesn’t mean he won’t eat your grandmother.

Cameron is a decent salesman, if you saw him on the Shopping Channel, he’d probably be good at selling watches. And OK…he’s better on Question Time than Rhodri Morgan – but so was the audience!

But this is politics, not advertising. It’s about principle, not presentation.

Welsh voters know that the future of Welsh Liberalism doesn’t lie with a man who has yet to prove anything significant at all has changed between the days of Howard and the days of Cameron.

It lies with the party who have never failed to stand up for civil liberties;
with the party that has always prioritized the environment;
with the party that puts fairness first, to continue as the real Alternative to Labour in Wales.

And what about Labour? 9 years ago Labour were the party of promise and potential. But if a week is a long time in politics, 9 years is an age. And the political plates have shifted a long way.

Government under Labour has become an elephant with a blindfold: unwieldy, expensive and awkward, stumbling around, trampling on civil liberties, and ignoring vital areas in need of reform.

What has the Government done on council tax? On the failing CSA? On pension reform?

On all these immensely important issues, which fundamentally affect the lives of ordinary people, reform has been virtually non-existent.

So instead of fair taxes, proper benefits, and adequate pensions, what’ve we got?

ID Cards. The biggest waste of money since the Millennium Dome; the worst abuse of civil liberties since house arrest; the biggest mistake the Government has made since… well, about two weeks ago.

Look at police reform. Last September, Labour announced that major reforms were needed in the Welsh police service. They put forward four options and gave the Welsh forces until Christmas to give their feedback.
Three weeks later, Charles Clarke, eagerly followed by Peter Hain, declared there was only one option for Wales- a single force for Wales.

Since then the Government has gone ‘Ostrich’, stuck its head in the sand, and closed its eyes and ears to the huge opposition in Parliament, the public and the police.

The result? Welsh policing is going to be fundamentally reformed without proper consultation

What would we do differently?

Well let’s be clear. In Wales, when it comes to policing, one force does not fit all.

But before that- this is a decision that should be made in Wales. The future of Welsh policing shouldn’t be dictated by Home Office pen pushers. It should be decided by elected members in Cardiff Bay.

Wales is at a crossroads on many issues - most notably on energy and the environment.

If the police fiasco is repeated here, with the Government ignoring local opinion and forcing its policies through- Wales could well be welcoming a new generation of nuclear powers stations very soon.

At the moment Tony Blair’s energy legacy is a host of wind farms and a one-way ticket to a nuclear future. It’s our job to say no.

Saving, preserving and enhancing our environment is the most important political task we face.

For the Liberal Democrats the environment has always been, and will always be a top priority. The environment is not a topic for warm words and hand wringing. Not a place for Blair’s empty rhetoric or David-come-lately. Or David Cam-lately?

Two environment motions are at the core of our conference program. Both have been put forward by the Welsh Liberal Democrat youth and students. In other words this is the rank and file, heart and soul, the future of this party.

From top to bottom, we’re committed to safeguarding our environmental future.

On energy, this means opposing the Government when they try to walk Wales up the nuclear path.

Saying Nuclear is the only option for Wales is like sitting in Hamleys and saying you have to buy the Lego.

Wales is blessed with some of the best quality natural resources in the world. Tidal power in the Severn alone could supply all of Wales energy needs. Twice over.

Wales should be in the vanguard of renewable technology. Going green will create jobs and build industry. Going green, will make Wales richer.

For the Welsh Party, the next big dates are moving ever closer. The local elections are seven weeks away. Beyond that, the Welsh General Election 2007 will be with us in fourteen months.

The Ming modernisation starts here.

According to Wikipedia under the first Ming dynasty, “a vast navy and army were built, with four-masted ships of 1,500 tons displacement and a standing army of one million troops”.

All I’m asking for is more Assembly seats.

We have some of the most passionate, committed activists in the UK here in this room. Over the next 2 months before the local elections, and the coming 14 months to the Assembly elections we need strong planning and energetic campaigning.

The most important thing is to get our message across throughout Wales. The first way we’ll do this is to give the noble Lord Roberts a really big megaphone and a unicycle. But however hard the Good Lord cycles, and however loud he shouts, the rest of us are going to have to do some work as well.

Our vision of Wales is clear. The issues on the agenda for conference are core issues for Wales and core issues for the Welsh Liberal Democrats: Dentistry; Energy; Education; Enterprise; Agriculture; and the Environment.

On each of these issues our policies are distinctive and progressive. They will form the basis of our manifesto for the 2007 Welsh General Election.

And our message is clear. Labour has stopped listening, and stopped working. Timid where it should be bold; unflinching where it should compromise; Labour is, quite simply, taking Wales in the wrong direction.

The Tories offer old problems, not new solutions.

In every election since 1997, whether for the Assembly, or for Parliament, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have improved the percentage of their vote.

We are the growing force in Welsh Politics.

We are the real alternative in Wales to failing Labour.

We’re the second biggest Welsh party in Westminster. By the end of next year I want us to become the second biggest Welsh party in Cardiff Bay.

As Ming said last week, consolidation and caution are not an option for our party, for Wales, or for Britain. We must be the party of inspiration, aspiration, and, when it comes to Roger Roberts on his unicycle- perspiration.

At a lighter level, I’ve had a fair old time in the last few months politically. On a more serious note, I’ve had a pretty hard time in my personal life, with the death of my father last April, and more recently the death of my brother. I thank you all for your comfort and support.

But it’s also made me realise how very short our llives can be. And how precious our time is. We just haven’t got time to sit and hope for a better future. We have to create it as fast as we can.

That thought motivates me in my politics. It makes me excited in my belief that we’re doing something important here, something which can outlast a poltiical career, or indeed outlast us. It’s an opportunity to make people’s lives better, permamently. And we mustn’t waste that.

It’s just too important for us NOT seize this day, and every day, until Wales is just a bloody great place to live with bloody great Lib Dems in charge. I want that, you want that, let’s make it happen.