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Latest news, press releases, events from the Liberal Democrats.
Updated: 56 min 37 sec ago
Letter from the Leader: Coming together
This was a week that put things in perspective. I know I speak for all Liberal Democrats when I say that our thoughts are with the family and friends of Drummer Lee Rigby – the British soldier attacked and killed in Woolwich on Wednesday. And I’ve made it clear, on the party’s behalf, that we are immensely grateful to our police, security services and armed forces, who do an extraordinarily important job.
That last few days have reminded me, and probably many of you, of a simple but important truth: when your values are under attack, you have to hold on to them even more firmly than before.
Yesterday, at the request of some friends in the Muslim community, I convened a meeting, in London, of representatives from different faiths, community organisations and secular groups. Before the speeches I held a private discussion with a smaller group, and I wish I could have broadcast it across the nation. Just days after a brutal act of terror, men and women from across the faiths and political parties, gathered around the table, each calling for the same thing: unity. It would have made you immensely proud.
And there have been other victories for our values this week. Getting the Equal Marriage Bill through the House of Commons was no mean feat and it’s something all Liberal Democrats should feel good about. Britain is now one step closer to being a country where all forms of love – gay or straight – are celebrated equally, and that wouldn’t have happened without our party.
The Coalition was also able to confirm that hundreds of Afghan interpreters who served bravely alongside British forces will have the chance to settle in the UK. Paddy’s been heavily involved with this campaign for a while. At one point, it was suggested that Afghan interpreters might not be granted this right, but clearly that was something I – we – couldn’t accept. Don’t forget, it was under pressure from the Liberal Democrats that the previous Labour government extended the right to reside here to Iraqi interpreters. When someone has risked their life to help our servicemen and women, it seems so obvious to me that we owe them a debt.
So it’s been a difficult week, but it’s also been a week which has reminded us who we are. This is an open, diverse and generous nation, where, in our toughest moments, we come together. That’s something no act of hate or violence will change.
Yours,
Nick Clegg
That last few days have reminded me, and probably many of you, of a simple but important truth: when your values are under attack, you have to hold on to them even more firmly than before.
Yesterday, at the request of some friends in the Muslim community, I convened a meeting, in London, of representatives from different faiths, community organisations and secular groups. Before the speeches I held a private discussion with a smaller group, and I wish I could have broadcast it across the nation. Just days after a brutal act of terror, men and women from across the faiths and political parties, gathered around the table, each calling for the same thing: unity. It would have made you immensely proud.
And there have been other victories for our values this week. Getting the Equal Marriage Bill through the House of Commons was no mean feat and it’s something all Liberal Democrats should feel good about. Britain is now one step closer to being a country where all forms of love – gay or straight – are celebrated equally, and that wouldn’t have happened without our party.
The Coalition was also able to confirm that hundreds of Afghan interpreters who served bravely alongside British forces will have the chance to settle in the UK. Paddy’s been heavily involved with this campaign for a while. At one point, it was suggested that Afghan interpreters might not be granted this right, but clearly that was something I – we – couldn’t accept. Don’t forget, it was under pressure from the Liberal Democrats that the previous Labour government extended the right to reside here to Iraqi interpreters. When someone has risked their life to help our servicemen and women, it seems so obvious to me that we owe them a debt.
So it’s been a difficult week, but it’s also been a week which has reminded us who we are. This is an open, diverse and generous nation, where, in our toughest moments, we come together. That’s something no act of hate or violence will change.
Yours,
Nick Clegg
Letter from the Leader: Coming together
This was a week that put things in perspective. I know I speak for all Liberal Democrats when I say that our thoughts are with the family and friends of Drummer Lee Rigby – the British soldier attacked and killed in Woolwich on Wednesday. And I’ve made it clear, on the party’s behalf, that we are immensely grateful to our police, security services and armed forces, who do an extraordinarily important job.
That last few days have reminded me, and probably many of you, of a simple but important truth: when your values are under attack, you have to hold on to them even more firmly than before.
Yesterday, at the request of some friends in the Muslim community, I convened a meeting, in London, of representatives from different faiths, community organisations and secular groups. Before the speeches I held a private discussion with a smaller group, and I wish I could have broadcast it across the nation. Just days after a brutal act of terror, men and women from across the faiths and political parties, gathered around the table, each calling for the same thing: unity. It would have made you immensely proud.
And there have been other victories for our values this week. Getting the Equal Marriage Bill through the House of Commons was no mean feat and it’s something all Liberal Democrats should feel good about. Britain is now one step closer to being a country where all forms of love – gay or straight – are celebrated equally, and that wouldn’t have happened without our party.
The Coalition was also able to confirm that hundreds of Afghan interpreters who served bravely alongside British forces will have the chance to settle in the UK. Paddy’s been heavily involved with this campaign for a while. At one point, it was suggested that Afghan interpreters might not be granted this right, but clearly that was something I – we – couldn’t accept. Don’t forget, it was under pressure from the Liberal Democrats that the previous Labour government extended the right to reside here to Iraqi interpreters. When someone has risked their life to help our servicemen and women, it seems so obvious to me that we owe them a debt.
So it’s been a difficult week, but it’s also been a week which has reminded us who we are. This is an open, diverse and generous nation, where, in our toughest moments, we come together. That’s something no act of hate or violence will change.
Yours,
Nick Clegg
That last few days have reminded me, and probably many of you, of a simple but important truth: when your values are under attack, you have to hold on to them even more firmly than before.
Yesterday, at the request of some friends in the Muslim community, I convened a meeting, in London, of representatives from different faiths, community organisations and secular groups. Before the speeches I held a private discussion with a smaller group, and I wish I could have broadcast it across the nation. Just days after a brutal act of terror, men and women from across the faiths and political parties, gathered around the table, each calling for the same thing: unity. It would have made you immensely proud.
And there have been other victories for our values this week. Getting the Equal Marriage Bill through the House of Commons was no mean feat and it’s something all Liberal Democrats should feel good about. Britain is now one step closer to being a country where all forms of love – gay or straight – are celebrated equally, and that wouldn’t have happened without our party.
The Coalition was also able to confirm that hundreds of Afghan interpreters who served bravely alongside British forces will have the chance to settle in the UK. Paddy’s been heavily involved with this campaign for a while. At one point, it was suggested that Afghan interpreters might not be granted this right, but clearly that was something I – we – couldn’t accept. Don’t forget, it was under pressure from the Liberal Democrats that the previous Labour government extended the right to reside here to Iraqi interpreters. When someone has risked their life to help our servicemen and women, it seems so obvious to me that we owe them a debt.
So it’s been a difficult week, but it’s also been a week which has reminded us who we are. This is an open, diverse and generous nation, where, in our toughest moments, we come together. That’s something no act of hate or violence will change.
Yours,
Nick Clegg
London communities celebrate strength and unity at event hosted by Nick Clegg
The speakers at the Hugh Cubitt Peabody Centre in Islington were the Deputy Prime Minister, Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan, Conservative whip Lord Tariq Ahmad, former Army captain Afzal Amin, imam Shaykh Shams ad-Duha Muhammad of Ebrahim College and the co-chairs of Faith Forum for London, Canon Guy Wilkinson and Leonie Lewis.
Also in attendance were Colonel Hugh Bodington, Chief of Staff of the Army Headquarters at London District, and Commander Mak Chishty of the Metropolitan Police, who has been the force’s community liaison for the events in Woolwich.
Representatives of London’s political leaders included Damian Johnson, Chair of the London Assembly, Andrew Boff, leader of the Assembly’s Conservative group, Jenny Jones, leader of the Green Party Group and Stephen Knight, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat Group. The local MP Emily Thornberry also took part, along with Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, Tom Brake.
Transcript of the Deputy Prime Minister’s speech
Can I thank you all very, very much for being here and can I thank, particularly, everybody at the Hugh Cubitt Centre, all the volunteers here, everyone from the Peabody operation. You’ve helped us to organise this at very, very short notice indeed.
It was a suggestion made to me by friends of mine in the London Muslim community just yesterday, that we should get together at a time of obviously heightened anxiety, given the horrific events in Woolwich. And to be able to gather together like this, given how busy everybody is, is a real tribute to everybody at the centre, and indeed to all of you.
We are represented here in all of the wonderful diversity that we know is modern London: different political parties, different faiths, different communities, representatives from the armed services, from the police. I really am very, very grateful to you all for being here. And I hope that – in fact I know that I speak on behalf of everybody here when I say that my heart goes out and my thoughts are with the family and the friends of Drummer Lee Rigby, who as so brutally and savagely killed in Woolwich.
I think in many ways, the fact that we’ve come together is much more important than what anyone’s actually going to say at the event because the fact that we’re here together from so many different directions, from so many parts of the diversity that is London is a – sends out a message.
It sends out a very, very simple message of hope over fear, of community over division and that is immensely important. I think that you’ve done all of that and that by coming together in that way, by sending out that clear signal, you really have provided a great service to all of the communities who are asking themselves searching questions in London and across the country today.
Because let’s be clear. People who inflict such random, savage violence in the name of some entirely warped ideology or some entirely perverted concept of religion in the way that we have seen on our television screens – which has been made all the more unsettling I think, because the individuals concerned dressed, spoke, appeared to all intents and purposes like so many other young Londoners that we might come across every day of the week.
Let’s be under no illusion. What they want, of course, is to sow that corrosive seed of fear and division. What they want is for governments and the authorities to overreact in their immediate reaction. What they want is for communities to turn inwards and away from each other. What they want, in short, is to spread fear.
Fear is an extraordinarily powerful emotion and when fear takes root, all of us as individuals, we will avert our gaze from someone who we might be fearful of, who we weren’t before. We might cross the street away from an individual who we’re not so sure about. We might worry about our children and about our families in a way that we haven’t done before.
It has a very, very corrosive effect on every part of our lives and we have a choice. We have a choice to either allow that powerful corrosive feeling of fear to seep into every second and minute and hour of our lives or we can make a choice that we’re not going to change our behaviour. We’re not going to disrupt normal life. We’re going to continue our life as before. We’re going to continue to reach out to each other. We’re going to continue to look people in the eye. We’re going to continue to be the diverse community that we are, and you have made that choice by coming to this event.
London has made that choice by celebrating this kind of event and it has shown once again how unbeatable London is in the face of this attempt to sow fear, sow division and sow mutual suspicion in our community. So I want to pay genuine tribute, to each and every one of you for making that choice. It is a positive choice and is the most powerful dignified reply and rejection of what we saw and what we heard on Wednesday in Woolwich.
Finally, before I ask the Deacon and others to speak for themselves, I want to pay special tribute to those amongst you who are leaders and spokespeople of our Muslim communities. The fact that all of you who’ve spoken out so very clearly and so very cogently and so very quickly to reject it utterly. As the Prime Minister quite rightly said, what we heard from these two individuals was a total unqualified betrayal of Islam, a religion of peace was being distorted, turned upside down and inside out, perverted in the cause of an abhorrent and violent set of intentions from those individuals.
As I heard from someone in a discussion we just had earlier this morning, terrorism has no religion because there is no religious conviction that can justify the kind of arbitrary, savage, random violence that we saw on the streets of Woolwich. So thank you for speaking out as forcefully as you have done. Thank you for speaking out as clearly as you have done for a great salvation religion, for your faith, and for the communities in which you live and in which you lead.
And in that spirit I would like to simply conclude by repeating a verse from the holy Quran, verse 32, chapter five. If anyone kills a human being, it shall be as though he killed all mankind, whereas if anyone saves a life it shall be as though he saved the whole of mankind.
Thank you very much.
Also in attendance were Colonel Hugh Bodington, Chief of Staff of the Army Headquarters at London District, and Commander Mak Chishty of the Metropolitan Police, who has been the force’s community liaison for the events in Woolwich.
Representatives of London’s political leaders included Damian Johnson, Chair of the London Assembly, Andrew Boff, leader of the Assembly’s Conservative group, Jenny Jones, leader of the Green Party Group and Stephen Knight, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat Group. The local MP Emily Thornberry also took part, along with Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, Tom Brake.
Transcript of the Deputy Prime Minister’s speech
Can I thank you all very, very much for being here and can I thank, particularly, everybody at the Hugh Cubitt Centre, all the volunteers here, everyone from the Peabody operation. You’ve helped us to organise this at very, very short notice indeed.
It was a suggestion made to me by friends of mine in the London Muslim community just yesterday, that we should get together at a time of obviously heightened anxiety, given the horrific events in Woolwich. And to be able to gather together like this, given how busy everybody is, is a real tribute to everybody at the centre, and indeed to all of you.
We are represented here in all of the wonderful diversity that we know is modern London: different political parties, different faiths, different communities, representatives from the armed services, from the police. I really am very, very grateful to you all for being here. And I hope that – in fact I know that I speak on behalf of everybody here when I say that my heart goes out and my thoughts are with the family and the friends of Drummer Lee Rigby, who as so brutally and savagely killed in Woolwich.
I think in many ways, the fact that we’ve come together is much more important than what anyone’s actually going to say at the event because the fact that we’re here together from so many different directions, from so many parts of the diversity that is London is a – sends out a message.
It sends out a very, very simple message of hope over fear, of community over division and that is immensely important. I think that you’ve done all of that and that by coming together in that way, by sending out that clear signal, you really have provided a great service to all of the communities who are asking themselves searching questions in London and across the country today.
Because let’s be clear. People who inflict such random, savage violence in the name of some entirely warped ideology or some entirely perverted concept of religion in the way that we have seen on our television screens – which has been made all the more unsettling I think, because the individuals concerned dressed, spoke, appeared to all intents and purposes like so many other young Londoners that we might come across every day of the week.
Let’s be under no illusion. What they want, of course, is to sow that corrosive seed of fear and division. What they want is for governments and the authorities to overreact in their immediate reaction. What they want is for communities to turn inwards and away from each other. What they want, in short, is to spread fear.
Fear is an extraordinarily powerful emotion and when fear takes root, all of us as individuals, we will avert our gaze from someone who we might be fearful of, who we weren’t before. We might cross the street away from an individual who we’re not so sure about. We might worry about our children and about our families in a way that we haven’t done before.
It has a very, very corrosive effect on every part of our lives and we have a choice. We have a choice to either allow that powerful corrosive feeling of fear to seep into every second and minute and hour of our lives or we can make a choice that we’re not going to change our behaviour. We’re not going to disrupt normal life. We’re going to continue our life as before. We’re going to continue to reach out to each other. We’re going to continue to look people in the eye. We’re going to continue to be the diverse community that we are, and you have made that choice by coming to this event.
London has made that choice by celebrating this kind of event and it has shown once again how unbeatable London is in the face of this attempt to sow fear, sow division and sow mutual suspicion in our community. So I want to pay genuine tribute, to each and every one of you for making that choice. It is a positive choice and is the most powerful dignified reply and rejection of what we saw and what we heard on Wednesday in Woolwich.
Finally, before I ask the Deacon and others to speak for themselves, I want to pay special tribute to those amongst you who are leaders and spokespeople of our Muslim communities. The fact that all of you who’ve spoken out so very clearly and so very cogently and so very quickly to reject it utterly. As the Prime Minister quite rightly said, what we heard from these two individuals was a total unqualified betrayal of Islam, a religion of peace was being distorted, turned upside down and inside out, perverted in the cause of an abhorrent and violent set of intentions from those individuals.
As I heard from someone in a discussion we just had earlier this morning, terrorism has no religion because there is no religious conviction that can justify the kind of arbitrary, savage, random violence that we saw on the streets of Woolwich. So thank you for speaking out as forcefully as you have done. Thank you for speaking out as clearly as you have done for a great salvation religion, for your faith, and for the communities in which you live and in which you lead.
And in that spirit I would like to simply conclude by repeating a verse from the holy Quran, verse 32, chapter five. If anyone kills a human being, it shall be as though he killed all mankind, whereas if anyone saves a life it shall be as though he saved the whole of mankind.
Thank you very much.
Nick Clegg reaction to Woolwich soldier murder
“On Wednesday, we witnessed a shocking and horrifying murder on the streets of our capital.
"The whole nation's thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.
"People across our country, whatever background they are from, will be united in condemning this attack and we will stand together, as we always do, in our response."
"The whole nation's thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.
"People across our country, whatever background they are from, will be united in condemning this attack and we will stand together, as we always do, in our response."
Nick Clegg's Speech on Governing Until 2015
One minute, a Coalition Government publishing its third Queen’s Speech: fundamentally reforming pensions; tackling longstanding problems with social care; getting to grips with immigration. Big, bold measures that will leave a lasting imprint on millions of Britons’ lives.
The next? Westminster consumed by game-playing over Europe and gay marriage; MPs disappearing into a parliamentary rabbit warren, obsessing over this new tactic or that new trick: paving legislation, enabling referendums, wrecking amendments...
Anyone watching would be forgiven for asking: what are these politicians doing?
So it’s time to get back to governing; providing the leadership and focus the people of Britain deserve in these difficult times.
This morning I want to give three simple and clear reassurances; the three things I will work flat out to deliver to keep the government and the country on track.
Reassurance number one: Coalition until 2015
First, I am absolutely committed to this Coalition lasting until 2015 – as is the Prime Minister.
At the weekend I saw some rather creative coverage of comments made by the Prime Minister about the future of the Government.
In fact, he echoed exactly what both of us have always believed:
This Coalition has been remarkably radical; it still has work to do; and the best way for us to serve and improve Britain is by finishing what we started.
To those voices who say that it will be in either, or both, parties’ interests to prematurely pull the plug: I couldn’t disagree more.
In 2010 the British people dealt us this hand. And they will not forgive either party if we call time ahead of the election that has been legislated for in 2015 – destabilising the nation in the vague hope of short-term political gain.
I know some commentators think it would be clever to duck out six months early. But that doesn’t make any sense either.
The idea that the Liberal Democrats could suddenly win back those people who have never liked us going into government with the Conservatives is nonsense. As if we could pull the wool over people’s eyes, using an early exit to somehow erase the previous four and a half years.
And, frankly, that isn’t what we want. The Liberal Democrats look forward to fighting the next election as a party of government, on our record in government, and with a distinct vision of our own for the next government – having seen this one through until the end.
Reassurance number two: our priority is the economy
Reassurance number two: from now until that election, the Coalition will remain focused on the biggest task at hand – fixing the economy.
Of course Europe and gay marriage are important. These are issues my party cares deeply about.
But Britain is facing the most profound economic challenge in living memory. And now, more than ever, we cannot allow Parliament to be clogged up by these matters simply because they cause the biggest political punch ups.
Our priorities must be people’s priorities: boosting business, creating jobs, helping with the cost of living.
On the big ticket items the Coalition parties must continue to find a way forward together. Just as we have done on cutting income tax; dealing with the deficit; creating a million new jobs; transforming the education and welfare systems; providing unprecedented guarantees – £50bn worth – for infrastructure and new homes; greening our economy; creating record numbers of apprenticeships...
And there must be no doubt that this Coalition remains united on the end we all seek:
A stronger, rebalanced economy, built on sound public finances, with opportunities spread to every corner of the UK.
Two staunch opponents, working together to find answers to the most critical questions facing Britain today, pioneering major reforms that will stand the test of time. That’s what this Coalition has always been about – and it’s what it must continue to be about.
Reassurance number three: we will remain anchored in the centre
Lastly, reassurance number three: this Government will not vacate the centre ground.
There’s a mistaken idea, shared by both the Labour leadership and some in the Conservative party, that they decide what people care about in Britain today. The idea you can take a big marker pen and draw the centre ground wherever it’s ideologically convenient for you.
Ed Miliband thinks he can nudge the country to the left, luring people over with unfunded spending promises: more borrowing, bigger budgets, a risk-free, pain-free end to austerity.
Some Conservatives insist the centre of gravity has swung the other way. They seize on people’s reasonable concerns over things like immigration and welfare as proof the nation has shifted to the right.
Yet in reality millions of people across Britain continue to shun the extremes of left and right.
They want a stronger economy – but they also want a fairer society; not one or the other, both.
They want us to maintain stability by taking responsibility for our debts – but with the burden spread fairly.
These are the people who get angry when they see abuse of the benefits system – but they are still proud that their country provides help to the vulnerable, the sick and the poor.
They don’t believe it’s right when illegal immigrants get a free ride – but they still value the benefits that immigration has bought to the UK.
They emphatically agree that we should cut red tape to help business – but not at the expense of workers' rights.
They want more choice in our public services – but could never support privatising the NHS or profit-making in schools.
They think gay people should be treated as equal with straight people, and so able to get married – but they wouldn’t condone forcing a church to conduct those ceremonies against its will.
In the 21st Century, Britain’s centre ground is modern; balanced; inclusive.
It doesn’t face left; it doesn’t face right; it faces forward.
And if you stand in the centre ground, rest assured: so long as I am Deputy Prime Minister this Coalition will not walk away from you.
Not plain-sailing
Coalition until 2015. Cleaning up the mess in the economy Labour left us. Anchored in the centre ground. Exactly as we set out in May 2010.
It won’t all be plain-sailing.
Some of the most divisive issues – like the UK’s role in Europe – are not going to go away.
We also have to be realistic about the other challenges that come with the later stages of Coalition. As we head towards the election there will be increasing pressure on David Cameron and myself to act as party leaders as much as PM and DPM: pressure to put party before nation. And I don’t pretend I won’t relish the moment I can hit the campaign trail on behalf of the Liberal Democrats in the run up to the General Election.
But here’s the bigger truth: whether you are the larger or smaller party, the fact is governing together in the public interest carries a cost. Making compromises; doing things you find uncomfortable; challenging some of your traditional support – these are the dilemmas the Conservatives are coming to terms with, just as my party has had to.
The next two years will not be without their hurdles and no doubt there will be disagreements between the Coalition parties along the way. Let’s be clear: sincere policy debates and ideological differences are, and will continue to be, a part of coalition.
But the parliamentary game playing we’ve seen over the last few weeks discredits the importance of these issues, and it’s an unwelcome distraction.
Our parties made a commitment to the people of Britain: we promised to govern responsibly and to stay focused on the issues that matter most.
That has not changed. It will not change. And I am more determined than ever that we finish what we started.
The next? Westminster consumed by game-playing over Europe and gay marriage; MPs disappearing into a parliamentary rabbit warren, obsessing over this new tactic or that new trick: paving legislation, enabling referendums, wrecking amendments...
Anyone watching would be forgiven for asking: what are these politicians doing?
So it’s time to get back to governing; providing the leadership and focus the people of Britain deserve in these difficult times.
This morning I want to give three simple and clear reassurances; the three things I will work flat out to deliver to keep the government and the country on track.
Reassurance number one: Coalition until 2015
First, I am absolutely committed to this Coalition lasting until 2015 – as is the Prime Minister.
At the weekend I saw some rather creative coverage of comments made by the Prime Minister about the future of the Government.
In fact, he echoed exactly what both of us have always believed:
This Coalition has been remarkably radical; it still has work to do; and the best way for us to serve and improve Britain is by finishing what we started.
To those voices who say that it will be in either, or both, parties’ interests to prematurely pull the plug: I couldn’t disagree more.
In 2010 the British people dealt us this hand. And they will not forgive either party if we call time ahead of the election that has been legislated for in 2015 – destabilising the nation in the vague hope of short-term political gain.
I know some commentators think it would be clever to duck out six months early. But that doesn’t make any sense either.
The idea that the Liberal Democrats could suddenly win back those people who have never liked us going into government with the Conservatives is nonsense. As if we could pull the wool over people’s eyes, using an early exit to somehow erase the previous four and a half years.
And, frankly, that isn’t what we want. The Liberal Democrats look forward to fighting the next election as a party of government, on our record in government, and with a distinct vision of our own for the next government – having seen this one through until the end.
Reassurance number two: our priority is the economy
Reassurance number two: from now until that election, the Coalition will remain focused on the biggest task at hand – fixing the economy.
Of course Europe and gay marriage are important. These are issues my party cares deeply about.
But Britain is facing the most profound economic challenge in living memory. And now, more than ever, we cannot allow Parliament to be clogged up by these matters simply because they cause the biggest political punch ups.
Our priorities must be people’s priorities: boosting business, creating jobs, helping with the cost of living.
On the big ticket items the Coalition parties must continue to find a way forward together. Just as we have done on cutting income tax; dealing with the deficit; creating a million new jobs; transforming the education and welfare systems; providing unprecedented guarantees – £50bn worth – for infrastructure and new homes; greening our economy; creating record numbers of apprenticeships...
And there must be no doubt that this Coalition remains united on the end we all seek:
A stronger, rebalanced economy, built on sound public finances, with opportunities spread to every corner of the UK.
Two staunch opponents, working together to find answers to the most critical questions facing Britain today, pioneering major reforms that will stand the test of time. That’s what this Coalition has always been about – and it’s what it must continue to be about.
Reassurance number three: we will remain anchored in the centre
Lastly, reassurance number three: this Government will not vacate the centre ground.
There’s a mistaken idea, shared by both the Labour leadership and some in the Conservative party, that they decide what people care about in Britain today. The idea you can take a big marker pen and draw the centre ground wherever it’s ideologically convenient for you.
Ed Miliband thinks he can nudge the country to the left, luring people over with unfunded spending promises: more borrowing, bigger budgets, a risk-free, pain-free end to austerity.
Some Conservatives insist the centre of gravity has swung the other way. They seize on people’s reasonable concerns over things like immigration and welfare as proof the nation has shifted to the right.
Yet in reality millions of people across Britain continue to shun the extremes of left and right.
They want a stronger economy – but they also want a fairer society; not one or the other, both.
They want us to maintain stability by taking responsibility for our debts – but with the burden spread fairly.
These are the people who get angry when they see abuse of the benefits system – but they are still proud that their country provides help to the vulnerable, the sick and the poor.
They don’t believe it’s right when illegal immigrants get a free ride – but they still value the benefits that immigration has bought to the UK.
They emphatically agree that we should cut red tape to help business – but not at the expense of workers' rights.
They want more choice in our public services – but could never support privatising the NHS or profit-making in schools.
They think gay people should be treated as equal with straight people, and so able to get married – but they wouldn’t condone forcing a church to conduct those ceremonies against its will.
In the 21st Century, Britain’s centre ground is modern; balanced; inclusive.
It doesn’t face left; it doesn’t face right; it faces forward.
And if you stand in the centre ground, rest assured: so long as I am Deputy Prime Minister this Coalition will not walk away from you.
Not plain-sailing
Coalition until 2015. Cleaning up the mess in the economy Labour left us. Anchored in the centre ground. Exactly as we set out in May 2010.
It won’t all be plain-sailing.
Some of the most divisive issues – like the UK’s role in Europe – are not going to go away.
We also have to be realistic about the other challenges that come with the later stages of Coalition. As we head towards the election there will be increasing pressure on David Cameron and myself to act as party leaders as much as PM and DPM: pressure to put party before nation. And I don’t pretend I won’t relish the moment I can hit the campaign trail on behalf of the Liberal Democrats in the run up to the General Election.
But here’s the bigger truth: whether you are the larger or smaller party, the fact is governing together in the public interest carries a cost. Making compromises; doing things you find uncomfortable; challenging some of your traditional support – these are the dilemmas the Conservatives are coming to terms with, just as my party has had to.
The next two years will not be without their hurdles and no doubt there will be disagreements between the Coalition parties along the way. Let’s be clear: sincere policy debates and ideological differences are, and will continue to be, a part of coalition.
But the parliamentary game playing we’ve seen over the last few weeks discredits the importance of these issues, and it’s an unwelcome distraction.
Our parties made a commitment to the people of Britain: we promised to govern responsibly and to stay focused on the issues that matter most.
That has not changed. It will not change. And I am more determined than ever that we finish what we started.
Extracts of Nick Clegg's Speech on Governing Until 2015
One minute, a Coalition Government publishing its third Queen’s Speech: fundamentally reforming pensions; tackling longstanding problems with social care; getting to grips with immigration. Big, bold measures that will leave a lasting imprint on millions of Britons’ lives.
The next? Westminster consumed by game-playing over Europe and gay marriage; MPs disappearing into a parliamentary rabbit warren, obsessing over this new tactic or that new trick: paving legislation, enabling referendums, wrecking amendments...
Anyone watching would be forgiven for asking: what are these politicians doing?
So it’s time to get back to governing; providing the leadership and focus the people of Britain deserve in these difficult times.
This morning I want to give three simple and clear reassurances; the three things I will work flat out to deliver to keep the government and the country on track.
Reassurance number one: Coalition until 2015
First, I am absolutely committed to this Coalition lasting until 2015 – as is the Prime Minister.
At the weekend I saw some rather creative coverage of comments made by the Prime Minister about the future of the Government.
In fact, he echoed exactly what both of us have always believed:
This Coalition has been remarkably radical; it still has work to do; and the best way for us to serve and improve Britain is by finishing what we started.
To those voices who say that it will be in either, or both, parties’ interests to prematurely pull the plug: I couldn’t disagree more.
In 2010 the British people dealt us this hand. And they will not forgive either party if we call time ahead of the election that has been legislated for in 2015 – destabilising the nation in the vague hope of short-term political gain.
I know some commentators think it would be clever to duck out six months early. But that doesn’t make any sense either.
The idea that the Liberal Democrats could suddenly win back those people who have never liked us going into government with the Conservatives is nonsense. As if we could pull the wool over people’s eyes, using an early exit to somehow erase the previous four and a half years.
And, frankly, that isn’t what we want. The Liberal Democrats look forward to fighting the next election as a party of government, on our record in government, and with a distinct vision of our own for the next government – having seen this one through until the end.
Reassurance number two: our priority is the economy
Reassurance number two: from now until that election, the Coalition will remain focused on the biggest task at hand – fixing the economy.
Of course Europe and gay marriage are important. These are issues my party cares deeply about.
But Britain is facing the most profound economic challenge in living memory. And now, more than ever, we cannot allow Parliament to be clogged up by these matters simply because they cause the biggest political punch ups.
Our priorities must be people’s priorities: boosting business, creating jobs, helping with the cost of living.
On the big ticket items the Coalition parties must continue to find a way forward together. Just as we have done on cutting income tax; dealing with the deficit; creating a million new jobs; transforming the education and welfare systems; providing unprecedented guarantees – £50bn worth – for infrastructure and new homes; greening our economy; creating record numbers of apprenticeships...
And there must be no doubt that this Coalition remains united on the end we all seek:
A stronger, rebalanced economy, built on sound public finances, with opportunities spread to every corner of the UK.
Two staunch opponents, working together to find answers to the most critical questions facing Britain today, pioneering major reforms that will stand the test of time. That’s what this Coalition has always been about – and it’s what it must continue to be about.
Reassurance number three: we will remain anchored in the centre
Lastly, reassurance number three: this Government will not vacate the centre ground.
There’s a mistaken idea, shared by both the Labour leadership and some in the Conservative party, that they decide what people care about in Britain today. The idea you can take a big marker pen and draw the centre ground wherever it’s ideologically convenient for you.
Ed Miliband thinks he can nudge the country to the left, luring people over with unfunded spending promises: more borrowing, bigger budgets, a risk-free, pain-free end to austerity.
Some Conservatives insist the centre of gravity has swung the other way. They seize on people’s reasonable concerns over things like immigration and welfare as proof the nation has shifted to the right.
Yet in reality millions of people across Britain continue to shun the extremes of left and right.
They want a stronger economy – but they also want a fairer society; not one or the other, both.
They want us to maintain stability by taking responsibility for our debts – but with the burden spread fairly.
These are the people who get angry when they see abuse of the benefits system – but they are still proud that their country provides help to the vulnerable, the sick and the poor.
They don’t believe it’s right when illegal immigrants get a free ride – but they still value the benefits that immigration has bought to the UK.
They emphatically agree that we should cut red tape to help business – but not at the expense of workers' rights.
They want more choice in our public services – but could never support privatising the NHS or profit-making in schools.
They think gay people should be treated as equal with straight people, and so able to get married – but they wouldn’t condone forcing a church to conduct those ceremonies against its will.
In the 21st Century, Britain’s centre ground is modern; balanced; inclusive.
It doesn’t face left; it doesn’t face right; it faces forward.
And if you stand in the centre ground, rest assured: so long as I am Deputy Prime Minister this Coalition will not walk away from you.
Not plain-sailing
Coalition until 2015. Cleaning up the mess in the economy Labour left us. Anchored in the centre ground. Exactly as we set out in May 2010.
It won’t all be plain-sailing.
Some of the most divisive issues – like the UK’s role in Europe – are not going to go away.
We also have to be realistic about the other challenges that come with the later stages of Coalition. As we head towards the election there will be increasing pressure on David Cameron and myself to act as party leaders as much as PM and DPM: pressure to put party before nation. And I don’t pretend I won’t relish the moment I can hit the campaign trail on behalf of the Liberal Democrats in the run up to the General Election.
But here’s the bigger truth: whether you are the larger or smaller party, the fact is governing together in the public interest carries a cost. Making compromises; doing things you find uncomfortable; challenging some of your traditional support – these are the dilemmas the Conservatives are coming to terms with, just as my party has had to.
The next two years will not be without their hurdles and no doubt there will be disagreements between the Coalition parties along the way. Let’s be clear: sincere policy debates and ideological differences are, and will continue to be, a part of coalition.
But the parliamentary game playing we’ve seen over the last few weeks discredits the importance of these issues, and it’s an unwelcome distraction.
Our parties made a commitment to the people of Britain: we promised to govern responsibly and to stay focused on the issues that matter most.
That has not changed. It will not change. And I am more determined than ever that we finish what we started.
The next? Westminster consumed by game-playing over Europe and gay marriage; MPs disappearing into a parliamentary rabbit warren, obsessing over this new tactic or that new trick: paving legislation, enabling referendums, wrecking amendments...
Anyone watching would be forgiven for asking: what are these politicians doing?
So it’s time to get back to governing; providing the leadership and focus the people of Britain deserve in these difficult times.
This morning I want to give three simple and clear reassurances; the three things I will work flat out to deliver to keep the government and the country on track.
Reassurance number one: Coalition until 2015
First, I am absolutely committed to this Coalition lasting until 2015 – as is the Prime Minister.
At the weekend I saw some rather creative coverage of comments made by the Prime Minister about the future of the Government.
In fact, he echoed exactly what both of us have always believed:
This Coalition has been remarkably radical; it still has work to do; and the best way for us to serve and improve Britain is by finishing what we started.
To those voices who say that it will be in either, or both, parties’ interests to prematurely pull the plug: I couldn’t disagree more.
In 2010 the British people dealt us this hand. And they will not forgive either party if we call time ahead of the election that has been legislated for in 2015 – destabilising the nation in the vague hope of short-term political gain.
I know some commentators think it would be clever to duck out six months early. But that doesn’t make any sense either.
The idea that the Liberal Democrats could suddenly win back those people who have never liked us going into government with the Conservatives is nonsense. As if we could pull the wool over people’s eyes, using an early exit to somehow erase the previous four and a half years.
And, frankly, that isn’t what we want. The Liberal Democrats look forward to fighting the next election as a party of government, on our record in government, and with a distinct vision of our own for the next government – having seen this one through until the end.
Reassurance number two: our priority is the economy
Reassurance number two: from now until that election, the Coalition will remain focused on the biggest task at hand – fixing the economy.
Of course Europe and gay marriage are important. These are issues my party cares deeply about.
But Britain is facing the most profound economic challenge in living memory. And now, more than ever, we cannot allow Parliament to be clogged up by these matters simply because they cause the biggest political punch ups.
Our priorities must be people’s priorities: boosting business, creating jobs, helping with the cost of living.
On the big ticket items the Coalition parties must continue to find a way forward together. Just as we have done on cutting income tax; dealing with the deficit; creating a million new jobs; transforming the education and welfare systems; providing unprecedented guarantees – £50bn worth – for infrastructure and new homes; greening our economy; creating record numbers of apprenticeships...
And there must be no doubt that this Coalition remains united on the end we all seek:
A stronger, rebalanced economy, built on sound public finances, with opportunities spread to every corner of the UK.
Two staunch opponents, working together to find answers to the most critical questions facing Britain today, pioneering major reforms that will stand the test of time. That’s what this Coalition has always been about – and it’s what it must continue to be about.
Reassurance number three: we will remain anchored in the centre
Lastly, reassurance number three: this Government will not vacate the centre ground.
There’s a mistaken idea, shared by both the Labour leadership and some in the Conservative party, that they decide what people care about in Britain today. The idea you can take a big marker pen and draw the centre ground wherever it’s ideologically convenient for you.
Ed Miliband thinks he can nudge the country to the left, luring people over with unfunded spending promises: more borrowing, bigger budgets, a risk-free, pain-free end to austerity.
Some Conservatives insist the centre of gravity has swung the other way. They seize on people’s reasonable concerns over things like immigration and welfare as proof the nation has shifted to the right.
Yet in reality millions of people across Britain continue to shun the extremes of left and right.
They want a stronger economy – but they also want a fairer society; not one or the other, both.
They want us to maintain stability by taking responsibility for our debts – but with the burden spread fairly.
These are the people who get angry when they see abuse of the benefits system – but they are still proud that their country provides help to the vulnerable, the sick and the poor.
They don’t believe it’s right when illegal immigrants get a free ride – but they still value the benefits that immigration has bought to the UK.
They emphatically agree that we should cut red tape to help business – but not at the expense of workers' rights.
They want more choice in our public services – but could never support privatising the NHS or profit-making in schools.
They think gay people should be treated as equal with straight people, and so able to get married – but they wouldn’t condone forcing a church to conduct those ceremonies against its will.
In the 21st Century, Britain’s centre ground is modern; balanced; inclusive.
It doesn’t face left; it doesn’t face right; it faces forward.
And if you stand in the centre ground, rest assured: so long as I am Deputy Prime Minister this Coalition will not walk away from you.
Not plain-sailing
Coalition until 2015. Cleaning up the mess in the economy Labour left us. Anchored in the centre ground. Exactly as we set out in May 2010.
It won’t all be plain-sailing.
Some of the most divisive issues – like the UK’s role in Europe – are not going to go away.
We also have to be realistic about the other challenges that come with the later stages of Coalition. As we head towards the election there will be increasing pressure on David Cameron and myself to act as party leaders as much as PM and DPM: pressure to put party before nation. And I don’t pretend I won’t relish the moment I can hit the campaign trail on behalf of the Liberal Democrats in the run up to the General Election.
But here’s the bigger truth: whether you are the larger or smaller party, the fact is governing together in the public interest carries a cost. Making compromises; doing things you find uncomfortable; challenging some of your traditional support – these are the dilemmas the Conservatives are coming to terms with, just as my party has had to.
The next two years will not be without their hurdles and no doubt there will be disagreements between the Coalition parties along the way. Let’s be clear: sincere policy debates and ideological differences are, and will continue to be, a part of coalition.
But the parliamentary game playing we’ve seen over the last few weeks discredits the importance of these issues, and it’s an unwelcome distraction.
Our parties made a commitment to the people of Britain: we promised to govern responsibly and to stay focused on the issues that matter most.
That has not changed. It will not change. And I am more determined than ever that we finish what we started.
Nick Clegg’s Speech: The Rehabilitation Revolution
Almost ten years ago, I started my career on the Liberal Democrat Frontbench as Home Affairs’ Spokesman. Back then I argued that what was needed to reduce crime was simply a focus from Government on firm, practical solutions that addressed the root causes of crime and that were proven to work.
It’s a view I’ve retained. And an approach the Liberal Democrats have pursued in Coalition Government. Because ensuring people are free from crime and free from the fear of crime is essential to the foundation of any liberal society. And it’s why tackling crime effectively is central to our party’s vision of a Britain where everyone can get on in life.
Free From Crime, Free From The Fear of Crime:
Old or young, rich or poor, you are not free to live your life, realise your ambitions, or hope for the future, if you are scared of what lies just beyond your front door.
The populist rhetoric of the last Government played up public fears and promised to tackle the root causes of crime. But what actually happened, they implemented more often than not heavy-handed measures designed to chase headlines: policies that sought to restrict the freedom of criminals by taking away the civil liberties of innocent citizens.
Unprecedented expansion of state surveillance, a wasteful ID cards’ programme and the inclusion of innocent people on the DNA database - these policies reinforced the views of both commentators on the Right, who argue we’re a nation stuck in a spiral of moral decline, and those on the Left, who believe we’re in a state of irreversible social decline.
Liberalism Is The Solution, Not The Problem:
But, this pessimistic vision of Britain ignores just how far we’ve come as a country and how much things have changed for the better. Most importantly, they deny a brighter future for our children – a younger generation, which government data shows, is actually less likely to take drugs, drink or smoke.
In fact, I would argue that it is the more liberal, more tolerant and less violent society – in which we live now – which has provided us with the right conditions for a substantial and sustainable fall in crime
When I was growing up, images of communities torn apart by riots, football games destroyed by hooligans and violent clashes between police and striking unions routinely dominated the news. These images are largely consigned to the past.
Now...of course there are exceptions. The senseless riots in 2011 were a powerful reminder of just how vital our work together – the Government, the police and the public – is to make our communities safer.
But our country is far less accepting of such violence. We are more ready to challenge racism, sexism and homophobia.
And we remain fully committed to tackling crimes such as domestic violence, or other abuses that happen behind closed doors.
For example, last year I launched the government’s Teen Rape Prevention campaign. We have a long way to go, but action like this is hugely important in making sure that young people everywhere understand that sexual abuse isn’t something that happens in a dark alley, but can be something that happens in your own home, perpetrated by someone you thought you could trust.
This Government has been committed to tackling these hidden crimes. We have introduced legislation to criminalise forced marriage, introduced new laws against stalking and the Home Secretary is leading important work into the dreadful cases of sexual abuse against young people who are vulnerable and need protecting, including those in care.
But while this crucial work continues, it is important that we recognise that, given more freedom and given more choice, the vast majority of us are exercising it more responsibly. And we’re doing so at a time of tough economic conditions.
Greater liberty, in other words, has not frayed the fabric of society. It has brought us closer together as a society and has brought a long-term fall in crime.
Fall in Crime:
Under this Government, crime is at its lowest levels since independent records began. That’s fewer homes burgled and possessions stolen. Fewer communities blighted by vandalism. And fewer people hurt, or killed in violent attacks.
This continuing fall in crime is one of the biggest untold success stories of this Coalition.
Lots of people predicted that in tough economic conditions, crime would go up, as it has done in the past. But it hasn’t and we should be proud of that fact. It has been achieved without excessive bureaucracy or increasing intrusion.
We have done this by focusing, quite simply, on what works.
Freeing the Police to Cut Crime:
And much of that is down to the work of the police. In a time of economic austerity, where every public service is having to take its share of cuts, the police have stayed focused on cutting crime and they have succeeded.
Every police officer, every PCSO, should be extremely proud that, on their watch, crime has dropped.
Even as they have faced difficult decisions on police budgets and the pay and pensions provided to police officers. And they have done this with professionalism, with care and by developing relationships with their local communities that last.
By ending the target-driven culture of form filling and red-tape, the Coalition Government has ensured officers are free to do what works.
And it’s an approach that has delivered results: ensuring that England and Wales are now safer than at any time since independent records began.
Empowering Communities & Victims:
We are also empowering communities to take control of the problems in their own areas.
Take restorative justice. An approach championed by local Liberal Democrat Councils taking tough, but practical solutions that actually work in bringing down crime.
Now we’re in government, we’re introducing Neighbourhood Justice Panels in 15 places across the country. They help victims deal with crime in a way that benefits their community and makes the offender face up to the wrong they have done.
We’re also empowering the public to trigger action from the police and their local partners on persistent anti-social behaviour.
And we’ve ensured that sentences in the community are a genuine and tough alternative to custody, where locking someone up isn’t the best solution.
By making more offenders perform unpaid work in the community, we will make sure that they pay back to their community, while also being rehabilitated through meaningful activity that teaches discipline and hard work.
And through restorative justice, these offenders can make a real difference to a victim’s ability to cope and recover from the damage that they themselves have suffered.
Doing What Works:
Of course, community approaches are not suitable for every crime. And when your house is burgled, or your car stolen, it doesn’t feel like crime is falling. If you’re attacked, or abused, society doesn’t feel that safe.
So sometimes prison is the right option and those who commit serious offences should serve their sentence behind bars.
But the story shouldn’t end when the cell door slams shut. Prisoners’ time behind bars must be used to change behaviour for good, not just take someone off the streets for a while. A lesson must be learnt. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
Every year, reoffending costs our economy around £10 billion. Almost half of those leaving prison are reconvicted within a year.
Considering that the cost of sending a criminal to prison is more than it costs to go to Eton, we need a better return on our investment.
For years, the Liberal Democrats have argued that you only truly break the cycle of crime when you cut reoffending. That is why in Government, we’ve been determined to reduce both its economic and social costs.
And as their current Shadow Justice Secretary admitted himself, this is where Labour got it so wrong.
The last Government talked tough on crime, but appeared to believe that a ballooning prison population was a good thing.
So be tough on crime, sure. Be tough on the causes of crime, yes. But none of it matters unless you are also tough on breaking the cycle of crime. As a society, we want a justice system that punishes people where it must, but also seeks to change people where it can.
For me, criminal justice policy should not be ideological, but pragmatic. It should have a relentless focus on what works. So this Government is using our investment more wisely - to ensure our prison and probation services are equipped to produce better citizens, not better criminals.
We know that those on short sentences are most likely to reoffend and yet shockingly they are the ones who have, until now, received almost no rehabilitation, or support. That is why the Coalition Government is driving a rehabilitation revolution. It’s a programme of legislation and innovative public service delivery that will transform the way offenders are dealt with once they leave prison and address persistent reoffending.
It is a radical, but practical approach that has the potential – in my view - to leave a bigger, more lasting imprint on British society than almost anything else that the Coalition Government might achieve. And I’m proud of the changes we’re implementing now and our plans for the future.
A Never-Ending Cycle:
Imagine a young 21 year old offender released from a 6 month prison sentence for burglary today.
He’s been brought up in care. Since leaving there at 18, he’s not had a permanent place to live. In and out of trouble, he’s not found much in the way of work. He can’t read, or write well so he’s struggled to get a job. He also suffers from mental health issues and drug problems that are influencing his actions and have intensified in prison.
And just in case you think I’m relying on lazy stereotypes here, let me spell out what the statistics themselves say. Only around a third of prisoners are in work a month before custody. Fifteen percent of them are homeless. And it is estimated that around a quarter of offenders suffer from anxiety and depression. While 81% of them have used illegal drugs before entering prison.
Today, that young offender would leave prison with 46 pounds in his pocket and not much else. There would probably be no-one to meet him outside and nowhere for him to go.
If he’s lucky, he’ll find a temporary bed on a friend’s sofa. If not, he’ll end up homeless. And within days he could end up back in the Criminal Justice System after breaking into another house; stood in front of a custody sergeant, who probably already knows his name.
People tell him to get a job. But he doesn’t know how. And he has nowhere to live. Nobody will give him a chance. And the only people he can rely on, of course, are the ones that got him into this mess in the first place.
That has to change. Because it is the victims of crime and the wider public that reoffending impacts the most. Whether that’s because they are directly hurt by re-offenders’ crimes, or because they read about what’s happening and think it says everything they need to know about modern Britain.
A Rehabilitation Revolution:
This destructive cycle of crime is what we are working to break. If we are going to do all we can for the victims of crime and our communities, we can’t allow this problem to go unsolved. Our Offender Rehabilitation Bill receives its Second Reading in Parliament today.
It brings forward for the first time a mandatory requirement for the most prevalent re-offenders – those serving sentences of 12 months or less – to undergo a targeted programme of support on release to help them turn their lives around.
Because we know that the majority of those sentenced to prison are sent there for 12 months or less. And that of those almost 60% of them reoffend on release.
This will have a significant impact on women offenders also. Proportionally, more women than men are serving short-term prison sentences. Many of these women have complex needs. For example, they are more likely to have mental health problems than male prisoners, more likely to have reported experiencing some sort of childhood abuse. And they are more likely to be the primary carer for children. This Government is determined that these reforms will help women prisoners too.
Change will start in the police station and courts with experts on hand to identify whether a mental health or drug problem could be one of the main drivers behind this young offender’s behaviour. So he can be dealt with in a way that is appropriate for his illness and crime.
Following conviction, for example, he could be sent to a drug recovery wing in prison to help him get through withdrawal and the most intense, early stages of recovery.
Work in Prison:
The changes will continue in prison. We are putting more and more offenders like him to work in prison every year: making sure he doesn’t lie idle in his bed. That he is paying back to society and learning the pride and value that comes from a hard day’s work. What’s more, the money he earns from the work he does will go into a compensation fund for victims.
Alongside action to improve prisoners’ core skills, this will ensure that a young offender can get experience to help him find work outside the prison walls. And employers like Timpsons, Network Rail and the National Grid are already going into prisons and training prisoners in skills that can translate into real-life employment.
We’ve already increased the work hours of prisoners by over 800,000 hours last year.
And we want to get more businesses involved in these schemes as well as find more commercial work for prisoners to do, without undercutting local businesses.
Beyond the Prison Gates:
But the real change comes when our offender is released. A few weeks before he leaves, he will start working with a new provider organisation to organise and plan for his resettlement beyond the prison gates.
If possible, the young offender would have been sent to a prison close to his local community. So that any positive, personal ties that he did have - with family, or friends – could be maintained. If that can’t happen, we would then aim to relocate him closer to home towards the end of his sentence.
In prison, he’d work with the service provider to develop a programme of tailored support that fits his needs.
This could mean getting him a place on a basic skills course at the local college, or finding him somewhere to live.
They’ll ensure that from day one - if he is claiming JobSeekers allowance on release - he has a place on the Government’s work programme, with access to information and training that will help him get a job.
If required, they could also organise additional drugs treatment and testing to help him stay clean.
Most importantly, when he gets out there will be someone there to meet him. A mentor - someone experienced, potentially someone whose been an offender themselves and knows what it takes to build a life free of crime outside – who can help this young man through advice and support stay on the straight and narrow in that critical first year after release.
We are already seeing some positive results. For example, in Peterborough Prison where older, longer serving prisoners are actively mentoring those serving shorter-sentences. Given their experiences, these mentors are proving to be some of the most effective people to convince those who’ve made a mistake not to repeat it over and over again.
We’re not ideological about this approach.
What we want to see is something that takes and builds on the best from the public sector, the best from the private sector and the best from the voluntary sector to break the cycle of crime for good.
That is why we are reorganising the Probation Service, so that the public, voluntary and private sectors can work more flexibly and effectively side by side.
We want to extend the good work that is taking place all over the country, including right here. And we want to ensure that all of those with a strong track record in this area – including smaller regional rehabilitation charities, social enterprises or entrepreneurial staff from Probation Trusts interested in starting an employee mutual to bid for work – are able to get involved
That is why I’m pleased to announce today a package of tailored support to help fledgling mutuals and smaller rehabilitation organisations bid for contracts.
This includes access to around £7 million worth of funds to help these groups bid and support their work in communities. This is addition to the £10 million mutuals support programme, which is open to probation staff.
We are also making available to these groups valuable financial tools, legal advice, coaching and training and a network of peers and expert contacts to help take them through the bidding process.
We are serious about getting those who know what they are doing involved in our rehabilitation revolution.
Conclusion:
So in conclusion, let me be clear, I am wholly committed to that Rehabilitation Revolution. And we are putting in place the legislation, innovative policies and providers to deliver solutions that work. That will tackle, for the first time ever on a mandatory basis, the complex issues and drivers behind the persistent problem of reoffending.
And provide the support needed to fundamentally change the lives of those released from prison.
As a society, I believe, we’re more progressive and we’re more liberal. These are the best conditions in which to cut crime. A society, in which the Government and public can bring about the necessary changes that will ensure a future, where more people are free from crime and the fear of crime: in short - a stronger, a fairer Britain.
Thank you very much.
It’s a view I’ve retained. And an approach the Liberal Democrats have pursued in Coalition Government. Because ensuring people are free from crime and free from the fear of crime is essential to the foundation of any liberal society. And it’s why tackling crime effectively is central to our party’s vision of a Britain where everyone can get on in life.
Free From Crime, Free From The Fear of Crime:
Old or young, rich or poor, you are not free to live your life, realise your ambitions, or hope for the future, if you are scared of what lies just beyond your front door.
The populist rhetoric of the last Government played up public fears and promised to tackle the root causes of crime. But what actually happened, they implemented more often than not heavy-handed measures designed to chase headlines: policies that sought to restrict the freedom of criminals by taking away the civil liberties of innocent citizens.
Unprecedented expansion of state surveillance, a wasteful ID cards’ programme and the inclusion of innocent people on the DNA database - these policies reinforced the views of both commentators on the Right, who argue we’re a nation stuck in a spiral of moral decline, and those on the Left, who believe we’re in a state of irreversible social decline.
Liberalism Is The Solution, Not The Problem:
But, this pessimistic vision of Britain ignores just how far we’ve come as a country and how much things have changed for the better. Most importantly, they deny a brighter future for our children – a younger generation, which government data shows, is actually less likely to take drugs, drink or smoke.
In fact, I would argue that it is the more liberal, more tolerant and less violent society – in which we live now – which has provided us with the right conditions for a substantial and sustainable fall in crime
When I was growing up, images of communities torn apart by riots, football games destroyed by hooligans and violent clashes between police and striking unions routinely dominated the news. These images are largely consigned to the past.
Now...of course there are exceptions. The senseless riots in 2011 were a powerful reminder of just how vital our work together – the Government, the police and the public – is to make our communities safer.
But our country is far less accepting of such violence. We are more ready to challenge racism, sexism and homophobia.
And we remain fully committed to tackling crimes such as domestic violence, or other abuses that happen behind closed doors.
For example, last year I launched the government’s Teen Rape Prevention campaign. We have a long way to go, but action like this is hugely important in making sure that young people everywhere understand that sexual abuse isn’t something that happens in a dark alley, but can be something that happens in your own home, perpetrated by someone you thought you could trust.
This Government has been committed to tackling these hidden crimes. We have introduced legislation to criminalise forced marriage, introduced new laws against stalking and the Home Secretary is leading important work into the dreadful cases of sexual abuse against young people who are vulnerable and need protecting, including those in care.
But while this crucial work continues, it is important that we recognise that, given more freedom and given more choice, the vast majority of us are exercising it more responsibly. And we’re doing so at a time of tough economic conditions.
Greater liberty, in other words, has not frayed the fabric of society. It has brought us closer together as a society and has brought a long-term fall in crime.
Fall in Crime:
Under this Government, crime is at its lowest levels since independent records began. That’s fewer homes burgled and possessions stolen. Fewer communities blighted by vandalism. And fewer people hurt, or killed in violent attacks.
This continuing fall in crime is one of the biggest untold success stories of this Coalition.
Lots of people predicted that in tough economic conditions, crime would go up, as it has done in the past. But it hasn’t and we should be proud of that fact. It has been achieved without excessive bureaucracy or increasing intrusion.
We have done this by focusing, quite simply, on what works.
Freeing the Police to Cut Crime:
And much of that is down to the work of the police. In a time of economic austerity, where every public service is having to take its share of cuts, the police have stayed focused on cutting crime and they have succeeded.
Every police officer, every PCSO, should be extremely proud that, on their watch, crime has dropped.
Even as they have faced difficult decisions on police budgets and the pay and pensions provided to police officers. And they have done this with professionalism, with care and by developing relationships with their local communities that last.
By ending the target-driven culture of form filling and red-tape, the Coalition Government has ensured officers are free to do what works.
And it’s an approach that has delivered results: ensuring that England and Wales are now safer than at any time since independent records began.
Empowering Communities & Victims:
We are also empowering communities to take control of the problems in their own areas.
Take restorative justice. An approach championed by local Liberal Democrat Councils taking tough, but practical solutions that actually work in bringing down crime.
Now we’re in government, we’re introducing Neighbourhood Justice Panels in 15 places across the country. They help victims deal with crime in a way that benefits their community and makes the offender face up to the wrong they have done.
We’re also empowering the public to trigger action from the police and their local partners on persistent anti-social behaviour.
And we’ve ensured that sentences in the community are a genuine and tough alternative to custody, where locking someone up isn’t the best solution.
By making more offenders perform unpaid work in the community, we will make sure that they pay back to their community, while also being rehabilitated through meaningful activity that teaches discipline and hard work.
And through restorative justice, these offenders can make a real difference to a victim’s ability to cope and recover from the damage that they themselves have suffered.
Doing What Works:
Of course, community approaches are not suitable for every crime. And when your house is burgled, or your car stolen, it doesn’t feel like crime is falling. If you’re attacked, or abused, society doesn’t feel that safe.
So sometimes prison is the right option and those who commit serious offences should serve their sentence behind bars.
But the story shouldn’t end when the cell door slams shut. Prisoners’ time behind bars must be used to change behaviour for good, not just take someone off the streets for a while. A lesson must be learnt. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
Every year, reoffending costs our economy around £10 billion. Almost half of those leaving prison are reconvicted within a year.
Considering that the cost of sending a criminal to prison is more than it costs to go to Eton, we need a better return on our investment.
For years, the Liberal Democrats have argued that you only truly break the cycle of crime when you cut reoffending. That is why in Government, we’ve been determined to reduce both its economic and social costs.
And as their current Shadow Justice Secretary admitted himself, this is where Labour got it so wrong.
The last Government talked tough on crime, but appeared to believe that a ballooning prison population was a good thing.
So be tough on crime, sure. Be tough on the causes of crime, yes. But none of it matters unless you are also tough on breaking the cycle of crime. As a society, we want a justice system that punishes people where it must, but also seeks to change people where it can.
For me, criminal justice policy should not be ideological, but pragmatic. It should have a relentless focus on what works. So this Government is using our investment more wisely - to ensure our prison and probation services are equipped to produce better citizens, not better criminals.
We know that those on short sentences are most likely to reoffend and yet shockingly they are the ones who have, until now, received almost no rehabilitation, or support. That is why the Coalition Government is driving a rehabilitation revolution. It’s a programme of legislation and innovative public service delivery that will transform the way offenders are dealt with once they leave prison and address persistent reoffending.
It is a radical, but practical approach that has the potential – in my view - to leave a bigger, more lasting imprint on British society than almost anything else that the Coalition Government might achieve. And I’m proud of the changes we’re implementing now and our plans for the future.
A Never-Ending Cycle:
Imagine a young 21 year old offender released from a 6 month prison sentence for burglary today.
He’s been brought up in care. Since leaving there at 18, he’s not had a permanent place to live. In and out of trouble, he’s not found much in the way of work. He can’t read, or write well so he’s struggled to get a job. He also suffers from mental health issues and drug problems that are influencing his actions and have intensified in prison.
And just in case you think I’m relying on lazy stereotypes here, let me spell out what the statistics themselves say. Only around a third of prisoners are in work a month before custody. Fifteen percent of them are homeless. And it is estimated that around a quarter of offenders suffer from anxiety and depression. While 81% of them have used illegal drugs before entering prison.
Today, that young offender would leave prison with 46 pounds in his pocket and not much else. There would probably be no-one to meet him outside and nowhere for him to go.
If he’s lucky, he’ll find a temporary bed on a friend’s sofa. If not, he’ll end up homeless. And within days he could end up back in the Criminal Justice System after breaking into another house; stood in front of a custody sergeant, who probably already knows his name.
People tell him to get a job. But he doesn’t know how. And he has nowhere to live. Nobody will give him a chance. And the only people he can rely on, of course, are the ones that got him into this mess in the first place.
That has to change. Because it is the victims of crime and the wider public that reoffending impacts the most. Whether that’s because they are directly hurt by re-offenders’ crimes, or because they read about what’s happening and think it says everything they need to know about modern Britain.
A Rehabilitation Revolution:
This destructive cycle of crime is what we are working to break. If we are going to do all we can for the victims of crime and our communities, we can’t allow this problem to go unsolved. Our Offender Rehabilitation Bill receives its Second Reading in Parliament today.
It brings forward for the first time a mandatory requirement for the most prevalent re-offenders – those serving sentences of 12 months or less – to undergo a targeted programme of support on release to help them turn their lives around.
Because we know that the majority of those sentenced to prison are sent there for 12 months or less. And that of those almost 60% of them reoffend on release.
This will have a significant impact on women offenders also. Proportionally, more women than men are serving short-term prison sentences. Many of these women have complex needs. For example, they are more likely to have mental health problems than male prisoners, more likely to have reported experiencing some sort of childhood abuse. And they are more likely to be the primary carer for children. This Government is determined that these reforms will help women prisoners too.
Change will start in the police station and courts with experts on hand to identify whether a mental health or drug problem could be one of the main drivers behind this young offender’s behaviour. So he can be dealt with in a way that is appropriate for his illness and crime.
Following conviction, for example, he could be sent to a drug recovery wing in prison to help him get through withdrawal and the most intense, early stages of recovery.
Work in Prison:
The changes will continue in prison. We are putting more and more offenders like him to work in prison every year: making sure he doesn’t lie idle in his bed. That he is paying back to society and learning the pride and value that comes from a hard day’s work. What’s more, the money he earns from the work he does will go into a compensation fund for victims.
Alongside action to improve prisoners’ core skills, this will ensure that a young offender can get experience to help him find work outside the prison walls. And employers like Timpsons, Network Rail and the National Grid are already going into prisons and training prisoners in skills that can translate into real-life employment.
We’ve already increased the work hours of prisoners by over 800,000 hours last year.
And we want to get more businesses involved in these schemes as well as find more commercial work for prisoners to do, without undercutting local businesses.
Beyond the Prison Gates:
But the real change comes when our offender is released. A few weeks before he leaves, he will start working with a new provider organisation to organise and plan for his resettlement beyond the prison gates.
If possible, the young offender would have been sent to a prison close to his local community. So that any positive, personal ties that he did have - with family, or friends – could be maintained. If that can’t happen, we would then aim to relocate him closer to home towards the end of his sentence.
In prison, he’d work with the service provider to develop a programme of tailored support that fits his needs.
This could mean getting him a place on a basic skills course at the local college, or finding him somewhere to live.
They’ll ensure that from day one - if he is claiming JobSeekers allowance on release - he has a place on the Government’s work programme, with access to information and training that will help him get a job.
If required, they could also organise additional drugs treatment and testing to help him stay clean.
Most importantly, when he gets out there will be someone there to meet him. A mentor - someone experienced, potentially someone whose been an offender themselves and knows what it takes to build a life free of crime outside – who can help this young man through advice and support stay on the straight and narrow in that critical first year after release.
We are already seeing some positive results. For example, in Peterborough Prison where older, longer serving prisoners are actively mentoring those serving shorter-sentences. Given their experiences, these mentors are proving to be some of the most effective people to convince those who’ve made a mistake not to repeat it over and over again.
We’re not ideological about this approach.
What we want to see is something that takes and builds on the best from the public sector, the best from the private sector and the best from the voluntary sector to break the cycle of crime for good.
That is why we are reorganising the Probation Service, so that the public, voluntary and private sectors can work more flexibly and effectively side by side.
We want to extend the good work that is taking place all over the country, including right here. And we want to ensure that all of those with a strong track record in this area – including smaller regional rehabilitation charities, social enterprises or entrepreneurial staff from Probation Trusts interested in starting an employee mutual to bid for work – are able to get involved
That is why I’m pleased to announce today a package of tailored support to help fledgling mutuals and smaller rehabilitation organisations bid for contracts.
This includes access to around £7 million worth of funds to help these groups bid and support their work in communities. This is addition to the £10 million mutuals support programme, which is open to probation staff.
We are also making available to these groups valuable financial tools, legal advice, coaching and training and a network of peers and expert contacts to help take them through the bidding process.
We are serious about getting those who know what they are doing involved in our rehabilitation revolution.
Conclusion:
So in conclusion, let me be clear, I am wholly committed to that Rehabilitation Revolution. And we are putting in place the legislation, innovative policies and providers to deliver solutions that work. That will tackle, for the first time ever on a mandatory basis, the complex issues and drivers behind the persistent problem of reoffending.
And provide the support needed to fundamentally change the lives of those released from prison.
As a society, I believe, we’re more progressive and we’re more liberal. These are the best conditions in which to cut crime. A society, in which the Government and public can bring about the necessary changes that will ensure a future, where more people are free from crime and the fear of crime: in short - a stronger, a fairer Britain.
Thank you very much.
Letter from the Leader: Notes from an island
I'm writing this week's Letter to you from Kirkwall in Orkney. Alistair Carmichael and Jim Wallace have been trying to persuade me to make the trip for a while and I've finally made it in order to join the celebrations of the centenary of Jo Grimond's birth.
The big debate this week in British politics, which featured strongly in PMQs - where I was standing in for the PM (you can watch it here) - has obviously been about our future role in Europe. An issue on which Jo Grimond was a pioneer and leader.
What's emerging in this debate is that there are three basic positions. The first is UKIP's and an increasingly large number of Conservatives' - they want to leave now. I am clear that would be a calamitous mistake for the country - it would make us poorer, make us less safe and jeopardise millions of jobs and billions of pounds of investment.
The second position is the Conservatives' official position (at least for now) which amounts to saying to the rest of the EU that they should keep all the EU rules for themselves, but we'll only abide by the bits we like. It's a have-your-cake-and-eat it strategy. It might sound seductive, but it's unlikely to work. Instead it will end up with either largely symbolic concessions from the other 26 member states "inconsequential" in Lord Lawson's words - or demanding so much that the other EU countries will simply refuse.
The third position is the Liberal Democrats' position. Of course the EU has to change. It is going to change because it's in a state of challenge and flux and so needs reform. It must be more competitive, more open, leaner and less bureaucratic. All things Britain should lead from the front on and work constructively with our European partners to achieve.
That is a vision of Europe and Britain's role in it that our party has long subscribed to. And importantly, it is actually achievable.
And in line with our previous manifesto, and the legislation we passed in 2011, when the EU rules change and new things are asked of the UK within the EU, the British people will have a say in a referendum. We are the first Government ever to give the British people such a guarantee in law.
So there are three positions: we can leave now; we can try and (almost certainly fail) to have our cake and eat it; or we can play our part at the heart of Europe promoting reform and guaranteeing a referendum when the EU rules change affecting Britain.
But as I argued in PMQs to the Tory backbenchers (who by the way seem to have developed an almost unhealthy interest in our Focus leaflets!), people are facing more pressing issues. And it is exactly those issues Liberal Democrats in this Coalition Government are currently taking a lead in tackling.
We won't always get the attention or coverage we deserve for things we are doing, such as introducing Steve Webb's single tier pension or the important work Norman Lamb has been talking about this week on Social Care. But we will keep delivering these things that make a real difference to people's lives.
That is what we are in Government for: anchoring it in the centre ground and building a stronger economy and a fairer society. I'm sure Jo wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
Best,
Nick
The big debate this week in British politics, which featured strongly in PMQs - where I was standing in for the PM (you can watch it here) - has obviously been about our future role in Europe. An issue on which Jo Grimond was a pioneer and leader.
What's emerging in this debate is that there are three basic positions. The first is UKIP's and an increasingly large number of Conservatives' - they want to leave now. I am clear that would be a calamitous mistake for the country - it would make us poorer, make us less safe and jeopardise millions of jobs and billions of pounds of investment.
The second position is the Conservatives' official position (at least for now) which amounts to saying to the rest of the EU that they should keep all the EU rules for themselves, but we'll only abide by the bits we like. It's a have-your-cake-and-eat it strategy. It might sound seductive, but it's unlikely to work. Instead it will end up with either largely symbolic concessions from the other 26 member states "inconsequential" in Lord Lawson's words - or demanding so much that the other EU countries will simply refuse.
The third position is the Liberal Democrats' position. Of course the EU has to change. It is going to change because it's in a state of challenge and flux and so needs reform. It must be more competitive, more open, leaner and less bureaucratic. All things Britain should lead from the front on and work constructively with our European partners to achieve.
That is a vision of Europe and Britain's role in it that our party has long subscribed to. And importantly, it is actually achievable.
And in line with our previous manifesto, and the legislation we passed in 2011, when the EU rules change and new things are asked of the UK within the EU, the British people will have a say in a referendum. We are the first Government ever to give the British people such a guarantee in law.
So there are three positions: we can leave now; we can try and (almost certainly fail) to have our cake and eat it; or we can play our part at the heart of Europe promoting reform and guaranteeing a referendum when the EU rules change affecting Britain.
But as I argued in PMQs to the Tory backbenchers (who by the way seem to have developed an almost unhealthy interest in our Focus leaflets!), people are facing more pressing issues. And it is exactly those issues Liberal Democrats in this Coalition Government are currently taking a lead in tackling.
We won't always get the attention or coverage we deserve for things we are doing, such as introducing Steve Webb's single tier pension or the important work Norman Lamb has been talking about this week on Social Care. But we will keep delivering these things that make a real difference to people's lives.
That is what we are in Government for: anchoring it in the centre ground and building a stronger economy and a fairer society. I'm sure Jo wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
Best,
Nick
High Speed Rail 2 will build a stronger economy and a fairer society
“HS2 is a huge leap forward for our rail network and will improve connectivity for generations to come.
“Liberal Democrats support HS2 because it will build a stronger economy and a fairer society, creating 40,000 direct and thousands more indirect jobs, as well as bridge the gap between the north and south. And that’s before you consider the economic benefits to the wider areas serviced by HS2.
“In assessing the value of HS2 we must look at all the overall benefits, including for passengers by increasing capacity on existing lines and significantly cutting the travel time, and to the environment by reducing our reliance on domestic flights and transferring millions of journeys from road to rail.”
“Liberal Democrats support HS2 because it will build a stronger economy and a fairer society, creating 40,000 direct and thousands more indirect jobs, as well as bridge the gap between the north and south. And that’s before you consider the economic benefits to the wider areas serviced by HS2.
“In assessing the value of HS2 we must look at all the overall benefits, including for passengers by increasing capacity on existing lines and significantly cutting the travel time, and to the environment by reducing our reliance on domestic flights and transferring millions of journeys from road to rail.”
Building a stronger economy
“While it is disappointing that overall unemployment is up, it is good news that youth unemployment has fallen as that will be encouraging for young people who are looking for work.
“To build a stronger economy in a fairer society, Liberal Democrats have been focusing on giving young people the skills and experience necessary for a successful career.
“That is why Nick Clegg has introduced the £1bn Youth Contract that will ensure young people have the opportunity to earn or learn and Business Secretary Vince Cable has overseen the creation of more than 1m apprenticeships.
“We will continue to work hard to get more people in employment and build a stronger economy.”
“To build a stronger economy in a fairer society, Liberal Democrats have been focusing on giving young people the skills and experience necessary for a successful career.
“That is why Nick Clegg has introduced the £1bn Youth Contract that will ensure young people have the opportunity to earn or learn and Business Secretary Vince Cable has overseen the creation of more than 1m apprenticeships.
“We will continue to work hard to get more people in employment and build a stronger economy.”
Nick Clegg speech at the Africa Jubilee Business Forum
Let me first thank the African Diplomatic Corps, African Heads of Mission and Commonwealth Business Council for inviting me to open this business forum and for organising this event.
Today is a chance for all of us to recognise the businesses and jobs being created by African and British entrepreneurs together. And to focus on securing the wealth of investment opportunities available to us in the future. So I’m also pleased to see so many business leaders here with us as well.
It’s a fitting tribute, I think, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity, now the African Union. I want to welcome my old friend Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus – Chairman of the Executive Council of the African Union – as we recognise and celebrate some of the achievements of that partnership.
Five decades ago, the Organisation of African Unity was there to help countries across the region transition from colonial rule. And as the African Union, it is there again now to support the continent as it takes on an increasingly global role.
On a recent visit to Mozambique and Ethiopia, I saw for myself how successful businesses, both large and small, are transforming millions of people’s day-to-day lives.
In Ethiopia, for example, I met female entrepreneur Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu. What others saw as scrap, Bethlehem saw as a business opportunity.
Her company Sole Rebels, which turns old car tyres into shoes, now employs around 80 people. It’s an enterprise that’s transforming the lives not just of Bethlehem and her workers, but also their families and the people they do business with elsewhere.
As a quick aside, Bethlehem would never forgive me if I didn’t tell you that you can buy her shoes online, here in the UK. I still wear the fabulously comfortable and very brightly coloured shoes that I got from her myself earlier this year.
Also Vodafone’s innovative M-Pesa system. Recently launched in Mozambique, it’s a money transfer service enabling people to carry out financial transactions on their mobile phones.
Started first in Kenya, with investment from Vodafone and support from the UK Government, this extends access to vital banking services for millions of people, who would otherwise only be able to trade in cash.
In Kenya alone, there are now 17 million users, with around 10% of Kenya’s GDP being processed through the system per year.
What these stories show us is the positive change that success, however big or small, can bring. Seven of the world’s fastest growing economies are in Africa.
Recent research shows that almost a quarter of African countries’ GDP grew at 7% or higher in 2012. It’s estimated that that growth across the continent could rival China in years to come.
Now that’s a story worth telling, but one often lost in the customary narrative of conflict and instability in Africa. So it’s time to rewrite the script. Africa is being transformed: once perceived by the outside world as merely a continent in distress; now looked to as a great continent of opportunity.
And as Africa’s presence on the global stage increases, we need to secure economic success for every country in the region. For the good of Africa, for the good of the UK and for the good of the world.
Everybody, of course, wants growth – the key decision is how you achieve it. More and more African countries face a choice between the economic models of authoritarian capitalism, on the one hand, and liberal democracy, on the other.
In countries like China, authoritarian capitalism argues the case for economic growth ahead of political freedoms. And it’s a seductive argument in view of surging growth rates, which have occurred in the absence of political freedom.
But ultimately it is a false promise. My view, the liberal view, is that economic progress and political rights are inseparable. They are parallel tracks, each reinforcing the other.
Fairness, freedom, empowerment, education, the rule of law – these are not so-called Western values. They are the values that will underpin healthy economies across the globe, long into the future.
And in a world of younger populations, growing middle classes and technological innovations that allow relationships and communities to form across traditional state borders, the demand for both economic success and political freedom – will only increase. Lasting stability depends not just on opening up our economies, but creating open societies too.
As nations across Africa continue to grow and prosper, the UK will seek to be an effective partner. First, in terms of the UK’s own changing relationship with Africa. And second, how the UK through European and international channels, not least our current G8 presidency, is determined to address the fundamental barriers to further growth and investment in Africa and the rest of the world.
Our focus is more trade; fairer tax; and greater business transparency.
The UK remains a strong partner with Africa. I’m proud that we will honour our commitment to spend 0.7% of this nation’s wealth helping the world’s poorest countries.
As you may know, legislation to enshrine this commitment in law was not included in last week’s Queen’s Speech – it’s an issue that has proved highly controversial amongst some Conservative MPs – but I’m pleased that the Coalition Government in its deeds and actions will continue to meet our commitments abroad: and our actions show that we will not balance the books on the backs of the world’s poorest.
But we also understand that aid must be properly targeted and that longer-term success depends on supporting businesses and trade in new and emerging markets.
UK companies already export more to Africa than they do to Brazil, India and Russia combined. That’s good, but we can always do more.
Especially, if we’re to compete effectively with companies and governments in Europe and elsewhere, who are making a determined push to seek out their own opportunities in Africa.
In line with Africa’s vision for a Continental Free Trade Area and the African Mining Initiative, we also want to explore how the G8 can help to unblock trade corridors across Africa, building on the successful trade facilitation programmes run by the DFID-supported Trademark East Africa.
As well as what Britain can do bilaterally, there is also the question of what Europe can do collectively. We are two great neighbouring continents joined by the Mediterranean.
Yet somehow, I don’t feel the EU acts with the coherence and leadership, which Africa deserves.
Other world powers, notably China, have a clear and consistent strategy: China invests big. It invests fast in pursuit of clear economic objectives.
I believe the EU could and should offer an alternative approach – one that can contribute to lasting success in Africa built on economic, political and social reform. Prosperity and stability in Africa and Europe are mutually reinforcing: when Europe fails, Africa is affected; when Africa fails, Europe is affected. So we must work together, continent to continent, so we both succeed.
Through the UK’s presidency of the G8, we are also keen to focus the agenda on issues that are fundamental not only to your success, but also, in the long-term, our own and the rest of the world.
Eight years ago at Gleneagles, we secured an agreement to cancel debt for the world’s poorest countries and to double aid. That action contributed to strong economic performances across Africa over the last decade.
Working together again now, focused on the 3Ts of Trade, Transparency and Tax, we can achieve even more.
Over the next decade revenues from newly discovered extractive resources in Africa will increase massively, dwarfing aid volumes.
In 2010 exports of oil and minerals from Africa were worth £216 billion – nearly seven times the value of international aid in the same year - £31 billion.
Too often in the past such revenues have bypassed Africans - due to unfair tax systems and opaque business deals. Lining the pockets of the few. Denying investment and jobs for the many. That has to stop.
We want to make sure Africans receive their fair share from the resources they have and the business they do. That demands fairer tax rules and greater transparency around what is being paid for oil, gas and mining resources and where the profits then flow.
We are pushing for more companies to report on the revenues they pay to governments, and for more governments to report on the revenues they receive.
The EU has just agreed legislation that will require all oil, gas and mining companies listed in Europe to publish what they pay to governments, in line with the US. Through the G8, we are pushing for equivalent standards to be applied globally.
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative sets a global standard for this. The UK helped establish EITI in 2003 and has been one of its staunchest backers. We’re now actively considering whether and how the UK should implement this initiative.
We also want to support greater transparency around land transactions; and to publish more G8 government data, including about aid budgets, in an open and accessible format – so it’s of real use to citizens across the world. Information empowers citizens and allows them to take control of their own development. Governments across the world must be accountable to their citizens.
Equally important is ensuring that tax regimes are transparent and efficient. Already, the UK’s flagship governance programme in Ethiopia has helped their authorities increase tax revenue from £8.2bn per year in 2002 to £55bn in 2011.
Only in partnership together – developed and developing countries- can we ensure our systems work as they should. These tax revenues are integral to deliver the infrastructure and skills that will drive growth in the future.
The Prime Minister and I will be chairing a high-level G8 event on 15 June to drive forward progress on tax, trade and transparency. We want to discuss with businesses, NGOs and governments how to achieve real progress on the agenda.
So today is about celebrating the next 50 years of Africa’s unity. We can’t ignore the challenges we face, but we also need to focus on the major, growing commercial opportunities that do exist. Building on our work together through the African Union, EU and G8 and directly with African States, I can see opportunities that benefit both Africa and the UK.
Today’s forum is another important step in the right direction. I look forward to hearing the outcome of your discussions. Our relationship with Africa remains strong, but is changing.
We are partners focused on growth, jobs and security. So let’s look to the next fifty years of the African Union and the success of our work together in the future.
Thank you.
Today is a chance for all of us to recognise the businesses and jobs being created by African and British entrepreneurs together. And to focus on securing the wealth of investment opportunities available to us in the future. So I’m also pleased to see so many business leaders here with us as well.
It’s a fitting tribute, I think, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity, now the African Union. I want to welcome my old friend Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus – Chairman of the Executive Council of the African Union – as we recognise and celebrate some of the achievements of that partnership.
Five decades ago, the Organisation of African Unity was there to help countries across the region transition from colonial rule. And as the African Union, it is there again now to support the continent as it takes on an increasingly global role.
On a recent visit to Mozambique and Ethiopia, I saw for myself how successful businesses, both large and small, are transforming millions of people’s day-to-day lives.
In Ethiopia, for example, I met female entrepreneur Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu. What others saw as scrap, Bethlehem saw as a business opportunity.
Her company Sole Rebels, which turns old car tyres into shoes, now employs around 80 people. It’s an enterprise that’s transforming the lives not just of Bethlehem and her workers, but also their families and the people they do business with elsewhere.
As a quick aside, Bethlehem would never forgive me if I didn’t tell you that you can buy her shoes online, here in the UK. I still wear the fabulously comfortable and very brightly coloured shoes that I got from her myself earlier this year.
Also Vodafone’s innovative M-Pesa system. Recently launched in Mozambique, it’s a money transfer service enabling people to carry out financial transactions on their mobile phones.
Started first in Kenya, with investment from Vodafone and support from the UK Government, this extends access to vital banking services for millions of people, who would otherwise only be able to trade in cash.
In Kenya alone, there are now 17 million users, with around 10% of Kenya’s GDP being processed through the system per year.
What these stories show us is the positive change that success, however big or small, can bring. Seven of the world’s fastest growing economies are in Africa.
Recent research shows that almost a quarter of African countries’ GDP grew at 7% or higher in 2012. It’s estimated that that growth across the continent could rival China in years to come.
Now that’s a story worth telling, but one often lost in the customary narrative of conflict and instability in Africa. So it’s time to rewrite the script. Africa is being transformed: once perceived by the outside world as merely a continent in distress; now looked to as a great continent of opportunity.
And as Africa’s presence on the global stage increases, we need to secure economic success for every country in the region. For the good of Africa, for the good of the UK and for the good of the world.
Everybody, of course, wants growth – the key decision is how you achieve it. More and more African countries face a choice between the economic models of authoritarian capitalism, on the one hand, and liberal democracy, on the other.
In countries like China, authoritarian capitalism argues the case for economic growth ahead of political freedoms. And it’s a seductive argument in view of surging growth rates, which have occurred in the absence of political freedom.
But ultimately it is a false promise. My view, the liberal view, is that economic progress and political rights are inseparable. They are parallel tracks, each reinforcing the other.
Fairness, freedom, empowerment, education, the rule of law – these are not so-called Western values. They are the values that will underpin healthy economies across the globe, long into the future.
And in a world of younger populations, growing middle classes and technological innovations that allow relationships and communities to form across traditional state borders, the demand for both economic success and political freedom – will only increase. Lasting stability depends not just on opening up our economies, but creating open societies too.
As nations across Africa continue to grow and prosper, the UK will seek to be an effective partner. First, in terms of the UK’s own changing relationship with Africa. And second, how the UK through European and international channels, not least our current G8 presidency, is determined to address the fundamental barriers to further growth and investment in Africa and the rest of the world.
Our focus is more trade; fairer tax; and greater business transparency.
The UK remains a strong partner with Africa. I’m proud that we will honour our commitment to spend 0.7% of this nation’s wealth helping the world’s poorest countries.
As you may know, legislation to enshrine this commitment in law was not included in last week’s Queen’s Speech – it’s an issue that has proved highly controversial amongst some Conservative MPs – but I’m pleased that the Coalition Government in its deeds and actions will continue to meet our commitments abroad: and our actions show that we will not balance the books on the backs of the world’s poorest.
But we also understand that aid must be properly targeted and that longer-term success depends on supporting businesses and trade in new and emerging markets.
UK companies already export more to Africa than they do to Brazil, India and Russia combined. That’s good, but we can always do more.
Especially, if we’re to compete effectively with companies and governments in Europe and elsewhere, who are making a determined push to seek out their own opportunities in Africa.
In line with Africa’s vision for a Continental Free Trade Area and the African Mining Initiative, we also want to explore how the G8 can help to unblock trade corridors across Africa, building on the successful trade facilitation programmes run by the DFID-supported Trademark East Africa.
As well as what Britain can do bilaterally, there is also the question of what Europe can do collectively. We are two great neighbouring continents joined by the Mediterranean.
Yet somehow, I don’t feel the EU acts with the coherence and leadership, which Africa deserves.
Other world powers, notably China, have a clear and consistent strategy: China invests big. It invests fast in pursuit of clear economic objectives.
I believe the EU could and should offer an alternative approach – one that can contribute to lasting success in Africa built on economic, political and social reform. Prosperity and stability in Africa and Europe are mutually reinforcing: when Europe fails, Africa is affected; when Africa fails, Europe is affected. So we must work together, continent to continent, so we both succeed.
Through the UK’s presidency of the G8, we are also keen to focus the agenda on issues that are fundamental not only to your success, but also, in the long-term, our own and the rest of the world.
Eight years ago at Gleneagles, we secured an agreement to cancel debt for the world’s poorest countries and to double aid. That action contributed to strong economic performances across Africa over the last decade.
Working together again now, focused on the 3Ts of Trade, Transparency and Tax, we can achieve even more.
Over the next decade revenues from newly discovered extractive resources in Africa will increase massively, dwarfing aid volumes.
In 2010 exports of oil and minerals from Africa were worth £216 billion – nearly seven times the value of international aid in the same year - £31 billion.
Too often in the past such revenues have bypassed Africans - due to unfair tax systems and opaque business deals. Lining the pockets of the few. Denying investment and jobs for the many. That has to stop.
We want to make sure Africans receive their fair share from the resources they have and the business they do. That demands fairer tax rules and greater transparency around what is being paid for oil, gas and mining resources and where the profits then flow.
We are pushing for more companies to report on the revenues they pay to governments, and for more governments to report on the revenues they receive.
The EU has just agreed legislation that will require all oil, gas and mining companies listed in Europe to publish what they pay to governments, in line with the US. Through the G8, we are pushing for equivalent standards to be applied globally.
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative sets a global standard for this. The UK helped establish EITI in 2003 and has been one of its staunchest backers. We’re now actively considering whether and how the UK should implement this initiative.
We also want to support greater transparency around land transactions; and to publish more G8 government data, including about aid budgets, in an open and accessible format – so it’s of real use to citizens across the world. Information empowers citizens and allows them to take control of their own development. Governments across the world must be accountable to their citizens.
Equally important is ensuring that tax regimes are transparent and efficient. Already, the UK’s flagship governance programme in Ethiopia has helped their authorities increase tax revenue from £8.2bn per year in 2002 to £55bn in 2011.
Only in partnership together – developed and developing countries- can we ensure our systems work as they should. These tax revenues are integral to deliver the infrastructure and skills that will drive growth in the future.
The Prime Minister and I will be chairing a high-level G8 event on 15 June to drive forward progress on tax, trade and transparency. We want to discuss with businesses, NGOs and governments how to achieve real progress on the agenda.
So today is about celebrating the next 50 years of Africa’s unity. We can’t ignore the challenges we face, but we also need to focus on the major, growing commercial opportunities that do exist. Building on our work together through the African Union, EU and G8 and directly with African States, I can see opportunities that benefit both Africa and the UK.
Today’s forum is another important step in the right direction. I look forward to hearing the outcome of your discussions. Our relationship with Africa remains strong, but is changing.
We are partners focused on growth, jobs and security. So let’s look to the next fifty years of the African Union and the success of our work together in the future.
Thank you.
Letter from the Leader: The Queen's Speech
Dear Friend,
Fair pensions. Decent care in your old age. A tax cut for small businesses taking on staff. A major new high speed railway. Energy investment to keep lights on and bills affordable. Shared parental leave. Rehabilitation of prisoners to set them back on the straight and narrow.
Just a few highlights from the Government’s plans for legislation this year, outlined this Wednesday in the Queen’s Speech, designed to build a stronger economy and a fairer society in Britain, enabling everyone to get on in life.
The state opening of Parliament is an eccentric highlight of the year in politics. Pomp and pageantry are not really my thing, but I’ll confess to a certain affection for the whole rigmarole: you have probably seen the marching up and down and slamming of doors in people's faces on TV. One thing you might not know is that we had to work to a very strict deadline to finalise Her Majesty's words. That's because the speech has to be written out on goatskin and it takes a few days to dry.
Plus of course, it’s rather fun to see my usually austere colleagues Alistair Carmichael and Dick Newby dressed up in robes looking like refugees from Hogwarts or a Gilbert and Sullivan production. One thing’s for sure: I’m relieved there aren’t any Deputy Prime Minister robes to wear.
What matters most is the substance of course. We made sure all the big measures needed to grow the economy, create jobs, and improve people’s quality of life were included. But we also made sure some things - plans for a Snooper's Charter tracking everyone's emails and social networking - were kept out.
It won't have escaped your attention that the mood has changed in the Conservative Party after the local elections, and that changes the rhetoric we’re hearing from them - about equal marriage, development aid, and most of all Europe. The lesson for us is clear and simple: it is more important than ever that we stick to our path. Our job is to anchor the Government in the centre ground, stopping others from lurching this way and that and making sure the Government delivers our core objectives: a stronger economy in a fairer society.
That's why major liberal reforms and investment – from childcare to pensions – will remain the core business of this Government. Not endless navel-gazing about when and how a referendum may take place in years to come in circumstances we can't predict. We Liberal Democrats must remain focused on the things people really care about, whatever other parties may say.
Please could you forward this message on to a family member or friend who might be interested?
Nick
PS I hope you noticed the Queen mention the drive for a “stronger economy and a fairer society” in the very first line of her speech. I knew our message was starting to hit home!
Fair pensions. Decent care in your old age. A tax cut for small businesses taking on staff. A major new high speed railway. Energy investment to keep lights on and bills affordable. Shared parental leave. Rehabilitation of prisoners to set them back on the straight and narrow.
Just a few highlights from the Government’s plans for legislation this year, outlined this Wednesday in the Queen’s Speech, designed to build a stronger economy and a fairer society in Britain, enabling everyone to get on in life.
The state opening of Parliament is an eccentric highlight of the year in politics. Pomp and pageantry are not really my thing, but I’ll confess to a certain affection for the whole rigmarole: you have probably seen the marching up and down and slamming of doors in people's faces on TV. One thing you might not know is that we had to work to a very strict deadline to finalise Her Majesty's words. That's because the speech has to be written out on goatskin and it takes a few days to dry.
Plus of course, it’s rather fun to see my usually austere colleagues Alistair Carmichael and Dick Newby dressed up in robes looking like refugees from Hogwarts or a Gilbert and Sullivan production. One thing’s for sure: I’m relieved there aren’t any Deputy Prime Minister robes to wear.
What matters most is the substance of course. We made sure all the big measures needed to grow the economy, create jobs, and improve people’s quality of life were included. But we also made sure some things - plans for a Snooper's Charter tracking everyone's emails and social networking - were kept out.
It won't have escaped your attention that the mood has changed in the Conservative Party after the local elections, and that changes the rhetoric we’re hearing from them - about equal marriage, development aid, and most of all Europe. The lesson for us is clear and simple: it is more important than ever that we stick to our path. Our job is to anchor the Government in the centre ground, stopping others from lurching this way and that and making sure the Government delivers our core objectives: a stronger economy in a fairer society.
That's why major liberal reforms and investment – from childcare to pensions – will remain the core business of this Government. Not endless navel-gazing about when and how a referendum may take place in years to come in circumstances we can't predict. We Liberal Democrats must remain focused on the things people really care about, whatever other parties may say.
Please could you forward this message on to a family member or friend who might be interested?
Nick
PS I hope you noticed the Queen mention the drive for a “stronger economy and a fairer society” in the very first line of her speech. I knew our message was starting to hit home!
A Queen’s Speech for a stronger economy and a fairer society
With Liberal Democrats in Government this Queen’s Speech sets out the Coalition’s determination to build a stronger economy in a fairer society, enabling everyone to get on in life. It shows that Liberal Democrats are making a real difference in Government, with bills focused on jobs, growth and fairness, and an agenda that shows the Liberal Democrats are keeping the Government anchored firmly in the centre ground.
Liberal Democrats understand that building a stronger economy is about more than just the important work of cutting the deficit. We need to invest to help businesses grow and create jobs. And we are building a fairer society, helping parents and pensioners, protecting communities and protecting our environment.
Stronger Economy
- That’s why we are introducing a bill cutting National Insurance Contributions for small businesses.
- Our Energy Bill will create green jobs and growth, supporting as many as 250,000 jobs in the private sector.
- Legislation for High Speed 2 will bring in the first main line to be built north of London for almost 120 years, creating another 100,000 jobs.
- Our bill modernising intellectual property rights will save millions of pounds for some of our most innovative companies.
- Liberal Democrat pensions minister Steve Webb’s Pensions Bill will make saving for retirement simpler and fairer.
- We are introducing a Care Bill to cap social care costs so that pensioners do not have to sell their homes to fund their long-term care. These are the kind of important long-term reforms that Labour always ducked.
- We are helping families with the cost of childcare, supporting people who want to get back to work but feel they cannot afford to.
- The Queen’s Speech includes measures to reward companies that play by the rules. We will be expanding the General Anti Abuse Rule to cover big firms that try to get out of paying National Insurance, and our Consumer Rights Bill will make it easier for people to ensure they get good value for money.
- And because we want Britain to be a place that attracts people who will play by the rules and make a contribution, an Immigration Bill will be brought forward to clamp down on people from overseas who abuse our public services.
- We will make sure people feel safer in their own communities. In this session we will introduce a new Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill that will do more to keep our neighbourhoods safe and secure. Our Offender Rehabilitation Bill will also transform the way offenders are dealt with once they leave prison, tackling persistent reoffending.
- Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill: will introduce new powers to tackling anti-social behaviour, giving victims a say in the way their complaints are dealt with; strengthen powers to tackle irresponsible dog ownership; establish the powers of the College of Policing in statute; extend the powers of the Independent Police Complaints Commission; establish an independent review body on police pay and conditions; criminalised forced marriage; and target the use of illegal firearms
- Care Bill: will simplify and modernise the framework for care and support; implement the cap on care costs that people will spend in their lifetime; introduce a number of measures in response to the Francis Inquiry, including a ratings system for hospitals and care homes, a single failure regime and a statutory duty of candour.
- Consumer Rights Bill (draft): will set out a simple, modern framework of consumer rights to promote growth through competitive markets.
- Defence Reform Bill: will improve the way we procure and support defence equipment and enhance the use of the Reserve Forces.
- Deregulation Bill (draft): will reduce the burden of excessive or unnecessary regulation on businesses, organisations and individuals
- Energy Bill (carry over): reforms the energy market to ensure secure, clean and affordable energy. The Bill was introduced in November 2012 and will continue its passage in the third session
- European Union (Approvals) Bill: will provide Parliamentary approval under the European Union Act 2011 for ministers to vote in favour of various proposals in Brussels: Pericles (anti-euro counterfeiting); Europe for Citizens (EU civic integration); and EU Archives (formalising the depositing of EU documents in an archive).
- Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill: will extend the scope of the regulatory regime currently governing remote gambling, providing greater consumer protection for people in Great Britain.
- High Speed Two Preparation Bill: will provide Parliamentary approval to incur expenditure on preparatory works for HS2 in advance of the planned Hybrid Bill.
- High Speed Two Hybrid Bill: will provide powers to construct and operate the London to West Midlands leg of the national High Speed 2 network (known as phase 1)
- Immigration Bill: will reform immigration law, including provisions to strengthen our enforcement powers and protect public services.
- Intellectual Property Bill: will simplify and strengthen design protection; make the IP system more accessible to SMEs and increase legal certainty and reduce risks in IP intensive markets.
- Local Audit and Accountability Bill: will close the Audit Commission, make new arrangements for the audit of local public bodies and increase local accountability by extending the Council Tax referendum lock to other levying bodies and putting the local government publicity code on a statutory footing.
- Mesothelioma Bill: will establish a Diffuse Mesothelioma payment Scheme and make related provision; and to make provision about the resolution of certain insurance disputes.
- National Insurance Contributions Bill: will extend the General Anti-Abuse Rule to National Insurance Contributions; introduce a National Insurance employment allowance of £2,000, reducing the cost of employment; prevent the use of offshore employment payroll companies to avoid employer National Insurance Contributions; and remove the presumption for self-employment for limited liability partnerships in some circumstances.
- Northern Ireland Bill: will give effect to a number of changes which will improve the operation of institutions and politics in Northern Ireland.
- Offenders Rehabilitation Bill: will ensure offenders will all be supervised after release and all offenders serving short sentences will have 12 months supervision; create a new rehabilitation requirement for community sentences; and provide incentives to offender management providers to innovate to reduce reoffending.
- Pensions Bill: will introduce a single-tier pension system, bring forward the increase in State Pension age to 67 and lay the framework for its regular review. It will also introduce a system for the automatic transfer of small pension pots.
- Water Bill: will reform the water industry in England and Wales and will also ensure flood insurance remains available and affordable in areas of high flood risk throughout the United Kingdom.
- Welsh Assembly Bill (draft): will move the National Assembly for Wales from four to five year fixed terms; remove the ban on candidates at an Assembly election standing in both a constituency and a region; and ensure that members of the Assembly cannot at the same time be members of the House of Commons.
Letter from the Leader 4 May 2013: Thank you
A massive thank you to everyone who worked hard in this year’s local elections. It’s been another tough year in our journey from a party of protest to a party of Government, but where it matters most, in our Parliamentary seats, we’ve stayed strong and even made gains, beating the Conservatives by 5% of the vote.
More than 350 of our colleagues won this week, including some wonderful victories from taking three seats off the Conservatives in Wiltshire to holding a local by-election in my own seat of Sheffield Hallam. Every one of those winners will work hard to help deliver the stronger economy and fairer society Britain needs.
Like Justine Baker, who I spent a day campaigning with in Somerset this week, who won the Bishops Hull & Taunton West division in Jeremy Browne's constituency of Taunton. Like Neil Fawcett, our former Deputy Director of Campaigns, elected in Abingdon South in Oxfordshire, part of Layla Moran's brilliant team working to win back Oxford West and Abingdon in 2015. And like Mr and Mrs Rogerson - proud parents of our MP Dan - both elected county councillors in his North Cornwall constituency.
Of course, not everyone got the result they deserved this week, and some incredibly hard working Lib Dem Councillors and campaigners have lost their seats. It's always hard when this happens. The party owes a huge debt to those people who put themselves forward and I want to say a personal thank you to every single one of them.
Whatever the results in your area, remember this: every individual who voted Lib Dem in this election voted for a party of Government. That proves that significant numbers of people in Britain, especially in our held seats, want the Lib Dems to be a party of Government, locally and nationally, changing Britain for the better.
A year or two ago even if we worked hard we didn’t win: now our message is getting a hearing again. We are back in the saddle.
Of course, one big story of Thursday’s elections was UKIP. They pose a huge problem for the Conservatives. But whatever the other parties do, we won’t be lurching off to the right. The election result shows it is more important than ever that we, Liberal Democrats, anchor the Government in the centre ground.
Britain is going through a huge upheaval at the moment, slowly adjusting to a new economic reality, and that is painful. And they are getting no answers from the people who created these problems in the first place: the Labour party. No wonder people get frustrated and angry waiting for government to get us through the tough times. I expect we are all sometimes impatient about how long and arduous the process of economic recovery is, and wish there was a quick fix.
There isn’t. Nigel Farage and his party do not offer a solution to the problems our country faces. In fact if UKIP ever got to deliver their policies, unemployment would soar, the rich would get a massive tax cut, and we'd face swingeing cuts to our schools and hospitals.
Our country's problems are real, but the answer is not easy promises that would have disastrous consequences. The answer is long, steady, hard work to put the public finances back in order, create jobs, help with the cost of living and invest in children and young people. Building a stronger economy in a fairer society. We are doing that painstaking work, in Government, every day, and that's the message we need to work even harder to communicate from now on.
It isn’t easy and it isn’t always comfortable, but in the end it will change Britain for the better.
Congratulations again to everyone who worked hard in these elections. It’s only when we work hard together that our message can get through: so thank you and please keep it up.
More than 350 of our colleagues won this week, including some wonderful victories from taking three seats off the Conservatives in Wiltshire to holding a local by-election in my own seat of Sheffield Hallam. Every one of those winners will work hard to help deliver the stronger economy and fairer society Britain needs.
Like Justine Baker, who I spent a day campaigning with in Somerset this week, who won the Bishops Hull & Taunton West division in Jeremy Browne's constituency of Taunton. Like Neil Fawcett, our former Deputy Director of Campaigns, elected in Abingdon South in Oxfordshire, part of Layla Moran's brilliant team working to win back Oxford West and Abingdon in 2015. And like Mr and Mrs Rogerson - proud parents of our MP Dan - both elected county councillors in his North Cornwall constituency.
Of course, not everyone got the result they deserved this week, and some incredibly hard working Lib Dem Councillors and campaigners have lost their seats. It's always hard when this happens. The party owes a huge debt to those people who put themselves forward and I want to say a personal thank you to every single one of them.
Whatever the results in your area, remember this: every individual who voted Lib Dem in this election voted for a party of Government. That proves that significant numbers of people in Britain, especially in our held seats, want the Lib Dems to be a party of Government, locally and nationally, changing Britain for the better.
A year or two ago even if we worked hard we didn’t win: now our message is getting a hearing again. We are back in the saddle.
Of course, one big story of Thursday’s elections was UKIP. They pose a huge problem for the Conservatives. But whatever the other parties do, we won’t be lurching off to the right. The election result shows it is more important than ever that we, Liberal Democrats, anchor the Government in the centre ground.
Britain is going through a huge upheaval at the moment, slowly adjusting to a new economic reality, and that is painful. And they are getting no answers from the people who created these problems in the first place: the Labour party. No wonder people get frustrated and angry waiting for government to get us through the tough times. I expect we are all sometimes impatient about how long and arduous the process of economic recovery is, and wish there was a quick fix.
There isn’t. Nigel Farage and his party do not offer a solution to the problems our country faces. In fact if UKIP ever got to deliver their policies, unemployment would soar, the rich would get a massive tax cut, and we'd face swingeing cuts to our schools and hospitals.
Our country's problems are real, but the answer is not easy promises that would have disastrous consequences. The answer is long, steady, hard work to put the public finances back in order, create jobs, help with the cost of living and invest in children and young people. Building a stronger economy in a fairer society. We are doing that painstaking work, in Government, every day, and that's the message we need to work even harder to communicate from now on.
It isn’t easy and it isn’t always comfortable, but in the end it will change Britain for the better.
Congratulations again to everyone who worked hard in these elections. It’s only when we work hard together that our message can get through: so thank you and please keep it up.
Danny Alexander "Check your pay slip"
Raising the tax-free allowance is the Liberal Democrats’ flagship policy and has so far seen Income Tax bills slashed by £600 a year for millions of low and middle income workers compared to what they were paying under Labour. As a result, more than 2m people on low pay have been lifted out of paying Income Tax altogether.
The tax-free allowance will rise again next year to £10,000, fulfilling a commitment from the front page of the Liberal Democrats’ 2010 General Election manifesto and resulting in a total tax cut of £700.
Commenting, Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said:
“If you get paid today, take a moment to compare your pay slip to last month’s. You’ll see that Liberal Democrats have cut your taxes.
“From this month, the Liberal Democrats will have lifted 2m people out of Income Tax and given a tax cut of £600 to more than 20m people.
“It has taken the Liberal Democrats being in Government to deliver the largest programme of tax cuts for working people for a generation.
“The Liberal Democrats are the only party that will radically cut taxes for people on low and middle incomes to build a stronger economy and a fairer society so that everyone can get on in life.”
Click to Tweet:
The tax-free allowance will rise again next year to £10,000, fulfilling a commitment from the front page of the Liberal Democrats’ 2010 General Election manifesto and resulting in a total tax cut of £700.
Commenting, Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said:
“If you get paid today, take a moment to compare your pay slip to last month’s. You’ll see that Liberal Democrats have cut your taxes.
“From this month, the Liberal Democrats will have lifted 2m people out of Income Tax and given a tax cut of £600 to more than 20m people.
“It has taken the Liberal Democrats being in Government to deliver the largest programme of tax cuts for working people for a generation.
“The Liberal Democrats are the only party that will radically cut taxes for people on low and middle incomes to build a stronger economy and a fairer society so that everyone can get on in life.”
Click to Tweet:
- Happy Pay Day! Check your pay slip & you’ll see @libdems have cut your taxes pic.twitter.com/FgFNzAHwIu
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If you get paid today, check your pay slip. @libdems have cut your taxes pic.twitter.com/FgFNzAHwIu
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Happy Pay Day! £600 a year back in your pockets, starting today pic.twitter.com/FgFNzAHwIu
‘Snoopers’ Charter’ unacceptable and wrong
“I am delighted that Nick Clegg has stood up for the British public on this.
“He was right to demand that these proposals be published as a draft, which gave us all a chance to see just how badly thought through the Home Office proposals were. And he is now right to say that what the Home Office propose is unacceptable.
“Spending billions of pounds to keep track of every website we go to and what we do on Facebook or Google, is simply wrong. If we want to actually cut crime then we should spend the extra money on the police.”
“He was right to demand that these proposals be published as a draft, which gave us all a chance to see just how badly thought through the Home Office proposals were. And he is now right to say that what the Home Office propose is unacceptable.
“Spending billions of pounds to keep track of every website we go to and what we do on Facebook or Google, is simply wrong. If we want to actually cut crime then we should spend the extra money on the police.”
Liberal Democrat Party Political Broadcast: Fairer Taxes
- Make the super-rich pay their fair share.
- Lower taxes for the average worker.
Click to Tweet:
- WATCH: What will you do with #600pounds? http://youtu.be/npd_e2juZOQ
- .@LibDems have cut taxes for working people by #600pounds. What will you do with yours? http://youtu.be/npd_e2juZOQ
- WATCH: @nick_clegg on cutting your taxes by #600pounds. What will you do with yours? http://youtu.be/npd_e2juZOQ
- I’m proud that @LibDems have cut taxes for working people. What will you do with your #600pounds? http://youtu.be/npd_e2juZOQ
- Cutting taxes for working people. Vote @LibDems on May 2nd. http://youtu.be/npd_e2juZOQ
Nick Clegg launches the Liberal Democrat 2013 local election campaign
In three and a half weeks, people up and down the country will elect their local councillors. Each council seat will be fought on different terms. Each neighbourhood has its own, unique needs.
But I bet you that, when all those people are deciding which name to put a cross by on 2 May, ultimately they’ll be asking themselves the same question: ‘While cuts are being made to public spending, who can I rely on to spend the money that is available on the right things?’
‘Which party can I rely on to strike the right balance: taking the difficult decisions to make savings, but doing so the fairest possible way?’ These elections are about one thing: priorities.
Difficult decisions will need to be made in local government, just as in national Government, and people understand that. But they – rightly – expect that their representatives should make the fairest possible decisions.
Next month, in wards across the country, people will be confronted with the same choice. Despite all their stated differences, a vote for Labour or the Tories will be a vote for the same thing.
Their record in local government shows that, even when millions of families are feeling the pinch, they’ll both squander taxpayers’ money on waste, inefficiency and their own vanity projects.
A vote for the Liberal Democrats, on the other hand, is a vote for a party which – wherever we’re in power – does it’s best to spread the burden of austerity fairly, investing in jobs and help for hard-pressed families. Only the Liberal Democrats will build a stronger economy and a fairer society, enabling everyone to get on in life.
Only the Liberal Democrats have the right priorities in tough times. Just take our tax changes. Today is the first working day of the new tax year. Today, because of Liberal Democrat tax reforms, more of the money you earn will go into your own pocket, and less to the taxman.
That’s because we’ve raised the point at which you start paying income tax, and now over 20 million people will pay £600 less in income tax than they did under Labour.
In households where two people are working, that’s an extra £1200 a year. £1200 to cover energy bills, or car insurance, or mortgage repayments, or to go towards a family holiday.
And next April it’ll go up again. People won’t pay a penny of income tax on the first £10,000 they earn. Millions of the lowest earners won’t pay any at all. At the same time we’ve asked for a bit more from those who can afford it. We’ve increased capital gains tax; introduced a higher rate of stamp duty and a £12.5bn banking levy; we’ve closed loopholes and capped tax relief to stop the very rich from gaming the system. And the Liberal Democrats will continue to argue for our mansion tax. The right priorities in tough times.
I know that Labour are trying desperately to gloss over these changes. They want to pretend that the only tax change this week is the reduction of the top rate, from 50p to 45p. But it’s the same old selective amnesia we always get from the two Eds about Labour's time in office.
Out of the 13 years they were in power, Labour had the 50p rate in place for just 36 days. For most of the time, Labour’s top rate was 40p. Not 45p. Not 50p. 40p – 5p less than now. And under the previous government a cleaner paid a higher rate of tax on their wages than a hedge fund manager selling their shares - a gross unfairness that we have fixed.
The sudden, synthetic fury we’re seeing from the Labour party is nothing more than an attempt to distract people from the most important change coming into effect: the tax cut for ordinary working people delivered by the Liberal Democrats.
That policy was on the front page of our manifesto, it’s been my priority from the moment we entered the Coalition, and now millions of people will feel the benefits.
In every single year of this Parliament the rich will pay a greater share of our nation's tax revenues than in any one year of the last government. The IFS have confirmed that, as a result of our changes, the wealthiest 10% of people are making the greatest contribution. So I will take no lectures from the Labour party on tax – the Liberal Democrats are making the tax system fair.
And it’s not just in Whitehall that we’re making the right choices, but in Liberal Democrat Town Halls too. Our councillors, like all councillors, have had to take some controversial decisions – I don’t deny that.
But look at our record and it’s clear that, wherever we can, Liberal Democrats are spreading the burden fairly, investing in ways that enable everyone to get on in life, not just the well off. That’s why, for example, this year the Liberal Democrats haven’t closed a single library.
Who have we done that for? For the bright teenager who comes from a chaotic home, but who wants a place to study so they can do well in their exams and go on to something better.
For the ambitious young men and women whose parents can’t afford to buy them the books and technology they need, but who want to forge a different path. And, despite money being tight, we’re investing in jobs for these young people too.
In Eastbourne and Watford, the Liberal Democrat councils are giving their town centres a boost – supporting thousands of local jobs. In Eastleigh, the Liberal Democrats are revitalising the local cricket ground so that it can host international test matches – that alone will create 500 new jobs. In Bath we’re supporting high tech start-ups so that they can grow and take on more staff. In Northumberland we're building new council houses this year, providing homes as well as giving the local construction industry a shot in the arm. The right priorities in tough times.
You won’t get that from the Conservatives. In Leicestershire, the former Conservative Council Leader spent £210,000 on his own personal chauffeur. In Somerset, because the Tories have insisted on cutting opening hours for rubbish tips and introducing charges to use them – a “tip tax” – flytipping has rocketed, leaving local residents stuck with the bill for cleaning it up. In the Cotswolds, after announcing nearly one and a half million pounds worth of cuts, how did the Conservative council try to boost staff morale? They hired a motivational magician – costing £19,000.
Here in Cornwall we’ve even seen the Conservative’s waste money hiring taxis to ferry teas and coffees between council buildings – again, while trying to push through an increase in Council tax. A rise Cornish Liberal Democrats successfully stopped. When savings need to be made, you just cannot rely on the Tories to make the fairest decisions. Their instincts drag them in the wrong direction.
And what about Labour? What are their priorities? Today we’ll hear from Ed Miliband about why people should vote for his party. Here’s what he won’t say. He won’t say: Labour are sorry they crashed the economy. And he won’t present a serious and detailed plan to fix the mess they created. That much we know.
The Labour party continue to be a blank page in British politics: they won’t accept for responsibility for what went wrong; they haven’t learnt from their mistakes; they have no ideas for the future. Above all, they are incapable of delivering a stronger economy. And it’s the same from the leadership all the way down.
Do you know how the Labour council in Derby are choosing to spend residents’ money? On emotive street posters passing all the blame for their cuts on to the Coalition Government, costing thousands of pounds – while at the same time they’re looking to make drastic cuts to homelessness services.
The Liberal Democrats are different. Only we can deliver a stronger economy and a fairer society - both. Only we have the right priorities in tough times. And we now have a national and local record to prove it. Our party has a strong story to tell – a story not of promises, but of action.
But people won’t hear our message unless you tell it to them. I know how hard you’re all working. I am grateful for all of the hours you put in. But I need to ask you to work even harder.
If you are fighting an election in your area – deliver more leaflets, canvass more people, make more calls. If you’re not fighting a council election – go somewhere that is, or make calls from wherever you are. Every wing of this party now needs to pull together, reminding our opponents that we have a unity, a resolve and a sense of purpose they could never compete with.
When the Liberal Democrats organise, no one campaigns like we do. Labour know it. The Tories know it. And they are going to throw everything at us – they haven’t forgotten Eastleigh. But guess what? Nor have we. And when you feel that you’ve given all you can, I want you to think back to that great victory.
I want you to remember how good it felt to confound our critics; remember how good it felt to win. It’s time to do it again, Liberal Democrats. Get out there and win.
But I bet you that, when all those people are deciding which name to put a cross by on 2 May, ultimately they’ll be asking themselves the same question: ‘While cuts are being made to public spending, who can I rely on to spend the money that is available on the right things?’
‘Which party can I rely on to strike the right balance: taking the difficult decisions to make savings, but doing so the fairest possible way?’ These elections are about one thing: priorities.
Difficult decisions will need to be made in local government, just as in national Government, and people understand that. But they – rightly – expect that their representatives should make the fairest possible decisions.
Next month, in wards across the country, people will be confronted with the same choice. Despite all their stated differences, a vote for Labour or the Tories will be a vote for the same thing.
Their record in local government shows that, even when millions of families are feeling the pinch, they’ll both squander taxpayers’ money on waste, inefficiency and their own vanity projects.
A vote for the Liberal Democrats, on the other hand, is a vote for a party which – wherever we’re in power – does it’s best to spread the burden of austerity fairly, investing in jobs and help for hard-pressed families. Only the Liberal Democrats will build a stronger economy and a fairer society, enabling everyone to get on in life.
Only the Liberal Democrats have the right priorities in tough times. Just take our tax changes. Today is the first working day of the new tax year. Today, because of Liberal Democrat tax reforms, more of the money you earn will go into your own pocket, and less to the taxman.
That’s because we’ve raised the point at which you start paying income tax, and now over 20 million people will pay £600 less in income tax than they did under Labour.
In households where two people are working, that’s an extra £1200 a year. £1200 to cover energy bills, or car insurance, or mortgage repayments, or to go towards a family holiday.
And next April it’ll go up again. People won’t pay a penny of income tax on the first £10,000 they earn. Millions of the lowest earners won’t pay any at all. At the same time we’ve asked for a bit more from those who can afford it. We’ve increased capital gains tax; introduced a higher rate of stamp duty and a £12.5bn banking levy; we’ve closed loopholes and capped tax relief to stop the very rich from gaming the system. And the Liberal Democrats will continue to argue for our mansion tax. The right priorities in tough times.
I know that Labour are trying desperately to gloss over these changes. They want to pretend that the only tax change this week is the reduction of the top rate, from 50p to 45p. But it’s the same old selective amnesia we always get from the two Eds about Labour's time in office.
Out of the 13 years they were in power, Labour had the 50p rate in place for just 36 days. For most of the time, Labour’s top rate was 40p. Not 45p. Not 50p. 40p – 5p less than now. And under the previous government a cleaner paid a higher rate of tax on their wages than a hedge fund manager selling their shares - a gross unfairness that we have fixed.
The sudden, synthetic fury we’re seeing from the Labour party is nothing more than an attempt to distract people from the most important change coming into effect: the tax cut for ordinary working people delivered by the Liberal Democrats.
That policy was on the front page of our manifesto, it’s been my priority from the moment we entered the Coalition, and now millions of people will feel the benefits.
In every single year of this Parliament the rich will pay a greater share of our nation's tax revenues than in any one year of the last government. The IFS have confirmed that, as a result of our changes, the wealthiest 10% of people are making the greatest contribution. So I will take no lectures from the Labour party on tax – the Liberal Democrats are making the tax system fair.
And it’s not just in Whitehall that we’re making the right choices, but in Liberal Democrat Town Halls too. Our councillors, like all councillors, have had to take some controversial decisions – I don’t deny that.
But look at our record and it’s clear that, wherever we can, Liberal Democrats are spreading the burden fairly, investing in ways that enable everyone to get on in life, not just the well off. That’s why, for example, this year the Liberal Democrats haven’t closed a single library.
Who have we done that for? For the bright teenager who comes from a chaotic home, but who wants a place to study so they can do well in their exams and go on to something better.
For the ambitious young men and women whose parents can’t afford to buy them the books and technology they need, but who want to forge a different path. And, despite money being tight, we’re investing in jobs for these young people too.
In Eastbourne and Watford, the Liberal Democrat councils are giving their town centres a boost – supporting thousands of local jobs. In Eastleigh, the Liberal Democrats are revitalising the local cricket ground so that it can host international test matches – that alone will create 500 new jobs. In Bath we’re supporting high tech start-ups so that they can grow and take on more staff. In Northumberland we're building new council houses this year, providing homes as well as giving the local construction industry a shot in the arm. The right priorities in tough times.
You won’t get that from the Conservatives. In Leicestershire, the former Conservative Council Leader spent £210,000 on his own personal chauffeur. In Somerset, because the Tories have insisted on cutting opening hours for rubbish tips and introducing charges to use them – a “tip tax” – flytipping has rocketed, leaving local residents stuck with the bill for cleaning it up. In the Cotswolds, after announcing nearly one and a half million pounds worth of cuts, how did the Conservative council try to boost staff morale? They hired a motivational magician – costing £19,000.
Here in Cornwall we’ve even seen the Conservative’s waste money hiring taxis to ferry teas and coffees between council buildings – again, while trying to push through an increase in Council tax. A rise Cornish Liberal Democrats successfully stopped. When savings need to be made, you just cannot rely on the Tories to make the fairest decisions. Their instincts drag them in the wrong direction.
And what about Labour? What are their priorities? Today we’ll hear from Ed Miliband about why people should vote for his party. Here’s what he won’t say. He won’t say: Labour are sorry they crashed the economy. And he won’t present a serious and detailed plan to fix the mess they created. That much we know.
The Labour party continue to be a blank page in British politics: they won’t accept for responsibility for what went wrong; they haven’t learnt from their mistakes; they have no ideas for the future. Above all, they are incapable of delivering a stronger economy. And it’s the same from the leadership all the way down.
Do you know how the Labour council in Derby are choosing to spend residents’ money? On emotive street posters passing all the blame for their cuts on to the Coalition Government, costing thousands of pounds – while at the same time they’re looking to make drastic cuts to homelessness services.
The Liberal Democrats are different. Only we can deliver a stronger economy and a fairer society - both. Only we have the right priorities in tough times. And we now have a national and local record to prove it. Our party has a strong story to tell – a story not of promises, but of action.
But people won’t hear our message unless you tell it to them. I know how hard you’re all working. I am grateful for all of the hours you put in. But I need to ask you to work even harder.
If you are fighting an election in your area – deliver more leaflets, canvass more people, make more calls. If you’re not fighting a council election – go somewhere that is, or make calls from wherever you are. Every wing of this party now needs to pull together, reminding our opponents that we have a unity, a resolve and a sense of purpose they could never compete with.
When the Liberal Democrats organise, no one campaigns like we do. Labour know it. The Tories know it. And they are going to throw everything at us – they haven’t forgotten Eastleigh. But guess what? Nor have we. And when you feel that you’ve given all you can, I want you to think back to that great victory.
I want you to remember how good it felt to confound our critics; remember how good it felt to win. It’s time to do it again, Liberal Democrats. Get out there and win.
Independent inquiry
The Independent Inquiry follows a series of high profile allegations that the party failed to act on complaints of sexual harassment.
The Independent Inquiry is looking at harassment, including sexual harassment, within the Party, how it has been dealt with in the past and recommendations for the future including as to training. It’s remit covers the entire party including staff, elected officials and volunteers.
Helena Morrissey is keen to hear from all those who have relevant experiences and views to help form an accurate picture - whether they are Party members, staff or the public.
The Independent Inquiry will not be making judgements on specific cases or making any assumptions regarding the innocence or guilt of individuals.
Helena Morrissey said:
“While prompted in difficult circumstances, this independent inquiry is a very important step in giving everyone, especially women, a greater confidence in politics and the Liberal Democrats.
“I will be talking to people at all levels of the Party to understand where there may have been failings and to help guide any required culture shift and the development of a best practice set of standards for the future of the Party.”
Commenting, Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Gordon said:
“Following recent allegations it is clear that we in the Liberal Democrats failed to live up to our political ideals.
“We recognise that we need to adapt how we operate. As a political party which prides itself on equality, we must give everyone confidence they will be treated fairly and equally and that they will be listened to.
“It is vital this review is done independently of the party, in a way which can be frank and can scrutinise thoroughly. I am delighted Helena has agreed to chair the review. She has been a leading light in the development of women in business and breaking barriers, and I am sure that she will make an immensely positive difference to both our party and to politics.”
Appeal for witnesses
Helena is keen to hear from all those who have relevant experiences and views to help form an accurate picture, whether they are Party members, staff or the public. This also includes people who are no longer connected to the Liberal Democrats, but who may have information connected to past events. Please pass this appeal for witnesses on to anyone you know might be interested in making a submission.
If you feel you have information which may help or be relevant to the independent review please email it to Helena Morrissey by the (now extended) deadline of 12th April , even if it is just a holding note with further detail to follow.
How to get in contact with the Independent Inquiry
Please submit written evidence direct to Helena by Friday 12th April to contact@independentinquiry.org.uk.
Or by post to:
Helena Morrissey
C/O LDHQ
8-10 Great George Street
London
SW1P3AE
A confidential voicemail is also available until 8pm on Friday April 12th on: 0207 340 4998. This phone number is a LibDem HQ number, but it is a voicemail only service which can only be accessed by Helena. Anything sent through the post will go through the standard Royal Mail screening. It and any emails will not be opened by anyone other than Helena.
Review Team
Helena Morrissey CBE, Chief executive officer Newton Investment Management Helena joined Newton in 1994 as a fixed income fund manager and was appointed CEO in 2001. During her time running Newton’s bond funds she was twice-winner of Investment Week’s Global Bond Fund Manager of the year.
Helena is involved in many aspects of the UK fund management industry and was named the Financial News ‘Most Influential Woman in European Asset Management’ in 2010. She was the first female director of the UK’s Investment Management Association, serving from 2005 till 2012. She represents the investment industry on the FSA’s Practitioner Panel, a statutory body providing input to the regulators from practitioners’ perspectives . She is a member of the University of Cambridge Endowment Investment Board and chairman of the Eve Appeal, which funds research into gynaecological cancers. Helena is also the Chair of the Corporate Board of the Royal Academy of Arts. In 2010, Helena founded the 30% Club, a cross-business initiative aimed at achieving 30% women on UK corporate boards by 2015 through voluntary, business-led change. She was appointed CBE in the 2012 New Year’s Honours list.
A Cambridge philosophy graduate, she began her career as a global bond analyst with Schroders in New York. She is married with nine children.
Helena Morrissey is being assisted by Jane Smithard, who qualified as a barrister and is a former chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidates Association. Jane’s role is to advise Helena on the party structure and process and will not be involved in any witness statements.
Witness information
All submissions will be treated in confidence. Helena Morrissey will follow up with a number of those who submit written evidence where a need is felt to explore specific aspects of testimony, either in-person or through other means.
If requested to attend a face to face interview with Helena, witnesses will have their reasonable travel costs covered.
Meetings will be entirely independent of the Party and will not take place within Liberal Democrat associated buildings.
If attending an interview, please feel free to bring a family member or friend with you. Their reasonable travel expenses will also be covered. You are also welcome to bring a legal representative.
Confidential counselling support has also been set up through an independent provider of qualified counsellors. You can access this service at any time. Contact Public Concern at Work on 020 7404 6609 who are acting as the gateway to this service.
Witness support
The Liberal Democrats have sought the assistance of Public Concern at Work, the UK’s leading whistle-blowing authority, to ensure that the whistle-blowing arrangements in relation to the allegations against Lord Rennard are sufficiently independent to provide the required support to those wishing to come forward.
Public Concern at Work have agreed to take over the role, previously filled by Kate Parminter, as the main point of contact for anyone wishing to come forward with further allegations or information.
Public Concern at Work are also able to provide witnesses with independent and confidential advice. They are able to provide guidance and help to victims with regard to who they should go to in the context of the reviews and investigations under way. They will assist individuals in contacting investigators, only where the individual wishes to do so.
Those wishing to come forward under this arrangement can do so by calling: 020 7404 6609.
If you have already contacted Kate Parminter, she will continue to support you and pass on information to the two investigations (the Independent Inquiry into Harassment within the Party and the Internal Investigation into specific allegations against Lord Rennard) as instructed by you. There is no need to repeat this process with Public Concern at Work, unless you would like to do so.
Confidential counselling support has also been set up through an independent provider of qualified counsellors. You can access this service at any time. Contact Public Concern at Work (020 7404 6609) who are acting as the gateway to this service.
Criminal investigation
If you have information that may help the police with their inquiries you are strongly encouraged to contact them. You can do so by calling: 0208 721 4601. The initial call will be taken by clerical staff and will then be followed up by specially trained officers.
Internal Party Disciplinary Investigation
The Party has appointed Alistair Webster QC to lead the formal Internal Investigation under the Party’s disciplinary rules into specific allegations. However, please note that the internal disciplinary investigation has been put on hold to allow the police to continue with their investigation.
Alistair has prosecuted and defended many prominent cases. He has been a recorder of the Crown Court since 1991 and a QC since 1995. He is a former Chairman of the Liberal Democrat Lawyers Association and practices from chambers in Manchester and London. He is one of the country’s most experienced criminal lawyers and is currently the joint head of Lincoln House Chambers. In accordance with the party constitution, internal party disciplinary investigations are conducted by people who hold current membership of the party.
The Independent Inquiry is looking at harassment, including sexual harassment, within the Party, how it has been dealt with in the past and recommendations for the future including as to training. It’s remit covers the entire party including staff, elected officials and volunteers.
Helena Morrissey is keen to hear from all those who have relevant experiences and views to help form an accurate picture - whether they are Party members, staff or the public.
The Independent Inquiry will not be making judgements on specific cases or making any assumptions regarding the innocence or guilt of individuals.
Helena Morrissey said:
“While prompted in difficult circumstances, this independent inquiry is a very important step in giving everyone, especially women, a greater confidence in politics and the Liberal Democrats.
“I will be talking to people at all levels of the Party to understand where there may have been failings and to help guide any required culture shift and the development of a best practice set of standards for the future of the Party.”
Commenting, Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Gordon said:
“Following recent allegations it is clear that we in the Liberal Democrats failed to live up to our political ideals.
“We recognise that we need to adapt how we operate. As a political party which prides itself on equality, we must give everyone confidence they will be treated fairly and equally and that they will be listened to.
“It is vital this review is done independently of the party, in a way which can be frank and can scrutinise thoroughly. I am delighted Helena has agreed to chair the review. She has been a leading light in the development of women in business and breaking barriers, and I am sure that she will make an immensely positive difference to both our party and to politics.”
Appeal for witnesses
Helena is keen to hear from all those who have relevant experiences and views to help form an accurate picture, whether they are Party members, staff or the public. This also includes people who are no longer connected to the Liberal Democrats, but who may have information connected to past events. Please pass this appeal for witnesses on to anyone you know might be interested in making a submission.
If you feel you have information which may help or be relevant to the independent review please email it to Helena Morrissey by the (now extended) deadline of 12th April , even if it is just a holding note with further detail to follow.
- Do you have examples of specific incidences of complaints about harassment in the Party, what processes were available to deal with these complaints, were they or were they not followed, were there gaps in policies or procedures for dealing with such complaints?
- Can you provide examples which illustrate weaknesses in the Party’s attitudes and culture – past and present?
- Do you have ideas about what needs to change for the Party to look to the future with confidence that any form of harassment within the Party will be properly dealt with?
How to get in contact with the Independent Inquiry
Please submit written evidence direct to Helena by Friday 12th April to contact@independentinquiry.org.uk.
Or by post to:
Helena Morrissey
C/O LDHQ
8-10 Great George Street
London
SW1P3AE
A confidential voicemail is also available until 8pm on Friday April 12th on: 0207 340 4998. This phone number is a LibDem HQ number, but it is a voicemail only service which can only be accessed by Helena. Anything sent through the post will go through the standard Royal Mail screening. It and any emails will not be opened by anyone other than Helena.
Review Team
Helena Morrissey CBE, Chief executive officer Newton Investment Management Helena joined Newton in 1994 as a fixed income fund manager and was appointed CEO in 2001. During her time running Newton’s bond funds she was twice-winner of Investment Week’s Global Bond Fund Manager of the year.
Helena is involved in many aspects of the UK fund management industry and was named the Financial News ‘Most Influential Woman in European Asset Management’ in 2010. She was the first female director of the UK’s Investment Management Association, serving from 2005 till 2012. She represents the investment industry on the FSA’s Practitioner Panel, a statutory body providing input to the regulators from practitioners’ perspectives . She is a member of the University of Cambridge Endowment Investment Board and chairman of the Eve Appeal, which funds research into gynaecological cancers. Helena is also the Chair of the Corporate Board of the Royal Academy of Arts. In 2010, Helena founded the 30% Club, a cross-business initiative aimed at achieving 30% women on UK corporate boards by 2015 through voluntary, business-led change. She was appointed CBE in the 2012 New Year’s Honours list.
A Cambridge philosophy graduate, she began her career as a global bond analyst with Schroders in New York. She is married with nine children.
Helena Morrissey is being assisted by Jane Smithard, who qualified as a barrister and is a former chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidates Association. Jane’s role is to advise Helena on the party structure and process and will not be involved in any witness statements.
Witness information
All submissions will be treated in confidence. Helena Morrissey will follow up with a number of those who submit written evidence where a need is felt to explore specific aspects of testimony, either in-person or through other means.
If requested to attend a face to face interview with Helena, witnesses will have their reasonable travel costs covered.
Meetings will be entirely independent of the Party and will not take place within Liberal Democrat associated buildings.
If attending an interview, please feel free to bring a family member or friend with you. Their reasonable travel expenses will also be covered. You are also welcome to bring a legal representative.
Confidential counselling support has also been set up through an independent provider of qualified counsellors. You can access this service at any time. Contact Public Concern at Work on 020 7404 6609 who are acting as the gateway to this service.
Witness support
The Liberal Democrats have sought the assistance of Public Concern at Work, the UK’s leading whistle-blowing authority, to ensure that the whistle-blowing arrangements in relation to the allegations against Lord Rennard are sufficiently independent to provide the required support to those wishing to come forward.
Public Concern at Work have agreed to take over the role, previously filled by Kate Parminter, as the main point of contact for anyone wishing to come forward with further allegations or information.
Public Concern at Work are also able to provide witnesses with independent and confidential advice. They are able to provide guidance and help to victims with regard to who they should go to in the context of the reviews and investigations under way. They will assist individuals in contacting investigators, only where the individual wishes to do so.
Those wishing to come forward under this arrangement can do so by calling: 020 7404 6609.
If you have already contacted Kate Parminter, she will continue to support you and pass on information to the two investigations (the Independent Inquiry into Harassment within the Party and the Internal Investigation into specific allegations against Lord Rennard) as instructed by you. There is no need to repeat this process with Public Concern at Work, unless you would like to do so.
Confidential counselling support has also been set up through an independent provider of qualified counsellors. You can access this service at any time. Contact Public Concern at Work (020 7404 6609) who are acting as the gateway to this service.
Criminal investigation
If you have information that may help the police with their inquiries you are strongly encouraged to contact them. You can do so by calling: 0208 721 4601. The initial call will be taken by clerical staff and will then be followed up by specially trained officers.
Internal Party Disciplinary Investigation
The Party has appointed Alistair Webster QC to lead the formal Internal Investigation under the Party’s disciplinary rules into specific allegations. However, please note that the internal disciplinary investigation has been put on hold to allow the police to continue with their investigation.
Alistair has prosecuted and defended many prominent cases. He has been a recorder of the Crown Court since 1991 and a QC since 1995. He is a former Chairman of the Liberal Democrat Lawyers Association and practices from chambers in Manchester and London. He is one of the country’s most experienced criminal lawyers and is currently the joint head of Lincoln House Chambers. In accordance with the party constitution, internal party disciplinary investigations are conducted by people who hold current membership of the party.
A tax cut promised. A tax cut delivered – April 6
Cutting taxes for working people is our number one priority. It is so important to Liberal Democrats that we put it on the front page of our manifesto, argued for it in the coalition negotiations and are delivering it in government.
From 6 April more than 20m working people will be paying £600 a year less than they were under Labour, as the tax threshold rises to £9,440. Someone earning the minimum wage will have seen their Income Tax bill cut in half.
How would you use and extra £600?
Click on each picture to see what they would do with their extra £600
Alan [Teacher]
Ali [Mechanic]
Alice [Student]
Ben [Councillor]
Nikki [Church Worker]
Peter [Consultant]
Hilary [Youth Worker]
Vicky [Single Mum]
Julia [Marketing]
Kevin [Youth Worker]
Joanne [Retail]
Joy [Retired]
Philomena [Market Researcher]
Zem [Support Worker]