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Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference Speech; Danny Alexander MP on the manifesto
The winter Olympics have just finished.
While Vancouver complained of a lack of snow, I couldn’t get out of my Aviemore front door for 2 or 3 feet of the stuff. There’s only one thing for it. Charles, John and I are hereby announcing the Highland bid to host the 2014 winter Olympics!
Poor Gordon Brown
Our gold medal really got his hopes up.
Finally, he thought, it is perfectly alright to find a way of plunging downhill faster than anyone else – without a brake.
Sorry, Gordon, but there will be no first place for you.
You have failed. You know it, we know, the country knows it.
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Conference – I have been working on this manifesto for nearly a year now. Since then, my wife has become pregnant with our second child – working on a manifesto has some similarities, my hopes, my ambitions for how things will change once it comes out.
But with the due date for our baby at the end of May, I hope to get the manifesto out before then!
This election is a huge opportunity for the Liberal Democrats.
Your hard work, your dedication to our Party and your ceaseless activity to get the Lib Dem word out, means we are poised to make gains across the land. I hope our hard work on the manifesto will help you to close the deal.
Two ideas will dominate this election campaign: change and fairness. Only one party is arguing at this election for both fairness and change: the Liberal Democrats.
Change: because business as usual is not the answer to the economic, political, and environmental crises that we face.
Fairness: because too many people in our society are still help back because of the circumstances of their birth, their sex or their parent’s bank balance.
The dreadful crises we have faced give us the chance to reshape our country.
We believe that change must be built around that one simple, powerful, and very British value: fairness.
Unlike Gordon Brown – and despite my red hair – I am not known for my bad language. But fairness is not the only ‘F word’ I am going to use today.
It sometimes helps to be able to sum up the other parties in a single word, so let me do it for you.
So what is the “F” word for Labour: I say it is F for failed.
So what is the “F” word for the Conservatives: I say it is F for fake.
And what is the “F” word for the SNP: I say it is F for flop.
Failed ……. Fake ……. Flop ……. Nothing could contrast more with what we want for the future
The Liberal Democrat manifesto will be short, direct and to the point.
We have stripped away everything that is not essential because the country cannot afford it.
And we have set out in detail – more directly than any other party – how we will tackle the crisis in our nation’s finances.
We won’t make a single promise to the British people without saying exactly how we will pay for it. And the total effect of our plans will be to reduce public spending and reduce the deficit.
We have taken some difficult decisions. I know it is not easy to put on hold some long-standing party commitments that we won’t be able to deliver in the next Parliament.
We will not make promises we can’t keep.
But what we can promise is four big steps to a fairer Britain.
Only four.
But four big changes – more significant than anything Labour or the Tories will offer - to reshape the country we live in.
Fair taxes.
A new, fair start for all children at school.
A rebalanced, green economy.
And clean, open politics.
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Fair taxes first. Thanks to Labour and the Tories, the poorest people lose more of their income in tax than the richest. That’s not fairness.
A banker pays only a fifth of tax on his capital gains, while the person who cleans his office gives a third of their meagre wage to the taxman. That’s not fairness.
Our plan is simple: we will make the first £10,000 you earn tax free.
That will put £700 into the pockets of every working Scot. £1400 for the average family with two earners. Real money back in the pockets of people who are struggling to make ends meet.
Hundreds of thousands of Scots will pay no income tax at all.
We’ll pay for it by closing loopholes exploited by the wealthy.
Yes, ……..Baron …… Michael …… Anthony …….. Ashcroft, Vice Chair of the Conservative Party, that does mean you as well. It’s time to stop thinking you can pass laws, buy seats, but not pay our taxes.
We will tax capital gains the same as income. End higher rate relief on pension contributions. A new mansion tax paid on the value of homes over £2 million, and fair taxes on polluting air travel.
It is only the Liberal Democrats who are brave enough to tell some of the wealthiest people in the land that – at a time when millions of families are struggling to get by - they will have to pay more.
The first £10,000 you earn, tax free. That’s fairness.
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Second, a fair chance for all children.
Under Labour and the Tories in the UK, a child’s chances in life are more closely linked to their parents income than anywhere else in Europe. Social mobility has gone into reverse. That’s not fairness.
Our plan will give every child the individual attention they need to reach their full potential.
We are the only party that will spend more on schools - targeted at the children who need the most help.
Head-teachers will be freed to spend that money on what they think will make the most difference. Whether it is smaller classes, more one-to-one tuition, or after school classes.
Even in the depths of the recession, we will find new money for education – by scaling back tax credits to better off families – because it is so important to the future of our country.
Third, a new, rebalanced economy.
Labour and the Tories have been so in thrall to the City, they ignored the rest of the economy and caused the longest recession on record. That’s not fairness.
The Liberal Democrats, with Vince Cable as chancellor, will break up the banks so that they can never again wreck the economy. And until the break up is complete, our new banking levy is the only credible proposal in British politics to make them pay for the guarantee we give them.
We will build a balanced, sustainable economy – growth that lasts. In our first year in government, we will invest to create new jobs and boost the recovery.
And crucially, that investment will be green.
Labour and Conservatives ignored the environment and pushed nuclear energy, dirty coal, airport expansion. That’s not fairness for future generations.
By investing in new, low carbon industries we can put Britain at the forefront of sustainable industries – keeping in work while we protect our planet too.
And, of course, we will repair the nation’s finances. This year, government is spending £178 billion more than it raises in tax. Even when the recovery gets fully underway, that gap is predicted to be £78 billion.
If we don’t close that gap over the next few years, our economy will be ruined. We will set out – in detail – our plans for doing so.
Our measures include: the banking levy, scrapping the child trust fund, no like-for-like replacement of Trident, capping public sector pay rises, scrapping ID cards and biometric passports. I could go on.
And yes, that will mean economies in the Scottish budget too.
Just think: if Scotland been independent, we wouldn’t have a budget to repair. Those two huge, irresponsible banks would have sunk our economy completely. The IMF would be writing our budget, not a Scottish government.
Fourth, clean and decent politics.
Under Labour and the Tories, the broken political system has given governments total power with a small minority of votes. That’s not fairness.
They have conspired to create a corrupt system of expenses, and then allow those who break the rules to hang on in office. That’s not fairness.
Our plan will put power back where it belongs: with the people.
A fair voting system to end safe seats and ensure representative government;
giving people the power to sack their MPs if they break the rules;
power taken from Westminster and given to communities;
an end to big money in politics.
Full home rule for Scotland, immediate implementation of the Calman proposals to give the Scottish Parliament proper financial responsibility.
Reforming politics is essential to make the country fairer.
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On top of these steps, our manifesto will also set out how a Liberal Democrat government will:
- Protect the NHS frontline, using the health savings we find to safeguard services
- immediately restore the link between pensions and earnings, so pensioners don’t fall further behind when growth returns
- giving our brave service men and women a decent living wage by cutting desk jobs at the MOD.
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Conference, Nick Clegg will be here with us this afternoon. I have known him for 15 years and have worked with him closely since he became our leader – as his chief of staff and on this manifesto.
I can tell you that of the three party leaders, he is the best qualified of them all to be Prime Minister. He is plain-speaking, tells it as he sees it, and most importantly his politics is motivated by his deeply held belief that this country needs to be fairer. His leadership is what our country needs.
He has been clear from the start that in these difficult times mean we must be clear about our priorities:
Fair taxes.
A fair start for all children.
A rebalanced, green economy.
And clean, open politics.
I want to be clear about one thing: those four steps are a unified package. They must be implemented together if we are to get fairness in Britain. All for one, and one for all.
The more Liberal Democrat votes, the more Liberal Democrat MPs, the more power we will have to deliver our package for a fairer Britain.
I know we are ready to lead this country. In fact, I believe we are the only party with a clear plan that can lead the country out of the mess we are in.
The next election isn't between Brown and Cameron, much though they would both like to pretend that it is.
It's between the old way of doing politics and the real change represented by Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats.
If you want to waste your vote on changing nothing, then vote for Labour or the Tories.
If you want to guarantee fairness, vote Liberal Democrat.
If you want to guarantee change – real change for everyone – vote Liberal Democrat.
If you want a Party with fairness in it’s very DNA, then don’t waste your vote on anything else, vote for a Party that will bring about change, change that works for you – vote for the Liberal Democrats.
ends
Posted on: 05/03/2010
