Autumn Federal Conference Report - Glasgow 2013
Glasgow was glorious and this was a Conference which presented a strong sense of a party united, much to the disappointment of some sectors of the press. Tim, Vince, Danny and Nick all received their usual standing ovations and this time I felt they were well deserved.
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"We are not here to prop up the two party system. We're here to bring it down"
Nick Clegg - Autumn Conference 2013[/caption]
Tim Farron urged us to SHOUT about our achievements in coalition rather than apologise for what we have not been allowed to do; the raising of the tax threshold was an obvious Lib Dem winner along with the million new jobs, huge numbers of apprenticeships, the Green Investment Bank, and the ending of child detention. I am a founder member of Liberal Democrats for Seekers of Sanctuary but I had forgotten that during the Labour Government 9,000 children were detained in IRCs (Immigration Removal Centres) i.e. prisons for periods of months/years in some cases.
Conference is never a holiday and this year we were kept very busy with 17 policy motions to debate and hundreds of fringe meetings. The policy motions and voting results are all available on www.libdems.org.uk.
The Conference, and 2015 General Election manifesto theme, STRONGER ECONOMY,FAIRER SOCIETY was present in virtually every debate. There was concern about the growing gap between rich and poor, north and south but positive suggestions about tackling these. Minimum wages and the Living Wage, better conditions for workers, the problems presented by zero hours contracts and the low numbers of employees with sufficient pension provision, loss of NHS services and violence against women were all on the agenda. There was a cracking debate on the economy with the intellectual heavyweights of the party, David Howarth and David Grace, both speaking inspiringly. The debating star this year was however Charles Kennedy MP who got a rare standing ovation outside a set speech for his contribution to the EU debate, a subject dear to his heart and ours too. The EU may not be perfect but it is a huge amount better than the alternative and the only way we can improve its faults is to stay within it and work.
If there was a disappointing result it was the outcome of the defence debate which received the press criticism (`half baked') it deserved. The party faithful (to the leadership in this case) rejected by 3 to 2 an amendment, which sought non-replacement of Trident thus allowing the UK to become a non-nuclear state. I was disappointed as I wrote part of George Potter's amendment, which had the blessing of the Social Liberal Forum group. We live to continue the campaign and I urge the Government to go to the NPT Review Conference in 2015 prepared to speak in favour of a Nuclear Weapons Convention leading to universal, properly verified nuclear disarmament. Maybe we need another coalition partner?
A consultation was held on policy paper 115 Immigration, Asylum and Identity in preparation for a policy motion next year. You can respond to this consultation giving your three priorities for policy by emailing higginsl@parliament.uk.
The fringes I attended were excellent and it was particularly pleasing that our own LD4SOS fringe with Lord Roger Roberts and Scottish refugees in a local Indian restaurant was voted by Lib Dem Voice the best of Conference! Then there was the Chinese Lib Dems 7th birthday dinner….I am now on a diet! York is the Spring Conference venue (7 -9 March) and we are back in Glasgow next October.
I look forward to seeing fellow members there.
With best wishes
Janet