Letter from the Chair

Dear friends,

As autumn begins to set in it is good to reflect on a wonderful summer when the UK was at its best, welcoming people from all over the world to the Olympics and showing that we have people here who really can organise grand events. So we can be very proud of ourselves from the small committee which ran the village games (Blackwell Community Games were fabulous and next year the legacy will be our first ever Blackwell Festival) to the great national cultural Olympiad (`Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad' at Stratford was amazing) and the Games themselves. London was apparently full of happy, smiley people for once.

Now we have to make sure that that confidence and helpfulness continues.

The highlight of September for myself and thousands of other Liberal Democrats was, of course, our Federal Conference in Brighton.If the national media expected us to be angry and out to get our leaders they were seriously disappointed. Bromsgrove Lib Dems voted 5 to 1 in favour of Nick as leader in a poll instigated by The Independent and this seems to be mirrored elsewhere.

Nick Robinson was spotted singing away at the Glee Club so I guess he was not too upset! Nick Clegg's two major speeches and his even more demanding Q and A session received standing ovations and he and President Tim Farron both took the opportunity to remind us of why we are Liberal Democrats and why we chose the harder path of coalition. Tim reminded me a little of J F Kennedy with an inspiring speech and `I am a Liberal' rang out in a packed hall as he told us what liberalism meant to him:

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• FAIRNESS even in times of recession with top down taxation rather than tax breaks for the wealthy and reductions in income tax for the least well off John Bright sprang to mind.
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• HELP for those who need it most - free childcare from 2 years for the poorest, pupil premiums for children from poor families allowing their school to offer one to one tuition or reduce class size. I personally hope that this is being well monitored and adjusted if the need arises. Poverty is not the only indicator that help is needed.
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• EMPLOYMENT even in difficult times through green jobs (we are way behind Germany and China in green technology on a large scale but there are plenty of opportunities in areas like insulation and solar energy and we lead the world in marine energy)
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• OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE through the Youth Contract which ensures that all young people can earn or learn.More apprenticeships (modern variety - more flexible) than ever before.We do need to keep an eye on out -of -school provision for young people and can learn from some of opur local social enterprises eg Charford's Trunk and Alvechurch's The Lounge, which are providing youth facilities more smartly.
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• JUSTICE for minority groups including those 1,000 children per year who will no longer be imprisoned in immigration removal centres such as Yarls Wood as they were under both previous Governments. Citizens UK brought a party of asylum seekers and refugees to the stage in Brighton to say THANK YOU, LIBERAL DEMOCRATS. This moving presentation can be viewed on the Citizens UK website.There is a long way to go and Liberal Democrats for Seekers of Sanctuary (www.ld4sos.org.uk) was launched on 24 September to act as a forum for all party members who can contribute to the work needed to make the UKBA system fit for purpose.
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• SMARTER DEFENCE systems are obviously needed in the 21st century, Nuclear weapons, unusable and expensive, have had their day and the policy working party chaired by Dr Julie Smith of Cambridge will be producing a Defence policy document for discussion at next year's conference.The group would welcome clear, well argued contributions now. Both centreForum and CND have recently published arguments for taking Trident out of commission and contributing to the preparation for a Nuclear Weapons Convention at the next Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty talks.
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So we came away from Conference satisfied that we have made significant improvements and have averted some of the worst mistakes, which a Conservative Government could have made.

Now we need to work to make sure that we retain and win as many seats as we can in County, District and the 2015 General elections. They will be hard fought for and will not come without a lot of effort and hard work. Are you ready to help? Attendance at our recent Action Day at The Oakalls was disappointing and I do ask local members to help us put our party back on the political map . If we do not, all the good work our leaders are doing will come to nothing and we shall be saddled yet again with the silly, divisive red/blue power struggles of the past.

Janet

Chair, Bromsgrove Liberal Democrats