Conference Special: Part 2 Daily Politics

Afternoon, folks. Welcome to our final Daily Politics Conference

Special, from the Lib-Dem Conference, here in Birmingham. It

will reach its traditional climax with the annual leader's speech to

the party faithful. Nick Clegg finished the text last night. No

burning of the midnight oil for him. It contains no dramatic new

announcements, but a plea to his party and the country to stay the

coalition course. He will be on his feet in about four -- half-an-hour.

As always, Daily Politics will bring you live and uninterrupted

coverage. There is one part of the speech at the Lib Dem spinners have

been key to highlight. The decker de Prime Minister's depiction of

summer rioters as youngsters who had fallen through the cracks. And

his plans to send them all to summer schools. We will be

analysing that command anything else he has to say, in the best

pre-speech build-up and post-Speech debate in town. And Jo is here with

more. I'm soaking up the atmosphere at the Liberal Democrat conference

ahead of the big speech. And just what kind of fiscal stimulus is

Vince Cable cooking up? The Business Secretary will join us

live. And we will hear from former Lib-Dem leader Paddy Ashdown and

ask him if he backs divorce or continued married bliss with the

Yes, all of that is coming up between now and 4:15pm on BBC Two.

To kick off our coverage, with us is a Sam Coates of the Times and

Ben Brogan of the Daily Telegraph. What has Mr Clegg got to do in this

speech this afternoon? I think it's the perfect speech for an

uneventful conference. This conference is all about being dull

and steady, just kind of... could say they have achieved that!

Writing the ship, but not really taking it anywhere. It's the

perfect beach for that kind of conference. It's without major

announcements, it raises the hope for a few things, but there isn't a

great deal of policy beneath it. There's a big bit in a speech about

the economy, and he promises to do more about growth. Does that mean a

big fiscal stimulus? No, we are told. There are no plans for that.

There is a big section about taking on the unions. Is there a change in

position? No, we are told. It will try to rally de troops, settled the

troops, but it's not going to change the political markets.

telling us to prepare to be bored? I think he's telling us not to

expect to see Nick Clegg on the front pages tomorrow. Then maybe it

has failed? From his point of view, I think that's a good thing. People

have been going around and saying that the conference is boring and

flat, but from their point of view, that's quite good. In the past,

their conferences have made it into the headlines for the wrong reasons.

He desperately wants to persuade us that his party, not just him, is a

responsible member of the coalition. It is taking its duties in

government seriously. I think he's quite surprised the extent to which

his members here, in... Wherever we are, their Eminem... I can confirm

we are in Birmingham. -- wherever we are, in Birmingham... They have

not said anything outrageous. months ago, you could have

speculated this would be a lynch- mob for Nick Clegg. We wrote that!

You probably did, that is where we got the phrase from. Thankfully,

that is well forgotten. They have studied it, there has not been a

great deal of complaining. My Dem activists are hardier than Labour

and Tory activists. Why do you say that? They have seen two leaders

dispatched, underperforming under a General Election expected to do

well in, being thrown into coalition with a party they thought

they were in politics to oppose. Broadly speaking, they have behaved

themselves and they haven't complained too much. Therein lies

the danger. I think the Lib-Dems are over the content with a boring

conference, where there is not much to say. To get anywhere useful by

2013, to allow them to return dozens of MPs, they are going to

need a much clearer forward message about why they are in government

and what they appear to do. I don't know what a Lib Dem growth will

defence policy is. They haven't really told us. It might not matter.

When you look at the international economic situation, they are not in

control of any of the events that out washing around us. It is likely

to get much worse before it get better? I think that is the

backdrop of the conference. It is almost that this conference is

pointless, we are staring into the abyss and things across the Channel

and across the Atlantic are looking rather dire. I think Nick Clegg is

very aware of that. They were grappling with how much politics

could be in this speech. They made a clear decision that it needed to

be statesmanlike and needed to be she wore of that. People out there

are looking at the International situation, they are thinking that

they don't want to hear that kind of language. There are an awful lot

of points against Labour, he decides not to do any yah-boo

politics against the Conservatives. They argued that is because it was

done earlier in the week. Who have been the winners of this

conference? Who has come through as a leading Lib Dem start? The one

that has perhaps jumped the shark is Tim Farron. I'm surprised by the

number of his colleagues who said that his speech, with lots of jokes

against the Tories, it was perhaps older -- over eight, not

necessarily helpful. -- over a bit. People were worried that he might

even consider becoming leader of the party, because he would put

them to the left of Labour. I think Vince Cable had a good conference.

He made a speech that was incredibly gloomy. But you just

have to look at the economic news this morning and think that he

broadly had it right. There is very little to cheer about. Who do you

think has had a good conference? think Nick Clegg has brought Lee

had a good conference. He hasn't had the attacks, he hasn't had the

questions over his leadership for 2013. They were absolutely take

what they had this time around. The other person is Paddy Ashdown. Why?

There is a bit of a reshuffle inside Downing Street. All of his

old team, Olly Grender, a couple of others, they are going in. A

reverse takeover by a party going on in Downing Street. We'll see if

we can get him in before the speech and we will put that to him. We

will let you go and get pole position for the speech.

Andrew, D will be pleased to know that I am a winner and every single

key person here is a winner. We are minutes ahead -- away from

witnessing the speech. But we want one are due to win big. Imagine

sitting back cant luxuriating in the indulgence of the Labour

coverage with a Daily Politics mug filled with crystal champagne. You

will have to buy the bubbly, but if you enter the guess the year

competition, you could win your own mug. Just see if you can remember

# In the jungle, the mighty jungle, # Don't say a prayer for me now,

and save it until the mourning How long do you think your regime

can survive, with battles in the # Never a frown, with golden-

It would be wrong and unwise. Apart from anything else, it would be

Well, to be in with a chance of winning a Daily Politics?, and you

know you want to, or send your You can see the full terms and

conditions on the website. Just to say, we will be picking a winner

tomorrow, back in the Daily Politics studio.

Delegates this year seem to have been very well-behaved. What a

shame! They stuck to the party line, much to the joy of press officers

but to the sadness of most journalists. Before the Lib Dem

spinners completely relax, we sent the Daily Mail's Quentin Letts out

to give us his take on how the conference has gone.

Nice car, Vince! In the old days, the Liberal Democrats could have

their conferences, a supremely confident that they would never get

anywhere near a ministerial limousine. Nowadays, they are in

government. But don't worry, they still been complaining about the

Government they help to create. Take this for some Tory bashing.

I'm afraid, divorce is inevitable. As your President, I've taken some

legal advice about how we stand in the event of a break-up. There is

good news and bad news. Good news, we might get half of Ashcroft's

money. Bad news, we have to have pickles at the weekend. Ed Hume was

determined not to be had done. danger, if you don't compromise, is

Kiev. America, the markets looked over the brink when the madcap

Republican Right in Congress would not compromise with the President.

Let that be a warning to the Conservative right here. We need no

Tea Party tendency in Britain. Dem conferences have always been

pretty docile affairs. Look at it, it's not exactly Nuremberg. Nick

Clegg certainly thought he had done well under control. Does anybody

else want to ask a supplementary? Heavens, how docile. It's like

North Korea's conference meetings. They certainly haven't been many of

them here this week. But supporting the Lib-Dems is a bit like

supporting a lower-league football club. You cheer the T1, whatever

the results. That explains how they can clap enthusiastically when Nick

Clegg has stood up for the coalition... Just as they have

clapped along enthusiastically when others have attacked it. Where are

they all? Some rotten so-and-sos reckoned that the Lib-Dems are a

bunch of comedians. Education Minister Sarah Teather soon proved

them wrong. I thought I wouldn't keep you for too long, because I

want to get back to my hotel room to watch Strictly... I've heard

that they got Peter Hain booked for the next series. He's doing the

tango. Rupert Murdoch is on for the series after. He's been out

shopping with Andy Coulson already. Living dangerously... Coming back

to George Osborne, I heard that he's quite keen to get on the show

as well. He wants to delay line dance. -- do we Adeline dance.

Lib-Dems have always had a slightly split personality between the old

SDLP and the old Liberals. That polarity is continuing with those

that are happy to be in government and those that are slightly

happening abroad. I'm not sure that anything that is happening in

Birmingham has really shaken the world. Oh, well, I'm off to

That was Quentin Letts' viewer of Let's get the view from Testament,

Julian Huppert and Stephen Williams. Described as docile, dull and

irrelevant, well, that was the implication from Quentin Letts?

don't think that is true at all. I think it has been an interesting

conference, we have started to stretch that some things and see

policies that we want to get implemented. How? They have been no

divide on any key issues, there has been "no" vote on Health, where is

the stretch? There has been a whole lot of things, looking at a

sensible policy to stop the war on drugs and reduce harm to people.

We'd look at things to do with how to connect people up, developed the

digital economy, developing the way we look at our society, towards

well-being, how people like what they're doing and not just about

money. Generally, people have agreed with it. Plus, the French

discussions. Nick Clegg was saying, any supplementary questions? Nobody

had anything to say. What happened to the soul of the Liberal Democrat

party. We still have them. Where is it? It's interesting. That

particular question, there were no supplementary questions for that

one, but there were four other questions. The questions we asking

ourselves, it is,, when we make policy, it is going to work. We had

the luxury of opposition for many years. Now, in government, we are

doing the right thing and the fair thing. Do you think it's time to

look at plan B on the economy? if we have no money, we can't spend

more money. It's absolutely the right thing to do, follow-through.

It will make it better for people. Stephen, you negotiated on the

referendum on AV, which you lost. At the same time, you have tied

yourself to a boundary review which looks pretty awful for the Liberal

Democrats. Was that a No member of Parliament likes

boundary reviews. I have been through one and I survived it. You

can survive them. It was a bargain on constitutional reform that we

entered into. It is as much our fault that we lost the referendum

because I do not think that we had a strong enough yes campaign.

you might lose seats, will you rebel? There are lots of members of

Parliament. Conservative MPs are chuntering in the background as

well. I think it is right that we have a boundary review and reduce

the numbers of seats. I am talking generally, but there is no reason

to be cheerful, nothing uplifting. Is that what you want to hear from

Nick Clegg? There are lots of things to be cheerful about. We

have managed to lift 1 million people out of income tax. You know

the record. That is a great achievement. We have spent many

decades coming up with great ideas and not being able to do anything

about them. Now we are able to help people. We can actually electrify

the train line, and put money into the Green Investment Bank, to

change things for people in Britain. Still supporting the reforms on

health care? I am not actually a fan of them. I hope they can fix

that in the House of Lords. There is this pretence that the NHS is

perfect as it is. Clearly it is not perfect. People come to my surgery

and make that clear time I -- time and again. Why about summer school

for rioters? It is not just for them. I do think that the point is

that when children move into bigger schools, it is a difficult

transition at 11. We have all had that debate about whether the

summer holidays are too long, if it might be easier to move young

people into this all where they are going to start at 11. One feels it

is not the big answer. They began so was the money. The �50 million?

-- the big answer was the money. is the pupil premium. This should

make things better. Along with many other measures. OK, we have the

countdown to the speech. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Jo. Before we speak to Paddy Ashdown, let's have a look at

Mr Clegg arriving with his wife. Arriving at the Conference Centre,

not that long ago. Going through the canal district. This Conference

Centre is in the centre of Birmingham. It is part of a new

redevelopment programme. His wife was not supposed to want him to

stand for his second term but that was knocked down. She is dressed in

a yellow dress, I am told, from Topshop. And the jacket is from

this are -- another High Street shop. Why is that, Paddy Ashdown? I

will not ask you that. However you cut it, among the rank and file

here, there remains deep unease that they are in bed with the

Tories. However you cut it, Andrew, there remains among the rank and

file a deep understanding of why it is necessary. I know that you like

fighting and we have not lived up to your comfortable prejudices, but

the truth of the matter is this. And our expectations, which were

never high. Your expectations never are. Let's come back to the

question. There is a deep unease. You may feel you have to do it but

there is a deep unease. I suspect there will be an unease in the Tory

party about working with the Lib Dems. That is what coalitions are

about. This is the point and let's be serious for a moment. I think

you have not yet fully recognise the observers of our party, shop

and a cute like you they may be, that over the years the path that

we have followed, which I initiated as leader, means that the majority

of the people here are councillors. They have been in power, had a

coalition, understand what it is about. Does a coalition lead to

tensions between the parties? Of course it does. Of course there is

some unease about that. But the thing that really stands me, and I

am pretty surprised, is the sense that the steady understanding that

what we are doing is the right thing for our country and the party,

and by and large it has been pretty does as well, with the odd slip up

here and there. I suggest that one of the reasons why they are uneasy

is because leaders like you, and Mr Kennedy, and Mr Campbell, never

prepared the rank and file for coalition with the Tories. The

party was always clearly on the left when you 3 lead it. The

thought was always that if there would be a coalition it would be

with Labour. You never said, hang on, one day we may have to their --

share power with the Tories. That is a fair point. I was in power

when Margaret Thatcher was leading. If we honour the electorate, we had

to work with the Tories. For me, it was quite a shock. The ground had

not been prepared. Nobody prepared the ground. Nick Clegg had not

either. Do we love the Tories? No, we don't. Do we love Labour? We

don't. But we are democrats and we listen to the voice of the British

people speaking through the ballot box. When it is our duty to respond

to that as Democrats, it is not who but what. And of -- the question

was how do you govern? This coalition does have tensions about

it, but both sides have been surprised by the other. We have

been surprised by the number of things we actually agree with with

the Conservatives, starting with a deficit reduction plan, and they

have been surprised with the combatants and the steadiness of

the party, based in its ministers and its members. -- competence,

both in its ministers and its members. The general attitude is

collectivist. It is the minority of economic liberals that have

actually won the argument in your party. You now have to stand for

fiscal discipline, cutting the size of Government, not raising taxes

any more, no more public spending. You lost the argument. You would

forgive me if I said to you that you are normally highly acute, but

you are just plain wrong. If you did not notice that when I took

over in 1983, we moved the party away from social liberalism on to

the free market, on to the enterprise based approach of the

SDP, combining with the St -- SDP. That began that shift. You always

calling for higher taxes and Government spending. I was not. I

was calling for spending on education. Where does David Laws

come from? He joined his party when I was leader, he is my successor.

Nick Clegg joined his party when I was leader, and if you have not

spotted that your old prejudice view that we are collectively

Socialists... Of no, I said you were divided and they had won the

argument. Those that believe that there is a proper balance between

economic and social liberalism but the balance had shifted too far

towards social liberalism include me. That is where I wanted to lead

the party to. I am surprised that you did not notice that change

taking place over the last 10 years. This is the fruition of it. At we

will try to do better next time. am glad to hear it. What would you

do now if you were making these speeches? Exactly what we are doing.

No, I mean in terms of preparation. Would you be pacing up and down?

have seen many leaders do this and I think this is the most difficult

thing that the party leader has to do. 45 minutes of speech,

WordPerfect, stir the hall, make the press listen, speak to the

country beyond the hall. It is a huge pressure. I used to the pace

up and down. My wife said don't go near me because I would bite your

head off. But Nick Clegg will be nervous, he will be. We will let

you get a good seat. We expect they have reserved one for you. Thank

you, Paddy Ashdown. You have just heard that it is

never easy being party leader and this year has proved that for Nick

Clegg. Somebody else that knows about the trials and tribulations

is Charles Kennedy. This is his Well, in the words of the song, If

I Could turn Back Time. Of course, for the Lib Dems, we cannot. We

have had 12 months of the real grind of Government, and with it,

policy splits at the top, electoral setbacks, sometimes severe, the

loss of that alternative vote referendum, and more recently of

course, and disturbingly, rioting on the streets. And do you know

what? There is no suggestion that the next 12 months will get any

Now, this is Nick Clegg's rather magisterial deputy prime

ministerial compound on Whitehall. It was just one year ago that he

addressed our party conference in that role. Hold our nerve, and we

will have changed British politics for good. Hold our nerve, and we

will have changed Britain for good. And of course, he is right.

Politics, you know, is always a marathon more than a sprint. As a

party of Government we are still the rules of engagement have

changed, and that we still have four long years to go. Of course,

probably the biggest single flashpoint came with that notorious

U-turn over student tuition fees. Thousands of angry students on the

streets, right here in Whitehall, police having to kettle in certain

areas, like outside the Treasury when I am standing, long from the

Cabinet War Rooms. I was around that afternoon and it felt like

wartime conditions. Inside the Commons chamber itself, highly

heated debate, followed by that vote. The Lib Dems, well, we were

unable to resolve our internal differences, and we ended up voting

in three different directions. With his former leader and another

former leader both voting against the Government. Their noes to the

left, 302. Of course, once you are in Government, you are also much

more likely to find yourself in the full glare of the media. This year

David Laws was suspended from the Commons for seven days after the

standards committee found that he had mismanaged his expenses. Chris

Huhne, dogged by questions about that driving penalty. And Vince

Cable, stripped of responsibility for media and telecoms issues after

a newspaper surreptitiously recorded in declaring war on Rupert

Murdoch. -- recorded him. It has been the toughest of tough years.

First the Oldham East by-election, which proved that we are no longer

the automatic insurgent party of those kind of contests. Then the

meltdown at the Scottish parliamentary elections. There was

no way in the time available, 12 months, that the coalition

agreement and medicine from Westminster would do anything other

than hold back the party in Scotland, and so it proved. And

then the English local elections, usually a source of good support

for us at grassroots level. I am afraid to say, not the case this

year. The biggest issue that came up on the doorstep was tuition fees,

but also the way that Nick Clegg has run the coalition, and I am in

favour of the coalition, but I think he has run it very badly and

in my view should resign immediately. A huge blow of course

was losing that alternative vote referendum campaign. It was a

campaign that just did not seem to send the right signals, get the

right messages across. If anything, it appeared to press all the wrong

buttons with those that did bother to go out and vote. It has kicked

into the very long grass the subject closest to Liberal Democrat

hearts, I fear, for perhaps another political generation. It has

certainly soured relations between the two coalition parties. Put it

this way. I think everybody knows my views about the nature of no

campaign. It has been a fairly nasty campaign which has sought to

Brighton and mislead people. Although I take the view that

former leaders should be seen occasionally but not heard too

often, if I did have one word of advice for Nick Clegg I think it

would be this. At the moment there is a sense that we are just trying

to fight too many battle fronts at the same time. So let's just be a

bit more canny, pick our fights, Well, that was Charles Kennedy.

Joining me now, top-level people at the conference, Mark Littlewood

from the Institute of economic Affairs and Evan habits -- Evan

Harris, chair of the Lib Dem committee. What does he have to do,

Nick Clegg, this afternoon? I hope that he speaks beyond the

that he speaks beyond the conference floor. A lot of this

conference has been about making sure that the Liberal Democrat

party is comfortable alongside him. It's been surprisingly disciplined.

I thought that after year-old coalition there would be many more

complaints, much fewer people being comfortable with being in coalition.

There hasn't been a sign of that at all. The party leadership can be

happy with that. The question is, the people watching on television,

not the few 1000 Liberal Democrat activists in the hall. His Mark

Harris right? There hasn't been much dissent and he has actually

concentrated too much on the cosiness of the Liberal Democrats,

making them feel comfortable with all that Tory bashing, rather than

concentrating on the issues of the day? I think Mark is right, we

voted for the coalition, we are a democratic party. You asked the

question, being in the coalition, no. What most of the people

concerned about policy matters, and there has been some debate, though

not a lot, they want to stick to the coalition agreement. They don't

want to go beyond it, into the wild west of Tory manifesto commitments

that we thought we had excluded. Health is a good example. Although

it wasn't brought to the conference for on a motion, there were a lot

of people condemning the fact it was not on a motion. Norman Lamb

quite fairly said this morning that there is still more work to do on

health. People are not complaining about the coalition, they are

surprisingly sanguine about the state of the polls, but they are

still concerned about policy. That is how we should be. The Lib Dems

have been screaming from the rooftops, Nick Clegg in particular.

75% of the Lib Dem manifesto has been implemented. We are only in

the first year. But to what extent is that a good percentage and can

you push further? My worry is that there has been quite a lot of Tory

bashing, which I don't think would happen in Whitehall, from a lot of

people doing it, because they are in a safe enclave of Liberal

Democrats. And there's not been enough about what the double

Democrats want to do to get growth into the economy. Vince Cable...

Well, you must have missed Vince Cable's speech. I don't think you

missed it, I think you disagreed. We are saying it is right that the

Tories should be painted, and they are proud to be painted as people

that want to cut taxes for millionaires with the 50 pence rate.

We are clear that we are fighting against that. They say it is

temporary. You think it should be permanent? We are saying that

unless you replace it with something that makes the better-off

pay their fair share, then it should stay. We complained in March

and September that it was not being distinctive enough. I think Mark

agreed that it wasn't being distinctive enough. Now he is

putting out our distinctive position and people say it is anti-

Tory. He is a anti-Tory because he is not a Tory. I did Nick Clegg,

Vince Cable and others have shown a lot of honesty about the shape of

the economy. They have not been saying that it is going to come

good quickly. But they haven't really matter a programme about how

they will get growth into the economy. Despite the stimulus,

which isn't really extra money at all, they haven't got a plan. The

Business Secretary Hotson set out where growth is going to come from.

There is a real difficulty. They don't want to move into plan B,

because they don't think that plan A has been given enough time to

work. I think Mark would agree that plan B, or a non- plan of Labour,

would not be an answer. But we are running out of time before there

has to at least be a plan A plus. Some more stimulus, more Keynesian

worker. Paul quantitative easing, which we are pressing the Bank of

England to do. If the economy doesn't recover, then both Labour

and Liberal Democrat are in trouble. Does their committed in point? We

know that growth is barely coming off the bottom. Forecasts have been

downgraded again. When does the grant -- downgrade come? If the IMF

are right, rather than the earlier government forecasts, then the

deficit is not going to be controlled in the way that George

Osborne wants. That's the problem, we'll have to look at a spending

review. But I don't think we've heard enough this week about what

we are going to do to make Britain and easier and better place to do

business in. Cut in corporation tax? There have been these points

about fairness, but I would like to see more about how we are going to

attract inward investment into Britain, how we are going to make

it easier for entrepreneurs. It's not in competition. You can be

entrepreneurial in your outlook, still have people making a huge

amount of money, people that are turning their wealth. You can do

that and you can still have a fairer society. Or as fair a

society as possible, given the austerity. I don't just brush that

offer. Liberals like me, mainstream liberal Democrats, put social

justice first. But the Tories want the economy to be first, that's the

reality? You don't get fairness without using the fruits of the

economy. You can't just say that the fairness stuff is not critical

for us. Do I think we are getting close to the time for the big

speech. Back to you Andrew. The we were told by party managers that

Nick Clegg was going to run and little early.

Now we are told he is going to run a little late. Don Foster has just

given a warm-up speech. A fund- raising speech. They are passing

around the bucket in the hall. I did say passing around the bucket,

not kicking the bucket! Just to be clear on that. While we wait for

Nick Clegg to take to the stage, let's have a word with Nick

Robinson. What has Mr Clegg got to do this afternoon? Quite simply to

try to persuade people who are not listening to him any more to listen

to him once again. In a sense, it's an incredibly modest target. But

nothing else he does is worthwhile if he is not getting a hearing. The

problem, he believes, is quite simple. After going into government

with the Conservatives, which many traditional Lib-Dem voters regarded

as a betrayal, after breaking his word, as they saw it, on tuition

fees, that they have simply not been listening to anything he has

said since. They don't want to know. His aim today is to say, with this

refrain we will hear again and again, that it wasn't easy to go

into government, but it was right. You might not agree with everything

we are doing, it might be difficult and painful, but, for goodness sake,

credit me with doing it for the right reasons. If that is all he

achieves, he'll be perfectly content, I think. But he hasn't

given anything very dramatic to get people's attention. The Government

has no money and they are very confined by the international

economic situation. What he is offering is an argument. His risky

is that people lie in the mood to say, I don't want to hear your

argument. People might say, what difference did it make? We've had

some bleak economic news. Vince Cable using the metaphor of it

being an economic war time. That went down rather badly, not just in

the Treasury but with other Liberal Democrats. They thought it was

rather bleak, although characteristic of Vince Cable. He

now can't say, we have the solution to this wartime problem. He will

make a commitment to deal with the problem of the deficit and the lack

of growth, and a commitment to do what he can to spend more on

infrastructure, not for sources of growth. We are not expecting any

detail in that. I know that he believes that the sort of

conference speech that has five or six new announcements and has

people scurrying to work out if it is new money or not, that it's not

the best way to use these pictures. It's a rare moment way you get

quite a sizable audience watching the whole thing live. You get

substantial coverage on BBC news bulletins, instead of one or two

clips, you can get people having a chance to seek your argument. That

is the best way. That's going to do all. I believe Mr Roberts and... No,

you are Mr Robinson, you are not speaking today. Nick Clegg, getting

a standing ovation before he has even said a word. It's the sort of

thing that happens in party conferences. Let's listen to the

leader's address at the Lib Dem conference of 2011. We bring it to

you live. The deputy Prime Minister, Thank you. France -- friends, his

party, the Liberal Democrats, we have now been in government for 500

days. Not easy, is it? None of us thought it would be a walk in the

park. But I suspect none of us predicted just how tough it would

turn out to be. We have or support, we have lost seats, we have lost a

referendum. I know how painful it has been to face anger and

frustration on the doorstep. Some of you may even have wondered, will

it all be worth it in the end? It will be. And, today, I want to

explain why. But above all I want to pay tribute to you. Your

resilience, your Grace Under Fire. I have been genuinely moved by your

spirit and your strength. Thank you. And thank you, bow ball, for never

forgetting what we are in politics for. At the May elections, Alex

Cole-Hamilton, one of our defeated candidates in Edinburgh, said that

if cruising was part payment for ending child detention, then, as he

said, I accept it with all my heart. -- if losing was part payment. That

is the liberal spirit. That is It is a spirit that gave birth to

our party. That kept us alive when the other two parties tried to kill

us off. The spirit that means, however great our past, our fight

will always be for a better future. Now, down in Westminster, we have

been vilified like never before. The left and the right, I tell you,

they didn't like a as much in opposition and they like as a whole

lot less now we are in government. The left accuse us of being

powerless puppets, duped by a right-wing conservative clique. The

right accuse us of being a sinister left-wing clique, who have duped

powerless Conservatives. I wish they would make up their minds! Yes,

it has been hard. And adversity tests the character of a party,

just as it tests any person. We have shown, you have shown, immense

strength. After being hit hard, we picked ourselves up and we came out

fighting. Fighting to keep the NHS safe, fighting to protect human

rights, fighting to create jobs, fighting for every family. Not

doing the easy thing. But doing the right thing. Not easy, but right.

As for of those seats were lost in May, let me tell you this. I will

not rest, we will not rest until we have won every single one of those

Now, these may not be easy times for others as a party. But much

more importantly, these are not easy times for our country.

Economic insecurity, conflict, terrorism, disorder flaring on our

streets. Times like these can breathe protectionism and populism.

So, times like these are when liberals are needed most. Our party

has fought for liberal values for a century and a half, justice,

optimism, freedom, we are not about This Conference Centre is on the

site of the old Bingley Hall, where William Gladstone stood, 130 years

ago, have to found the National Liberal Federation. He observed

that day that Birmingham had shown it was no place for week need

liberalism. No change there, then. So we are strong, united, true to

our values, back in Government and In Government you are faced with

hard choices every single day. The question is how you make them. Some

ask how we can get a market to work here. Others, how can this win a

small boats? If you, what will the press think? -- win a small votes.

For liberals, the litmus test is always the national interest. Not

doing the easy thing, but the right thing. That takes a certain kind of

character, one that we have seen on display over the last few months

and days here in Birmingham. Brave, principal, awkward, resolute,

optimistic, unstoppable, and I am not just talking about Paddy

Ashdown, I am talking about every single one of you in this hall! But

I think... But I think people still need to know more. More about the

character of our party. Not just how we govern, but why. We proved

something about ourselves last year when we faced a historic choice,

whether or not to enter Government in coalition with the Conservatives.

Now, the easy thing would have been to sit on the opposition benches,

throwing rocks at the Government as it tried to get control of the

public finances, and in the short term it might even have been more

popular. But it wouldn't have been right. At that moment, Britain

needed a strong Government. Alistair Darling's recent book is

called Back From The Brink. In reality, Labour left us on the

brink. Teetering on the edge of an economic precipice, so we put aside

party differences for the sake of the national interest. People

before politics. Nation before party. And while other countries

have been riven by political bickering, we have shown that they

coalition forged in the time of emergency could be a different kind

of Government, governing different league. Because let me tell you

this, you don't play politics at a time of national crisis. You don't

play politics with the economy, and you never, ever play politics with

Our first big decision was of course to clear the structural

deficit, this Parliament. To wipe the slate clean up by 2015. This

has meant painful cuts, agonisingly difficult decisions. Not easy. But

right. Because handing control of the economy to the traders, that is

not progressive. Burying your head in the sand, that is not liberal.

Sanderling our children with the notion's debt, that is not fair.

Labour says the Government is going too far, too fast. I say Labour

would have offered too little, too late. Imagine, imagine for a moment,

if Ed Miliband and Ed Balls had still been in power. Gordon Brown's

backroom boys, when Labour was failing to balance the books,

failing to regulate the financial markets, and failing to take on the

banks. The two Eds, behind the scenes, lurking in the shadows,

always plotting, always scheming, never taking responsibility. And at

this time of crisis, what Britain needs is real leadership. This is

Labour's economy was based on bad debt, and false hope. Labour got us

into this mess and they are clueless about how to get us out.

Another turn of Labour would have been a disaster for our economy, so

don't for a moment let Labour get away with it. Don't forget the

chaos, the fear, of 2008, and never ever trust Labour again with the

You know, Government has certainly been a bit of a learning experience.

For example, you go on these international visits and you have

to exchange gifts with the foreign dignitaries that you meet. But what

do you get them? When I met the French Prime Minister for the first

time, he had done his research, he had found out exactly what he I was

born in, and presented me with a beautiful bottle of 1967 brandy. My

office told me that he light hiking, so what did I give him? -- he like

hiking. A bar of Kendal mint cake. Tim Farron's idea! But Government

has also brought difficult decisions. And of course the most

heart-wrenching for me, for all of us, was on university funding. Like

all of you, I saw the anger, I understand it, I felt it. And I

have learned from it. I know how much damage this has done to us as

a party. By far the most painful part of our transition from the

easy promises of opposition to the invidious choices of Government.

And probably the most important lesson I have learned is this. No

matter how hard you work, on the details of a policy, it is no good

if the perception is wrong. We can say until we are blue in the face

that no one will have to pay any fees as a student, but still people

don't believe it. At once you have left university, you will pay less

week in week out than under the current system, but still people

don't believe it. That the support given to students from poorer

families will increase dramatically, but still people don't believe it.

The simple truth is that the Conservatives and Labour were both

set on increasing fees. And in those circumstances, we did the

best thing we could. Working tirelessly to ensure anyone that

wants to go to university can. Freeing part-time students from

upfront fees for the first time. Ensuring fair repayments for all

graduates. But we failed to properly explain those dilemmas. We

failed to explain that there were no other easy options. And we have

failed so far to show that the new system will be much, much better

than people fear. So, yes, lessons learned. But the most important

thing right now is to get out there and show that university is for

everyone. And we should all take a leaf out of Simon Hughes's book. He

has been busting a gut as the Government's Advocate For Access,

travelling the country, explaining the new system, finding ways to get

young people from all backgrounds to apply for university. Simon did

not like the decision we made for reasons that I respect. But rather

than sitting back, he has rolled up his sleeves, and got on with making

the new system work. Simon, thank Right now, of course, our biggest

concern is the economy. The recovery is fragile, every worker,

every family knows that. There is a long, hard road ahead. Just in the

last few days alone, we have seen the financial storm in the eurozone,

rising unemployment, falling stock markets. So we were right to pull

the economy back from the brink. It is clearer now than ever that

deficit reduction was essential to protect the economy. To protect

homes and jobs. Because deficit reduction lays the foundations for

growth, but on its own it is not enough. That is why we are already

investing in infrastructure, reducing red tape, promoting skills,

getting the banks lending. The outlook for the global economy has

got worse. So we need to do more. We can do more and we will do more

Because we are not in politics just to repair the damage done by Labour,

too glued back together the pieces of the old economy. We are here to

build a new economy. A new economy say from Casino speculation, that

is why the Liberal Democrat Businee Secretary is putting a firewall

into the banking system, protecting the people that have worked hard

and saved. A new economy that safeguards the environment. That is

why a Liberal Democrat environment secretary is creating the world's

first Green Investment Bank, spending �3 billion to create new

jobs, a new economy where the lowest paid get to keep the money

they earn. That is why a Liberal Democrat, Chief Secretary to the

Treasury, has put �200 into the pocket of every basic rate taxpayer,

and taken almost 1 million workers, most of them women, out of income

A new economy. A new economy based on skills. And that is why one

Liberal Democrat minister is creating a quarter of a million new

apprenticeships and another is investing in schools and early

years education. A new economy that works for families, where men and

women can choose how to balance work and home. That is why Liberal

Democrats are bringing in shared parental leave and more flexible

working. And a new economy run for ordinary people, rather than big

finance, after the so-called masters of the universe turned out

to be the masters of destruction instead. Which is why... Which is

why when we come to sell those bank shares I want to see a pay back to

British citizens. Your money was put at risk. Your money was used to

bail-out the banks. And so the money made by the banks is your

money, too. An economy for everyone. In Scotland, Wales, in every part

of the United Kingdom, for women and men, young and old, town and

country, North and South, a new Because as Liberal Democrats, we

act for the whole nation. In our long, proud, liberal history, we

have never, never served the media moguls, the union barons, all the

bankers -- or the bankers. We do not serve and we have never served

vested interests. We are in OK, OK, OK! I get it, you agree

with that! That is why we can make decisions in the national interest.

Not easy. But right. That is why we speak up, first and loudest, when

the establishment let the people down. In the last three years, we

have seen establishment institutions exposed, one by one.

The City of London, shattered by the greed of bankers. The media,

corrupted by phone hacking, Parliament shamed by expenses. I

was brought up to know that it is not polite to say I told you so.

In 2006, when Vince Cable warned that bad debts were growing and

that bank lending levels were recklessly irresponsible. In 2002,

when Tom McNally... I can't see him... There he is! When he said

that the Government must guard the public interest as much as Mr

Murdoch guards his shareholder's interests. In 1996, when Paddy

Ashdown said that Parliament had become a dishevelled old corpse of

what was once called the mother of all parliaments. Never one to pull

Free to tell it like it really is. Because we are no bodies pocket. Of

all the claims that Ed Miliband has made, the most risible is that his

party is the enemy of vested interests. I mean, give me a break.

While we were campaigning for change and the banking system, they

were on their prawn cocktail offensive in the city. While we led

the charge against the media barons, Labour has cowered before them for

decades. Do you know the most shocking thing about the news that

Tony Blair is godfather to one of Rupert Murdoch's children is that

nobody was really shocked at all? And, today, Labour is in hock to

the trade union balance. After their government stipend, 95% of

Labour's money comes from unions, most of it from just four of them.

Let me be clear, the values of trade unionism are as relevant as

ever. Supporting workers, fighting for fairness at work. But I don't

think the unions should be able to Ed Miliband says he wants to loosen

the ties between Labour and the union barons who helps him to beat

his brother. OK. Let's see him put his money where his mouth is. Let's

see if he will support radical reform of party funding. Every

previous attempt has been blocked by the vested interests of the

other two parties. We are all stuck in a system that we know is wrong.

We have all been damaged by it. But if we learned anything from the

expenses scandal it is surely that if the system has broken then we

should not wait for the next scandal, we should fix it and fix

So, whether it is securing the economy, sorting the banks or

cleaning out politics, we are making the big, difficult decisions.

Not easy, but right. And that is what it means to be a party of

national government again. Not just making arguments, making change.

Now, in a coalition we have two kinds of power. The power to hold

our coalition partners back and the power to move the Government for

what. So, we can keep the Government to a liberal path, and

could the Government in the centre ground. -- and could the Government.

You were absolutely right to stop the NHS Bill in its tracks. To

ensure a change in our terms, no arbitrary but deadlines, no threat

to the basic principles at the heart of our NHS. We are right to

stand up for civil liberties. No retreat to the illiberal populism

of the Labour years. We are right to keep insisting on a fair tax

system, asking the most of the people who have the most. And we

will always defend human rights. At home, as well as abroad. The

European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act are not,

as some would have you believe, foreign in positions. These are

British rights, drafted by British lawyers, forged in the aftermath of

the atrocities of the Second World War, fought for by Winston

Churchill. So, let me say something. Let me say something really care

about the Human Rights Act. In fact, I will do it in words of one

So, friends, we will always hold the liberal line. But, much more

important, the positive power of government. Not just stopping bad

things but doing good things. Last year, I walked through the door of

Number 10. But we all walked through a kind of altogether. Did

being, once again, a party of national government. So, we must

now move beyond the reflexes of opposition, to the opportunities of

government. New social housing. Criminal justice reform. Fixed-term

parliaments. Keeping our post offices open. House of Lords reform.

Better mental health care. Safer banks. Income tax down for ordinary

workers, capital gains tax up for the rich. Compulsory retirement,

scrapped. Pensions protected by a triple lock. ID cards, history.

Child detention, ended. Just look at what we have announced in the

last five days. After decades of campaigning, thanks to Lynne

Featherstone, equal marriage, straight or gay. All-powerful

consumers over energy companies. Calling time on rewards for failure

in boardrooms. Investing in education for girls in developing

countries. New powers to turn empty homes back into family homes. A

�500 million investment in growth. Liberal achievements from a liberal

And we have stood by our commitments to act on the

environment. The pollsters tell us that climate change has dropped

down people's list of worries. That people have more immediate concerns.

I understand this. So, the politically convenient thing would

have been to put this off to another day. Instead, we have acted

immediately. Not easy, but right. Ambitious carbon targets, energy

market reform. Councils generated renewable energy. A Green Deal to

make bills lower and homes warmer. Carbon capture and storage. Green

buses, trains and trams. The world's first ever Green Investment

Bank. Green achievements from a I've learnt quite a bit in the last

500 days. About the responsibilities of government,

about the resilience of our party. The integrity of our members, our

determination to do the right thing. In government, every single day

brings hard choices. You know, you can very quickly lose your way

unless you at some reduce certain of your calls. Why you're there in

the first place. -- unless you are absolutely certain of your calls,

why you're there in the first place. Everyone of us in this hall has

strong convictions. A human rights, political reform, civil liberties,

fighting capitalism, fighting climate change. -- responsible

capitalism, fighting climate change. Every one of us has a political

passion, too. The firing side that drew us into politics and the first

place. Let me tell you about what I care most about. My passion is

insuring a fair start for every child. I have a simple,

unquenchable belief that every child can do good things, great

things, if only we give them the opportunities they deserve. Equal

opportunity. It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Everyone agrees that it.

But then we allow prejudice, tradition, class, to crush a

million hopes and dreams. Watch young children's lives go off-track,

even before they go off to school, sit idly by while talent goes to

waste. I know I have had all the advantages you could dream of. Good

school, great parents. I was lucky. But it shouldn't be about luck. On

Saturday I met a group of young people, just after I arrived in

Birmingham, from a charity called UpRising. They were all from really

difficult backgrounds. One young woman, Chantal, she told me that

she only started to thrive when she found someone who believed in her.

I want every child to believe in themselves. In terms of opportunity,

we are a nation divided. Children from a poor background, a gear

behind in language skills before the age of five. More young black

men in prison than at Russell Group universities. In Hammersmith and

Fulham in West London, more than half the children leading state

schools head to a good university. Just 30 minutes down the District

Line to Tower Hamlets, just 4% do. Odds stacked against too many of

our children. A deep injustice, when birth his destiny. That is why

I have been leading the charge for social mobility. For fairer chances,

You know, people keep telling me that it's too hard. That it is

futile to push for fairness, into the headwinds of an economic

slowdown. Or they say it will take too long, that I should find some

politically convenient, quick wins instead. I also encountered fierce

resistance from those who do so well out of the status quo. But for

liberals, the only struggles worth having are the uphill ones.

Allowing schools to move poorer children at the cue for admissions.

Making universities open their doors to everyone. Making firms

work harder to get women on their boards. Breaking open internships.

Or controversial, all difficult. So, I am not backing down. I am not

slowing down. Because this will not be a liberal nation until every

citizen can thrive and prosper, until birth is no longer destiny,

This summer, we saw the consequences of a society in which

some people feel they have no stake at all. Nobody could fail to be

horrified by what we saw during the riots. These were not organised

campaigns for change. They were outbursts of nihilism and greed.

I'll never forget the woman I met in Tottenham. She told me the

clothes that she stood in were the only possessions she had in the

torched. But, you know, in every city where trouble broke out, most

people did the right thing. So many more people were out there to clean

up the streets that went out to trash them in the first place. In

Manchester I met a cafe owner who boarded up her broken windows and

started serving tea and coffee straight away it to the people that

were helping clear up. Here in Birmingham, the community stood

together in the face of disorder and tragedy. Our emergency services,

police, courts, they all rose to the challenge. But we have to now

ensure that the offenders become ex-offenders, for good. Three out

of four had previous convictions. We have to push ahead, not step

back from, but push ahead with a government rehabilitation

revolution. Punishment that sticks, that changes behaviour. An end to

the corrosive cycle of crime. And I want the criminal to look their

victims in the eye. Two of see the consequences of their actions and

put it right. That is why there will be community pay back projects

in every city affected. Why we are investing in drug recovery wings in

our prisons, tackling down culture, tougher community sentences.

Effective, restorative justice. Let me say something else. The

rioters are not the face of Britain's young people. The vast

majority of our young people are good, decent, and doing the best

they can. Don't condemn all of them Do you know what really struck me?

It was how so many of those that did join the riots seems to have

nothing to lose. It was about what they could get here and now. Not

what lay in front of them tomorrow and the years ahead, as if their

own future had little value. Too many of these young people had

simply fallen through the cracks, not just this summer, but many

summers ago, when they lost touch with their own future. And so often

the people that have gone off the rails are the ones that are

struggling years earlier, not least in making that critical leap from

primary to secondary school. So today I am launching a new scheme

to help the children that need it most, in the summer before they

start secondary school. A two-week summer school helping them catch up

in maths and English and getting them ready for the challenges ahead.

Because we know this is a time when too many children lose their way.

So this is a �50 million investment And that is why we have found the

money even now to invest in education, protecting the school's

budget. A �2.5 billion pupil premium by the end of the Palmer.

More investment in early years education. 50 hours for all three

and four year-olds. New provision for the poorest two year-olds. All

steps towards a society where nobody is enslaved by poverty,

ignorance or conformity, towards a liberal society. These are

investments that will take years or even decades to pay off. By the

time the two year-olds that we have next year come to vote, I will be

60. It is even possible that I will no longer be leader by then! At

least, that is what I have told Miriam. So why are we doing it when

it cost so much and take so long? Because investing early makes such

a huge difference. Especially for the poorest children. Not easy. Not

So hold your heads up. Look our critics squarely in the eye. This

country would be in deep trouble today if we had not gone into

Government last year. And Britain will be a fairer nation tomorrow

because we are in Government today. Never apologise for the difficult

things we are having to do. We are serving a great country at the time

of great need. There are no short cuts, but we won't flinch. Our

values are strong, our instincts are good. Reason, not prejudice,

compassion not greed. Hope, not After the summer riots message

boards sprang up. They became known as peace walls. And on the one in

Peckham there was a note that simply said - our home, our

children, our future. Six words that say so much more than 600

speeches. Our home, our children, our future. Britain is our home. We

will make it safe and strong. These are our children. We will tear down

every barrier they face. And this is our future. We start building it

JUDO: Nick Clegg finishes his address. His wife Miriam on her

feet with the rest of the conference will a statutory

standing ovation that all party leaders get at this stage. He spoke

for about 45 minutes. It was a pretty are repentant Lib Dem leader.

-- unrepentant. He would not apologise for joining in the

coalition with the Tories because they had to act in the interests of

the nation. The Deputy Prime Minister even DUP the previous

attacks on the Tories by criticising Ed Miliband and Ed

Balls as the backroom boys. Never trust Labour again on the economy,

he said. Words that may come back to haunt him a little bit iffy as

to form a coalition with them in the future. -- if he has to form a

coalition. And on a Human Rights Act, a lot of Conservatives want to

replace that with a British Human to stay. He told quite a bit about

social mobility as well. He said quite a lot about the rioting. He

announced a �50 million initiative to send children from the more

deprived parts of our cities and elsewhere into two weeks' summer

schools in the gap between leaving primary school and going to

secondary school so they could catch up on maths and English. Many

people will wonder what difference that might make. When we see the

details, it will no doubt be debated. He is going through the

hall. It was not packed. You may have seen from our coverage quite a

few empty seats. But he seems to have done the business. Sam Coates

from the Times is with me. What did you make of that? It was

interesting that he was making an appeal to the hall, rather than to

the country. The slogan of the speech was not easy but right and

he said it over and over. It was an appeal to activists to stay

together and pull together. I think he knows this is not a front page

speech. I think he knows that the job of today was to reassure

activists that it would be all right in the end, and to

essentially give them... Praising the people around him, at their

resilience and determination. Politically, one line steered

through. The line about Labour, never trust Labour on the economy

again. Surely that will mean that they can never go into coalition

with the Labour Party. We said that to them and they said not at all

because they would make it all right if they did. I am not sure he

can escape from that line. It is kind of they get out of jail free

card because you cannot trust Labour on their own, they will need

to be there to keep them on the right tracks. They have basically

been saying that about the Tories as well. In a sense, this may not

resonate, but will it make your front page tomorrow? It is in the

balance. There is a lot of bad economic news out today. The worst

borrowing figures ever, the speeches later on today, and the

development in Athens with the eurozone crisis. What Nick Clegg

had to say on the economy is actually worth highlighting. He

said they would do more growth. Again, in the briefing before the

speech we asked what that would be. But there is no new money, it

appears. A message for the hall, again, but not underpinning it as

you might want. He can regard Birmingham as a reasonable success

for him. There were rumblings that they wanted to ditch Nick Clegg,

because going into the bed with the Tories was a disaster. They may not

be very happy about it, but nobody is saying that Nick Clegg's

position is in jeopardy. He lives to fight another day as leader of

the Liberal Democrats. One of the interesting things about the

conference as a whole is that Nick Clegg has got his mojo back. The

top senior people all acknowledge that. That is interesting because

before the summer they may not have been so sure. Now he is determined

to fight into the next election and through it as well. And he promised

Mary and that he would not just be serving for one turn. -- Miriam.

That is the big if. Thank you. We have got more with some Lib Dem

activists now. Yes, I have. You may be able to

hear the noise of delegates streaming out of the Conference

Centre after the speech. We have managed to grab two of them for the

moment and we might get some more. Paul Hodgkinson and Neil McGovern,

both councillors. Welcome to you both. Your first impression? Really

good. What I liked about it was that Nick was unapologetic about

making tough decisions. He was really trumpeting our liberal

values. Things like the vested interest. They really liked that.

Yes, they did. And the stuff about the Green Investment Bank, taking

people out of tax at the bottom of the scale. He is really good and he

needs to say more. There are two things that he needs to do. One of

them was dealing with the issues that face us at the moment, so

cutting the deficit and making sure we get a good green recovery. And a

second one is that he has differentiated the Lib Dems on the

Tories and Labour. He mentioned that we have Labour and the Tories,

and we are different. It is clear what difference we are making to

this Government. He said this was less about Conservative bashing and

much more about firing at the Labour Party. Would you support

that? Would you say that on the doorsteps? I think it is very much

about what we are bringing to the Government. The things we are doing.

You heard him say very clearly then that the Human Rights Act will not

go. That was a real warning to the Conservatives. For me that is an

important thing. You are refused fan? Yes, and lots of Liberal

Democrat staff. -- a huge fan? So what is it like on the doorstep?

is different in the Cotswolds because we had a great result in

Labour and the best result in the country. Then we don't want to talk

to you! And in Cambridge? There has been a lot of anger but not from

people that vote Liberal Democrat. The Labour vote now think it is OK

to vote Labour again. They have forgotten a 10 pence tax rate,

things like that, and we are seeing lot of people coming out again.

Among the voters that we have got, they are still strong and it is

growing day-by-day, we have had members joining all the time.

experience was completely different. In those areas that have been

Conservative in the past, they are very comfortable with the coalition,

and we bring a break to those more extreme views. You are lucky enough

to be able to take a bad review. Which one would you like? I will

take the one which says I Love high-speed rail. It is not going

through your constituency! And you? I love the 50 pence tax rate.

controversial. We will return at the end of the programme and speak

to more delegates. Now back to We are joined by Nick Robinson,

what is your overview? In a sense, it was less of a speech and more of

a plea to the country to understand why he and his party had done what

they had done. There was that passionate moment, he said, we had

to go into government. That constant refrain, it's not easy,

but it is right. I think, in a sense, that is all the speech was.

There were lots of bits that pleased but all that didn't

actually sing off the page when we read the script before. They liked

the insistence that the party was in nobody's pocket, that they had

been that people that warned about the banks, but Rupert Murdoch and

the state of Parliament before expenses crisis. That gave them a

sense of who they were. They liked the stance about the human rights

act, his commitment, let me spell it out, he said, it is here to say

-- stayed. They liked the list of liberal achievement in government.

To the country, the message was, I did this for a reason you have to

understand. You might not like me, you might think I broke my word,

you might wish I hadn't done it, but accept why I did it. A little

bit like Tony Blair, again and again, he said, you may disagree

with me on Iraq but at least accept that I did it for the reasons I

believed in. They were never in Rupert Murdoch's pocket, but then

he never invited them into his pocket and we don't know what they

would have done if he had. Is it best to see this... Although he was

speaking to the wider audience as well, overwhelmingly to me it

seemed it was a speech to consolidate, almost re consolidate

his position with his own party. To that extent, he succeeded?

Absolutely. In a sense, he had succeeded before the speech was

delivered. Back in May, when he lost the election so badly, not

just the English locals, but in Scotland and Wales, when he lost

the referendum on voting change, the great Liberal Democrat dream

for so many years, when he was the target for so much personal abuse,

you might have believed that this was a day when he was pleading for

his leadership, for a continuance of the coalition. In truth, he is

not. In part, that's because his main rivals have been damaged on

the way. Vince Cable for political reasons, his comments that were

recorded by the Daily Telegraph, Chris Huhne for personal reasons.

They are not the kind of threat they might have been a few months

ago. I think you are right, he was trying to say, there are things we

believe in that we are fighting for and we are winning. You don't have

to spend the whole time thinking you're only job is simply to find

things you don't like that the Tories are to and say no. Let's go

back to Jo for some more reaction from her end of things.

Janet Morgan has been a councillor in Abingdon in Oxfordshire. Your

impressions of the atmosphere, first of all, what was it like in

that all? I thought it was very positive for their speech. A very

comprehensive speech. Not showy, but really down-to-earth.

didn't think it was too sombre, too much about the fight ahead? All of

the decisions are difficult? Was it uplifting enough? Yes, I think it

was realistic and uplifting. Particularly at the end, the

concentration on children, John people, one of them being the

future. That was definitely uplifting. Did you agree with Nick

Clegg in the staunch defence of the economic programme? That being in

coalition with the Conservatives is right and that they have to stick

to the plan of spending cuts? think so, provided it goes with the

other things like the emphasis on, particularly, looking at young

people for the future. What would you like to see? What would be the

most important thing you would like to see the Liberal Democrat achieve

in government now? The whole thing about tax, we started the progress

of taking people out of tax at the bottom of the scale. We need to go

fully ahead with that, by 2015 I want to see that everybody on the

minimum wage pays no tax at all. The other thing I would like to see

is more taxation for the bankers. I don't think we have gone far enough

on that. The bids is very strong on that. -- Vince Cable is very strong

on that. What would you like to see? More on more excessive bonuses,

more money coming back to us from the money we put into the banking

system in the first place. We've gone some way, but we need to go

further. In terms of tax, you have a badge saying I love the 50 pence

tax rate. It is staying for the moment. Is that something you would

like to see permanently? I think it is. I don't think it's the argument

that if we suddenly get some of the richest people a bit of a tax break,

it means they will leave the country and will lose thousands of

pounds. It's about sending a message, the people that pay the

most should be able to help the most. Are you invigorated to go

back out on the doorsteps, all three of you? Absolutely.

Absolutely. All three of you, thank you very much. We'll let you go in

a few minutes' time. At it from us with the delegates. Actor you.

We are joined by the Business Secretary Vince Cable. Welcome back

to the Daily Politics. Have you lost the stimulus argument in this

government? Absolutely not. I spoke on Monday about the need for

financial stability, stepping -- staying with our deficit-reduction

targets. This is partly about the measures to attract investment,

apprenticeship technology. In the short term, some of the things that

can happen, the modest support for infrastructure that Danny Alexander

had. At the weekend you called for a new deal style stimulus? I set

out a set of measures on how government can stimulate and

encourage growth, without at the same time undermining of

sacrificing... Well, there are new deals throughout our economic

history, that means a substantial increase in government investment.

You're not going to get that. didn't used that phrase, New Deal.

Someone glamorised it. It wasn't inaccurate? Of course, we need as

much commitment as we can for investment in the economy.

Government money can leverage in a substantial amount of private

capital. We are doing that with the Green Investment Bank, but we

mustn't compromise our public expenditure commitments and our

deficit reduction. Do you accept that there cannot be a substantial

amount of new capital investment without reaching your budget

targets and spending limits? You accept that? We are having to stick

to the commitments. But we are dealing with a moving target. As

far as capital expenditure is concerned, the Government has

already increased it. It was savaged under the outgoing

government. It clearly plays an important role in private-sector

investment. Danny Alexander has put in an additional commitment to that

during the conference. Your leader said today, deficit-reduction lays

the foundation for growth. We are getting the deficit reduction,

where is the growth? Deficit reduction leads to growth through

the following mechanisms. If you have external confidence... But we

haven't got the growth. That is a common problem throughout the

Western world. So, one isn't following the other? The growth we

need to have is beginning to become apparent in exports, manufacturing,

business investment. The biggest thing that happened on the first

day of the conference is the commitment to a big engine plant

that is happening throughout the manufacturing sector. That is the

kind of growth that is sustainable. Who are, to quote you, the

ideological descendants of those who sent children up chimneys?

There are people that are trying to suggest... Who? Well, I'm not

naming individuals... At why not? Let's just say segments of the

press... Depressed? -- the press? Not the Tories? I'm not criticising

the Conservatives... Which newspapers are in favour of sending

children up chimneys? I didn't actually say that... Or the

ideological? I'm trying to reform... Who was it that ended children

going up children -- tinnies? expected was one of the most

enlightened Prime Ministers... lord Shaftesbury, a Tory. Who

opposed the ending? Probably one our people! Yes, prominent...

Nobody is arguing... In a sense, you live the ideological descendent.

Nobody is really arguing about trim -- children going up chimneys.

mentioned it, not Mable stock -- not me. When your leader went on

and on about social mobility, steps that would be taken to improve it,

including cleaning up internships. As you will know, internships and

work experience are the way that privileged people can get a leg up.

They are often not paid and they depend on contract. From your own

website, I have a list of jobs for interns from Lib Dem MPs and your

own party headquarters. All of them are offering unpaid internships.

Wider to clean up your own house first? Unpaid internships can be a

valid form of work experience. They can have those negative effects,

that they can be valuable. We know they are valuable. That is not the

issue. The issue is that if they are unpaid, if you don't come from

a well-off family, especially if you don't come from London, you

cannot take these jobs. You are already making sure, on your own

website, that these jobs will only go to the privileged and well-

connected. That is not the case. Internships work for me, I try to

choose people from a wide variety of backgrounds. How can you live in

London and how an internship without a salary? A lot of people

are at home, they've left college, they are looking to gain experience.

Excuse me, this is quite important. You talk about this all the time.

If you are a bright boy or girl from Birmingham, just coming out of

university, from an ordinary, working-class family, how could you

afford to take any insure unshipped -- internship from the Liberal

Democrat when it is unpaid? We are not going to scrap internships.

did you just pay them? The major problems of social mobility have to

be overcome in a variety of ways, helping people to get to university,

the Pupil Premium and the rest. Internships are a valuable form of

training. They perform a useful function, themselves. You said you

were going to do something dramatic to curb executive pay. I didn't say

anything about dramatic. You ended up only consultant. Since you

control the pay of the Royal Bank of Scotland, why don't you do

You talk about Mr Hester? He has a long-term contract. Well, all of

them. The Government does not want to be in a position of managing

every executive decision in those banks which are state-owned.

even though you think that bankers are paid too much, you can do

nothing about the banks that your own? Well, we can do. One of the

eminence of the Merlin agreement was getting acceptance from the

banks, including state-owned banks, that they would exercise moderation

in their pay. In your view, have they? They are still getting

millions of pounds. Not enough. That is what we are working on.

will understand, as you lecture others to control their pay, in

banks way you want a shareholder, you can't do anything. It's like

your internships. You do one thing at a party conference, in reality,

you're not doing it at all. There is a great deal of restraint in

public sector pay, particularly at the top end. The banks, including

state banks, are under a lot of pressure to reduce bonuses and pay.

Perhaps they should do more of that. I acknowledge that in the case of

people that have failed, like the former head of Lloyds Bank, we

should maybe do more. In your heart of hearts, don't you think that

Greece will end up defaulting? will have to be written down. I

think that is acceptable. I hope they will remain within the

eurozone. That is a different issue. And that it will continue. It's a

while since we have been talking, I enjoyed that. Nice to see you. That

is the end of our coverage from the Lib Dem conference in Birmingham.

The day when Nick Clegg re- establish his credentials as Lib

Dem leader and convinced his party that they had no alternative but to

stick with the coalition in the national interests. We now move

from Birmingham to the Good City of Liverpool, where the Labour

conference will be gathering for their annual event. Join us there