Conference Special

:00:41. > :00:45.Afternoon, folks. Welcome to our final Daily Politics conference

:00:45. > :00:52.special on the Liberal Democrats in Brighton, where all eyes will be on

:00:52. > :00:54.Nick Clegg. The Lib Dem leader is conference speech just after 3.00pm

:00:54. > :00:58.to the party faithful, for whom he will have an uncompromising

:00:58. > :01:04.message: the party needs to grit its teeth and bear it until voters

:01:04. > :01:12.realise they are doing the right thing. Whether they ever do, of

:01:13. > :01:16.course, is the dark cloud hanging over this conference. Mr Clegg and

:01:16. > :01:20.his wife Miriam walked into the conference hall a few minutes ago

:01:20. > :01:26.on their way from the Grand Hotel, passed the exhibitions where the

:01:26. > :01:32.parties make all their money at conferences. This is Clegg -- Mrs

:01:32. > :01:37.Clegg is wearing a dreg by Henrietta Ludgate, a Scottish

:01:37. > :01:42.designer. The shoes are from Zara, that's only fitting. It is a

:01:42. > :01:49.Spanish company and she is Spanish. For some reason they haven't

:01:49. > :01:54.briefed us on where Mr Clegg got his suit. Let's go to the inside of

:01:54. > :02:00.the hall. There is the Lib Dem faithful gathering for this annual

:02:00. > :02:06.speech. They've been queuing up outside. Had a quick lufrpblgt some

:02:06. > :02:12.of them coffee and sandwiches on the way in. It won't -- lunch. Some

:02:13. > :02:19.of them had coffee and sandwiches on the way in. There's a sense that

:02:19. > :02:23.the economic policy has yet to work its magic, if it had any magic. As

:02:23. > :02:28.everybody takes their seats in the hall we'll be talking to two former

:02:28. > :02:32.leaders, VIPs no less, Paddy Ashdown on the right and Ming

:02:32. > :02:37.Campbell on the left. And Adam will be talking to Lib Dem plebs - did I

:02:37. > :02:42.say that? At least I didn't swear. I mean the rank and file of the

:02:42. > :02:45.party. And I will be prowling the floors of the conference to get

:02:45. > :02:50.predictions and reaction from conference delegates.

:02:50. > :02:53.All that in the next couple of hours. And with us for the duration,

:02:53. > :03:01.two of our favourite pollsters - Ben Page from Ipsos MORI and Peter

:03:01. > :03:03.Kellner from YouGov. So, if you have any thoughts or comments on

:03:03. > :03:06.Nick Clegg's speech, you can send them to us at

:03:07. > :03:16.daily.politics@bbc.co.uk. Or tweet your comments using the hashtag

:03:17. > :03:19.

:03:19. > :03:22.#bbcdp. There was talk of a challenge to Mr

:03:22. > :03:29.Clegg's leadership on the eve of this conference, but that has

:03:29. > :03:31.clearly failed to materialise. But there is a sense in which Mr Clegg

:03:31. > :03:34.is living on borrowed time. His personal and poll ratings are dire

:03:34. > :03:38.and if they stay that way for another year, his leadership could

:03:38. > :03:46.well be on the line, especially since there is now a clear

:03:46. > :03:49.frontrunner to replace him - 69- year-old Vince Cable. The Lib Dems

:03:49. > :03:53.are in a double bind. Unless the coalition's economic policy starts

:03:53. > :04:01.to work, the Lib Dems will be in for a hammering. And even if it

:04:01. > :04:09.does, the Lib Dems might not get the credit. That's between a rock

:04:09. > :04:16.and a hard place isn't it? Yes, and last week our YouGov poll, where we

:04:16. > :04:25.measure party leaders' ratings every week, Nick Clegg dipped below

:04:25. > :04:29.Gordon at his worst. He is the main party, the least popular leader

:04:29. > :04:33.since Michael Foot. Is there examples from modern times of

:04:33. > :04:37.someone having poll ratings this bad but coming back? I can't think

:04:37. > :04:41.of any. One of the problems that third parties like the Lib Dems

:04:41. > :04:44.seem to get hammered when they go into coalition with a bigger party.

:04:44. > :04:50.You can see this in European politics all the time. Never say

:04:50. > :04:54.never but I can't think of one where somebody like Clegg has come

:04:54. > :04:57.back from the abyss. There's been a sense, Peter Kellner, this week

:04:57. > :05:01.that Mr Clegg and the party leadership haven't really been

:05:01. > :05:05.talking to us and the wider public. They've got so many problems of

:05:05. > :05:11.their own that they are talking to themselves. I think that's right.

:05:11. > :05:19.Look, I'm rather than -- I rather admire Nick Clegg. He did,

:05:19. > :05:24.unusually for a politician, put country before country. When I was

:05:24. > :05:31.in Brighton on Monday, the people I spoke to were either in depression

:05:31. > :05:35.or denial. That bad? I found very literally optimism. Express

:05:35. > :05:42.optimism, they to. Nick Clegg says he will go on into the next

:05:42. > :05:45.election. He has to, or become a lame duck. But I don't think

:05:45. > :05:50.anybody, the other thing that Nick Clegg will step down before the

:05:50. > :05:55.next election, or if he leads them, they will get seriously slaughtered.

:05:55. > :06:02.Should we take seriously or with a large bag of salt the polls which

:06:02. > :06:06.say if Vince Cable was leader the Lib Dems would be 5% up? I remember

:06:06. > :06:10.when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister we would ask if Michael

:06:10. > :06:15.Heseltine was leader or somebody else, the Tories would do much

:06:15. > :06:20.better, in the late 1980s do. We take them serious stphri They tell

:06:20. > :06:25.you something that you can only tell when it happens. So often in

:06:25. > :06:29.recent British political history the person that ends up replacing

:06:29. > :06:36.the leader is somebody that none of us are talking about at the moment.

:06:36. > :06:42.You were saying that the message that has come out from this

:06:42. > :06:49.conference, all this way we used to put them down as sandal-wearing, we

:06:49. > :06:50.the Lib Dems are now a party of Government and you neat to trade us

:06:50. > :06:54.seriously. Do you think that's the wrong strategy? I think it is. I

:06:54. > :07:01.understand why they do it, as they want to be seen as big boys playing

:07:01. > :07:04.big boys' games. If you think of Lib Dems in marketing terms,

:07:04. > :07:11.throughout my lifetime they've been a niche product. Imagine if thengs

:07:11. > :07:17.I don't know, a niche delicatessen on Hampstead high street, the last

:07:17. > :07:20.thing you would do is compete with Tesco and Sainsbury's. It is a

:07:20. > :07:24.marketing disaster. You can't compete in that league. In terms of

:07:24. > :07:29.maximising support in the next election, to maximise support the

:07:29. > :07:34.last thing you do is say, we are just as good as Labour and the

:07:34. > :07:38.Tories. You do agree with that or not? The challenge they've got is

:07:38. > :07:42.to get back the voters who left them and have gone back to Labour.

:07:42. > :07:47.But the difficulty is, if you have gone back to Labour, at this point,

:07:47. > :07:56.with Ed Miliband, who has his own problems, will you get them back?

:07:56. > :08:01.We'll see. A recent poll in the Guardian suggests that the apology

:08:01. > :08:09.is playing well. The Guardian suggested not. At YouGov we are

:08:09. > :08:17.finding the same thing. It has not had an effect. We compared it with

:08:18. > :08:22.Gordon's apology with Bigot-gate and more people think Nick Clegg is

:08:22. > :08:25.more sincere now than Gordon was then. But his party ratings this

:08:26. > :08:33.week through the conference, and would expect an uplifrbgts but so

:08:33. > :08:38.far they are flat lining. -- up lift, but so far they are flat

:08:38. > :08:44.lining. Let's go to the form leader of the Lib Dems, Paddy Ashdown.

:08:44. > :08:48.Welcome to the Daily Politics. to be with you Andrew. Two gay old

:08:48. > :08:56.grizzled heads together. shouldn't speak about yourself and

:08:56. > :09:03.Peter like that! That's very rude to our guests. You've described

:09:03. > :09:09.Nick Clegg as the best leader the party's had for 100 years. Why?

:09:09. > :09:15.Better than me, by the way, that means, which is quite tough for me

:09:15. > :09:20.to say. I'm a quite little fellow. That isn't difficult. He led the

:09:20. > :09:26.party into Government, has led it in Government, and that's something

:09:26. > :09:32.that nobody has done for 100 years. He's done it with unbelievable

:09:32. > :09:36.grace under fire and he's done a very good job. You are on proper

:09:36. > :09:46.network television now. extremely good job. Doesn't that

:09:46. > :09:47.

:09:47. > :09:53.show just how out of touch you are? The polls show 68% think he is

:09:53. > :09:57.untrustworthy and 75% think he is weak. How long have you been

:09:57. > :10:01.commentating on politics? About three years. Anything you can do

:10:01. > :10:05.with opinion polls midterm has no relevance. If you are doing tough

:10:05. > :10:11.things, and he is, with the party and for the country, you ain't

:10:11. > :10:15.going to be popular. You know that as well as me. If you remember, and

:10:15. > :10:20.I'm sure your memory goes back that far, at the first part in the

:10:20. > :10:24.Thatcher Government she was the most unpopular British Prime

:10:24. > :10:28.Minister, but she won the next election. Forget it. It is great

:10:29. > :10:35.fun for you guys to do an opinion poll because it saves you a story,

:10:35. > :10:41.but one in the middle of the Parliament is completely irrelevant.

:10:41. > :10:46.Thank you for being rude for a second time to our guests, who are

:10:46. > :10:52.both pollsters. I love Peter Kellner. I will bring Peter in this

:10:52. > :11:00.a moment. Who has been the second best leader of your party in 100

:11:00. > :11:07.years? Who who do you think Andrew Mitchell... I know I'm posh but I'm

:11:07. > :11:14.not one who swears. I have never accused you of being posh. Who is

:11:14. > :11:21.the second most popular? Me, Andrew. Is it Lloyd George? By my

:11:21. > :11:25.arithmetic it takes you to 1912. was a great Prime Minister in the

:11:25. > :11:32.early days no, doubt about that. Let's get Back To The Future.

:11:32. > :11:35.get back to the present, if I may. Is Vince Cable the best leader in

:11:35. > :11:41.waiting? I don't know, because there isn't a leader in waiting. It

:11:41. > :11:45.is not a question. I know you guys came here wanting to make this a

:11:45. > :11:49.question and as soon as you found you couldn't you said we are all

:11:49. > :11:53.miserable. Grimly determined, certainly, but miserable? Not.

:11:53. > :11:58.this coalition was formed, you were pretty sniffy about the whole idea.

:11:58. > :12:04.Now you are a big fan. What's changed? I was concerned about it

:12:04. > :12:08.for about the first two hours, Andrew. Then I saw that NEC's

:12:08. > :12:13.judgment was absolutely correct. He understood as perhaps some of us

:12:13. > :12:16.who had fought the old Tory Party hadn't, but that party had changed.

:12:16. > :12:20.He understood and we have seen it just the depth of the appalling

:12:20. > :12:26.mess that the last Government left us in. Let me give you two figures.

:12:26. > :12:29.If we hadn't gone into the coalition, we were carrying then a

:12:29. > :12:33.debt in Britain equivalent per capita roughly to that of Greece

:12:33. > :12:36.and Spain. We now have interest rates half of those in Germany. Why

:12:36. > :12:41.do you think that is? It is because you've got a majority Government

:12:41. > :12:45.doing tough things. If you hadn't, if we had not done that in the

:12:45. > :12:49.national interest, your hospitals, your schools, your welfare would

:12:49. > :12:54.have been slashed far more than they are now but not by accountable

:12:54. > :12:58.politicians but the marketplace. I didn't want that, the party didn't

:12:58. > :13:04.want it and we've made sure we evaded on. I would suggest the

:13:04. > :13:09.interest rates on our bonds are so low is that the Bank of England is

:13:09. > :13:15.printing money to buy them. You couldn't do that in Europe, which

:13:15. > :13:18.is where you would have had us if you had your way. You are a fair

:13:18. > :13:26.man, I don't doubt that quantitative easing is a factor in

:13:26. > :13:29.that, but if you had a Government almost of any hue, and the only

:13:29. > :13:32.alternative would have been terrifyingly worse than the present

:13:32. > :13:36.one, in terms of what's happened to the poor in this country, we would

:13:36. > :13:40.be in a very much worse situation than we currently are. Look, here

:13:40. > :13:45.is the point. Nick is I think stig the party, no looking back. He is

:13:45. > :13:50.dead right to do so. He is saying that our future is inextricably

:13:50. > :13:53.bound up with that of the country. He is dead right to say so. He is

:13:53. > :13:57.saying we are one of the three parties of Government, and so we

:13:57. > :14:01.are. He has said throughout this week that when it comes to taking

:14:01. > :14:04.the decisions about the scale of the cuts that has to come to

:14:04. > :14:10.continue to cut the deficit we are determined as Lib Dems to make sure

:14:10. > :14:15.that we deal with that from the top down, not the bottom up. So just to

:14:15. > :14:20.clarify, you are in no doubt that Mr Clegg will lead your party into

:14:20. > :14:25.the next election? No doubt. Alright. What role would you like

:14:25. > :14:29.to play in the next election? Anything I can that my leader would

:14:29. > :14:34.like me to do. Do you think you are going to be offered a role in the

:14:34. > :14:37.next election? And now doubt I will hear that from the leader when he

:14:37. > :14:42.thinks I should. So you probably will be offered a role in the next

:14:42. > :14:48.election? No, Andrew, you just heard my answer. When the leader of

:14:48. > :14:53.my party, who I am devoted for, the best political leader in Britain at

:14:53. > :14:58.the moment, shown tremendous foresite and determination, when he

:14:58. > :15:02.wants me to help, I will be on hand to help. When they do that, if they

:15:02. > :15:07.do that and if I did that, and when they announce that is up to them,

:15:07. > :15:17.not you and me. I know that. We are just waiting for the announcement.

:15:17. > :15:18.

:15:18. > :15:23.Could you explain to us, what's In the modern age, it is what you

:15:23. > :15:27.do in the modern age, the most important part of what you do is

:15:27. > :15:31.what you do with others. It is the interconnections with nations,

:15:31. > :15:34.businesses, even between political parties that make you succeed. We

:15:34. > :15:39.have to get hold of the idea that government is less and less, or

:15:39. > :15:48.should be less and less, a doer and more and Enabler of networks that

:15:48. > :15:51.extend beyond governments. It's not quite John F Kennedy, is it? John F

:15:52. > :15:55.Kennedy was right most of the time. But this is about a new way of

:15:55. > :15:59.thinking about government. You are interested in that kind of thing.

:15:59. > :16:07.Have me on the programme later and we will go through it on detail.

:16:07. > :16:11.I'm not sure we could bear that! What is the third and second?

:16:11. > :16:15.know me well enough that I was sending myself up ever-so-slightly.

:16:15. > :16:21.There is no first Ashdown law, no second one. It sounds better if

:16:21. > :16:28.there is a third one. I will make one or two up for you. Just to help

:16:28. > :16:32.you along! I have no doubt you will! Peter Kellner would like to

:16:33. > :16:36.tell you why pollsters matter when there is not an election. Firstly,

:16:36. > :16:41.what do polls do? They tell you what the public think. I don't

:16:41. > :16:45.think any politician of any substance, and you are a politician

:16:45. > :16:50.of substance, you don't really mean it when you say they are worthless.

:16:50. > :16:58.If you are saying they do not predict the next election, that is

:16:58. > :17:02.true. If we had subtitles when the politician said I did not take

:17:02. > :17:06.notice of opinion polls, it should say, I do take notice, but we are

:17:06. > :17:12.doing badly. You take notice of them, because your party pays to

:17:12. > :17:15.have them done! We take notice, we look at them. The point about an

:17:15. > :17:19.opinion poll is that they tell you where you are, not way you're going.

:17:19. > :17:24.I was careful to say that I do not say they are rubbish sure we are

:17:24. > :17:28.not paid attention to them. I do say that when looking at a poll,

:17:28. > :17:32.predicting the outcome of a General Election, which is what has been

:17:32. > :17:37.going on all week, I agree that they did not predict that outcome.

:17:37. > :17:41.You and I agree? Thank you. On that point of agreement, I am forced to

:17:41. > :17:45.bring this to a halt. Agreement is not what we are in the business of.

:17:45. > :17:47.Go and get your seat and see if you can pick up the first and second

:17:47. > :17:50.floors. Let's see if you have thought of

:17:51. > :17:54.them by the end of the programme. One poll has Nick Clegg with the

:17:54. > :17:58.lowest personal rating of any leader since Michael Foot. That

:17:58. > :18:01.means it is safe to say that it has not been a great year for him. The

:18:01. > :18:05.great apology, instantly set to music, was meant to draw a line

:18:05. > :18:15.under the bad stuff. So far, no sign of that. Here is our look back

:18:15. > :18:16.

:18:16. > :18:22.There are no easy years when you are in government. We have had to

:18:22. > :18:32.show real strength in 2011. The next year will be one that poses

:18:32. > :18:50.

:18:50. > :18:59.many great talent is for everyone. A bill will be brought forward to

:18:59. > :19:02.reform the composition of the House Members will be aware that the

:19:02. > :19:06.Government has decided not to proceed with the Lords Reform Bill

:19:06. > :19:16.during this Parliament. I can confirm that the Government has

:19:16. > :19:19.

:19:19. > :19:29.I think there is a kind of chemistry. I can see a little bit

:19:29. > :19:30.

:19:30. > :19:40.There is no easy way to say this. We made a pledge, we did not stick

:19:40. > :19:41.

:19:41. > :19:51.to it. For that, I am sorry. will fight the 2015 election as Lib

:19:51. > :19:54.

:19:54. > :19:58.Let's talk about Nick Clegg's year with Kevin Maguire from The Marach

:19:58. > :20:02.and Quentin Letts from the Daily Mail. A difficult year for Nick

:20:02. > :20:07.Clegg. What has the atmosphere been like? All of the reports say it has

:20:07. > :20:12.been downbeat. I'm not sure there has been any atmosphere! It has not

:20:12. > :20:16.exactly been riveting. It's not really been clear why we have been

:20:16. > :20:22.here. We might be reaching the point that we have in America,

:20:22. > :20:25.where they have conventions once every political cycle, rather than

:20:25. > :20:30.every year. There is no real political need for this conference

:20:30. > :20:34.to be happening. Dare I ask, have you had a best moment of the week?

:20:34. > :20:41.I've had a nice time, nice of you to ask. Have I had a best moment,

:20:41. > :20:46.apart from talking to you? Probably Nick Clegg's Q&A has been the most

:20:46. > :20:50.interesting moment. He himself remains the key person in his party.

:20:50. > :20:54.But he is the person way over to the right of the rest of the party.

:20:54. > :20:57.The Lib Dems as a whole still feel a very left-wing collection of

:20:57. > :21:01.people, in government with the Tories, rather against their

:21:01. > :21:07.instincts. Kevin Maguire, you can think about your best moment of the

:21:07. > :21:12.week. Who has made the best speech? Actually, I will tell you my best

:21:12. > :21:17.moments straight away. It was actually seeing Vince Clegg

:21:17. > :21:22.sprinting in the rain... Vince Cable, sorry! He is not too old for

:21:22. > :21:26.the leadership. He had a fair pace on him, when I saw him. It has been

:21:26. > :21:30.very flat. I think there will be more people here next week for the

:21:30. > :21:35.Tesco Wine Show. If you look at the speeches, a lot of them have been

:21:35. > :21:41.flat. They had a good debate on secret justice, justice is

:21:41. > :21:45.listening to security evidence in private, rather than public. Paddy

:21:45. > :21:48.Ashdown, when we were listening to him in earlier, having his banter

:21:48. > :21:52.with Andrew, the big announcement is going to be that Paddy Ashdown

:21:52. > :21:56.is going to render Liberal Democrat election campaign in 2015. That

:21:56. > :22:00.sums up what the week has been about. It's all about Nick Clegg

:22:00. > :22:03.talking to his party, because he knows the country is not listening.

:22:03. > :22:10.He needs his party behind him before he can speak to the

:22:10. > :22:17.electorate. Thank you for revealing that! In terms of the speech, now

:22:17. > :22:21.it has been brought up. How does he win over his troops? I don't think

:22:21. > :22:24.he really makes that much effort. He's just telling them, we are

:22:24. > :22:28.going to continue as before. We are in the middle of a parliament, you

:22:28. > :22:32.cannot get rid of me, we cannot get rid of the coalition, we have to do

:22:32. > :22:36.this for the national interest. It is somebody in the middle of a

:22:36. > :22:40.dental operation, they do not try to change the prognosis. You just

:22:40. > :22:46.have to stay there and take the pain. That is what his message is

:22:46. > :22:52.going to be. With all of that pain, has anything got Lib Dems smiling

:22:52. > :22:58.this week? No. Other than what has been happening to Andrew Mitchell,

:22:58. > :23:01.the Great Gate-Gate and plebs. They are in coalition with the

:23:01. > :23:06.Conservatives, I think in Nick Clegg's speech he will attack

:23:06. > :23:09.Labour Accra more than his coalition partners. They have all

:23:09. > :23:13.felt here a sense of social superiority to the Tories by saying

:23:13. > :23:18.that we are not snobbish and sneering like a Arc. We do not see

:23:18. > :23:22.the electorate as pleb us. They will try to say everything that is

:23:22. > :23:26.good about the coalition was Liberal Democrat and everything

:23:26. > :23:31.that was Tory. Andrew Mitchell plays that brilliantly. Is there a

:23:31. > :23:38.danger of pushing Tory bashing too far? I don't think so. There has

:23:38. > :23:45.been a bit of childish comment from some delegates. On the whole, it

:23:45. > :23:50.doesn't amount to more than a bit of name-calling. Mr Clegg is quite

:23:50. > :23:53.a serene presence, he seems a bit spaced out and he doesn't seem too

:23:53. > :23:58.concerned about poll ratings. You could argue it means he will be in

:23:58. > :24:05.more danger. Perhaps he is not counting on being a big figure in

:24:05. > :24:09.British politics after 2015. What about this identity crisis? Nick

:24:09. > :24:13.Clegg to the right, the rest of the party to the left? Is that how you

:24:13. > :24:19.characterise it? You can see the divide opening up between the

:24:19. > :24:23.Liberals, Nick Clegg and David Laws. The Democrats, Vince Cable and

:24:23. > :24:27.Others. I think all parties are coalitions in themselves, the same

:24:27. > :24:30.with Labour and the Conservatives. You are beginning to see that

:24:30. > :24:33.opening up in the Liberal Democrat party. He's going to find it harder

:24:33. > :24:37.and harder to keep that together. This conference has been flat. It's

:24:37. > :24:43.not been brilliant. Maybe he gets away with it this year. You might

:24:43. > :24:47.get away with it next year. If you get to 2014 and they are still

:24:47. > :24:51.struggling in the polls, it looks like he is going to be sending his

:24:51. > :24:55.MPs over the top to be mown down at the General Election, it's going to

:24:55. > :24:58.get really interesting. There must interesting debate was probably

:24:58. > :25:08.about assisted dying. In 2014 it may not be assisted, it might be

:25:08. > :25:10.

:25:10. > :25:18.more violent! On that happy, jovial They will not know about Miriam's

:25:18. > :25:24.dress. It split the news room. what side are you on? I have no

:25:24. > :25:30.views on that, as you know. They are very fashion savvy, the Daily

:25:30. > :25:38.Politics team. Are they?! Oh, yes, they are. Let's get a sense of the

:25:38. > :25:41.It as traditional as the leader's speech itself, milling around

:25:41. > :25:46.outside the auditorium waiting for it to start. Let's speak to some of

:25:47. > :25:51.the delegates that Ikea. Who have we got here, what kind of we

:25:51. > :25:57.Khadija had? A good week. I think Nick has had a difficult week, but

:25:57. > :26:04.I'm looking forward to it now. do you want to hear from him?

:26:04. > :26:08.want him to stand up for what Liberal Democrats stand up for. He

:26:08. > :26:13.has to say that we are going to stick to our policies, not be

:26:13. > :26:16.wishy-washy. Where are you from? Cheltenham. What are you going to

:26:16. > :26:20.be listening for? I want to hear him saying that we are going to

:26:20. > :26:27.carry on steady, carried out on the course we have set in coalition.

:26:27. > :26:35.Stick to our guns. We will go and speak to some odd delegates. Excuse

:26:35. > :26:37.me, you are wrong at the Daily Politics Conference Special. -- You

:26:37. > :26:40.on the Daily Politics Conference Special. He's going to say you have

:26:40. > :26:45.to go back to your constituencies and prepare to be shouted at. What

:26:45. > :26:49.do you feel about that? We are used to being shouted at, we are Liberal

:26:49. > :26:53.Democrats. The mood has been upbeat. I'm lucky for it to hearing what he

:26:53. > :27:01.has to say. As it really been that upbeat? The atmosphere has not been

:27:01. > :27:04.great. It depends what you mean. We are a debating party. For us, being

:27:04. > :27:12.upbeat means getting our policies across, it's not a stage-managed

:27:12. > :27:16.thing like the other parties where they do not actually say anything.

:27:16. > :27:21.Let's talk to some odd delegates around here. What is your name?

:27:21. > :27:25.Harry, from Haringey. Nick Clegg will say that you cannot be a party

:27:25. > :27:30.of protest anymore, you have to be serious about being a party in

:27:30. > :27:35.government, what do you think about that? It resonates, we have been a

:27:35. > :27:38.party for decades not saying anything, really. Now we have the

:27:38. > :27:43.Deputy Prime Minister in this government. It doesn't mean we

:27:43. > :27:46.always get our way. Obviously he is not the Prime Minister, this is not

:27:46. > :27:50.a Liberal Democrat government. But showing the public and the party

:27:50. > :27:54.that we are growing into the role of government in a adult way, that

:27:54. > :27:59.we were not 10 years ago, it is quite an important thing. We have

:27:59. > :28:04.to convince the country that we are not just a junior coalition party,

:28:04. > :28:11.but a party capable of taking on the responsibilities of government.

:28:11. > :28:17.He has to convince the activists. other going to enjoy that?

:28:17. > :28:20.Obviously, we do not enjoy all that. Even the most hardcore activist,

:28:20. > :28:24.who remember the days that we can say whatever we wanted without

:28:24. > :28:29.having to pass it through David Cameron, even they accept the need

:28:29. > :28:33.to show that we are serious about being in government. At see if we

:28:33. > :28:41.can find some female activists. What is your name and where right

:28:41. > :28:48.you from? I am Hannah, from Stoke- on-Trent. Is this a tricky speech

:28:48. > :28:51.for Nick Clegg? I think it will be a positive message about the Lib

:28:51. > :28:57.Dems coming-out. I think it will define. That is the positive side.

:28:57. > :29:01.Do you hope he is going to do so means that about the Tories? No, I

:29:01. > :29:06.don't think that is helpful. A lot of activists would want him to, but

:29:06. > :29:11.I don't think it is very helpful. Thank you very much. Let's go and

:29:11. > :29:14.talk to these guys. How key a moment is this for Nick Clegg?

:29:14. > :29:18.are halfway through the parliament, people are beginning to see There

:29:18. > :29:22.is a bit of a slog until the General Election. What we have to

:29:22. > :29:26.do is get our message across to people and show that we are not

:29:26. > :29:30.squabbling lefties, worried about peripheral issues. There is serious

:29:30. > :29:35.business to be done and we are the guys to do it. There has been some

:29:35. > :29:40.talk about challenges, not very concrete. Are you going to watch

:29:40. > :29:46.Vince Cable's reactions? Everybody will be watching for reactions. But

:29:46. > :29:49.I don't think there will be any leadership challenges. We need to

:29:49. > :29:53.support the party leader in everything he tries to do. He is

:29:53. > :29:57.going to talk about how you have to be serious about being in

:29:57. > :30:00.government, not just a protest party. How do you feel about that?

:30:00. > :30:06.Lots of us have a lot of concerns about what has happened nationally

:30:06. > :30:08.and in government. But we cannot achieve everything in only part of

:30:08. > :30:13.government, and we have to be serious about what we can get out

:30:13. > :30:16.of it. Somebody wants to have the last word. Would you like to have

:30:16. > :30:21.the last word on the Daily Politics Conference Special before the

:30:21. > :30:25.speech starts? Do you think we added to get some pleb jokes?

:30:25. > :30:30.should hope so. It will go down very well with the security guards.

:30:30. > :30:34.You are in the mood for Tory passion? Absolutely. We will let

:30:34. > :30:43.you get a good seat in the auditorium. That is a taste of some

:30:44. > :30:49.of the views here at the Lib Dem Thank you Adam. If Mr Clegg is on

:30:49. > :30:54.time he will be on his feet in about five minutes. Tim Farron, the

:30:54. > :30:58.party President we interviewed this morning, has been speaking to

:30:59. > :31:03.conference. And they've been handing out awards. Someone got an

:31:03. > :31:08.award for a best press release drafter for an opposition County

:31:08. > :31:13.Council. I wanted to win that award. Nick Robinson is in Brighton. Nick,

:31:13. > :31:19.is Mr Clegg going to tell the party faithful in Brighton anything that

:31:19. > :31:24.they don't already know? This one thing, Andrew, I think. He is

:31:24. > :31:28.basically going to say to them, in a version of the old football song,

:31:28. > :31:33.people don't like us but we don't care. In other words, saying to

:31:33. > :31:38.them, look, our unpopularity is what comes with moving on the

:31:38. > :31:42.journey, he will describe, from being a party of opposition to a

:31:42. > :31:46.party of government. He will try to say to them you can't have all that

:31:46. > :31:52.stuff back that you like so much. You can't go back to the past

:31:52. > :31:57.before the deal with the Tories, before the compromises, yes, before

:31:57. > :32:02.the broken promise for which he had to say sorry. The only way forward

:32:02. > :32:06.is a future that the Lib Dems can say they are one of the three

:32:06. > :32:10.parties of government. Do you think the Lib Dem activists have ever

:32:10. > :32:14.thought of themselves as Millwall supporters? Let's see if they chant

:32:14. > :32:18.today. No, but what they have thought themselves, Andrew, and

:32:18. > :32:23.that is why the metaphor came to mind, they are used to being liked.

:32:23. > :32:28.I think what Nick Clegg's message to them is, you are always liked

:32:28. > :32:30.when frankly you are irrelevant. When you matter, when you're

:32:30. > :32:35.powerful, when you take decisions, then people have a reason to hate

:32:35. > :32:40.you. He is not going to use this language, let me stress, there

:32:40. > :32:45.won't be a Millwall chant, but what his broad message is, this is how

:32:45. > :32:50.it was going to be if we were ever going to get from being a party of

:32:50. > :32:56.opposition to a party of government, so embrace it, move on and try to

:32:56. > :33:02.stay a party of government. Your first question implied, would he

:33:02. > :33:05.say anything new? On policy, they won't. He regards this as a

:33:05. > :33:09.conversation with the party on how they are changing, and with the

:33:09. > :33:15.country it is hoped how lit change, not a time to release policy. We

:33:15. > :33:22.saw one this morning, a premium for kids who are struggling when they

:33:23. > :33:27.left primary school, a �500 premium to help them into secondary school.

:33:27. > :33:32.All speeches at these events, they have to address the party faithful

:33:32. > :33:37.and through television they have to speak to the wider public. But in

:33:37. > :33:45.your view, will this speech be more directed towards the party faithful

:33:45. > :33:52.than to the rest of us, the voters? I think it is to this extent. Nick

:33:52. > :33:55.Clegg came to this conference very well aware that many of his own

:33:55. > :33:59.activists feared that they were electorally doomed. That they were

:33:59. > :34:03.in a car racing at 100 miles per hour for an electoral brick wall

:34:03. > :34:07.and there is no way they could get the driver out of the driving seat

:34:07. > :34:11.and they had to live with it. He is trying to tackle that fatalism, if

:34:11. > :34:16.you like. He is trying to say, that is wrong, that is to look at it in

:34:16. > :34:20.the wrong way, that if this Government can turn round the

:34:20. > :34:26.economy, if as he claims the Lib Dems can do it in a way that is

:34:26. > :34:29.fair, then even though the polls don't show it, even though he is

:34:30. > :34:35.unpopular, and many people predict electoral doom for them, they can

:34:35. > :34:40.turn it round. You are right, first and foremost it is for them. But

:34:40. > :34:44.there are long passages in this speech, where they are looking at

:34:44. > :34:47.the world, basically saying that Britain faces a unique set of

:34:47. > :34:53.challenges, not just the ones we know about, the eurozone crisis,

:34:53. > :34:57.the collapse of the banks and the like, but the rise of the East and

:34:57. > :35:01.the ageing population, and creating a new economy, as he will refer to

:35:02. > :35:06.it from the ashes of an old one could prove difficult. Do Mr

:35:06. > :35:10.Clegg's people fear even if the economy starts to turn around, I

:35:10. > :35:14.know they can't use the phrase, even if the green shoots, if there

:35:15. > :35:19.are green shoots and they grow into something bigger, are they not

:35:19. > :35:24.afraid even if that happens they might not get the credit for it? Sn

:35:24. > :35:30.that the Conservatives will sweep up all the credit. Sure, I'm sure

:35:30. > :35:33.they are afraid, Andrew, but you can only deal with one fear at once.

:35:33. > :35:37.Worrying about electoral o believe onprobably comes first, I would

:35:37. > :35:41.have thought. My sense is, what they are trying to do here is deal

:35:41. > :35:45.with that sense that there is no way out. Of course they know that's

:35:45. > :35:48.an anxiety. When you talk to a lot of Lib Dems behind the scenes

:35:48. > :35:52.there's a degree of relief here that there wasn't from a few months

:35:52. > :35:56.ago. It is for a reason that hasn't been talked about at this

:35:56. > :36:00.conference, it's the ends of proposals for boundary changes.

:36:00. > :36:03.Most people thought they were bad news for the Conservatives. David

:36:03. > :36:10.Cameron said it would be fairer if there were the same number of

:36:10. > :36:13.voters in every seat. Would have given a real boost to his party in

:36:13. > :36:19.the legislation. But Lib Dems do best where they have had the same

:36:19. > :36:23.MP for years. It is call to do so incumbency effect. But the fear was

:36:23. > :36:29.if the boundaries changed and the electors didn't know them, they

:36:29. > :36:32.would be vulnerable. Many now feel that if they are in a seat where

:36:32. > :36:37.they face the Conservatives, many will say you still prefer us to the

:36:37. > :36:41.Tories, keep us in. I want to dip into the hall to see how things are

:36:41. > :36:45.building up. They are correcting money. Money is always important

:36:45. > :36:49.for parties. The Lib Dems are no different from anybody else in that.

:36:49. > :36:53.They are raising money now, passing around the bucket, the men and

:36:53. > :36:56.women in their Yellow Shirts. Peter, you are listening to Nick and you

:36:56. > :37:00.were saying to me that you think Mr Clegg clearly lives to fight

:37:00. > :37:05.another day. There's been no leadership talk of any importance

:37:05. > :37:12.at this conference. There may not even be next year, but you were

:37:12. > :37:14.saying that the summer of 2014 could be a dangerous time for the

:37:14. > :37:16.Liberal leader? I think that's right. And why? Because in that

:37:16. > :37:21.months, 11 months before the general election, we have the

:37:21. > :37:27.European Parliament elections. These are strange things. They are

:37:27. > :37:34.proportional elections. Last time, 2009, the Lib Dems came fourth.

:37:34. > :37:37.Conservatives, UKIP, larks then the Lib Dems. They got -- Labour, and

:37:37. > :37:43.then the Lib Dems. The way they are at the moment I wouldn't be

:37:43. > :37:47.surprised if they ended up fifth, behind the Greens. Instead of just

:37:47. > :37:51.about winning short in every region they fall short, so instead of

:37:51. > :37:54.having a dozen euro MPs they go down to three or four. Think about

:37:55. > :37:58.the politics of the party in those circumstances. We've got less than

:37:58. > :38:04.a year to go until the general election, we have been thrashed.

:38:04. > :38:10.The public clearly don't like us. It is not merely uppity folk like

:38:10. > :38:16.Ben Page and I looking at polling numbers. This is millions of votes

:38:16. > :38:20.around the country. That says that we need to pull out of the

:38:20. > :38:26.coalition, that summer they will put pressure on Nick Clegg to stand

:38:26. > :38:29.down and get a new leader for that party conference in September.

:38:29. > :38:34.think they will be like the Labour Party of Gordon. Lots of them

:38:34. > :38:39.thought about it but at the last mint they couldn't bring themselves.

:38:39. > :38:44.Wait and see. Nick, no leadership challenge at this conference,

:38:44. > :38:46.although there had been speculation there might be. Have you had the

:38:46. > :38:50.sense if there was to be a leadership challenge, because

:38:50. > :38:53.things aren't getting better, because they get a terrible kicking

:38:53. > :39:01.in the European elections, am I right in thinking that it is quite

:39:01. > :39:06.clear that Mr Cable is now the clear Ayr apparent, the

:39:06. > :39:12.frontrunner? Yes -- heir apparent, the frontrunner? Yes, and looking

:39:12. > :39:16.ahead to 2014, if Peter is right and the elections are that dire for

:39:16. > :39:21.the Lib Dems, there is another possibility in the air, that the

:39:21. > :39:25.Labour Party and Ed Miliband win. Could Nick Clegg possibly do a deal

:39:25. > :39:30.with him? After all, he's been living in this marriage with David

:39:30. > :39:38.Cameron for so long. Some Lib Dems would say, let's get a Labour-

:39:38. > :39:41.facing leader, and Vince Cable is man to wield the knife? I've been

:39:41. > :39:46.talking to a lot of senior Lib Dem here and they don't believe he is.

:39:46. > :39:50.In order he is a man who wants to be there and seen to be there if

:39:50. > :39:56.people come calling but is not willing to stage a coup and shows

:39:56. > :39:59.no sign of doing it. If Nick Clegg shows, as he is trying to at this

:39:59. > :40:04.conference niche speech, a determination to ballot on come

:40:04. > :40:10.what may, he will be pretty difficult to get rid of.

:40:10. > :40:17.The wise old men, Nick say it would be difficult to get rid of Nick

:40:17. > :40:22.Clegg but the party has shown some met until getting rid of leaders.

:40:22. > :40:26.True. Some Tories say to me they want to encourage Vince Cable for

:40:26. > :40:30.the interesting reason they think Vince Cable would be more likely to

:40:30. > :40:36.attract back essentially long-time Labour voters who had voted Lib Dem,

:40:36. > :40:41.gone back to Labour but may be more inclined to go back to the Lib Dems

:40:41. > :40:44.if Vince Cable was leading them? That is possible. Where the third-

:40:44. > :40:47.placed Labour votes switchs to the Lib Dems, they need to get that

:40:47. > :40:51.back to the Lib Dems. Incidents lyrics I'm not sure there'll be a

:40:51. > :40:55.coup. I think what will happen, it will happen behind closed doors,

:40:55. > :41:02.Nick Clegg will be persuaded to stand aside and to seek his future

:41:02. > :41:06.in Europe or the United Nations or whatever. Or Spanish politics.

:41:06. > :41:09.it was blood on the carpet I suspect it would be Dev

:41:09. > :41:14.statementing for them. It has to be a smooth transfer and Nick Clegg

:41:14. > :41:21.will have to play his path. If he is genuinely determined to stay on,

:41:21. > :41:26.he will be hard to get rid of. a pretty big if, Andrew. One thing

:41:26. > :41:32.we do know is that things rarely go to schedule at Lib Dems conferences.

:41:32. > :41:38.They haven't even started the video yet, which is going to precede Mr

:41:38. > :41:45.Clegg's speech. We are told he is going to speak for about 45 minutes

:41:45. > :41:48.and have some quite harsh words, harsh is maybe not the right word,

:41:48. > :41:51.but straight-talking words to his party faithful, that they are in

:41:51. > :41:56.what they are in and there is no way of getting out of it is. There

:41:56. > :42:02.a sense of fatalism that they are where they are, the die is cast,

:42:02. > :42:06.they can't do a runner, they are going to hope the coalition

:42:06. > :42:09.economic policies go right and live with the consequences? That is a

:42:09. > :42:15.very good sum-up of what's here. People have come to these

:42:15. > :42:18.conference as couple of years running and saying maybe there is a

:42:18. > :42:23.leadership challenge, anger on the floor. There hasn't been. Yes

:42:23. > :42:27.there's been concern. Yes you can find people who say, I wish we

:42:27. > :42:32.weren't in bed with the Tories, but there isn't that spirit of

:42:32. > :42:37.rebellion. Anybody who is really angry isn't here. They've left,

:42:37. > :42:40.resigned, they want nothing to do with this party. That is probably

:42:40. > :42:45.why their vote that dramatically halved the way it has, but it means

:42:45. > :42:49.the party is more united. It reflects on the what if about a

:42:49. > :42:52.leadership challenge. When Ming Campbell was moved as leader it was

:42:52. > :42:56.partly because the next generation, the young people in the Lib Dems,

:42:56. > :43:00.young shadow Ministers, said, "Our future is not with Ming." You look

:43:00. > :43:07.around the people now in the Lib Dems, it is hard to see prominent

:43:07. > :43:11.allies of Vince Cable. I see a lot of people like the David Laws and

:43:11. > :43:15.the Jeremy Brownes and others who are clear allies and have been put

:43:15. > :43:18.there for that reason. Interesting that Paddy Ashdown is coming to the

:43:18. > :43:23.foreagain. That is saying to the party, look, you might not like me

:43:23. > :43:26.but you love Paddy. He is on board. Ming Campbell is clearly on board

:43:26. > :43:30.for the Clegg project. There would have to be a mass collective sense

:43:30. > :43:34.of doom I think for them to go to Nick Clegg and ask him to go. As

:43:34. > :43:39.well as a sense that they all knew who would replace him. What we've

:43:39. > :43:44.always discovered in politics, and that is what kept Gordon in his

:43:45. > :43:48.place, they can all agree it is a disaster but not what's next.

:43:49. > :43:53.Kellner? This point about Paddy Ashdown, if he is going to lead the

:43:53. > :43:57.election campaign, that is interesting. Paddy Ashdown was not

:43:57. > :44:02.only an effective leader, a popular leader, which led to its

:44:02. > :44:07.breakthrough in 1997 when its doubled the number of MPs. But

:44:07. > :44:11.Paddy was the man who led the pro- Labour argument inside the Lib Dem

:44:11. > :44:16.leadership. Paddy wanted to see if it was possible to do a deal with

:44:16. > :44:21.Gordon or another Labour leader. It wasn't possible and Paddy accepted

:44:21. > :44:25.that it wasn't, but Paddy is with Vince Cable on the progressive

:44:25. > :44:29.realignment side of the Lib Dems rather than the straight down the

:44:29. > :44:34.middle let's talk to the right side that Nick Clegg is in. So putting

:44:34. > :44:38.Paddy in to the leadership means that if Nick Clegg does lead them

:44:38. > :44:47.into the next legislation he is bolting in an important part of the

:44:47. > :44:50.Labour-inclined faction into that Had there been signs in which the

:44:50. > :44:53.activist in particular are positioning themselves to say, if

:44:53. > :45:02.we have to go into coalition next time, can we make it the Labour

:45:02. > :45:05.Party? Let's make it a position to be in bed with them instead? Every

:45:05. > :45:09.aspect of this conference has been advertising differences with the

:45:09. > :45:12.Tories that make the Lib Dems look more like a party of the Left,

:45:12. > :45:16.whether it is the environment, mocking the Tories were saying you

:45:16. > :45:23.can vote blue and go green, fairness, wealth taxes or helping

:45:23. > :45:27.the poor. But this conference debated the central issue in

:45:27. > :45:30.British politics, the economy. And Vince Cable, the man of the left,

:45:31. > :45:36.who we are told wants to get in bed with the Labour Party, secretly,

:45:36. > :45:41.stood up and said he had personal sympathy for George Osborne, stay

:45:41. > :45:46.to the course. There we can see Nick Clegg going to the podium,

:45:46. > :45:49.taking the applause of the party faithful as he begins his address

:45:49. > :45:59.to the Liberal Democrat Party conference. The Deputy Prime

:45:59. > :46:00.

:46:00. > :46:06.Minister, Nick Clegg, leader of the Colleagues, this summer, as we

:46:06. > :46:11.cheer our athletes to gold, after gold, after gold, Britain

:46:11. > :46:16.remembered how it feels to win again. But, more importantly, we

:46:16. > :46:22.remembered what it takes to win again. Whether from Jess Ennis, Mo

:46:22. > :46:28.Farah or, Sarah Storey or David Weir, the message was the same. We

:46:28. > :46:33.may be the ones on the podium, but behind each of us stands at coach.

:46:33. > :46:40.Behind the coach stands 18. Behind the team, the organisers, the

:46:40. > :46:49.volunteers, the supporters. Behind them, a whole city, an entire

:46:49. > :46:56.country. The UK nations, united behind one goal. What a contrast

:46:56. > :46:59.from a year ago. When England's cities burned in a week of riots.

:46:59. > :47:06.When the images beamed to the world would not of athletes running for

:47:06. > :47:10.the finishing line, but the mob, running at police officers. When

:47:10. > :47:17.the flames climbed, not from the Olympic torch in east London, but a

:47:17. > :47:22.furniture shop in south London. A 140-year-old, family run business

:47:22. > :47:30.which survived two world wars and countless recessions, raised to the

:47:31. > :47:35.ground. Of course, even then, amid the smoke and embers, we saw our

:47:35. > :47:41.country's true character when residents came out onto the streets

:47:41. > :47:47.to clear up the mess. And we saw it again this summer, when the Reeves

:47:47. > :47:52.furniture shop in Croydon reopened in new premises, the walls decked

:47:52. > :47:59.with photos of young people holding up messages of hope. Who put those

:47:59. > :48:03.pictures up? Young volunteers from Croydon and and 81-year-old man

:48:03. > :48:09.called Maurice Reeves. Like three generations before him, he ran the

:48:09. > :48:19.shop before handing it over to his son. Maurice, your example should

:48:19. > :48:31.

:48:31. > :48:37.You see, what Maurice has shown, what our Olympians and Paralympians

:48:37. > :48:45.have reminded us is that, for most people, success does not come easy

:48:45. > :48:50.or quick. That is what our culture of instant celebrity obscures. That

:48:50. > :48:57.real achievement, in the real world, takes time, effort, perseverance

:48:57. > :49:01.and resilience. The war veteran, a victim of a roadside bomb in

:49:01. > :49:07.Afghanistan, competing at the Paralympics. The businessman, a

:49:07. > :49:11.victim of an arson attack in south London, serving his customers again.

:49:11. > :49:15.The millions of people up and down the country who, no matter how

:49:15. > :49:24.heroic or mundane their battles, keep going, keep trying, keep

:49:24. > :49:30.working, whatever life throws at them. These are the qualities that

:49:30. > :49:35.will see our country through these tough times. These are the

:49:35. > :49:42.qualities that will guide our party through tough times as well. So,

:49:43. > :49:47.let's take our example from the British people, as, together, we

:49:47. > :49:54.embark on the journey ahead. Our party, from the comforts of

:49:54. > :49:57.opposition, to the hard reality of government. Our country, from the

:49:57. > :50:01.sacrifice is a war austerity to the rewards of shared prosperity. Two

:50:01. > :50:08.journeys, linked. The success of each, depending on the success of

:50:08. > :50:15.the other. Neither will be easy and neither will be quicker. But it

:50:15. > :50:25.will be worth it. And be in no doubt, if we secure our country's

:50:25. > :50:38.

:50:38. > :50:43.As a politician, you get used to receiving criticism and praise from

:50:43. > :50:47.the strangest quarters. But even I was taken a little by surprise by

:50:47. > :50:55.the fulsome backing a received on the comment pages of the Daily

:50:55. > :51:02.Telegraph on Monday. The article praised my judgment, my policies,

:51:02. > :51:07.Marian, of course. And then I saw who it was by. A certain Alexander

:51:07. > :51:17.Boris Johnson. At least he has found one party leader he is

:51:17. > :51:23.

:51:23. > :51:28.Colleagues, we live in a time of profound change. Almost

:51:29. > :51:33.revolutionary in its pace and scale. Here in Britain, we are faced with

:51:33. > :51:38.a gargantuan task of building a new economy from the rubble of the old.

:51:38. > :51:42.We are doing so at a time when our main export market, the eurozone,

:51:42. > :51:47.is facing its biggest crisis since it was formed. While the European

:51:47. > :51:54.economy has stalled, countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, India and

:51:54. > :51:58.China continue to grow, and at a phenomenal rate. The potential

:51:58. > :52:05.consequences of this shift in power, should we in the West failed to

:52:05. > :52:09.respond, cannot, in my view, be overstated. Our influence in the

:52:09. > :52:15.world, our standard of living, our ability to fund our public services

:52:15. > :52:22.and maintain our culture of openness and tolerance. All are in

:52:22. > :52:29.the balance. Power would move, not only away from the liberal and

:52:29. > :52:32.democratic world, but we did it, too. From moderates to hardliners.

:52:32. > :52:37.From international this too isolationist. From those committed

:52:37. > :52:42.to the politics of co-operation to those hell-bent on confrontation.

:52:42. > :52:47.If history has taught us anything, it is that the extremists thrive in

:52:47. > :52:51.tough times. Yes, if we fail to deal with our debts and tackle the

:52:51. > :52:59.weaknesses in our economy, our country will pay a heavy political

:52:59. > :53:01.price. But the human cost would be higher still. Not only would we

:53:01. > :53:09.fall behind internationally, we would leave a trail of victims at

:53:09. > :53:16.home as well. So, to those who ask, incredulously, what we, the Liberal

:53:16. > :53:22.Democrats, are doing cutting public spending, I simply say this. Who

:53:22. > :53:26.suffers most when governments go bust? When they can no longer pay

:53:26. > :53:33.salaries, benefits and pensions? Not the bankers and the hedge fund

:53:33. > :53:37.managers, that is for sure. No, it would be de Paul, the old, the

:53:37. > :53:42.infirm, those with police to fall back on. -- the poor. Labour might

:53:42. > :53:48.have thought it was funny, after crashing the economy and racking up

:53:48. > :53:52.record debts, to leave a note on David Bowles' desk, saying there is

:53:52. > :53:56.no money left. But it is no joke for the most vulnerable in our

:53:56. > :54:00.society, the people that Labour claim to represent, but let down

:54:01. > :54:05.the most. Let's take no more lectures about betrayal. It was

:54:05. > :54:15.Labour who plunged us into austerity and it is we, the Liberal

:54:15. > :54:33.

:54:33. > :54:39.You know, it is easy to forget sometimes that the debate we are

:54:39. > :54:44.having in this country is actually playing out across our continent.

:54:44. > :54:48.It is a debate between those who understand how much the world has

:54:48. > :54:54.changed and those who don't. Between those who understand the

:54:54. > :55:00.need to adapt to those changes and those who balk at the size of the

:55:00. > :55:04.challenge. The fate of every European country, ours included,

:55:04. > :55:10.will depend on the outcome. In the coming years, some countries will

:55:10. > :55:14.get their own house in order. But some will mark. Those that do will

:55:14. > :55:21.continue to write their own budgets, set their own priorities and to

:55:21. > :55:24.shape their own futures. Those that do not will find their right to

:55:24. > :55:32.self-determination withdrawn by the markets and new rules imposed by

:55:32. > :55:36.their creditors without warning or clemency. That it will never happen

:55:36. > :55:42.to us is just blithely assumed. The comparisons with Greece, breezily

:55:42. > :55:49.dismissed. Yet it is the decisions we take, and as a government, as a

:55:49. > :55:59.party, that will determine whether we succeed or fail. For the first

:55:59. > :56:08.

:56:08. > :56:12.time, the future is ours. Hours to Now, hour journey from austerity to

:56:12. > :56:15.prosperity starts, of course, with economic rescue. Dealing with our

:56:15. > :56:20.debts and delivering growth. If you listen to Labour, you can be

:56:20. > :56:24.forgiven for thinking that austerity is a choice, that the

:56:24. > :56:29.sacrifices it involves can be avoided. If we only had acted Ed

:56:29. > :56:31.Balls's latest press release, we would be instantly transported to

:56:31. > :56:40.that fantasy world where there is no boom-and-bust and the money

:56:40. > :56:45.never runs out. But the truth is this. There is no silver bullet

:56:45. > :56:50.that will instantly solve all of our economic problems. Some of our

:56:50. > :56:56.problems are structural. Others, international. All will take time

:56:56. > :57:01.to overcome. We are dealing with an ongoing surge in global energy,

:57:01. > :57:08.food and commodity prices. And extends to ensure crisis in the

:57:08. > :57:12.eurozone. A banking collapse that, more than four years on, is still

:57:12. > :57:19.blocking the arteries of our entire economic system. Against these

:57:19. > :57:22.forces, the idea that if government deregulated a bit more, as Lin Fox

:57:22. > :57:27.proposes, or borrowed and spent a bit more, like Ed Balls proposes,

:57:27. > :57:31.that we would, at a stroke, achieve long and lasting growth is just not

:57:32. > :57:36.credible. In my experience, if you are being attacked by Liam Fox from

:57:36. > :57:46.one side and Ed Balls from the other, you are in the right place,

:57:46. > :57:48.

:57:48. > :57:53.You see, what is needed, and what we are delivering, is a plan that

:57:53. > :57:58.is tough enough to keep the bond markets of our backs. Yet, flexible

:57:58. > :58:02.enough to support demand. A plan that allowed us, when the forecast

:58:02. > :58:06.worsened last year, to reject calls for further spending cuts or tax

:58:07. > :58:11.rises and balance the budget over a longer timescale. A plan that, even

:58:11. > :58:19.at the end of this Parliament, will see public spending account for 42%

:58:20. > :58:24.of GDP. Higher than at any point between 1995 and 2008, when the

:58:24. > :58:29.banks collapsed. A plan that, because it commands the confidence

:58:29. > :58:34.of the markets, has given those room to create a business bank,

:58:34. > :58:36.provide billions of pounds of infrastructure and housebuilding

:58:36. > :58:42.guarantees and and �80 billion Funding for Lending scheme, the

:58:42. > :58:45.biggest of its kind anywhere in the world. Of course, so much of this

:58:45. > :58:50.is about perception. People keep telling me we should be doing what

:58:50. > :58:53.Barack Obama did with his fiscal stimulus. What they do not tell you

:58:53. > :59:02.is that much of what the President had to legislate for we are already

:59:02. > :59:08.doing automatically. So, let's not allow the caricature of what we are

:59:08. > :59:13.doing to go unchallenged. If Plan A really was as rigid and dogmatic as

:59:13. > :59:20.our critics claim, I would be demanding a Plan B and getting

:59:20. > :59:25.Danny and Vincent to design it. But it isn't. Which is why you were

:59:25. > :59:31.right, earlier this week, to overwhelmingly reject the call for

:59:31. > :59:37.us to change our economic course. We have taken big and bold steps to

:59:37. > :59:47.support demand and boost growth. And we stand ready to do so, again,

:59:47. > :59:54.

:59:54. > :59:57.again and again until self- APPLAUSE

:59:57. > :00:07.Of course, arguments about economic theory are of no interest to the

:00:07. > :00:10.millions of people just struggling to get by right now. The home-help

:00:10. > :00:14.whose earnings barely cover the cost of childcare. The builder who

:00:14. > :00:18.knows the company will be laying people off, but doesn't yet know if

:00:18. > :00:24.he'll be one of them. The couple who want to buy their first home

:00:24. > :00:32.but can't raise the money for a deposit. To them and to all the

:00:32. > :00:40.other hard working families just trying to stay afloat, I say this:

:00:40. > :00:45.the Liberal Democrats are on your side. You are the ones we are in

:00:45. > :00:49.Government to serve. Not with empty rhetoric but real practical help.

:00:49. > :00:54.That is why we promised to cut your income tax bills by raising the

:00:54. > :00:57.personal allowance to �10,000. So you can keep more of the money you

:00:58. > :01:06.have worked for. So your effort will be properly rewarded. So the

:01:06. > :01:16.task of making ends meet is made that little bit easier. At the last

:01:16. > :01:22.

:01:22. > :01:24.Budget, we made two big announcements: that we were

:01:25. > :01:27.spending �3,000 million increasing the tax-free allowance, and just

:01:28. > :01:30.�50 million reducing the top rate of tax while recouping five times

:01:31. > :01:35.that amount in additional taxes on the wealthiest. I insisted on the

:01:35. > :01:44.first. I conceded the second. But I stand by the package as a whole.

:01:44. > :01:47.Why? Because as Liberals, we want to see the tax on work reduced, the

:01:47. > :01:55.tax on unearned wealth increased, and the system as a whole tilted in

:01:55. > :02:01.favour of those on low and middle incomes. The Budget delivered all

:02:01. > :02:05.three. But let me make one thing clear: Now that we have brought the

:02:05. > :02:08.top rate of tax down to 45p - a level, let's not forget, that is

:02:08. > :02:13.still higher than throughout Labour's 13 years in office - there

:02:13. > :02:23.can be no question of reducing it further in this Parliament.

:02:23. > :02:30.

:02:30. > :02:34.All future cuts in personal taxation must pass one clear test:

:02:34. > :02:41.do they help people on low and middle incomes get by and get on?

:02:41. > :02:46.It's as simple as that. At the next election, all parties will have to

:02:46. > :02:51.acknowledge the need for further belt tightening. That much is

:02:51. > :02:58.inescapable. But the key question we will all have to answer is who

:02:58. > :03:02.will have to tighten their belts the most? Our position is clear. If

:03:02. > :03:06.we have to ask people to take less out or pay more in, we'll start

:03:06. > :03:12.with the richest and work our way down, not the other way around. We

:03:12. > :03:20.won't waver in our determination to deal with our debts. But we will do

:03:20. > :03:23.it in our own way, according to our own plans, based on our own values.

:03:23. > :03:29.So we will not tether ourselves to detailed spending plans with the

:03:29. > :03:31.Conservatives through the next Parliament. Colleagues, we should

:03:31. > :03:38.be proud of the fact we have delivered fairer taxes in tough

:03:38. > :03:41.times. We should be proud of the fact that we're taking 2 million

:03:41. > :03:46.people out of income tax altogether and delivering a �700 tax cut for

:03:46. > :03:53.more than 20 million others, and should never miss an opportunity to

:03:53. > :03:55.tell people about it. But as we do so, remember this: our tax cuts,

:03:55. > :04:02.like our extra support for childcare, for schools, for

:04:03. > :04:05.pensioners - these are not stand- alone consumer offers. They are

:04:05. > :04:07.part of a broader agenda of economic and social reform to

:04:07. > :04:16.reward work, enhance social mobility and secure Britain's

:04:17. > :04:22.position in a fast changing world. In short, national renewal. That is

:04:22. > :04:32.our mission. Our policies either serve that purpose, or they serve

:04:32. > :04:42.

:04:42. > :04:47.One of the things about governing is it forces you to confront the

:04:48. > :04:50.inconvenient truths oppositions choose to ignore. Like the fact

:04:51. > :04:59.that, over the last 50 years, our economy has grown threefold, but

:04:59. > :05:03.our welfare spending is up sevenfold. Or the fact that, to

:05:03. > :05:09.sustain our spending, we are still borrowing �1 billion every three

:05:09. > :05:16.days. Or that, as a result of that borrowing, we now spend more

:05:16. > :05:22.servicing the national debt than we do on our schools. In combination,

:05:22. > :05:25.these three facts present us with a fundamental challenge: to not only

:05:25. > :05:31.regain control of public spending, but to completely redirect it so

:05:31. > :05:34.that it promotes, rather than undermines, prosperity. How we do

:05:34. > :05:43.that - how we reshape the British state for the economic challenges

:05:43. > :05:47.of the 21st century - is a debate I want our party to lead. For there

:05:47. > :05:50.are only two ways of doing politics: by following opinion, to

:05:50. > :05:58.get yourself on the populist side of each issue, or by leading

:05:58. > :06:03.opinion, and standing on the future side of each issue. The first

:06:03. > :06:07.brings short-term rewards, of course it does. But the big prizes

:06:07. > :06:15.are for those with the courage and vision to get out in front, set the

:06:15. > :06:18.agenda and point the way. So let us take the lead in building a new

:06:18. > :06:21.economy for the new century. An open, outward-looking economy in

:06:21. > :06:28.the world's biggest single market. A strong, balanced economy built on

:06:28. > :06:32.productive investment, not debt- fuelled consumption. An innovative,

:06:32. > :06:35.inventive economy driven by advances in science and research.

:06:35. > :06:45.And yes, a clean, green economy too, powered by the new low-carbon

:06:45. > :07:00.

:07:00. > :07:03.technologies. Britain leading the But I have to tell you, we will not

:07:03. > :07:08.succeed in this last task unless we can see off that most short-sighted

:07:08. > :07:15.of arguments: that we have to choose between going green and

:07:15. > :07:20.going for growth. Decarbonising our economy isn't just the right thing

:07:20. > :07:23.to do, it's a fantastic economic opportunity. The green economy in

:07:23. > :07:26.Britain is growing strongly right now, bringing in billions of pounds

:07:26. > :07:34.and creating thousands of jobs - in wind, solar and tidal energy; the

:07:34. > :07:39.technologies that will power our economy in the decades to come.

:07:39. > :07:42.Going green means going for growth. But more than that, it means going

:07:42. > :07:45.for more energy that we produce ourselves and which never runs out;

:07:45. > :07:55.it means going for clear air and clean water and a planet we can

:07:55. > :07:56.

:07:56. > :08:01.proudly hand over to our children. Going green means going forward. So

:08:01. > :08:11.let the Conservatives be in no doubt. We will hold them to their

:08:11. > :08:12.

:08:12. > :08:21.promises on the environment. APPLAUSE

:08:21. > :08:25.Of course, there was a time when it looked like they got it. It seems a

:08:25. > :08:33.long time ago now. When the Tories were going through their naturalist

:08:33. > :08:37.phase. The windmills gently turning, the sun shining in. As a PR

:08:37. > :08:39.exercise, it was actually quite brilliant. Until, at last year's

:08:39. > :08:46.party conference, they went and ruined it all, admitting that you

:08:46. > :08:49.can't in fact "vote blue and go green". Well of course you can't.

:08:49. > :08:59.To make blue go green you have to add yellow, and that's exactly what

:08:59. > :09:18.

:09:18. > :09:23.we're doing. APPLAUSE I thought you would groan rather

:09:23. > :09:26.than clap at that one. What's a generous audience.

:09:26. > :09:29.As we plot our path from austerity to prosperity, we need to remember

:09:29. > :09:33.that nothing we do will make a decisive difference if we don't

:09:33. > :09:37.make the most important investment of all: in the education and

:09:37. > :09:44.training of our young people. For we will only fulfil our collective

:09:44. > :09:46.economic potential, if we fulfil our individual human potential. Yet

:09:46. > :09:49.the legacy of educational inequality in Britain is an economy

:09:49. > :09:53.operating at half power, with far too many young people never getting

:09:53. > :10:00.the qualifications they could get, never doing the jobs they could do,

:10:00. > :10:06.never earning the wages they could earn. The true cost of this cannot

:10:06. > :10:09.be counted in pounds and pence. Yes it's a huge drag on our economy,

:10:09. > :10:15.but more than that, it is an affront to natural justice and to

:10:15. > :10:18.everything we Liberal Democrats stand for. Because if you strip

:10:18. > :10:28.away all the outer layers to expose this party's philosophical core,

:10:28. > :10:30.

:10:30. > :10:34.what do you find? An unshakeable belief in freedom. Not the tinny

:10:34. > :10:36.sound of the libertarian's freedom - still less the dead thud of the

:10:36. > :10:45.Socialist's - but the rich sound of Liberal freedom, amplified and

:10:45. > :10:55.sustained by the thing that gives it real meaning: opportunity. The

:10:55. > :10:59.

:10:59. > :11:09.freedom to be who you are. APPLAUSE The opportunity to be who you could

:11:09. > :11:16.be. That, in essence, is the Liberal promise. And that is why

:11:16. > :11:19.this party has always been - and must always be - the party of

:11:19. > :11:22.education. Because just as there can be no real freedom without

:11:22. > :11:26.opportunity, so there can be no real opportunity without education.

:11:26. > :11:33.Every parent knows how it feels when you leave your child on their

:11:33. > :11:38.first day at school. That last look they give you before the door

:11:38. > :11:42.closes behind them. The instinct to go with them, to protect them, to

:11:42. > :11:47.help them every step of the way. That's how we should feel about

:11:47. > :11:54.every child. That's the responsibility we have to every

:11:54. > :11:57.parent. To support them at every stage: from nursery to primary,

:11:57. > :12:02.from primary to secondary and from secondary to college, university or

:12:02. > :12:05.work. That's why we're providing more money so the poorest two-year-

:12:05. > :12:10.olds, as well as every three and four-year-old, can now benefit from

:12:10. > :12:13.pre-school education. Delivering our Pupil Premium - �900 per child

:12:13. > :12:20.next year - so the most disadvantaged children get the more

:12:20. > :12:22.intensive, more personalised support they need. And why, when

:12:22. > :12:24.they leave school, we're providing scholarships, bursaries, grants,

:12:24. > :12:30.loans, apprenticeships and wage subsidies, to help them go on

:12:30. > :12:35.learning or start earning. But extra resources won't make a

:12:35. > :12:40.difference unless matched by greater ambition. Which is why

:12:40. > :12:45.money must be accompanied by reform. Reform to ensure all children can

:12:45. > :12:51.read and write. To make schools focus on the performance of every

:12:51. > :12:54.child. To turn around failing schools, and put more pressure on

:12:55. > :12:58.coasting schools. And yes, reform to replace GCSEs, not with an O

:12:58. > :13:00.Level, but with a new more rigorous qualification that virtually every

:13:01. > :13:10.child will be able to take, and every well taught child will be

:13:10. > :13:13.able to pass. And to ensure they do, I can announce that from this year,

:13:13. > :13:15.we will provide a new 'catch-up premium' - an additional �500 for

:13:16. > :13:25.every child who leaves primary school below the expected level in

:13:26. > :13:38.

:13:38. > :13:42.English or maths. APPLAUSE If you're a parent whose child has

:13:42. > :13:45.fallen behind, who fears they might get lost in that daunting leap from

:13:45. > :13:54.primary to secondary school; and who is worried by talk about making

:13:54. > :14:01.exams tougher, let me reassure you. We will do whatever it takes to

:14:01. > :14:04.make sure your child is not left behind. A place in a summer school;

:14:04. > :14:10.catch-up classes; one-to-one tuition; we are providing the help

:14:10. > :14:20.they need. So yes, we're raising the bar. But we're ensuring every

:14:20. > :14:22.

:14:22. > :14:29.I am proud of the resolve we Liberal Democrats have shown over

:14:29. > :14:39.the last two and a half years. We've had some real disappointments.

:14:39. > :14:39.

:14:39. > :14:45.Tough election results, a bruising referendum. My song, not making it

:14:45. > :14:50.into the top 10... But through it all, we have remained focused,

:14:50. > :14:57.determined, disciplined. It hasn't always been easy, and, when we've

:14:57. > :15:01.made mistakes, we've put our hands up. But we've stuck to our task and

:15:01. > :15:04.to the Coalition Agreement even as others have wavered. The received

:15:04. > :15:07.wisdom, prior to the election, was that we wouldn't be capable of

:15:07. > :15:12.making the transition from opposition to government. The

:15:12. > :15:15.choices would be too sharp, the decisions too hard. The Liberal

:15:16. > :15:20.Democrats, it was said, are a party of protest, not power. Well, two

:15:20. > :15:23.years on, the critics have been confounded. Our mettle has been

:15:23. > :15:30.tested in the toughest of circumstances, and we haven't been

:15:30. > :15:33.found wanting. We have taken the difficult decisions to reduce the

:15:33. > :15:43.deficit by a quarter and have laid the foundations for a stronger,

:15:43. > :15:44.

:15:44. > :15:47.more balanced economy capable of delivering real and lasting growth.

:15:47. > :15:57.But, conference, our task is far from complete, our party's journey

:15:57. > :15:57.

:15:57. > :16:00.far from over. I know that there are some in the party, some in this

:16:00. > :16:04.hall even, who, faced with several more years of spending restraint,

:16:04. > :16:06.would rather turn back than press on. Break our deal with the

:16:06. > :16:10.Conservatives, give up on the Coalition, and present ourselves to

:16:10. > :16:14.the electorate in 2015 as a party unchanged. It's an alluring

:16:14. > :16:17.prospect in some ways. Gone would be the difficult choices, the hard

:16:18. > :16:21.decisions, the necessary compromises. And gone too would be

:16:21. > :16:27.the vitriol and abuse, from Right and Left, as we work every day to

:16:27. > :16:31.keep this Government anchored in the centre ground. But, conference,

:16:31. > :16:37.I tell you this. The choice between the party we were, and the party we

:16:37. > :16:45.are becoming, is a false one. The past is gone and it isn't coming

:16:45. > :16:48.back. If voters want a party of opposition, a "stop the world I

:16:48. > :16:58.want to get off" party they've got plenty of options, but we are not

:16:58. > :17:12.

:17:12. > :17:22.one of them. There's a better, more Not as the third party, but as one

:17:22. > :17:29.

:17:29. > :17:32.There's been a lot of discussion on the fringe of this conference about

:17:32. > :17:41.our party's next steps, about our relationship with the other parties

:17:41. > :17:44.and about what we should do in the event of another hung parliament.

:17:44. > :17:47.It's the sort of discussion politicians love. Full of

:17:47. > :17:51.speculation and rumour. But I have to tell you, it is all based on a

:17:51. > :17:55.false, and deeply illiberal, assumption. That it is we, rather

:17:55. > :18:05.than the people, who get to decide. In a democracy, politicians take

:18:05. > :18:14.

:18:14. > :18:17.So let's forget all the Westminster gossip and focus on what really

:18:17. > :18:22.matters. Not our relationship with the other parties, but our

:18:22. > :18:25.relationship with the British people. Imagine yourself standing

:18:25. > :18:35.on the doorstep in 2015 talking to someone who hasn't decided who to

:18:35. > :18:36.

:18:36. > :18:43.vote for. This is what you'll be able to say, we cut taxes for

:18:43. > :18:47.ordinary families and made sure the wealthiest paid their fair share.

:18:47. > :18:50.We put more money into schools to give every child a chance. We did

:18:50. > :18:54.everything possible to get people into work - millions of new jobs

:18:55. > :18:58.and more apprenticeships than ever before. And we did the right thing

:18:58. > :19:02.by our older people too - the biggest ever cash rise in the state

:19:02. > :19:12.pension. But most importantly, we brought our country back from the

:19:12. > :19:12.

:19:12. > :19:17.Then ask them, are you ready to trust Labour with your money again?

:19:17. > :19:20.And do you really think the Tories will make Britain fairer? Because

:19:20. > :19:30.the truth is, only the Liberal Democrats can be trusted on the

:19:30. > :19:50.

:19:50. > :19:53.economy and relied upon to deliver And to help get that message out

:19:53. > :20:03.there, I can announce today that Paddy Ashdown has agreed to front

:20:03. > :20:32.

:20:32. > :20:37.up our campaign as chair of the He's pretending he doesn't like the

:20:37. > :20:42.limelight. He loves it, come on. I must admit, I'm not quite sure I'm

:20:43. > :20:46.ready for all those urgent e-mails and 5am phone calls. But I can't

:20:46. > :20:56.think of anyone I'd rather have by my side. Paddy, it's great to have

:20:56. > :21:00.

:21:00. > :21:07.50, 60 years ago, before I was born, small groups of Liberal activists

:21:07. > :21:12.would meet up to talk politics and plan their campaigns. Stubborn and

:21:12. > :21:18.principled, they ignored the cynics who mocked them. They simply

:21:18. > :21:22.refused to give up on their dreams. They refused to accept that

:21:22. > :21:24.Liberals would never again be in government. And they refused to

:21:24. > :21:28.accept that Liberalism, that most decent, enlightened and British of

:21:28. > :21:38.creeds, which did so much to shape our past, would not shape our

:21:38. > :21:40.

:21:40. > :21:43.We think we've got it tough now. But it was much, much tougher in

:21:43. > :21:45.their day. It was only their resolve, their resilience and their

:21:45. > :21:54.unwavering determination that kept the flickering flame of Liberalism

:21:54. > :21:58.alive through our party's darkest At our last conference in Gateshead,

:21:58. > :22:01.I urged you to stop looking in the rear view mirror as we journey from

:22:02. > :22:08.the party of opposition that we were, to the party of government we

:22:08. > :22:12.are becoming. But before we head off on the next stage of our

:22:12. > :22:20.journey, I want you to take one last look in that mirror to see how

:22:20. > :22:26.far we've come. I tell you what I see. I see generations of Liberals

:22:26. > :22:34.marching towards the sound of gunfire. And yes, I see them going

:22:34. > :22:44.back to their constituencies to It took us a while but we got there

:22:44. > :22:49.

:22:49. > :22:54.These are the people on whose shoulders we stand. They never

:22:54. > :23:00.flinched, and nor should we. We owe it to them to seize the opportunity

:23:00. > :23:04.they gave us, but which they never had. Taking on the vested interests.

:23:04. > :23:09.Refusing to be bullied. Refusing to give up. Always overturning the

:23:09. > :23:15.odds. Fighting for what we believe in, because we know that nothing

:23:15. > :23:25.worthwhile can be won without a battle. A fair, free and open

:23:25. > :23:37.

:23:37. > :23:42.society. That's the prize. So let's Mr Clegg's speech comes Townend.

:23:42. > :23:47.Everybody gets to their feet, including his wife, Miriam. Shorter

:23:47. > :23:51.than many parties beaches. We had been told to expect 45 minutes. No

:23:51. > :23:55.doubt be unkind would say that is because he never got the pause he

:23:55. > :24:02.expected. A pretty low-key speech. At points, it sounded more like a

:24:02. > :24:06.lecture than a party conference speech. Constant theme, whether it

:24:06. > :24:09.was the Olympics, the Liberals at a time when they only had six MPs and

:24:09. > :24:15.could all get in the same taxi, it was that to get things right takes

:24:15. > :24:19.time. The idea is that you resonate today that they cannot turn around

:24:19. > :24:23.the economy in two and-a-half years, they have to stick with it because

:24:23. > :24:31.they are on the right to path, as he claimed, and that it will come

:24:31. > :24:35.right and they will be vindicated. Indeed, he said the party's future

:24:35. > :24:39.is tied to the country. If things come right for the country, they

:24:39. > :24:45.will come right for the party. In history, that hasn't always been

:24:45. > :24:51.true, as Winston Churchill discovered in 1945. There were

:24:51. > :24:55.attacks on Labour and the Tories. But they only really on the Tories

:24:55. > :24:58.about whether they were sticking to their green credentials or not. He

:24:58. > :25:03.claimed that the Lib Dems, in coalition, had brought the economy

:25:03. > :25:08.back from the brink. And that is what mattered more than anything

:25:08. > :25:12.else. He is making his way out of the conference will now. The

:25:13. > :25:17.standing ovation continuing. Certainly cannot be called a

:25:17. > :25:21.rabble-rousing speech. And no new policy initiatives of any great

:25:21. > :25:25.significance were announced. There was some word of extra money for

:25:26. > :25:29.primary school children who have struggled to master reading and

:25:29. > :25:34.writing by the time they leave primary schools. But there was no

:25:34. > :25:39.great changes in policy or taking on of existing policy. It was very

:25:39. > :25:42.much a steady-as-she-goes speech. As I was saying to Nick Robinson

:25:42. > :25:47.before, you get a sense that they know the die is cast. They have

:25:47. > :25:51.made their bed, they have to lie in it and they have to hope that the

:25:51. > :25:58.British economy comes right and they get at least some of the

:25:58. > :26:01.credit for it coming right. What has been hanging over the

:26:01. > :26:05.conference is that it might not come right and they will be

:26:05. > :26:15.consigned to oblivion. Or it might come right all they do not get the

:26:15. > :26:16.

:26:16. > :26:21.credit for it. There were a -- not a lot of e-mails coming in.

:26:21. > :26:26.reaction was rather thin. There was not much either way, in praise of

:26:26. > :26:29.criticising the speech. By La Scala guests to comment on it it was as a

:26:29. > :26:34.result of people being underwhelmed or they just didn't have anything

:26:34. > :26:38.to say. These are some of the males we got. David said, how realistic

:26:38. > :26:44.is it for the UK economy to go bust? What on earth does he mean

:26:44. > :26:47.and what hope is he giving as? Where is the hope and vision? This,

:26:47. > :26:50.from George Howlett. This was in response to the Liberal Democrats'

:26:50. > :26:58.pledge on tuition fees and the apology that we have talked about

:26:58. > :27:02.so much. It has been put to music. Interesting that the main focus of

:27:02. > :27:06.the speech was education, he talked about the Pupil Premium and money

:27:06. > :27:13.being given to struggling pupils. He says, we, as a family, feel

:27:13. > :27:18.betrayed. Our twin boys have gone to university, and we will have

:27:18. > :27:21.debts of �300,000. The apology is obviously not working there. Daniel

:27:21. > :27:26.Colgan says that the Liberal Democrats must accept that

:27:26. > :27:30.austerity is a massive failure in Britain, as in Europe, and must

:27:30. > :27:33.work harder to prevent the Tories harming the poor and vulnerable.

:27:33. > :27:37.Roger Fletcher says if the Liberal Democrats were in power, the

:27:37. > :27:42.furniture shop owner would not have been able to pass his business to

:27:42. > :27:47.his sons, as they frowned upon inherited, unearned wealth. He got

:27:47. > :27:50.a pretty good reception, as we can see. As good as we could expect in

:27:50. > :27:54.circumstances. It is a tough time for the Lib Dems. They found it

:27:54. > :27:58.difficult to make the transition from being a party of oppositional

:27:58. > :28:02.protesting to government. It's a time that is not a good time to be

:28:02. > :28:07.in government. Let's go to our political editor, Nick Robinson. He

:28:07. > :28:11.has just run back from the conference for today the politics

:28:11. > :28:16.point and the centre. What did you make of it? Maurice Reeves, the man

:28:16. > :28:20.that lost his business in the riots in Croydon, was clearly meant to be

:28:20. > :28:24.the symbol of this speech. He was the owner of that shop at the end

:28:24. > :28:29.to the ground. I thought Nick Clegg was saying, to his party, I know

:28:29. > :28:34.you think I am reducing the party to ashes, but you can rebuild. If

:28:34. > :28:40.you use words like resilience, perseverance, effort, resolve, it

:28:40. > :28:43.was peppered with references that were essentially a pet talk -- pep-

:28:43. > :28:47.talk to the troops. You're never going to be liked again, that is

:28:48. > :28:50.all gone, it's not about being liked, it's about becoming a

:28:50. > :28:55.convincing party of government. He was trying to persuade them that

:28:55. > :28:59.they could be that and it was a prize worth having. In many ways,

:28:59. > :29:02.it was very different from a Tony Blair speech, even in the way it

:29:02. > :29:07.was could doubt by the party. It contains a long sentences, long

:29:07. > :29:11.paragraphs, all of the typing is close together. It is more like a

:29:11. > :29:16.lecture, really, to the Lib Dems on the party that they are in and how

:29:16. > :29:21.there is no alternative. You and I will remember that we used to give

:29:21. > :29:27.Mr Blair's speeches, sentences without verbs, paragraphs that were

:29:27. > :29:31.only one sentence? That's true. When we get these speeches, we get

:29:31. > :29:35.them just before they are delivered, you go through them with your pen

:29:35. > :29:39.or pencil and you instantly say, there is the soundbite. It was not

:29:39. > :29:43.an easy speech when you got the text or when you heard it to pick

:29:43. > :29:46.out those easy soundbites. I think that was for a reason. He was

:29:46. > :29:51.trying to have a conversation with the country about the state of

:29:51. > :29:54.their country. He was listing more of those problems, not just the

:29:54. > :29:58.threat of the eurozone and the banking crisis, but the ageing

:29:58. > :30:02.population and all the rest of it, trying to say to the party, look,

:30:02. > :30:08.we've really got no choice now. We have made our choice as a party, he

:30:08. > :30:13.was telling them, to go into coalition with the Tories. We made

:30:13. > :30:17.our choices, we broke some promises and said sorry, the only way his

:30:17. > :30:21.forwards. Therefore, I thought it was an argument with them, a

:30:21. > :30:30.conversation with them that he was having, rather than a series of

:30:30. > :30:34.their elaborately scripted clap He did say something which would

:30:35. > :30:39.jar with a lot of people who are not Lib Dems. He said we've pulled

:30:39. > :30:46.the economy back from the brink. We were now on the right path, he said.

:30:46. > :30:51.A lot of people will look at the lack of growth in the economy, the

:30:51. > :30:55.deficit is rising again, living standards being squeezed, wages not

:30:55. > :31:00.keeping pace with inflation, and they'll say no, we are still on the

:31:00. > :31:05.brink. Hold on a second, they are going to say to that. It is

:31:05. > :31:10.interesting, in private Ministers, including Nick Clegg, would say

:31:10. > :31:14.things they would never say things they would say in public. They are

:31:14. > :31:19.well that were the data could be wrong, the the eurozone crisis

:31:19. > :31:24.could get worse and not get better. But the phrase that is so toxic

:31:24. > :31:29.that they can't say nit private does emerge in private, the green

:31:29. > :31:34.shoots. They look at the employment figures, the P mifplt data, the

:31:34. > :31:38.service sector, and say it is -- the PMI data, the service sector,

:31:38. > :31:43.and say it is getting a little better. The message was a blunt one.

:31:43. > :31:48.When he talked of two journeys, a journey for the party and one for

:31:48. > :31:54.the country, if we can get the economy moving again, his party

:31:54. > :31:58.will be OK. Implied by that is if we can't, we won't, and we'll be in

:31:58. > :32:03.real troubling. There was a dog that didn't bark. He had nothing

:32:03. > :32:07.expolice it to say to his own people about any kind of trade-off

:32:08. > :32:12.between more cuts in public spending, a freeze on welfare, a

:32:12. > :32:20.cut on some benefits and the Lib Dem demand for more taxes on the

:32:20. > :32:26.affluent and the wealthy. It has been the kind of quid pro quo

:32:26. > :32:30.that's been talked about but he nothing to say about that, did he?

:32:30. > :32:33.No, what has been striking all week is that the Lib Dems have been

:32:33. > :32:38.insist they wouldn't do a series of things I know the Conservatives

:32:38. > :32:42.aren't really pressing for. They wouldn't cut income tax, he said

:32:42. > :32:48.today, beyond 45p. I don't know a single Conservative Minister who is

:32:48. > :32:50.arguing they should cut tax below the election to 40p. They have to

:32:50. > :32:55.freeze some benefits, but the Treasury has long accepted that

:32:55. > :32:59.that is not going to happen. And he wouldn't cut �10 billion off the

:32:59. > :33:04.welfare budget. That was a figure the Chancellor used as an

:33:04. > :33:08.illustration of what would have to come off two years of budget 2015-

:33:08. > :33:12.17 to avoid cuts in other public services. And therefore if they are

:33:12. > :33:17.only going to deal on one year there is never going to be a �10

:33:17. > :33:21.billion cut in welfare. That isn't as some have suggested that the Lib

:33:21. > :33:26.Dems haven't got the policies or are hiding them. The truth is we

:33:26. > :33:30.negotiating period. It is going to last very many months. Stage one is

:33:30. > :33:35.the Autumn Statement on December 59, stage two is the Spending Review in

:33:35. > :33:40.autumn 2013, and there'll be a tug- of-war in the Government in which

:33:40. > :33:44.the Lib Dems are clear they will say, you need to do something to to

:33:44. > :33:48.show that you are putting a tax burden on the wealthy. I doubt very

:33:48. > :33:55.much it would be a mansion tax. It could be tax relief on pensions.

:33:55. > :33:58.And the Tories in return will say, that's all very well but we want

:33:58. > :34:02.some cuts on welfare that. Wrestling match behind the scenes

:34:02. > :34:06.will go on in private. What makes coalition so interesting, and it is

:34:06. > :34:11.unlike any period we've seen, is a lot of it seeps out in public.

:34:11. > :34:17.Because he leads his own party, he is not a Conservative, he has to

:34:17. > :34:23.put down his red lines and make his negotiating positions in public

:34:23. > :34:28.without giving any of the detail of what's going on in private. Lut me

:34:28. > :34:34.spatchcock two cliches together, he lives to fight another day but he

:34:34. > :34:40.is not out of the woods yet by any means The great thing about cliches

:34:40. > :34:44.Andrew is that they are usually true. You are right. The talk of

:34:44. > :34:48.leadership challenges at conference never really happened. Frankly the

:34:48. > :34:53.idea, I Googled the man on the front page of one Sunday newspaper

:34:53. > :34:57.calling for Nick Clegg to go, and I still didn't know he was.

:34:57. > :35:02.Apparently he is a member of the House of Lords, haven't a clue who

:35:02. > :35:06.Lord Smith is, never met him. The problem was not some plot or coup

:35:06. > :35:13.attempt or a deal but a sense anxiety, that this party thought,

:35:13. > :35:17.my goodness me, how do we get out of this mess? We are locked to

:35:17. > :35:20.unpopular Tories, and Nick Clegg is linked to breaking his words and

:35:20. > :35:25.with David Cameron. How do we ever put ourselves in a position to win

:35:25. > :35:29.seats, or if we can't win enough to do a deal with Labour if that's

:35:29. > :35:32.what the electorate choose after the election. What Nick Clegg has

:35:32. > :35:36.been saying to them is don't think you do it by ditching the coalition,

:35:36. > :35:40.by ditching me, don't think you do it by change course. You do it by

:35:40. > :35:44.showing you are a mature and proper party of government that can make

:35:44. > :35:48.difficult choices. And for that, he is telling them, you will get your

:35:48. > :35:53.reward. The challenge, of course, just before you ask me in

:35:53. > :35:59.conclusion Andrew, the challenge will come if at the 2013 conference

:35:59. > :36:04.or the 2014 conference reward comes there none. Indeed. Nick, thank you

:36:04. > :36:10.for joining us. We'll let you go and prepare for the main news

:36:10. > :36:15.tonight on the BBC. Nick Robinson there, the BBC's political editor.

:36:15. > :36:22.Jo? Our guests are Ben Page and Peter Kellner. You've survived the

:36:22. > :36:25.speech! I've stayed awake. Your first impressions. It is not a

:36:25. > :36:33.conversation with the country. Most people in Britain are going to be o

:36:33. > :36:39.believe yus to this. He's stuck to his theme. It has got a few

:36:39. > :36:42.horrible bad jokes in it. One thing that stood out, the couple being

:36:42. > :36:46.trusted on the economy and on essential justice and that is the

:36:46. > :36:50.pitch against the Conservatives, a pitch that the Liberal Democrats

:36:50. > :36:55.are moderating the Conservatives, and of course a pitch to those

:36:55. > :37:01.sleerts he's lost since the general election. -- the voters he's lost

:37:01. > :37:07.since the general election. But trying to find the third way, as we

:37:07. > :37:12.heard in that speech, it is not easy to be that distinctive from

:37:12. > :37:16.Labour and the Conservatives. Will he say to any activists worrying

:37:16. > :37:22.about having to make a pitch, will he have raised their hopes? I don't

:37:22. > :37:27.think. So I wonder, listening to that, whether on coming back from

:37:27. > :37:31.holiday Nick Clegg said to his staff, "Do we have to have a

:37:31. > :37:38.conference? Must I give a speech, because I'm on a hiding to

:37:38. > :37:41.nothing." It looked like a speech from a man who didn't want to

:37:41. > :37:47.deliver it. It was an intelligent speech. If you read it, agree or

:37:47. > :37:51.disagree, it read as an intelligent argument, not very well delivered.

:37:51. > :37:57.This was the opposite. The delivery was good, but the words in it, my

:37:57. > :38:02.goodness it was if he was trying to beat the Guinness World Record for

:38:02. > :38:07.cliches. I admire Nick Clegg, what he's done over the last two years

:38:07. > :38:11.has been courageous. This isn't his finest hour. Sometimes it is all in

:38:11. > :38:16.the delivery, but you don't feel it lifted the words off the page in

:38:16. > :38:21.that sense? If you think back to Paddy Ashdown, as election manager.

:38:21. > :38:26.When he was leader, he delivered substantial speeches in the 1990s.

:38:26. > :38:30.He would say big things about the nature of Britain, the nature of

:38:30. > :38:37.the world, of the economy, of the challenges. He turned up with a

:38:37. > :38:40.smartphone once to say, "I can read the wall street journal on this" he

:38:40. > :38:45.said. You might have dis agreed with him but they were big

:38:45. > :38:49.statements by a big beast. This wasn't a big statement and as a

:38:49. > :38:52.result Nick to me didn't look like a big beast. Sit because he hasn't

:38:52. > :38:57.got anything to say or is that he is feeling straightened by the

:38:57. > :39:02.coalition, that this is a holding conference and a holding speech?

:39:02. > :39:06.This is his conference, so he could say all sorts of things. It is a

:39:06. > :39:11.steady as she goes and it will be alright in the long run. We had

:39:11. > :39:16.keep going, keep going, keep going. Yes, keep calm and carpry on.

:39:16. > :39:20.has been said repeated lyrics that is all they've got. It felt that

:39:20. > :39:25.some of the people in that hall might have felt it would be more

:39:25. > :39:30.fun when they were a protest party. The thing is that it is about

:39:30. > :39:34.having an opportunity. Conference speeches for me have always been,

:39:34. > :39:38.this is the big highlight for the leaders of the party, when a lot of

:39:38. > :39:42.people are watching and listening to them did. He miss his

:39:42. > :39:46.opportunity there? I think he did. You mentioned Churchill saving the

:39:46. > :39:51.country and losing the election in 19456789 when Churchill took over

:39:52. > :39:57.as Prime Minister, Britain was in a terrible state. One of the points

:39:57. > :40:02.about Churchill was he didn't shrink from telling the bleak truth.

:40:02. > :40:06.Vivid language but he didn't sugar the pill. That earned him credit.

:40:06. > :40:11.If things are as bad as they clearly are for the economy and for

:40:11. > :40:18.the party, if Nick Clegg is going to make that kind of appeal, in an

:40:18. > :40:22.odd way he needs to be starker and more serious and more down-beat.

:40:22. > :40:27.The gravitas wasn't there? wasn't there. The language, I

:40:27. > :40:31.really didn't feel was right. thought it was interesting that he

:40:31. > :40:35.quite explicitly linkleted the future of his party to the --

:40:35. > :40:39.linked the future of his feet the country. If the policies come right,

:40:39. > :40:46.the country will come right and our party will come right. There is

:40:46. > :40:53.quite a lot of historical examples. Churchill in 1945, and Lloyd George,

:40:53. > :40:58.he won the First World War and killed the Liberal Party. You could

:40:58. > :41:04.say after Lehman Brothers Gordon moved Heaven and Earth to help stop

:41:04. > :41:09.the economy from becoming a '30s- style slump and lost the election.

:41:09. > :41:16.The electorate are very ungrateful. But in terms of the electorate,

:41:16. > :41:21.what about red meat? There wasn't much red meat that. Usually is a

:41:21. > :41:25.vital ingredient of conference speeches. It did feel like middle

:41:25. > :41:30.managershaving a sales conference somewhere. That is a pretty damning

:41:30. > :41:35.indictment from you. What could he have done red-meat-wise for the

:41:35. > :41:39.party? They are going to have to get to that point at some stage,

:41:39. > :41:43.because at some point they are going to have to stand against the

:41:43. > :41:48.Conservatives and he will have to say, vote for us to stop it

:41:48. > :41:53.happening, but at the moment he isn't doing, that but in 2015 he

:41:53. > :41:58.will have to. Back to Brighton where if former leader of the

:41:58. > :42:06.Liberal Democrats, a man who had ha had to make a speech like that.

:42:06. > :42:16.Ming Campbell is there. What bit of the speech has stuck in your mind?

:42:16. > :42:18.

:42:18. > :42:24.A pleasure. The march to the gunfire, the go back to your

:42:24. > :42:26.government. We must not been held back by it. Three parties with an

:42:26. > :42:30.interest in government in the United Kingdom, it seemed to me he

:42:30. > :42:34.was putting a pretty serious test and equally a pretty serious

:42:34. > :42:39.ambition. That's the bit that leapt out to me. But it seemed that the

:42:39. > :42:43.fate of your party is tied one the success, or otherwise, of the

:42:43. > :42:48.coalition's policies. It doesn't always follow that even if they

:42:48. > :42:55.were to come right, would get the credit. Let's put that round the

:42:55. > :43:00.other way. Supposing they had come wrong. Then you're finished.

:43:00. > :43:04.would somehow be successful. You're toast. The analysis is right, of

:43:04. > :43:07.course, that he has married together the success and progress

:43:07. > :43:11.of the party with the success of the commitment but remember, that's

:43:11. > :43:15.what the coalition agreement was about. It is what we signed up to.

:43:15. > :43:20.It is why people like myself agreed that this was a coalition, a

:43:20. > :43:24.necessity which we had to enter into. What he was doing essentially

:43:24. > :43:31.was expressing frankly something which has been by implication the

:43:31. > :43:36.position ever since May 2010. did he say nothing about the

:43:36. > :43:39.potential trade-off which everyone has been talking about between the

:43:39. > :43:45.coalition's need, particularly the Conservative desire to make further

:43:45. > :43:51.cuts or further freezes on benefits, and your party's desire for higher

:43:51. > :43:55.taxes on the wealthy? Why did he not mention that? Well, I was

:43:55. > :43:58.eavesdropping on Nick Robinson a moment ago when you were talking to

:43:58. > :44:01.him. He was pointing out the fact that Liberal Democrats, not

:44:01. > :44:08.surprisingly perhaps, have been going around this conference saying,

:44:08. > :44:11.we are not going to do this or that. These are not things which are

:44:11. > :44:16.under consideration in this Parliament. Remember, the coalition

:44:16. > :44:20.is for this Parliament, its success or otherwise, will be determined by

:44:20. > :44:25.what happens in this Parliament. One general point if I may. This

:44:25. > :44:31.wasn't an occasion for the sunny southern uplands. It was an austere

:44:31. > :44:34.speech for an age of austerity. we've got to be serious in the way

:44:34. > :44:38.in which we deal with it. Lying behind the speech at every stage

:44:38. > :44:43.was the question of opportunity, not just opportunity for those who

:44:43. > :44:48.are less well-off, but opportunity for our party. In a sense you could

:44:48. > :44:54.argue this was a challenge to the Liberal Democrats. Here is where we

:44:54. > :45:04.are, here's what we've got to do, When you look at everything that

:45:04. > :45:05.

:45:05. > :45:08.has been demanded, when you get everything that has been demanded

:45:08. > :45:14.by the Lib Dems, surely it is fair to say that you are much more

:45:14. > :45:19.likely to get what you want from a Labour party than a Conservative

:45:19. > :45:23.Party? I thought one of the interesting part of the speech was

:45:23. > :45:26.when he pointed out that all talk of what one would do after the next

:45:26. > :45:31.election really is arrogant. In this sense, the people will decide

:45:31. > :45:36.what sort of parliament they want to have. If it's a hung parliament

:45:37. > :45:39.once again, all parties will have an obligation to see what is

:45:39. > :45:46.necessary to do in the national interests. I don't think anything

:45:46. > :45:52.is served by anticipating the result of the General Election and

:45:52. > :45:55.by attempting to present positions in advance of that result. Wouldn't

:45:55. > :46:02.there be widespread anger if the Liberal Democrats were to lose a

:46:02. > :46:06.large number of seats at the next General Election, but still held

:46:07. > :46:11.the balance of power and stayed in government? People would think that

:46:11. > :46:17.was not fair. Well, the British electoral system is not fair. If we

:46:17. > :46:22.had a proper proportional system... You lost that argument! Then what

:46:22. > :46:28.you say would not occur. I can hear some heckling. But if we had a fair

:46:28. > :46:36.system, of course, coalition is something we have to deal with more

:46:36. > :46:42.than once every eight years. What we seek to do is to build on what

:46:42. > :46:46.has gone before, realising that our success or failure will depend on

:46:46. > :46:52.the circumstances that encouraged and some may even say Forster's

:46:52. > :46:56.into coalition. That is the austere message that we have heard. It is

:46:56. > :47:01.one that seemed to be well received. The mood has been, to some extent,

:47:01. > :47:05.anxious. If Nick Clegg had got up and said, look, we have turned the

:47:05. > :47:10.corner, all is going to be milk and honey, people like yourselves and

:47:10. > :47:15.the delegates would have been smiling behind their hands. An

:47:15. > :47:20.entirely realistic speech. Realism and commitment, not rhetoric.

:47:20. > :47:24.seem to want to be in a position, and Vince Cable alluded to this,

:47:24. > :47:30.having been a party that was never in power, you want to see election

:47:30. > :47:36.results which mean you will always be in power? You would hardly be

:47:36. > :47:43.surprised about that. Yes, it's about winning an election. It's

:47:43. > :47:47.very seductive indeed when you consider, as... Well, I joined the

:47:47. > :47:50.Liberal Party when there were six MPs. I came an MP and there were 18

:47:50. > :47:54.of us. The notion of government, the kind of influence we have

:47:54. > :47:57.enjoyed and the kind of responsibility we have had to

:47:57. > :48:02.undertake seemed entirely remote. As Nick Clegg has quite properly

:48:02. > :48:05.said, a different party, for different times. If power and

:48:06. > :48:09.responsibility goes along with that, he will not find any of ejection

:48:09. > :48:15.from any of the delegates in Brighton. Does it wrangle with you

:48:15. > :48:19.that the man widely regarded as his heir apparent is three years older

:48:19. > :48:27.than you or when who you were leader of the party and thought to

:48:27. > :48:30.be too old to run it? No. Another Time, Another Place, I can assure

:48:30. > :48:39.you that I do not lie awake at night or even get up in the morning

:48:39. > :48:43.sticking pins into effigies of Vince Cable. Would you like to?

:48:43. > :48:49.When Gordon Brown declined to call the election in autumn 2007, which

:48:49. > :48:53.he undoubtedly should have done, as even he might now admit, it was

:48:53. > :48:59.clear to me that the issues of age that were crowded around were going

:48:59. > :49:03.to be even greater in the three years that were going to follow

:49:03. > :49:09.until the General Election was held in 2010. Nick Clegg was my

:49:09. > :49:13.preferred successor. He has done something which very few Liberal

:49:13. > :49:16.Democrat... No Liberal Democrat leaders, and very few Liberal

:49:16. > :49:20.leaders have done. He's had the opportunity of taking us into

:49:20. > :49:24.government. That, for the party, whatever difficulties that may have

:49:24. > :49:28.caused, it has been an enormous achievement. But it could have been

:49:28. > :49:32.you, if they look more kindly on your age, the way that they seem to

:49:32. > :49:38.be on Vince Cable's, it could be you. Deputy Prime Minister

:49:38. > :49:43.Campbell? Well, it is very good of you to keep up this barrage of

:49:43. > :49:46.support for myself. I don't remember, if I may say so, that you

:49:46. > :49:55.were among those at the time that was saying, stay on, you are young

:49:55. > :49:59.enough. Exactly, there we go. Anyway, we lost. And you for

:49:59. > :50:05.joining us. Have you got a campaign to get Ming

:50:05. > :50:10.Campbell reinstated? Ardour is worth the crowds and has managed to

:50:10. > :50:15.grab a couple of people who were in there, listening to Nick Clegg.

:50:15. > :50:18.Good afternoon. I have not grab them yet. We are going to grab them

:50:18. > :50:22.on BBC Two and see who would like to talk to us. Are you making notes

:50:22. > :50:28.about your favourite parts of the speech? No. What were your

:50:28. > :50:32.favourite bits? A clear message that we are going to differentiate

:50:32. > :50:38.ourselves from the Tories. I think that is absolutely critical. The

:50:38. > :50:42.reason we are going to do that is the whole equalities agenda. I

:50:42. > :50:45.think Mecca is absolutely right. No other party is going to do it.

:50:46. > :50:50.Labour talk about it, they didn't do it and will not do it again.

:50:50. > :50:54.That was key. The other thing, he has now hopefully dispelled any

:50:54. > :51:02.question that he should lead us into the next General Election.

:51:02. > :51:05.Very quickly, marks out of 10? Scientific. Thank you very much. He

:51:05. > :51:11.Wells would like to talk to the Daily Politics? These guys look

:51:11. > :51:16.quite keen. He's going to get a train. What did you reckon about

:51:16. > :51:19.the speech? A very strong speech. My highlight was that Blue cannot

:51:20. > :51:25.become green without yellow. That sums up what is happening with the

:51:25. > :51:27.environment. In the coalition, the Conservatives would not be

:51:27. > :51:30.delivering an UNEF what is happening in that government. A

:51:30. > :51:35.very strong green message in government. I thought you might

:51:35. > :51:39.mention that, you have a green badge. You are not running off for

:51:39. > :51:43.a train? Not yet. Are you prepared to be shouted at in your

:51:43. > :51:47.constituency, because you are a proper, grown-up party of

:51:47. > :51:51.government? I'm on the doorsteps every week. It is nothing new to us

:51:51. > :51:54.at all. We are not being shouted at. He's talking about not being a

:51:54. > :51:58.protest party any more and being grown-up. What does that mean in

:51:58. > :52:02.practice when you are campaigning? It means you can say to people, we

:52:02. > :52:06.have delivered this, we have raised the income tax that will say you

:52:06. > :52:12.get more of your money to take home, we have invested in schools, we

:52:12. > :52:16.have a Pupil Premium. The catch-up fund his regard for people in my

:52:16. > :52:20.area, Tottenham specifically. They will benefit from that and they are

:52:20. > :52:24.doing so. Well done, you have learned all of the party lines.

:52:24. > :52:28.Let's see if we can find some odd delegates. What did you make of the

:52:28. > :52:33.speech? You are live on BBC Two. Really enjoyed it. Very inspiring,

:52:33. > :52:36.just what we needed. What I noticed was the talk about Paddy Ashdown

:52:36. > :52:41.coming back to run the next election got a bigger club than

:52:41. > :52:48.anything else. Why was that? just love party. That doesn't mean

:52:48. > :52:54.we did not love Nick. He was 15 last on the front line 15 years ago

:52:54. > :52:58.and never won an election. What makes an qualified? If he can sort

:52:58. > :53:02.out Bosnia, he can sort out the country and help get us elected.

:53:03. > :53:05.Did the speech but all of the rumours to rest? I think so. It's

:53:05. > :53:11.interesting. A lot of the mutterings about the leadership

:53:11. > :53:17.were coming from members of the media. Sorry, not you necessarily.

:53:17. > :53:20.We were here on Saturday and somebody from an alternative news

:53:20. > :53:27.outlet was going around, basically trying to find people to say nasty

:53:27. > :53:31.things about Nick. It wasn't me! was not you, it stopped because

:53:31. > :53:35.they found it very difficult to find people. Vince Cable scarpered

:53:35. > :53:39.pretty quickly. We saw him leaving just after the speech finished.

:53:39. > :53:43.Would you like to speak to us? thought I would praise him for the

:53:43. > :53:47.amazing speech. It really inspired me. I always come to the conference

:53:47. > :53:51.looking to be inspired, to go back to work and knocking on doors. I

:53:51. > :53:55.work as an organiser. It really helps to motivate me and it helps

:53:55. > :53:59.me to motivate other people. I think the speech did exactly that.

:53:59. > :54:02.It set out the Liberal Democrat vision. I think it explained to the

:54:02. > :54:05.country what Liberal Democrats stand for. There was only one

:54:05. > :54:10.policy announced, the catch-up premium. That is a bit lame, isn't

:54:10. > :54:13.it? Not only one policy, there were a number of other things he focused

:54:13. > :54:18.on. The fairer taxes campaign, which we have been talking about

:54:18. > :54:22.since 2010, which we have delivered so much on already, it is being

:54:22. > :54:30.delivered and will carry on being delivered. I'll stop you there, I

:54:30. > :54:37.have spotted the man that runs the Lib Dem shop. We do not have Nick

:54:37. > :54:47.in person. But what have been the best sellers from the shop? The two

:54:47. > :54:49.

:54:49. > :54:54.bestsellers have been the Sorry Macs and badgers. And also the pleb

:54:55. > :55:00.badges. We have run out of stock. heard that you jacked up the price

:55:00. > :55:04.of the badge, it started selling for 25 pence? It started at 25p, we

:55:04. > :55:08.sold it at 25p. But there is a black market of people buying it.

:55:08. > :55:11.There was one bystander earlier today. He didn't have any, he

:55:11. > :55:18.offered somebody �5 for it and she passed it over. And then she bought

:55:18. > :55:22.one from me at 25 pence later. you want to have the last word?

:55:22. > :55:26.Marks out of 10? It was great. Talking about our distinctive

:55:26. > :55:29.vision. That is what we've got to do. We've got to keep saying, the

:55:29. > :55:34.income tax threshold would not have been raised under the Tories. It

:55:34. > :55:40.was raised because it was one of our main policies. We have brought

:55:40. > :55:45.in 75% of our manifesto. What marks out of 10 would you give it? Nine

:55:45. > :55:49.out of 10. What would you say the atmosphere was like? It wasn't

:55:49. > :55:53.barnstorming, was it? It wasn't, but he said what we wanted to hear.

:55:54. > :55:57.He was honest with us. He talked about tough decisions. That, we

:55:57. > :56:01.have to admit that. That the decisions are going to be tough.

:56:01. > :56:06.This is not easy. That is it, the word from the delegates on the

:56:06. > :56:09.conference floor. Remember, you end up with these from the party

:56:09. > :56:18.conferences. This year, the Lib Dems are recycling them! No more

:56:18. > :56:23.clocking up your house in your We are in the dying minutes of our

:56:24. > :56:28.coverage. Some of you might want to put emphasis on the word dying. I

:56:28. > :56:31.am a Labour strategist, watching this, my conferences next week. And

:56:31. > :56:38.thinking, at the very least, I might have to be the largest party

:56:38. > :56:41.after the next election. Can I do business with them? Yes. The one

:56:41. > :56:45.thing that Nick Clegg was absolutely clearly right is that in

:56:45. > :56:49.the end it is the voters that decide. If Labour is the largest

:56:49. > :56:52.party in the next Parliament, unless it is only two or three

:56:52. > :56:57.seats in it, the Liberal Democrats will only have one choice, like

:56:57. > :57:01.last time. In the end, they only had one option, to do a deal with

:57:01. > :57:06.the Tories. If it is Labour tent seats away from a majority, they

:57:06. > :57:10.will have to do a deal with Labour, if they like it or not. But I did

:57:10. > :57:14.they can do business. They are fighting over the same voters. The

:57:14. > :57:18.voters that he has lost have, by and large, gone to the Labour Party.

:57:18. > :57:21.Labour have to hang onto them. almost come to the end of the

:57:21. > :57:26.coverage. A very important thing to do now, the most important thing I

:57:26. > :57:31.have done all day. Put you out of your misery. No, not by ending the

:57:31. > :57:37.coverage, to give you the answer to the guess the year competition. The

:57:37. > :57:45.year was 1999. I got it right, for once. Once, being the operative

:57:45. > :57:52.word. If you thump that red button, we will reveal the button. --

:57:52. > :57:56.winner. David Joyce, from Leeds, you have won. Looking ahead to

:57:56. > :58:00.Manchester, Labour will not have a leadership scare. That is not an

:58:00. > :58:03.issue at the moment. They are in good shape in the polls. The

:58:03. > :58:09.coalition is deeply worried, the economy is still showing few signs

:58:09. > :58:12.of recovery. It could be pretty easy for them next week? Except

:58:12. > :58:17.that they know, as we used to say about David Cameron before the

:58:17. > :58:19.blast election, Ed Miliband has not sealed the deal with the public.

:58:19. > :58:22.The public are disenchanted with the Conservatives, they are

:58:22. > :58:27.disenchanted with the Liberal Democrats. They are less

:58:27. > :58:31.apprehensive about Labour than a year ago. But it is not like Tony

:58:31. > :58:36.Blair, when he was positively popular. Ed Miliband still has work

:58:36. > :58:40.to do. In his conference speech, he needs to do better than Nick Clegg.

:58:40. > :58:43.Even his own voters are less enthusiastic about him than the

:58:44. > :58:47.Conservatives are about Cameron. thank you for being with us.

:58:47. > :58:51.That it, on the day that Nick Clegg delivered his speech to the Lib Dem