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The Liberal Democrats continue their autumn party conference in Glasgow

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with debates on the economy, taxes and benefits and a keynote speech

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from Business Secretary Vince Cable. Afternoon, folks, welcome to the

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Daily Politics Conference Special. Today's headlines from Glasgow: Lib

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Dems get down to business with a debate on the economy. Nick Clegg

:00:58.:01:01.

wants conference to back Government policy, but some activists want more

:01:01.:01:12.

focus on employment and growth. Vince Cable

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All that in the next hour, as well as an interview with the Energy

:01:47.:01:59.

Secretary, Ed Davey. And with us for the whole programme today is the

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writer, broadcaster and prominent Lib Dem supporter John Kampfner.

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Welcome to the Daily Politics. Well, Nick Clegg was out and about early

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in his sandals this morning doing the media rounds. I know you were

:02:14.:02:16.

in his sandals this morning doing probably all still in bed, so here's

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what he had to say to BBC Breakfast when he was asked about a poll in

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the Independent that suggests 59% of all those who voted Lib Dem at the

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last election believe the party has got worse in the last three years,

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last election believe the party has and only 9% believe it has got

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better. We are in government in difficult times. We came in, stepped

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up to the plate, rolled up our sleeves, got our hands dirty and got

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involved in this crucial once in a generation task of rescuing and

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repairing the British economy, which really was teetering on the edge of

:02:56.:03:02.

repairing the British economy, which the precipice in 2010. Without the

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Liberal Democrats holding our nerve, we would not now be starting to get

:03:05.:03:09.

a flow of better economic news. It is because we held our nerve. I

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understand that has unsettled some people, but it was the right thing

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for the country. Nick Clegg, not set to music!

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I would suggest he is having quite a good Conference. There is no

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possibility of any sort of leadership challenge. A confident

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interview on BBC breakfast yesterday morning, a confident interview on

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the today programme this morning. We understand he has just won the

:03:31.:03:35.

economy debate. The left-wing alternative was beaten, he won. He

:03:35.:03:44.

is. If you compare it to his first year, year and a half, with

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situation fees, he said he used to have things thrown through his

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letterbox and pretty unpleasant thing shouted at him in the Street.

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It was wondered whether he would survive a couple of years into the

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Government. You never survive a couple of years into the

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happen with voters, that he could be the kingmaker again and potentially

:03:59.:04:05.

the next deputy. Given they have been right in the middle of

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headwinds in terms of the recession and the general mood of gloom in the

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country, it is a pretty robust performance. But whether you get

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votes and plaudits for being tough and robust, whether you need to

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offer a different vision, that is how they are being challenged, how

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they show they are different from the other two parties. He still has

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about 18 months to do that. Let's get a sense of the mood at

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conference and talk to Andrew Grice from the Independent and Isabel

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Hardman of the Spectator. Isabel, cut to the chase, what is Vince

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Cable up to? It is a little bit unclear what he was thinking he was

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doing. He did not want to go into the economy debate because he was

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doing speech crap, then he decided he would have to come and vote in

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favour of Nick Clegg 's motion. It is probably because this was

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supposed to be Vince Cable 's leadership bid conference. Two years

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ago, people were expecting him to ride on the shoulders of activists.

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That has not happened. When he walked into the conference hall

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earlier, the cameras watched him sitting down, looking miserable. He

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managed to cause a stir but the economy motion was passed without

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his support, quite overwhelmingly. Are we making too much of the

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alleged split between Nick Clegg and Vince Cable? There is some

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substance. Vince Cable has always wanted the coalition to be more

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flexible with economic strategy. Nick Clegg thinks that as the

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economic tide is turning and there is a return to growth, it is a

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stupid time to reopen that argument. If they go back to calling for a

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Plan B, in Nick Clegg 's words, the Lib Dems will get no credit for the

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recovery, it will go to George Osborne and the Conservatives. There

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is confusion about why Vince Cable wants to show difference between

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himself and Nick Clegg. Even internal polls show that this is a

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party full of activists who are on the left. Mystic leg is a party full

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of activists who are on the left. Mystic laggards governing and

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leading -- leading his party from the centre. Can he do that

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indefinitely? I think what the debate we have just seen showed is

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that the left-leaning faction of the party may be the loudest but not

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necessarily the most powerful. That is dominated by the very well-known

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Social Liberal Forum, but Liberal Reform, which is more market-based,

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is going in to the ascendancy. Many people are backing market-based

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speeches. What is the overall mood in bars go? Every time I have been

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to a Lib Dem conference since the coalition they are torn between, on

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the one hand, being happy they are finally in government after all

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these years and able to do some things, on the other hand, not that

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happy that they are in power with the Conservatives? That is true.

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They are growing up as a party. Yesterday they accept that they

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could not go into the election saying that they would get rid of

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university tuition fees, a big change since last time. They

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embraced nuclear power, a big U-turn. They have rallied behind

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Nick Clegg on the economy. Is a painful process, but I think they

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are along the road what Nick Clegg want, a party of permanent

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government, not a protest party in the comfort zone of opposition where

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they can vote against anything the Government was doing. I think we are

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seeing a transformation along the lines that Nick Legge wanted. Do you

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agree? I think the votes vindicate the leadership strategy of

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confronting activists. One MP said it is a scab picking conference,

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where they talk about some of the difficult issues. The scab picking

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has paid off so far, although we have a debate on the 50p tax, which

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the leadership is briefing that they will lose. I gather from yesterday

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pulls-macro speech that Ed Davey is now using Sarah tether 's joke

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right? It was that bad? Is that right? It was quite painful. He had

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a good narrative about fighting Owen Paterson but he peppered it with

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terrible jokes. Where they bad, Andy? He tried to say he was

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fracking responsible for exposing the hyperbole of the Tories on

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fracking. But after his first joke fell flat he should have drawn

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stumps, skipped a few pages and got onto his serious message. It was a

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joke too far. When I interviewed him later, I will tell him to avoid the

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jokes. Thank you both for joining us, enjoy your time in the fair city

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jokes. Thank you both for joining of Glasgow.

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Now it's time for our daily quiz. The question is, which sport did

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Nick Clegg not try his hand at yesterday? Table football, pitch and

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putt or beach volleyball. At the end of the show, John will give us the

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correct answer. You will get is the correct answer? You don't know it,

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do you? I saw a photograph of one that he certainly did. That is not

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the question. Whisper it quietly, but after three

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years of little or no growth the economy appears to be recovering. A

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bit. Somewhat. At last. And one half of the coalition certainly seems to

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be happy to take the credit, with George Osborne boldly declaring last

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week that the UK is turning a corner. What is around that corner

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is another matter. But what of the other half of the coalition? Well,

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Nick Clegg certainly thinks Lib Dems should be loud and proud about their

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economic achievements, while those on the left of his party feel pretty

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uncomfortable about any taking credit for what they call

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Osbornonomics. The internal Lib Dem row over economic policy is in the

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spotlight today in Glasgow. Nick Clegg wanted party members to

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endorse the coalition's deficit reduction plan, but left-leaning

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activists from the Social Liberal Forum tabled an amendment calling on

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the plan to be rebalanced with more flexible policy on the pace of

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deficit reduction. Ie slower deficit-reduction. They also want

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some councils to be allowed to borrow more to build an extra

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300,000 new homes a year, as well as the reintroduction of the 50p higher

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rate of tax. There was some speculation over whether Vince Cable

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would even turn up today. He was thought to be unhappy. When did that

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happen? ! He was thought to be unhappy that the motion did not draw

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on some of the amendments tabled by the party. There are rumours that he

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is not entirely happy with some of the Government 's economic policies.

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He is particularly concerned that the recovery is not sustainable,

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especially with the potential for another housing bubble thanks to the

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Government 's help to buy mortgage scheme. In a newspaper interview

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over the weekend he said the danger lights had been flashing for some

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time over rising house prices. Well, this morning Lib Dems have backed

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Nick Clegg in his motion on the economy. Here are some highlights

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from the debate. On Sunday the 9th of March 2008,

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Nick made his first speech as Lib Dem leader. I would like to remind

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you of what you said and how much we welcomed these words. You said, I

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will never allow the Liberal Democrat to be a mere annex to

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another party pulls-macro agenda. Conference, unamended, this motion

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would do just that. We must not vote for an ideological merger with the

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Conservative Party 's economic odysseys.

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We are the balancing force for whichever party is in Government, we

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are able to put Labour 's spending excess in check and we are able to

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make sure the Conservative Party remains fair. That is the message I

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need to be able to say on the doorstep to win in Hampstead and

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Kilburn. That will only resonate if we stay the course on this motion,

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if we stay the course with the fiscal mandate.

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I want the party leadership to talk more about housing, to shout about

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it from the rooftops. The shortage of private and public housing is a

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social and, yes, economic crisis in this country that never seems to get

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to the Cabinet table. We should be building more new homes, social and

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private. We should not be inflating another housing bubble.

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The evidence is that the original planning of George Osborne has been

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a disaster. If you look across the piece, if you not selective, such as

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the proposals of the motion, if you look across the piece, the original

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Osborne planning has been a disaster. Fortunately, people like

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Vince Cable and others have gently finessed away from the original

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planning. There is a lot of good in the body of this motion, which I

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wholly support. But what I am asking you to do today is a vote in favour

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of three things. Amendment one, Amendment two and intellectual

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honesty. If we reject the two amendments we will be going into the

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election with a miserable little compromise. 50 years ago this

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weekend, we talked about marching towards the sound of gunfire. I want

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the ammunition to fight that battle and win. In government, the Liberal

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Democrats have delivered. I will not repeat everything everybody else

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says that, time is short. But it there has been a lot of pain in that

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process. And to now think about jumping ship just as things are

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starting to improve seems to me to not be a very rational or sensible

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decision. Nick, I bid you to accept the whole amendment. You are not

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alone Ranger and we are not Tonto. Please show the world that we are an

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independent policy and we have a better taken on a policy than the

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Tories. That was the flavour of the economic

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bait. It was thought to cause problems for the party leadership

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but in the end, the party one. Jeremy Browne joins me now from

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Glasgow. Vince Cable says there are dangers

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signs of a housing bubble. The Vince Cable says there are dangers

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Government is right. It has the right policy. It is about slowly

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implementing policy - getting the country back on its feet. Part of

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that is about recovery in the housing market. We want a boy

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galloping ahead and escalation of house prices -- we want to avoid a

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galloping ahead. We do not want to repeat the problem. That is why the

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Government is being cautious in its problems generally inquiry are not

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getting ahead of ourselves and taking things step by step. I think

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we have the right policy. You say the Government is right. Both Vince

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Cable and Mr Alexander are members of the Government. It would seem

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you side with Danny Alexander. That is the Government's policy. Danny

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Alexander is a Treasury Minister, which is the responsible government

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department. I think the whole government is united behind that

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policy. Is it true that bins Cable and Danny Alex Song are barely on

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policy. Is it true that bins Cable speaking terms? -- Vince Cable and

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Danny Alexander. I am not able to see the relationship in the Cabinet.

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They seem to be working together as far as I can see. The Government is

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They seem to be working together as united in its purpose. The Liberal

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Democrats in the Government a very determined we see through the

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economic rebuilding of our country after the ruinous state it was in

:16:57.:17:04.

three, four, five years ago. We are on part to get our country back on

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track. It is a slow and incremental process. The Liberal Democrats were

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strongly committed to seeing it through. Isn't it tactically less

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than the siege - just as many people think the economy is now

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coming right after three years' hard pounding - for many Lib Dems,

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led by Vince Cable, to be questioning whether the economic

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policy was right or not? I strongly agree with your question. The

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Liberal Democrats have shown commitment to resilience can afford

:17:40.:17:44.

to do in government. We have stuck to our guns. -- resilience,

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fortitude in government. We are now in a position where the country

:17:51.:17:56.

appears to be starting to turn a corner. We are not there yet. We're

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off our knees and on our feet again. We are not yet fully up and running.

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We need to see this job through. The Lib Dems should be unequivocal.

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We need to see this job through. We have been instrumental to the

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success of this government. The decisions this government has taken

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on economic policy have been labelled Democrat decisions as much

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as conservative decisions. -- Liberal Democrat. There difficult

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decisions -- the Liberal Democrats need to ask themselves, are we

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proud of our government of the ashamed of it? We should be

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unequivocally proud of it. We should not be bashful about our

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achievements. The achievements are just as much a result of Liberal

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Democrat policies as they are conservative ones. Talking about

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your own department, you want to start a debate about banning young

:18:57.:19:03.

Muslim women from wearing the veil. Why do you want to do that? There

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is a debate already. There is a debate that people discuss at her

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name, they discuss it in schools and the media. It is legitimate. --

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at home. Mainstream liberal-minded politician should be engaging in

:19:24.:19:29.

public debates which are matters of the national interest to people

:19:29.:19:33.

across the country. It would be regrettable if the only people who

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are willing to talk about this issue publicly were people with

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extremist political views. I want us to value freedom of religious

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expression. We have a proud tradition in this country of

:19:45.:19:49.

religious tolerance. I do not want religious majority opinion to

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impose itself. We can talk about how we can have a harmonious

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society where everybody feels a full participant in that society.

:20:06.:20:12.

There is debate happening. IG not have necessarily fixed fees. I have

:20:12.:20:19.

not necessarily come to a conclusion. We may come to

:20:19.:20:23.

differing conclusions were rethink about and analyse these issues. It

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is a good subject to debate. We should be confident about

:20:28.:20:32.

discussing how we can make our country a harmonious and inclusive

:20:32.:20:38.

country. You have said in an article or newspaper interview,

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you're concerned about where the girl should feel a compulsion to

:20:41.:20:50.

wear a veil. -- where the girls. Is it not hard to determine those who

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are wearing it because they want to and those who wear it because they

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are being forced to? My starting position is that I am very keen to

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protect religious minority expression. I ate her in this

:21:07.:21:12.

debate on not going down the path of trying to tell people what they

:21:12.:21:15.

should wear and restrict what they should wear. Most people attending

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school, at school age, what they wear is restricted. They are

:21:21.:21:25.

obliged to wear school uniform of some sort. I was only making an

:21:25.:21:30.

observation when talking to the newspapers that we, as a society,

:21:30.:21:34.

one people to have freedom of choice but we to restrict that for

:21:34.:21:39.

people under the age of 18 in a whole variety of ways. We think

:21:39.:21:44.

they have not yet got sufficient maturity to exercise those choices

:21:44.:21:48.

they have not yet got sufficient in the way that an adult could. I

:21:48.:21:52.

suppose there is a legitimate debate about whether women should

:21:52.:22:00.

be able to wear veils and because. I am overwhelmingly instinctive

:22:00.:22:07.

with you that they should be. They are adults and expressing that

:22:07.:22:13.

opinion. I have a predisposition to protecting religious opinion. There

:22:13.:22:18.

is escape about whether children are able to exercise those choices

:22:18.:22:23.

in quite the same way as women can. I do not have a conclusive you on

:22:24.:22:29.

it. Nearly every child who goes to school wears a uniform already.

:22:29.:22:33.

There are restricted in all sorts of ways. This is something that

:22:33.:22:37.

mainstream politicians can reasonably discuss. In the party's

:22:37.:22:41.

official talking points that were sent this morning to MPs like

:22:41.:22:46.

yourself, appearing on programme's like this, I'm sure you have a copy.

:22:46.:22:54.

By mistake we were also sent a copy, for which we are very grateful. One

:22:54.:23:00.

talking point is that an example of the Tory backbench being beyond the

:23:00.:23:06.

pale, your party says they wanted to ban the backer. -- burkha. Sarah

:23:06.:23:22.

Wollaston is a Conservative MP in Devon. She is famously independent-

:23:22.:23:27.

minded. I think she occasionally causes some frustration in the

:23:27.:23:31.

leadership or her party and maybe people in other parties as well. No

:23:31.:23:34.

leadership or her party and maybe one would regard her as an extreme

:23:34.:23:38.

political figure. She has mainstream views. She has broadly

:23:38.:23:43.

quite liberal views. She has expressed some opinions on this

:23:43.:23:48.

subject in the media today as well. What I suppose I caution you about

:23:48.:23:51.

is I do not think we should close down debate. I do not want to have

:23:51.:23:56.

a situation where only people with marginal extreme views feel able to

:23:56.:24:01.

discuss these issues. In private, people of all religious Bates to

:24:01.:24:02.

discuss these issues under scour people of all religious Bates to

:24:02.:24:09.

how we can have -- and discuss how we can have a harmonious society.

:24:09.:24:18.

There were five things you had to a member for every interview this

:24:18.:24:20.

morning. I think you got three of them. That is not bad. You missed

:24:20.:24:27.

out the economy and that the Conservatives cannot build a fairer

:24:27.:24:32.

society. Three out of five is pretty good so far. You plug this

:24:32.:24:38.

two and between us we will get the 4th one. You plug them and then a

:24:38.:24:46.

question you! Thank you for joining us. You are deep into freedom

:24:46.:24:52.

issues. Where on view on banning the frail? -- veil or the burkha?

:24:52.:25:12.

It is about people not feeling constrained. It is about

:25:12.:25:14.

termination to take offence. That has been almost elevated into a

:25:14.:25:24.

human right. -- determination. Issues around gender politics or

:25:24.:25:28.

whatever are circumscribed because of this determination by a vocal

:25:28.:25:35.

minority to take offence. The facts of the debate itself, where every

:25:35.:25:42.

it ends up, is a good name. -- wherever it ends up. I am more in

:25:42.:25:55.

the British position of freedom of expression. Yesterday on the Sunday

:25:55.:25:57.

Politics, Paddy Ashdown told me that the Lib Dems are a centre-left

:25:58.:26:01.

party but that it would be up to voters to decide whether the Lib

:26:01.:26:05.

Dems would go into a coalition with the Tories or Labour after the next

:26:05.:26:09.

election. Adam has been busy talking to Lib Dem activists and

:26:09.:26:12.

party members in Glasgow to test Lord Ashdown's theory. Here at the

:26:12.:26:20.

Lib Dem conference there is loads of talk about whether the party is

:26:20.:26:26.

Centre Left, a bit left, a bit right, so, we're asking delegates,

:26:26.:26:31.

who would they rather go into coalition with? The Tories or

:26:31.:26:36.

Labour? Who is your favourite coalition partner? Why Labour? I

:26:37.:26:44.

feel closer to them in underlying philosophy. Has it been tricky

:26:44.:26:49.

being in bed with the Tories? A bit. My heart says layback and my brain

:26:49.:26:56.

says the Tories. You are physically conflicted. -- Labour. The Tories

:26:56.:27:02.

are more likely to compromise in the national interest. Nick Clegg

:27:02.:27:06.

is going to have to separate the head from the rest of your body. It

:27:06.:27:11.

will be a difficult decision to make. I would rather cut of my left

:27:11.:27:15.

leg before they go into coalition with the Tories again. Disabled

:27:15.:27:21.

benefits and benefits in general have been most upsetting. I find Ed

:27:21.:27:27.

Miliband a totally ineffective leader and I would not want to find

:27:27.:27:35.

a government run by such a weak man. We have been at this for quite some

:27:35.:27:40.

time. The boxes are not really getting that full. Loads of people

:27:40.:27:44.

put the balls on the floor because they do not want to vote for either.

:27:44.:27:48.

There will be of the people who will be balanced between the Labour

:27:48.:27:55.

Party and the Tory Party. -- other people. It is quite a tricky

:27:55.:28:03.

proposition. Oh, horror, horror! Dangling in the middle. Down to the

:28:03.:28:13.

voters. The electorate will decide. Where does your heart lead you -

:28:13.:28:23.

Labour or the Tories? You vote in a slot that matches your view. I do

:28:23.:28:30.

not think there are enough slots. It is all about what we can get.

:28:30.:28:37.

That sounds mercenary. It is all about the people who vote for us,

:28:37.:28:43.

what they get out of it. I'm not going to pick. I can predict

:28:43.:28:49.

exactly what you're going to say. I say, who is your preferred

:28:49.:28:53.

coalition partner next time around? You say, we let the voters decide.

:28:53.:29:01.

Dean that down. Let's both go her name. Most of the balls have gone

:29:01.:29:13.

in the Labour box. -- let's both go home. It is coming up to 12:30pm

:29:13.:29:17.

here on BBC Two. Let's take a look inside the conference hall in

:29:17.:29:20.

Glasgow as delegates wait to hear Vince Cable's keynote speech. Our

:29:20.:29:22.

deputy political editor, James Landale, joins me now.

:29:22.:29:33.

A good morning for the leadership, they won the economy debate so they

:29:33.:29:40.

can continue to take credit, but Mr Cable and his people really causing

:29:40.:29:45.

mischief? Mischief is a pretty good word. To allow a story like this

:29:45.:29:51.

about whether he will vote for the leadership or not, will he even

:29:51.:29:55.

attend the debate, to allow that to last for a whole new cycle and then

:29:55.:29:59.

do a rush to the rescue at the end, I spoke to a Lib Dem minister who

:29:59.:30:03.

said it is like Vince Cable being Gordon Brown to Nick Clegg 's Tony

:30:03.:30:10.

Blair. It is a little bit of vanity, some genuine difference about

:30:10.:30:14.

economic tone and a little bit of flirtation with the left of the

:30:14.:30:19.

party. What he says is crucial and we will listen to him fairly soon.

:30:20.:30:22.

Let go straight to the hall and to we will listen to him fairly soon.

:30:22.:30:29.

the Business Secretary, Vince Cable. But Glasgow has experienced one part

:30:29.:30:35.

the, that is Labour, rule for decades. I was part of the Labour

:30:35.:30:41.

political machine here in the 1970s. And on one level, it worked

:30:41.:30:48.

well. In sanitary slums were raised to the ground, we built 30,000 new

:30:48.:30:54.

social homes for rent in a decade. Actually, 5001 year, I think on a

:30:54.:31:03.

scale unimaginable today. -- 5000 in one year. But there was tribalism

:31:03.:31:10.

and a culture in which union bosses had excessive influence in picking

:31:10.:31:16.

candidates and deciding policies. Judging by Falkirk and other Labour

:31:16.:31:20.

fiefdoms, nothing very much has changed. That is one major reason

:31:20.:31:29.

why we must not concede to Labour the mantle of radical progressive

:31:29.:31:34.

politics. We must assert our control. We must assert our

:31:34.:31:42.

ownership of that tradition, which in Scotland runs for over a century

:31:42.:31:48.

- Askwith, Gladstone, Charles Kennedy, Bob MacLennan, many others.

:31:48.:31:57.

The challenge today is to reinforce that liberal tradition, which is at

:31:57.:32:06.

risk of being compromised by working on Clydeside. Like you, I have spent

:32:06.:32:15.

most of my political life fighting the Tories, from Glasgow to

:32:15.:32:23.

Twickenham. But despite that, I believe it was both brave and

:32:23.:32:28.

absolutely right for the party, and a Nick Clegg 's leadership, to work

:32:28.:32:35.

with the Tories in an economic emergency, in the national interest.

:32:35.:32:40.

Theresa May once characterised the Tories a decade ago as the nasty

:32:40.:32:44.

party, and after a few years trying to be nice and inclusive it has

:32:44.:32:49.

reverted to type. We have got dog whistle politics orchestrated by an

:32:49.:32:59.

Australian Rottweiler. We have got hostility towards organised Labour

:32:59.:33:11.

that micro-organised labour, people on benefits and immigrant

:33:11.:33:13.

minorities. The list of people the Tories disapprove of this even

:33:13.:33:16.

longer. Public sector workers, especially teachers, the unmarried,

:33:16.:33:21.

people who don't earn property. I suspect their core demographic

:33:21.:33:25.

excludes pretty much anybody who wouldn't have qualified for a vote

:33:25.:33:29.

before the 1867 reform act. APPLAUSE

:33:29.:33:39.

I think these prejudicial as can perhaps be explained in part by

:33:39.:33:43.

their age profile. I suspect I would qualify, not an ideology but on age,

:33:43.:33:49.

to be a member of the Young Conservatives. But I think the other

:33:49.:33:58.

reason is deeper. A cynical calculation that in difficult times

:33:58.:34:06.

fear trumps hope, and that competence requires callousness.

:34:06.:34:10.

fear trumps hope, and that That is not our kind of politics. It

:34:10.:34:16.

is ugly and we will not be dragged down by it. That is why our Liberal

:34:16.:34:23.

Democrat message, about fairness, is absolutely key. That

:34:23.:34:28.

Democrat message, about fairness, is legitimately claim ownership of the

:34:28.:34:31.

tax policies, which have lifted millions of low earners out of

:34:31.:34:37.

income tax. Remember, it is our policy. Don't let the Tories steal

:34:37.:34:42.

it. I can remember in opposition

:34:42.:34:49.

bringing this proposal to this conference at a time when George

:34:49.:34:53.

Osborne's top priority was cutting inheritance tax for millionaires.

:34:53.:34:57.

And our commitment to taxing unproductive wealth, that is

:34:57.:35:02.

valuable property, through the mansion tax, is economic league

:35:02.:35:07.

sensible and popular and, above all, fair. Don't let Labour steel that,

:35:07.:35:13.

either. -- is economic league sensible. Fairness takes so far

:35:13.:35:24.

but, in my view, not far enough. We're not just a nicer version of

:35:24.:35:34.

the Tories. There are fundamental differences about how we create a

:35:34.:35:37.

stronger economy and more jobs. Remember, we are five years on from

:35:37.:35:41.

the biggest market failure of our lifetime. Financial capitalism

:35:41.:35:45.

collapsed and was rescued by the state. Labour was in charge, they

:35:45.:35:51.

had fallen asleep at the wheel and they were negligent. But the

:35:51.:36:00.

Tories' friends and donors were also at the heart of the greed and

:36:00.:36:03.

recklessness that lay behind that disaster. And today they yearn to

:36:03.:36:13.

return to business as usual. Whilst we work with them, as we have to

:36:13.:36:17.

do, pragmatically and constructively, to clear up the

:36:17.:36:22.

mess, we must not allow them to turn the clock back. In essence, the

:36:22.:36:27.

Tories have a very simple world-view, which is private good,

:36:27.:36:34.

public bad. Labour offers the polar opposite. As Liberal Democrats, we

:36:34.:36:43.

value both private and public sector. I support, of course,

:36:43.:36:49.

Private business, big and small, but I also support mutuals and employee

:36:49.:36:54.

ownership. And I don't think even Tony Benn could have claimed to have

:36:54.:37:11.

launched two state-owned banks. The green investment bank, now based

:37:11.:37:15.

in Edinboro, which was promised three years ago, is already

:37:15.:37:19.

committing £685 million to green project is. And the business bank

:37:19.:37:23.

that I launched at conference exactly one year ago, is mobilising

:37:23.:37:25.

private capital to support new banks and local banks. It is the key to

:37:25.:37:30.

stopping the suffocation of good small companies by the big banks. By

:37:30.:37:41.

contrast, the spiritual home of the Conservatives is the United States.

:37:41.:37:46.

They have become the Tea Party Tories. They want to throw overboard

:37:46.:37:50.

any tax or regulation that get in the view of their blinkered small

:37:51.:37:56.

states ideal Jew. Deep down, they believe their are native to

:37:56.:38:02.

unhindered individual self-interest, and interest that

:38:02.:38:05.

attempts to tackle big disparities of interest and health must be on

:38:05.:38:11.

the road of suicide safe -- socialist safety. Our rejection of

:38:11.:38:17.

that dogma leads us to an eclectic mixture of market and regulation. In

:38:17.:38:23.

government, we are, rightly, getting rid of the red tape that throttles

:38:23.:38:27.

small business and holds back entrepreneurs. But some regulation

:38:27.:38:32.

is essential. That is why I work with Ed Davie to resist Tory

:38:32.:38:44.

pressure as it is in their ludicrous bills. It is why we have seen of

:38:44.:38:51.

demands from a Tory donor to make it possible to fire people for no

:38:51.:38:58.

reason whatever. Let nobody tell you... APPLAUSE.Let nobody tell you

:38:58.:39:08.

that Liberal Democrats have not made a difference. Without is in

:39:08.:39:12.

government, we would be ruled by people who think that the problem

:39:12.:39:16.

with this country is that workers have too much job security. Instead,

:39:16.:39:22.

I propose to act against abusive practices in zero-hours contracts,

:39:22.:39:27.

like exclusivity arrangements preventing workers from seeking

:39:27.:39:30.

alternatives even when they are given no work. I have secured

:39:30.:39:35.

agreement in Government to launch a formal consultation on the best

:39:35.:39:39.

mechanism to tackle this abuse. APPLAUSE

:39:39.:39:50.

. We have had to take some tough and necessary economic decisions with

:39:50.:39:56.

the Tories. There is, of course, common ground with them on the need

:39:56.:40:00.

to cut the structural deficit and to promote private enterprise. There is

:40:00.:40:05.

welcome sign of returning confidence in the economy. And let's not get

:40:05.:40:11.

carried away, and let's not get sucked in to a petty point-scoring

:40:11.:40:17.

Tory/Labour Punch and Judy show on sucked in to a petty point-scoring

:40:17.:40:22.

the economy. It took many years of mistakes to create the financial

:40:22.:40:26.

crisis. It has taken as five years to start to dig our way out. We must

:40:26.:40:34.

not now settle for a short-term spurt of growth fuelled by

:40:34.:40:38.

old-fashioned property boom and bankers rediscovering their Mojo.

:40:38.:40:49.

We have seen it all before. There already and amber lights flashing,

:40:49.:40:54.

warning us of history repeating itself. -- that are already amber

:40:54.:41:14.

lights flashing. You will recall from your reading of the old

:41:14.:41:17.

Testament that Jeremiah was right. David Cameron says I am a Jeremiah.

:41:17.:41:22.

He warned that Jerusalem would be overrun by the armies of

:41:22.:41:25.

Nebuchadnezzar, and in my own Book Of Lamentations I described how

:41:25.:41:30.

Gordon Brown's new Jerusalem was overcome by an army of estate

:41:30.:41:34.

agents, property speculators and bankers. The problem we now have is

:41:34.:41:38.

that the invaders are back. They have got a bridgehead in London and

:41:38.:41:43.

the south-east of England. They have got to be stopped. Instead, we need

:41:43.:41:47.

sustainable growth. That involves got to be stopped. Instead, we need

:41:47.:41:55.

rebalancing the economy across the UK in favour of exports and

:41:55.:42:00.

investment, which is the central purpose of our government's

:42:00.:42:04.

industrial strategy. We should celebrate the success of motor

:42:04.:42:08.

vehicles and aerospace and the creative industries and educational

:42:08.:42:13.

exports and the partnership dream business and government in all these

:42:13.:42:19.

areas. Manufacturing is coming back through rebuild supply chains. We

:42:19.:42:26.

are tackling the country's scandalous neglect of skills through

:42:26.:42:30.

our successful relaunching of large-scale apprenticeships. We have

:42:30.:42:35.

given priority to Britain's world-class science and created a

:42:35.:42:39.

chain of innovation centres, the so-called Catapults, of which there

:42:39.:42:48.

two in Glasgow, promoting new technologies for building,

:42:48.:42:49.

manufacturing and offshore renewables. We are building a

:42:49.:42:54.

genuine cross-party consensus around these Government intervention so

:42:54.:42:57.

that they end you are, that make absolutely no mistake. Without the

:42:58.:43:04.

Liberal Democrats in government, they would never have happened.

:43:04.:43:11.

But if sustainable recovery is to be achieved, we must meet the enormous

:43:12.:43:21.

challenge of house-building. Demand growth has been outstripping supply,

:43:21.:43:28.

pushing up rents and prices. Property is simply unaffordable for

:43:28.:43:32.

families without big incomes or access to the Bank Of Mum And Dad.

:43:32.:43:37.

But we are nowhere near it capturing the level of house-building that

:43:37.:43:41.

pulled Britain out of the slump of the 1950s. Anyone had a thousand

:43:41.:43:46.

homes a year are being compared it. That is a quarter to four was

:43:46.:43:52.

achieved in the 1960s -- barely 100,000 homes a year are being

:43:52.:43:56.

compared it, a quarter of what was achieved in the 1960s. Hence the

:43:56.:44:06.

enormous pressure on families trapped by low pay, rising rent

:44:06.:44:10.

enormous pressure on families tighter benefit rules. The priority

:44:10.:44:15.

now is increasing housing supply through both private and public

:44:16.:44:23.

sector. And, Conference, we took a strong step forward this morning

:44:23.:44:27.

with the proposal to give councils greater capacity to get on and build

:44:27.:44:35.

more social housing. What the country desperately wants

:44:35.:44:42.

is delivery of homes, not a dogmatic argument about tender. Now, I hoped

:44:42.:44:47.

that we would find some common ground with the Tories, at least in

:44:47.:44:52.

one area, which is supporting the idea of an open, outward looking

:44:52.:44:58.

country. Indeed, we said with one voice that Britain is open for

:44:58.:45:03.

business. Sadly, that message has changed. Brazilian and other

:45:03.:45:09.

overseas students who would bring economic and wider benefits to

:45:09.:45:12.

British universities are being told that they are heard in some

:45:12.:45:18.

immigrant, so they go to the United States instead. We have Chinese

:45:18.:45:22.

tourists and businessmen who was so fed up with the hassle and

:45:22.:45:27.

humiliation of trying to visit Britain to make investments here

:45:27.:45:30.

that they are taking their money to Germany and France instead. What are

:45:30.:45:37.

they here is that we are closed for business, that must change.

:45:37.:45:50.

Moreover, our status as a popular destination for job-creating

:45:50.:45:57.

investment from Japan, the United States and mainland Europe will be

:45:57.:46:04.

compromised by careless talk from some of my coalition Cabinet

:46:04.:46:09.

colleagues, let alone the backbench bones and collarbones about leaving

:46:09.:46:14.

the European Union and the single market. Britain's future in the

:46:14.:46:18.

European single market is now being put at risk by the Tories, yet

:46:18.:46:24.

millions of British jobs depend on protecting that relationship. We

:46:24.:46:38.

are leaving that speech at the Lib Dem Conference. You can still

:46:38.:46:42.

follow it live on BBC Parliament and probably on BBC News as well.

:46:42.:46:48.

He began his speech really with a very savage attack on the

:46:48.:46:51.

Conservatives. You would find it hard to believe he was in the same

:46:51.:46:56.

government as them. He kept that theme throughout the speech. His

:46:56.:47:02.

attack on not doing enough visas for Brazilians and Chinese is an

:47:02.:47:07.

attack on the Conservatives immigration policy. He took on the

:47:08.:47:13.

Tory chief spin doctor for the campaign, an Australian Rottweiler.

:47:13.:47:21.

They had seen off demands of a Tory donor he wanted to free up the

:47:21.:47:27.

labour market a bit more. The only people the Tories really like

:47:27.:47:36.

others who had the vote before the 1867 Reform Act. The Conservatives

:47:36.:47:42.

introduced that act. What did you make of all about? As you say, it

:47:42.:47:49.

was pretty full blooded against the Tory side of the Government. It

:47:49.:47:52.

was pretty full blooded against the suggests Vince Cable is becoming

:47:53.:47:58.

increasingly unhappy with being there - sitting around the table

:47:58.:48:02.

with these people. It is fine put that he can do it. He can attack

:48:02.:48:10.

the Conservatives. -- it is fine. The flipside, and this is the side

:48:10.:48:16.

that Nick Clegg and Jeremy Browne and others have not got to grips

:48:16.:48:24.

with, what happens come 2015 if they have to go into bed with

:48:24.:48:31.

Labour? This narrative is clearing up the mess that Labour left behind.

:48:31.:48:37.

In other words, a Labour trashed the economy. How can you go into,

:48:37.:48:42.

for all the differences they have with the Conservatives, how can you

:48:42.:48:48.

go into coalition with a party they regard as... OK, the bankers did

:48:48.:48:53.

their bit Amport the economy to its knees. That bit of it is far harder

:48:53.:48:59.

to reconcile. Nick Clegg is not moving anywhere away from that

:48:59.:49:04.

rhetoric. We shall see. While all eyes today have been on the Lib

:49:04.:49:07.

Dems' mild disagreement over economic policy, yesterday saw a

:49:07.:49:10.

much bigger row, at least in Lib Dem terms, over nuclear policy.

:49:10.:49:11.

much bigger row, at least in Lib Party members were asked to change

:49:11.:49:14.

Lib Dem policy to support new nuclear power. It provoked strong

:49:14.:49:19.

feelings on both sides of the argument. Not one Liberal Democrat

:49:19.:49:28.

MP voted for the national policy statement that committed us to more

:49:28.:49:32.

nuclear. We row right not to support it. Conference has been

:49:32.:49:37.

right every time it has rejected a nuclear power. -- rejected nuclear

:49:37.:49:44.

powerful stuff I'm shocked to hear some of the things I have just

:49:44.:49:49.

heard about nuclear power. I live in Somerset, next they're actually

:49:49.:49:55.

to Hinckley Point power station. A nuclear power station that has been

:49:55.:50:00.

bad for a long time. I was one of the local councillors that opposed

:50:00.:50:07.

the building of the third power station a number of years ago. I

:50:07.:50:13.

have grown up. I now live in the real world. In the end, the party

:50:13.:50:17.

leadership won the argument and got the backing of conference for their

:50:17.:50:20.

policy U-turn. Let's talk about this now with the Energy and

:50:20.:50:22.

Climate Change Secretary, Ed Davey, who joins us from Glasgow. In 2006,

:50:22.:50:29.

you said, we will not want nuclear. The alternatives are cleaner and

:50:29.:50:31.

safer for the environment and the The alternatives are cleaner and

:50:31.:50:39.

tax payer. Quite a U-turn? I did change my mind because of the

:50:39.:50:44.

threat of climate change. That is a huge threat to our planet crack our

:50:44.:50:48.

species and we have to do everything possible. -- our planet,

:50:48.:50:55.

our species. The amount we have to do in terms of low-carbon transport

:50:55.:51:00.

and low-carbon heating is massive. I have changed, because I have now

:51:00.:51:05.

realised that the pupils and energy efficiency cannot do it alone. We

:51:05.:51:11.

need all forms of low-carbon on the table. In 2006 you a warning about

:51:11.:51:15.

climate change as well and the dangers of that. -- you were

:51:15.:51:21.

warning. You lodged a press release saying, say no to nuclear. You are

:51:21.:51:30.

right. -- launched. In 2006, what I was hoping in the strategy put

:51:30.:51:35.

forward was that carbon captured storage would come on much quicker.

:51:35.:51:41.

That would be a boost to energy efficiency. I still think that can

:51:41.:51:46.

come on. What I have rarely had to face is the risk of climate change

:51:46.:51:50.

is so big that I am not going to take a risk of tackling climate

:51:50.:51:56.

change. I'm now think we should not take any low-carbon option of the

:51:56.:52:04.

table. A broad mix is the best way to ensure we can tackle climate

:52:04.:52:08.

change. The conference voted that way and it enhances Liberal

:52:08.:52:13.

Democrat credibility on the environment and tackling climate

:52:13.:52:18.

change. As recently as 2010, when people like you a warning that the

:52:18.:52:23.

huge risk of climate change, the Liberal Democrat manifesto, despite

:52:23.:52:28.

talking about these huge risks set, based on the evidence Skype nuclear

:52:28.:52:30.

is a far more expensive way based on the evidence Skype nuclear

:52:30.:52:37.

reducing carbon emissions than promoting renewable energy. I will

:52:37.:52:42.

tell you for a third time and if you want me to say a 4th time and a

:52:42.:52:48.

5th time, I have changed my mind. On the cost issue, that is

:52:48.:52:53.

something that still worries me. The history of nuclear power has

:52:53.:52:57.

been very expensive. Two-thirds of my budget is spent on

:52:57.:53:01.

decommissioning costs, cleaning up the waste from nuclear power in the

:53:01.:53:06.

past. I am cautious to make sure the price we strike with nuclear

:53:06.:53:11.

companies is something that actually is cost competitive was a

:53:11.:53:13.

bit make sure the consumer and actually is cost competitive was a

:53:13.:53:19.

British business is not paying over the odds. -- it is cost competitive.

:53:19.:53:26.

As you have moved towards nuclear power, you have said you would

:53:26.:53:30.

support it providing there was no subsidy for it was you know, as

:53:30.:53:36.

well as I do, there will be no nuclear power stations - the EDF is

:53:36.:53:42.

negotiating now - unless you agree to a price guarantee. A price

:53:42.:53:47.

guarantee way above the market price. That is a subsidy. I have

:53:47.:53:53.

not seen you at any of our negotiations. You seem to be well

:53:53.:54:01.

informed of what is private and confidential. Let me tell you the

:54:01.:54:09.

facts. We are clear that low-carbon electricity has to be compared

:54:09.:54:15.

price Warren with dirty coal or gas. You are wrong to take the market

:54:15.:54:25.

price. The market price is price of dirty power which is causing a

:54:25.:54:30.

climate change problem. You have actually got to compare apples with

:54:30.:54:36.

apples and pears with pears. If you do not commit you come up with

:54:37.:54:40.

spurious arguments against it. With the correct analysis, you will have

:54:40.:54:46.

to wait for our decision to complete the negotiations, you will

:54:46.:54:50.

find that nuclear can be cost competitive. I will not signed a

:54:50.:54:56.

deal where it is not. What do you make of Nick Clegg

:54:56.:55:07.

saying he will not support a party on economic policy and then turning

:55:07.:55:12.

up to do so? I saw Vince Cable vote for the economic policy. I have

:55:12.:55:17.

heard him in private. I have heard him in private as appears very

:55:17.:55:20.

supportive. The Liberal Democrats are playing a critical role in

:55:20.:55:24.

getting economic recovery. I am proud of what he's doing. He has

:55:24.:55:28.

worked with me on industrial strategy issues. He has been a real

:55:28.:55:33.

tower of strength in injury get economic recovery. There have been

:55:33.:55:38.

huge measures to make sure we get the growth. The Green Investment

:55:38.:55:40.

huge measures to make sure we get Bank will make sure we attract

:55:40.:55:45.

people into green energy. That would not be happening unless

:55:45.:55:49.

people like Vince Cable when not in the coalition. Today, listening to

:55:49.:55:55.

his speech, he is taking credit for the role Liberal Democrats have

:55:55.:55:58.

played in creating over 1 million new jobs since the demolition came

:55:58.:56:03.

to power. We have a good story on the economy. We have turned round a

:56:03.:56:08.

complete mess. The department has taken some tough decisions. It is

:56:08.:56:13.

now beginning to deliver - deliver jobs was to clutters what the the

:56:13.:56:17.

Democrats are about us to bring jobs and a fairer society. --

:56:17.:56:24.

delivered jobs. That is what the Liberal Democrats are about. He has

:56:24.:56:33.

said he has to -- reluctantly decided to vote for it because it

:56:33.:56:37.

has become an issue about the leadership of Nick Clegg. You have

:56:37.:56:48.

been mapped by a poster! It is wind power. And therefore quite

:56:48.:56:53.

dangerous. Clearly for humans as well as birds. Why did Vince Cable

:56:53.:57:01.

only reluctantly changed his mind because it has become an issue of

:57:01.:57:10.

leadership? He has been a tower of strength in this coalition economic

:57:10.:57:18.

policy. He has been really supportive. The largest investment

:57:19.:57:23.

in our railways since the Victorians come up with with not be

:57:23.:57:25.

seeing green things like that had it not been for the Liberal

:57:26.:57:30.

Democrats and Vince Cable. -- since the Victorians, we would not be

:57:30.:57:35.

seeing. What has been said to people like me this morning, its

:57:35.:57:39.

social party is looking at how the richest 10% of people - those

:57:39.:57:44.

earning over 50,000 a year - could give further contribution in tax?

:57:44.:57:50.

Should people earning over 50,000 be paying more tax? I want to make

:57:50.:57:56.

sure we have a much fairer tax system. What Liberal Democrats had

:57:56.:57:59.

done in government is to deliver that. We have closed a lot of

:57:59.:58:05.

loopholes. What is the answer to my question? I am coming to that. We

:58:05.:58:10.

had closed loopholes. I will answer the question in my own way. We have

:58:10.:58:15.

close the loopholes to make sure the richest pay their fair share

:58:15.:58:19.

and taken out of the tax people are lowest incomes and delivered a tax

:58:19.:58:22.

and taken out of the tax people are cut for people on low and modest

:58:22.:58:27.

incomes. In terms of future tax policy, we are having a debate to

:58:27.:58:31.

mind. Do come and join us was dug you had ended just in time before

:58:31.:58:38.

we go off air. -- and join us. The answer to the quiz was that Nick

:58:38.:58:43.

Clegg would not play beach volleyball. Who can blame him for

:58:43.:58:53.

that. That is it for today. Thanks to John Kampfner and all my guests.

:58:53.:58:55.

that. That is it for today. Thanks James Landale presents highlights

:58:55.:58:58.

from Glasgow in Today at Conference tonight on BBC2 at 11:20pm, and

:58:58.:59:01.

we'll be back for more live coverage

:59:01.:59:01.

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