19/09/2016 - Live Morning Session

:02:02. > :02:08.Is, and welcome to the emergency motion for today, which is the

:02:09. > :02:14.nuclear power at Hinkley Point. If you haven't seen the text of that,

:02:15. > :02:18.you can get it from Conference Daily from the students. There is of

:02:19. > :02:24.shall take -- we don't take shall take -- we don't take

:02:25. > :02:29.amendment on emergency motions. Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock we

:02:30. > :02:35.will be doing an emergency motion on local communities welcoming

:02:36. > :02:40.refugees. You will find the motion on page five but also in Conference

:02:41. > :02:48.Extra, if you got that, on page 22. So I'm going to call Martin Horwood,

:02:49. > :02:55.who is moving the motion, and would Doody and Amos please stand by. Good

:02:56. > :03:01.morning, conference. Good morning, conference. Good morning. Are you

:03:02. > :03:06.feeling nostalgic for coalition yet? Go wrong, you are. Never mind equal

:03:07. > :03:11.marriage and tax cuts, just in energy and the Roman we reduced the

:03:12. > :03:16.biggest tax cuts, and looked investment in low carbon energy to

:03:17. > :03:19.the energy act, created 200,000 green jobs, planted 1 million trees

:03:20. > :03:25.and more than doubled renewable energy in the UK. And Chris Hughton

:03:26. > :03:28.and Ed Davey 's secretaries of state sent powerful signals to investors

:03:29. > :03:33.that took us into the top ten places in the world to invest in

:03:34. > :03:37.renewables. It is a green record we promised, we delivered and we should

:03:38. > :03:43.be proud of. APPLAUSE On nuclear, though, both Liberal

:03:44. > :03:48.Democrat and coalition policy was guarded. The deal was nuclear could

:03:49. > :03:52.be part of the low-carbon mix but only alongside investment in

:03:53. > :03:56.renewable energy, energy efficiency and storage, and crucially without

:03:57. > :04:00.public subsidy. What has happened since the Tories took power on their

:04:01. > :04:03.own has been heartbreaking for Liberal Democrats, bad for the

:04:04. > :04:07.environment and potentially disastrous for energy bill payers.

:04:08. > :04:12.They've ditched the green deal without replacing it, scrapped

:04:13. > :04:15.support for carbon capture and storage, and encouraged local

:04:16. > :04:19.opposition to wind farms while stamping on local opposition to

:04:20. > :04:25.fracking. Just the kind of policy inconsistency, contradictory

:04:26. > :04:28.approach, and mixed messages that have damaged investor confidence and

:04:29. > :04:32.taken us out of the top ten places in the world to invest in

:04:33. > :04:36.renewables. Just in the last ten days, the same select committee have

:04:37. > :04:42.said we are now on course to miss our renewable energy targets. That

:04:43. > :04:47.is half the deal that would have broken, that we would back

:04:48. > :04:52.renewables too. The other half? National Audit Office report earlier

:04:53. > :04:57.this year spilled out the looming British built the British bill

:04:58. > :05:03.Feijen fleecy, nearly 30 billion Feijen fleecy, nearly 30 billion

:05:04. > :05:07.projected now. The problem is the contractor difference, a guaranteed

:05:08. > :05:13.energy price designed to help the new, innovative and competitive

:05:14. > :05:16.renewable industry. Renewable costs have fallen faster than anyone

:05:17. > :05:20.imagined, and there is more innovation coming in wind, solar,

:05:21. > :05:25.geothermal, wave, biogas, tidal lagoons fences and float lines and

:05:26. > :05:28.more. Because their contracts the difference are shorter, bill payers

:05:29. > :05:37.will benefit from these falling costs on time. The contract for

:05:38. > :05:40.Hinckley by contrast, was awarded to electricity to France on a

:05:41. > :05:45.staggering 35 year timescale. So we will be paying this state owned

:05:46. > :05:48.French energy company and its state owned Chinese partner for a

:05:49. > :05:53.generation. The final bill could reach ?40 billion. It will burden

:05:54. > :05:56.our children and grandchildren with higher energy bills for decades,

:05:57. > :06:02.quite possibly giving some into fuel poverty. The nuclear industry is not

:06:03. > :06:06.new, innovative or competitive. In 60 years, there has never been a

:06:07. > :06:11.single nuclear power station built anywhere in the world on time, on

:06:12. > :06:15.budget and without public subsidy. The Hinckley si model of an EPR

:06:16. > :06:20.reactor has not been built at all yet. Just in progress, France and

:06:21. > :06:24.Finland, are billions over budget and years behind schedule, so the

:06:25. > :06:25.contractor difference wasn't enough EDF, an astonishingly the

:06:26. > :06:29.have approached them. In a footnote have approached them. In a footnote

:06:30. > :06:33.to a statement last October, they officially dropped the coalition's

:06:34. > :06:39.pledge to no public subsidy. Just the previous day, energy Minister

:06:40. > :06:46.Andrea Leadsom, remember her? She said it was vital energy company

:06:47. > :06:49.stood on their own two feet, but she was justifying cutting renewable

:06:50. > :06:54.subsidies. For Hinckley, the cheque-book was open. George Osborne

:06:55. > :06:58.estimated at ?200 billion now but likely to rise over time. The

:06:59. > :07:01.Hinckley deal already included a funded decommissioning deal that

:07:02. > :07:05.promised that future taxpayers would foot the bill if the cost of closing

:07:06. > :07:09.it down and cleaning it up over Iran as well. George Osborne will be

:07:10. > :07:15.history by then. He already is really. Recent reports concluded a

:07:16. > :07:17.mix of existing energy resources and mix of existing energy resources and

:07:18. > :07:22.interconnection with other countries would save the UK ?1 billion a year

:07:23. > :07:28.while keeping the lights on and meeting climate targets. Just Fer

:07:29. > :07:34.new large wind farms would bring us as much energy into the grid as

:07:35. > :07:41.Hinckley. As the motion says, Hinckley si is a bad deal. We need a

:07:42. > :07:44.UK policy based on energy efficiency, renewable energy and

:07:45. > :07:47.that proud green record in that proud green record in

:07:48. > :07:53.government and support this motion. Thank you very much. The

:07:54. > :08:03.mic that was Martin Horwood from Cheltenham, who is having and we are

:08:04. > :08:14.hoping will regain that seat for us. Could Councillor Jane Lock stand by

:08:15. > :08:23.and I now call Gideon aims. -- Gideon Amos. I am here again this

:08:24. > :08:26.year because I want to talk to you about carbon reduction and how one

:08:27. > :08:31.of our most important carbon reduction projects in this country,

:08:32. > :08:37.the Hinckley Project, cannot be completely opposed and attempted to

:08:38. > :08:40.be stopped by Liberal Democrats. My suggestion to you today is that in

:08:41. > :08:45.this short half-hour emergency motion debate, it is not the way to

:08:46. > :08:51.change our long-standing policy that this party has debated at great

:08:52. > :08:54.length. For many of us, many environmentalists like James

:08:55. > :08:58.Lovelock, the environmental scientists, like George Monbiot, for

:08:59. > :09:03.our party, we have come to recognise the importance of nuclear in our

:09:04. > :09:07.energy mix, as a way, first and foremost, of achieving the

:09:08. > :09:13.low-carbon road we have to go down. Achieving the 80% reduction in

:09:14. > :09:16.emissions by 2050. That is a target that is apparently being abandoned

:09:17. > :09:22.by the Conservatives, not a target that this party should be willing to

:09:23. > :09:26.abandon. It is essential of course not just for our carbon emissions

:09:27. > :09:29.targets, our environmental targets, this is essential for the

:09:30. > :09:32.communities around the world who will suffer most from carbon

:09:33. > :09:36.emissions, and climate change, and they are of course the poorest

:09:37. > :09:42.countries, like Bangladesh and other countries that also the most if we

:09:43. > :09:47.emissions reductions targets. I emissions reductions targets. I

:09:48. > :09:52.welcome the opportunity to debate this and I am grateful that this

:09:53. > :10:01.motion has been brought forward, and much of what it has to say is

:10:02. > :10:06.valuable. But to simply oppose Canute like faintly project, and I

:10:07. > :10:10.would suggest a separate vote should be taken on those if possible, is

:10:11. > :10:16.not a realistic policy to be made on the basis of the evidence. It is not

:10:17. > :10:20.correct to say that the project is entirely dependent on public

:10:21. > :10:26.subsidy. It has a huge amount of five at investment. It is not the

:10:27. > :10:29.case, it is not true to say it is an contractor will, there are two in

:10:30. > :10:35.China nearing completion at the moment. I could go on. But the most

:10:36. > :10:41.important point for me is that we need a transformation in our energy

:10:42. > :10:45.provision in this country. We need to see a transformation which was in

:10:46. > :10:49.Leeds led by Ed Davey, Aberdeen Secretary of State, who travelled

:10:50. > :10:54.renewable energy in this country, who brought about the beginning of a

:10:55. > :10:59.transformation we need to see, more renewables, more low carbon energy,

:11:00. > :11:03.backed up by baseload that clean, safe nuclear power can provide. The

:11:04. > :11:07.one irony of this motion is if it was past we would end up as a party

:11:08. > :11:13.more antagonistic to the peaceful use of nuclear power than we would

:11:14. > :11:15.to the use of nuclear weapons. Let's get our priorities right,

:11:16. > :11:20.conference, and back the low-carbon agenda. By all means, we must

:11:21. > :11:24.criticise the policies coming out of the government and the way they have

:11:25. > :11:29.been handled, but complete opposition to this policy, to this

:11:30. > :11:34.project, instead of an agenda which is about transforming our energy mix

:11:35. > :11:35.and basing that on a zero low-carbon energy supply is the route we have

:11:36. > :11:48.to go down. Thank you. Thank you, Gideon. Let me just point

:11:49. > :11:51.out that we can't take a request at this stage, they have to be

:11:52. > :12:01.submitted in writing the day before. Sorry about that. Can I ask John

:12:02. > :12:05.shoesmith to and I now call Councillor Jane Lock, the leader of

:12:06. > :12:21.Somerset County Council. Good morning conference, slight

:12:22. > :12:25.correction to that, we're pre-empting about a few months, I

:12:26. > :12:31.will be leader of Somerset County Council next May. I was first

:12:32. > :12:39.selected as available Democrat councillor in 1987. In that election

:12:40. > :12:42.we were funding the developer of Hinckley C. As Liberal Democrats --

:12:43. > :12:50.we were fighting the development of think Lisa. -- of Hinckley C. Here

:12:51. > :12:56.we are 30 years later building a nuclear power station using the same

:12:57. > :12:59.technology as then. That is why I am supporting the motion for this

:13:00. > :13:05.motion to conference to oppose the construction of think Lisa. --

:13:06. > :13:10.Hinckley C. The construction of similar power stations in France and

:13:11. > :13:14.Finland are years behind schedule and substantially overbudget and

:13:15. > :13:20.clearly not working. On the very reasonable assumption that these

:13:21. > :13:24.issues will apply to the proposed Hinkley Point power station, it

:13:25. > :13:29.seems unlikely it will be operational until at least 2030. And

:13:30. > :13:34.it will cost far more than the current budget, the estimated final

:13:35. > :13:36.cost is 25 billion. The cost of the seven barrage, less than 20 billion.

:13:37. > :13:47.Hence, Hinckley C any electricity it does generate

:13:48. > :13:53.will be far more expensive than solar and wind generation when it

:13:54. > :13:58.becomes operational. By 2030, smart management of electricity supply and

:13:59. > :14:01.demand will enable a far higher contribution of intermittent

:14:02. > :14:06.renewables to be relied upon than at present. The power plant will be out

:14:07. > :14:10.of date before it is overturned on. Another consideration is that of the

:14:11. > :14:14.safety of this plant. One of the last tsunamis to hit the UK was in

:14:15. > :14:19.Bridgwater Bay, the very sight of Hinckley. A daily newspaper reported

:14:20. > :14:24.only yesterday that another tsunami of this scale could hit within the

:14:25. > :14:28.next few years. I think it does depend on part of one of the Canary

:14:29. > :14:34.Islands trotting off. When Somerset County Council was asked about their

:14:35. > :14:38.preparations for a tsunami, the council informed me that there are a

:14:39. > :14:41.number of places where effective barriers had Oreo been instructed.

:14:42. > :14:46.One of the examples given to me was the nuclear power plant at Fukushima

:14:47. > :14:49.in Japan. Clearly, no local authority north central government

:14:50. > :14:56.can know how big the next Toon Army will be. My experience working in

:14:57. > :14:59.close quarters with the Tories is they are completely unprepared for

:15:00. > :15:04.the impact of this project. As always, they know the cost of

:15:05. > :15:09.everything and the value of nothing. Finally, we must question how many

:15:10. > :15:13.of the 25,000 jobs will be filled by the local workforce. Somerset does

:15:14. > :15:15.not have the people now and with our impending exit from the European

:15:16. > :15:20.Union, where will these skilled workers come from? Too many

:15:21. > :15:25.unanswered and unconsidered questions about this project. We

:15:26. > :15:31.cannot allow it to be the next white elephant in the UK. But let me make

:15:32. > :15:35.it clear, when we do retake control in Somerset in May 2017, we will

:15:36. > :15:39.work with the decision taken by government, and in the best

:15:40. > :15:40.interests of the people of Somerset, because we have to. Thank you.

:15:41. > :15:52.APPLAUSE Thank you, Jane, who is, as

:15:53. > :15:57.corrected, group leader of Somerset County Council. Could I ask Becky

:15:58. > :16:04.Forrest to please stand by. I call John Shoesmith from Mid Derbyshire.

:16:05. > :16:14.Good morning. I'd like to explain in the next three minutes why Hinkley

:16:15. > :16:19.Point is essential to your future, and essential moreover to your

:16:20. > :16:23.children's future. More importantly, I should say, to your children's

:16:24. > :16:27.future. I'd like to start off by looking at energy. Our current

:16:28. > :16:31.energy use is perhaps there. Over the next 30 years we face a

:16:32. > :16:38.desperate struggle to bring down that level of energy use by

:16:39. > :16:41.insulating all our buildings, by electrifying those things currently

:16:42. > :16:46.operated by fossil fuel. That is a huge task, not cheap. Over here and

:16:47. > :16:50.like to talk about energy supply. The current level of renewable

:16:51. > :16:54.energy supply is way below that and over the next 30 years we need to

:16:55. > :16:58.put in a desperate effort to bring up that level of renewable energy

:16:59. > :17:03.supply to try to match the level of demand. There have been lots of

:17:04. > :17:09.studies done of that over the past few years, and mostly they end up

:17:10. > :17:13.with a bit of a gap to fill. And the crucial political issue for us to

:17:14. > :17:18.how that gap is filled. There are two ways to do it. The first is to

:17:19. > :17:22.bring down the level of demand by asking people to make lifestyle

:17:23. > :17:30.changes. To. To cycle, to walk, to turn down their heating, to eat less

:17:31. > :17:35.meat. Those are fine. A few people do them, I do them myself. But

:17:36. > :17:39.asking the whole country to do them is virtually impossible in a

:17:40. > :17:44.democracy. The other way to fill that gap is by the use of nuclear

:17:45. > :17:51.power. Even if we put renewables everywhere week sensibly can, there

:17:52. > :17:57.is still a gap to be filled and nuclear power is the only sensible

:17:58. > :18:04.way to do it. So when you look at Hinkley Point, consider this. If you

:18:05. > :18:08.kill that project, then your children have little option, have a

:18:09. > :18:12.very difficult task to do to bring our energy into balance and reduce

:18:13. > :18:18.our self to a zero carbon state. If we fail to achieve a zero carbon

:18:19. > :18:23.state, by 2050 Bayonne though they missed it and they'll know they face

:18:24. > :18:31.runaway climate change. That is an awful prospect. I urge you to reject

:18:32. > :18:38.it. Because Hinkley Point, once it's gone, will be very difficult to

:18:39. > :18:43.bring back. Will face a virtually no nuclear future and that is very,

:18:44. > :18:51.very difficult thing to live with. So please reject this motion.

:18:52. > :18:56.Thanks. APPLAUSE Thank you, that was John shoesmith

:18:57. > :19:03.from Derbyshire. Could I ask Ed Davey to stand by and I call Becky

:19:04. > :19:09.Forrest from Bolton. Good morning conference. My name is Becky

:19:10. > :19:13.Forrest. I only joined the party on the 24th of June so this is my first

:19:14. > :19:19.time speaking at conference. APPLAUSE

:19:20. > :19:23.I speak to you today having expected to oppose this motion. I am actually

:19:24. > :19:28.in favour of an interim use of nuclear power, at least until we are

:19:29. > :19:33.able to develop affordable and economically viable renewable energy

:19:34. > :19:38.that everyone can access. Until Theresa May put it on hold I hadn't

:19:39. > :19:42.paid that much attention. So at the time, the first decision of the new

:19:43. > :19:49.Prime Minister, I read a couple of articles around it. And, as I

:19:50. > :19:53.understood it then, there were to be no government or taxpayer subsidies.

:19:54. > :19:57.It was being wholly funded by foreign private investment and my

:19:58. > :20:01.first instinct was to wonder why she was jeopardising a project that

:20:02. > :20:05.provided vital infrastructure at potentially no public cost. Based on

:20:06. > :20:11.this I was ready to oppose the motion, however, as a teacher, I

:20:12. > :20:15.like evidence and experts. So I looked into the matter further. I

:20:16. > :20:19.was astonished to realise that in the real terms of the contract,

:20:20. > :20:25.consumers and taxpayers would effectively end up funding this

:20:26. > :20:28.project. The fixed wholesale energy cost negotiated and guaranteed by

:20:29. > :20:35.the Tory government is much more than today's market price. This

:20:36. > :20:37.means that if Hinkley C doesn't get that from price its consumers the

:20:38. > :20:44.taxpayer will make up the difference. Where still that price

:20:45. > :20:48.is fixed for 35 years of energy provision. In retrospect I believe

:20:49. > :20:52.Theresa May was right to review Hinkley C but in failing to take the

:20:53. > :20:56.brave decision to withdraw from the contract she is once again playing

:20:57. > :21:01.an active part in a Tory government which is once again letting the

:21:02. > :21:10.public down. In my naivety I believe Tim -- I believed Hinkley C was

:21:11. > :21:14.subsidy free without the related expense of the infrastructure.

:21:15. > :21:19.However this is clearly not true. We will gain the expense without any of

:21:20. > :21:23.the control and as such I ask you to support this motion that Hinkley C

:21:24. > :21:34.be opposed in its current form. Thank you. APPLAUSE

:21:35. > :21:38.Thank you. Could I ask Fiona Hall to stand by, the last three speakers

:21:39. > :21:42.have in fact all been first-time speakers at conference but I can

:21:43. > :21:48.assure you that the next one isn't! I call Ed Davey. I spent nearly

:21:49. > :21:53.three years by life looking at this deal but I promise you that if you

:21:54. > :22:03.vote for this motion I won't take it personally. I want to convince you

:22:04. > :22:06.to vote against this motion the and many speakers say that the price

:22:07. > :22:10.that Hinkley C is very expensive. Having looked at many, many more

:22:11. > :22:17.models of future prices linked to this decision, I'm always astonished

:22:18. > :22:21.that people can assert with such certainty that they know it's very

:22:22. > :22:28.expensive or good value for money. Why? Because to know that, you have

:22:29. > :22:34.to know the price of electricity between 2025 and 2060. If you know

:22:35. > :22:38.that you are really, really clever. Because, guessing the price of

:22:39. > :22:45.electricity next year is a mugs game. You also have denied the price

:22:46. > :22:49.of carbon between 2025 and 2060. Carbon markets and working very

:22:50. > :22:55.well, I certainly don't know what those prices up and nobody does.

:22:56. > :22:58.This is the problem with energy policy. Uncertainty. We don't know

:22:59. > :23:02.the future, we don't know the future on prices, we don't know the future

:23:03. > :23:07.on technology, but we have to make decisions about things that have to

:23:08. > :23:11.be tackled. Like climate change. I'm bloody sure that climate change is

:23:12. > :23:18.happening and we have to take measures to do that and Hinkley

:23:19. > :23:23.Point C does that. The first deal I signed for a major offshore wind was

:23:24. > :23:28.at ?140 per megawatt hour, far higher prices than Hinkley Point C.

:23:29. > :23:36.After an auction of getting the price down the best deal was ?117,

:23:37. > :23:41.and I think we might just get below ?100, still much higher than Hinkley

:23:42. > :23:45.Point C. Much higher subsidies going to offshore wind. We won't see a

:23:46. > :23:48.motion against that, here, and nor should we. Even though I was

:23:49. > :23:53.criticised by the National Audit Office for that decision, they were

:23:54. > :23:58.wrong. In taking that decision we are now a world leader in offshore

:23:59. > :24:03.wind. We have an offshore wind industry with green jobs in Hull. I

:24:04. > :24:07.believe eventually that technology will become cheaper than Hinkley C,

:24:08. > :24:11.but I can't know because it's not certain. The world, and energy

:24:12. > :24:15.policy, is an certain. I am certain the Tories are making a complete

:24:16. > :24:19.mess of things because they are taking off the table low carbon

:24:20. > :24:25.technologies like solar, onshore wind, they are not doing tidal

:24:26. > :24:29.lagoons in the way I proposed. They are taking low carbon technologies

:24:30. > :24:34.of the table, but is responsible given climate change. Conference,

:24:35. > :24:38.nor should we take a low carbon technology of the table. We

:24:39. > :24:41.shouldn't be taking nuclear off the table, given the risks posed to our

:24:42. > :24:48.children and their children by climate change. Because we don't

:24:49. > :24:52.know whether this is expensive, logically, what do we know? We know

:24:53. > :24:57.we have to prepare our country and our world for the dangers of climate

:24:58. > :25:01.change and turn that around, and Hinkley Point C plays a small part

:25:02. > :25:06.in that. Please oppose this motion. APPLAUSE

:25:07. > :25:13.Thank you Ed Davey from Kingston. I could ask Duncan Brack is to stand

:25:14. > :25:21.by and I call Fiona Hall from Berwick. It's extraordinary, this

:25:22. > :25:28.debate about Hinkley. It reminds me of the moment after the referendum

:25:29. > :25:32.when we found that even some of the Leave campaigners didn't really want

:25:33. > :25:36.to leave. With Hinkley, we have an energy company and the Prime

:25:37. > :25:42.Minister who are really not sure that they want this nuclear plant.

:25:43. > :25:47.And yet, we face the stubborn, face saving decision to go ahead. Let's

:25:48. > :25:53.just take a step back and consider what else we could do with the ?30

:25:54. > :25:57.billion of public money which will be paying for this. What if we were

:25:58. > :26:03.to spend that money in a more Liberal Democrat way, focused on

:26:04. > :26:08.people and a commitment to sustainability, and a better quality

:26:09. > :26:13.of life? Well, we could generate the electricity from a handful of big

:26:14. > :26:19.offshore wind farms instead. We could build dozens of interconnected

:26:20. > :26:24.so we could use Norwegian hydropower as back-up and storage. Or we could

:26:25. > :26:30.increase public spending on energy efficiency 30 times over. Or any mix

:26:31. > :26:36.of the above. The big difference is that all of these alternatives just

:26:37. > :26:43.mean doing more of what we are already doing. Wind,

:26:44. > :26:49.interconnection, insulation. We are doing this safely, reliably, on-time

:26:50. > :26:55.on budget. When I was first in the European Parliament, the new EDF

:26:56. > :26:59.French and Finnish reactors were just about to start according to my

:27:00. > :27:07.Tory colleagues in the European Parliament. That was in 2004. And

:27:08. > :27:12.they are still not open. The crucial point is that we absolutely can't

:27:13. > :27:18.rely on Hinkley, however much money we throw at it. So isn't it time we

:27:19. > :27:23.listen to the International energy agency instead, and made energy

:27:24. > :27:29.efficiency are first fuel? Think of what we could so easily achieve,

:27:30. > :27:34.modern, comfortable, zero carbon homes, fit for the 21st century.

:27:35. > :27:41.Healthy people breathing cleaner air inside and outside, an end to fuel

:27:42. > :27:46.poverty, a steady stream of local jobs across the UK, and no more

:27:47. > :27:53.dependency on imported gas. This is what an energy policy should look

:27:54. > :28:00.like. Fair, people focused and truly sustainable. Please support the

:28:01. > :28:06.motion. APPLAUSE Thank you Fiona, who of course was

:28:07. > :28:14.one of our MEPs. I now call Duncan Brack, the vice chair of the federal

:28:15. > :28:16.policy meeting. Conference, this is a straightforward motion based

:28:17. > :28:22.around a straightforward argument. It is not a motion about the role of

:28:23. > :28:27.nuclear power in Britain's energy supply and it does not change party

:28:28. > :28:31.policy. At some point before 2020 SBC will publish a new policy paper

:28:32. > :28:35.for you to debate and that is when we decide what we think about

:28:36. > :28:39.nuclear energy more broadly. This is about the government 's decision to

:28:40. > :28:44.build a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point. In 2013 we decided new

:28:45. > :28:47.nuclear stations could play a limited role in UK electricity

:28:48. > :28:52.supply provided they could be built with public subsidy. In September

:28:53. > :28:56.last year, the Conservative government announced they would

:28:57. > :29:03.provide a 2 billion loan guarantee to underpin construction and a month

:29:04. > :29:07.later confirmed but it was "Not continuing the no public subsidy

:29:08. > :29:11.policy". Hinkley is being subsidised. This is not in line with

:29:12. > :29:15.party policy and we should therefore oppose it. We subsidise renewables

:29:16. > :29:20.because they are immature technologies. We know that in time

:29:21. > :29:29.their costs will come down. Nuclear power isn't an immature technology,

:29:30. > :29:35.it's costs have gone up in 60 years. Apart from subsidies it is also

:29:36. > :29:41.spectacularly poor value for money. The lifetime cost of the Bill payer

:29:42. > :29:47.has increased by a factor of six. By the time Hinkley might be built in

:29:48. > :29:54.2025, the cost of onshore wind is projected to have fallen by 26%,

:29:55. > :29:59.offshore wind by 35% and solar by 59%. By the middle of next decade

:30:00. > :30:05.renewables will compete without subsidy with fossil fuels. The

:30:06. > :30:09.argument we need a nuclear base is a total fallacy. Nuclear stations have

:30:10. > :30:12.faults, they go off-line, which means you have to build an

:30:13. > :30:18.equivalent amount of back-up. There are many alternatives to supplement

:30:19. > :30:22.wind and solar, tidal lagoons, pump storage, battery storage, where

:30:23. > :30:26.costs are currently falling faster than solar. Energy efficiency can

:30:27. > :30:30.take up the demand in the first place. Some states in Germany and

:30:31. > :30:33.Australia are now 100% renewable, relying on wind and solar and

:30:34. > :30:55.trading with neighbouring states where they

:30:56. > :30:58.need to. The UK could be, too. We are against subsidy for nuclear.

:30:59. > :31:01.Hinkley is subsidy. Lynne Featherstone argued on Friday that

:31:02. > :31:03.failing to pull the plug on Hinkley will prove costly mistake, not just

:31:04. > :31:04.a financial cost to consumers and the public purse, but the

:31:05. > :31:19.opportunity cost to renewables. Would all those in favour of the

:31:20. > :31:23.motion please show? Thank you. And all those against the motion please

:31:24. > :31:32.show. I think that's clearly in favour of the motion, so the motion

:31:33. > :31:37.is past. Can I thank my AIDS and I now handover to Zoe O'Connell.

:31:38. > :32:16.Vice-chair of the conference committee. -- thank my aides.

:32:17. > :32:23.Good morning, conference, and welcome to Britain in the European

:32:24. > :32:29.Union. As we had a late deadline for this motion, it's not in your

:32:30. > :32:40.agenda. You can find it on page 14 of Conference Extra and page six of

:32:41. > :32:48.Conference Daily. There are some drafting amendments, one amendment

:32:49. > :32:52.that we will be voting on later. Federal conference committee did

:32:53. > :32:57.receive a separate vote request online 56 to 57. Federal conference

:32:58. > :33:00.committee decided not to take a separate vote request as it was

:33:01. > :33:09.tantamount to voting against the motion. We have also received a

:33:10. > :33:14.request for a nonparty member to speak, a sister party, that request

:33:15. > :33:18.was accepted. We have a lot of cards to this debate, I can probably call

:33:19. > :33:23.about a quarter of people who have put in cards. Apologies in advance

:33:24. > :33:29.to all those I can't call. Thank you for your cards anyway. However, we

:33:30. > :33:33.will be having interventions, short one minute speeches from the

:33:34. > :33:36.microphone on your left of the auditorium. If you wish to put in

:33:37. > :33:41.speak for those, there is still time. Small yellow cards, which you

:33:42. > :33:49.can also get from the speakers desk to my left. We are very tight on

:33:50. > :33:56.timing, so I will be harsh on the timing, three minutes. I now ask

:33:57. > :34:01.Ruby Ziegler from Oxford East stand by, and called Tom Brake, MP for

:34:02. > :34:09.Carshalton and Warrington and foreign affairs spokesman to move

:34:10. > :34:14.the motion. Thank you. Conference, we shouldn't be having this foreign

:34:15. > :34:20.affairs debate. There is a crisis in Syria. Climate change threatens

:34:21. > :34:28.global irreversible change and the USA might be about to elect their

:34:29. > :34:36.own home and tans Nigel Farage. But are foreign policy is as well,

:34:37. > :34:40.Davis, Fox, Johnson, Farage and Colbourne, have all forced the whole

:34:41. > :34:46.of the government's diplomatic and economic machine down a Brexit

:34:47. > :34:50.cul-de-sac. But at least it gives me the opportunity to proclaim I am

:34:51. > :35:01.English, British and European and proud of it. When I was a teenager,

:35:02. > :35:08.I went to school near Paris. Some of the teachers were wounded in the

:35:09. > :35:13.Second World War, and in the case of one teacher at least, he had a metal

:35:14. > :35:17.plate in his skull to prove it. They had lived in Europe pre-Common

:35:18. > :35:22.market and the European Union. They had experienced war, they understood

:35:23. > :35:28.the point of the European Union. It was, it is about building and

:35:29. > :35:33.preserving peace. That is what the vainglorious Brexiteers have put in

:35:34. > :35:38.jeopardy. To anyone who says in Europe's war will never happen

:35:39. > :35:42.again, remember Bosnia. I have friends who live in Croatia who

:35:43. > :35:54.remember all too well hiding in cellars when the air raid sirens

:35:55. > :35:58.went off. The 1940s? No, the 1990s. Zeljko, my friend, served in the

:35:59. > :36:04.Croat army during that were. How has our new Prime Minister responded?

:36:05. > :36:07.She has appointed the three leading Brexiteers, Johnson Koch Fox, and

:36:08. > :36:12.Davies to lead the Brexit negotiations. Is she serious? They

:36:13. > :36:16.have gotten us in this fine mess in the first place. They are already

:36:17. > :36:21.making their suitability for their role playing. Fox is leading the

:36:22. > :36:25.charge for British business by a blasting them for being fat and lazy

:36:26. > :36:31.and telling them to invest outside the United Kingdom. Davies has

:36:32. > :36:34.broken his first major deadline, the pledge that the Prime Minister would

:36:35. > :36:38.have initiated a round of trade negotiations with our major trading

:36:39. > :36:43.negotiation partners by the 9th of September, that was ten days ago.

:36:44. > :36:46.What about Johnson? He has had more flip-flops on his stance on the

:36:47. > :36:51.European Union than he has had flip-flops in his Daily Telegraph

:36:52. > :36:57.column on his stance on the European Union. Our Prime Minister, since she

:36:58. > :37:02.was anointed by that exclusive electorate, Tory MPs, hasn't had

:37:03. > :37:08.many Master strokes, but allocating Chevening to be shared between the

:37:09. > :37:12.three Brexiteers was a genius ploy. I can imagine them sitting around an

:37:13. > :37:16.open fire, with the swords and Lance fanned out above the stone

:37:17. > :37:20.mantelpiece, broaden the Fox, a whiskey for the others in hand, each

:37:21. > :37:27.boasting mine is bigger than yours. It is too sickening to contemplate.

:37:28. > :37:31.I doubt even Chevening is capacious enough to accommodate those three

:37:32. > :37:35.massive egos. And as they downed glass after glass, they scoff at how

:37:36. > :37:42.easy it was to hoodwink people into believing post Brexit ?350 million a

:37:43. > :37:45.week would be pumped into the NHS. At Prime Minister's Questions a

:37:46. > :37:50.couple of weeks ago, I put in a bid that the first two weeks, in other

:37:51. > :37:54.words 700 million, should be reserved for the reconstruction of

:37:55. > :37:58.my hospital, St Helier hospital. I'm afraid to say that the Prime

:37:59. > :38:04.Minister did not even offer a new polymer ?5 note the St Helier.

:38:05. > :38:08.Corbyn Canet escape criticism either, while Tim Farron of the

:38:09. > :38:13.Liberal Democrats and even Cameron were on the stronger in barricades,

:38:14. > :38:17.where was called in? Deliberately sabotaging Labour's Remain campaign,

:38:18. > :38:21.according to leaked e-mails. I am critical of Cameron too of course,

:38:22. > :38:25.this is a man so sure of his powers of persuasion that he was deluded

:38:26. > :38:31.enough to think that in four months he could overturn the previous 30

:38:32. > :38:35.years of vitriol that he and senior Tories had dripped on the European

:38:36. > :38:44.Union. Always blaming it, never commending. APPLAUSE

:38:45. > :38:47.But people did vote for Brexit, and I respect that, and I respect

:38:48. > :38:51.Parliamentary sovereignty, the battle cry of many a Brexiteer, and

:38:52. > :38:55.Parliament's right to debate and vote on the government's propose

:38:56. > :39:01.negotiating stance before it seeks to invoke Article 50. And I respect

:39:02. > :39:04.the people's right to vote on our destination at the end of the

:39:05. > :39:08.Article 50 deliberations, a destination, which could be the

:39:09. > :39:14.Brexit deal or the status quo. We will fight to ensure people's voices

:39:15. > :39:17.are heard. Conference, since the referendum and the Liberal Democrats

:39:18. > :39:23.have not been idle in Parliament. We're due ten minute rule Bill, for

:39:24. > :39:28.the EU citizens and the UK right to stay Bill. To try to provide

:39:29. > :39:31.certainty from the government of the millions of hard-working EU citizens

:39:32. > :39:35.here whose lives have been upturned more quickly than you can say take

:39:36. > :39:39.back control and Lance the racist boil the Leave campaign has given

:39:40. > :39:41.permission to grow and fester. And we have helped establish an

:39:42. > :39:49.all-party group on the freedom of movement. Both initiatives will also

:39:50. > :39:53.help support the 1.54 2 million UK citizens in the EU, who are faced

:39:54. > :39:57.with being used as bargaining chips by other countries in the way that

:39:58. > :40:02.the UK Government is using EU citizens here. The country is

:40:03. > :40:08.yearning for a party that is united, open, tolerant, and equipped to deal

:40:09. > :40:13.with the ructions caused by Brexit. The Tory party, the nasty party, can

:40:14. > :40:17.never satisfy that need. Labour is too focused on internal purges. The

:40:18. > :40:23.Liberal Democrats are that party. Join us. Conference, support this

:40:24. > :40:37.motion. APPLAUSE Thank you, Tom. Could I ask Kelly

:40:38. > :40:42.Marie Brundle from Lewes to stand by. Think you'd chair, I am honoured

:40:43. > :40:48.to be speaking in this radical debate my very first conference.

:40:49. > :40:53.APPLAUSE I am a universal -- university

:40:54. > :40:58.lecturer and I entirely subscribe to all we have heard from the propose

:40:59. > :41:02.of this motion. It generally reads pretty bulb but the reason I have

:41:03. > :41:08.put forward this amendment, the language and scope of section nine A

:41:09. > :41:11.are not quite right on four accounts, which I want to

:41:12. > :41:21.illustrate. The first is that this motion is set in the present, 19

:41:22. > :41:25.September 20 16. Today all UK citizens are EU citizens, so it is

:41:26. > :41:29.wrong to draw the distinction, which the motion does linguistically,

:41:30. > :41:34.between the UK citizens and EU citizens. Secondly, this motion is

:41:35. > :41:37.couched as a prerogative, it stipulates individuals will be

:41:38. > :41:41.allowed to remain, not that they will have a right to remain, and I

:41:42. > :41:47.think that is important to change that. Sadly, the motion uses the

:41:48. > :41:51.term settled, which is unnecessarily exclusive, so the amendment adopts

:41:52. > :41:54.the language of the Institute for Public Policy Research, which, in a

:41:55. > :42:00.report published in late August, recommends grunting indefinitely to

:42:01. > :42:06.remain for the estimated 3.1 million citizens of other EU countries

:42:07. > :42:09.residing in the UK. Fourthly, the motion is unnecessarily limited in

:42:10. > :42:15.its scope to the question of residence. Individuals have acquired

:42:16. > :42:22.various rights, including housing benefits, access to the NHS. So the

:42:23. > :42:25.proposed amendment, the language of the amendment, emphasises all of

:42:26. > :42:28.these issues. It says that we are calling for the protection of

:42:29. > :42:35.acquired rights, including the right to remain, all citizens of other EU

:42:36. > :42:40.member states residing in the United Kingdom and of UK citizens residing

:42:41. > :42:43.elsewhere in the EU. Conference, this provision has three core

:42:44. > :42:52.rationales, the first is simple as. It is not just -- symbolism. This

:42:53. > :42:59.party and as will not play into the rhetoric that already does away with

:43:00. > :43:08.the EU citizen ship of everyone in the UK. We are part of a community.

:43:09. > :43:14.The second rationale is that this party stands for the politically

:43:15. > :43:17.disenfranchised, it is at the core of liberal values. We need to

:43:18. > :43:22.remember that the two groups most adversely affected by the outcome of

:43:23. > :43:27.this referendum are actually the precise Fiorentina groups denied a

:43:28. > :43:30.vote this referendum. EU citizens living in this country and UK

:43:31. > :43:35.citizens living long-term outside this country. And so now there is

:43:36. > :43:38.great anxiety amongst members of these groups about their and their

:43:39. > :43:44.families future, of adopting this motion, we say we feel that the

:43:45. > :43:48.Liberal Democrats are their voice. Finally, this is a rights -based

:43:49. > :43:50.approach, as liberals would withstand the individual rights are

:43:51. > :43:56.cried in good faith, and we need to distance ourselves from the

:43:57. > :44:00.bargaining chips language. This is 2016, not 1919, this is not the

:44:01. > :44:05.treaty of acai or the protection of minorities. We should insist that

:44:06. > :44:13.these rights of individual should be protected. Conference, this

:44:14. > :44:16.amendment makes this important motion more accurate, more inclusive

:44:17. > :44:36.and more protective of individual rights. I beg to move. APPLAUSE

:44:37. > :44:44.Could I ask Peter Fein to stand-by. Conference, on 3rd of September, 40%

:44:45. > :44:48.of us marched all around the country for Europe. And why was 3rd of

:44:49. > :44:53.September important? Not just because it was my birthday! The 3rd

:44:54. > :45:00.of September is important because that is the day Britain declared war

:45:01. > :45:05.on Germany in 1939. The day that born Second World War. The one thing

:45:06. > :45:11.the European Union has done, as it has guaranteed more 70 years of

:45:12. > :45:18.peace. We do not have just an urge to campaign for the EU, we have a

:45:19. > :45:24.duty to campaign. Not just for British citizens but for European

:45:25. > :45:29.citizens as well. APPLAUSE I recently found a piece of paper at

:45:30. > :45:33.home that I had done when I was 11 years old, that set out the values

:45:34. > :45:41.of the EEC and the Maastricht Treaty. We were so proud to be part

:45:42. > :45:48.of those 12 stars. And 24 years on, the single market is the cornerstone

:45:49. > :45:50.of the European Union. The government is lurching from the

:45:51. > :45:56.accurate statement to vacuous statement, and the one thing that is

:45:57. > :46:03.clear is that they have no plan. I'm proud to campaign on issues I know

:46:04. > :46:09.we must fight for. When they decide what Brexit actually means. We must

:46:10. > :46:14.protect the right to remain the EU citizens, we must protect investment

:46:15. > :46:20.in science and research, and we must protect our environment. And perhaps

:46:21. > :46:25.most importantly, when the government decides what Brexit

:46:26. > :46:31.actually means, we must demand a referendum on those terms. It is the

:46:32. > :46:32.right of both Remain and Leave to have that vote on what Brexit

:46:33. > :46:49.actually looks like. APPLAUSE Thank you. Because I ask Hilary

:46:50. > :47:00.Myers to stand by. I now called Peter Fane from South

:47:01. > :47:05.Cambridgeshire. Conference. We voted for Brexit and he respects that. But

:47:06. > :47:11.what does Brexit mean? What does it mean in particular for our trading

:47:12. > :47:17.terms with our closest neighbours? The Leave Campaign couldn't tell us

:47:18. > :47:22.that. We had suggestions for a trading relationship based on that

:47:23. > :47:29.of Norway, of Switzerland, of Turkey, of Canada, even famously of

:47:30. > :47:34.Albania! Mrs May's cabinet has still to decide. When they do decide they

:47:35. > :47:38.went tell us, they certainly don't plan to consult parliament. I think

:47:39. > :47:41.may be making that crucial decision about the future of this country and

:47:42. > :47:46.our relationship with our neighbours on the basis of the Royal

:47:47. > :47:51.prerogative is perhaps stretching our support of royalty a bit too

:47:52. > :47:57.far. In any case, when we know what it means, we have to agree that with

:47:58. > :48:03.the EU 27 it's not going to be simple. So what should Brexit mean?

:48:04. > :48:11.It should mean what it said on the ballot paper. We voted to leave the

:48:12. > :48:16.EU, no more, no less. It does not mean that we voted to leave the

:48:17. > :48:22.single market. The manifesto which set out the Conservative commitment

:48:23. > :48:26.to the referendum also set out clearly in terms of support for the

:48:27. > :48:33.single market. Yes to the single market, it said. That is still valid

:48:34. > :48:40.today. The single market is so much more than just tariff free access.

:48:41. > :48:44.We mean membership of the single market not access to the single

:48:45. > :48:49.market. Anybody can get that. We've built that up over the last 20

:48:50. > :48:52.years, led initially by British governments and a British

:48:53. > :48:57.commissioner. And we have done so much over that period to reduce the

:48:58. > :49:03.transaction costs of trade, not just the non-trade barriers and tariffs

:49:04. > :49:08.but the transaction costs. So the continued single market membership

:49:09. > :49:15.is crucial in reducing the damage to UK business, but also the damage to

:49:16. > :49:20.the business of the EU 27. We need to ensure that as this motion says,

:49:21. > :49:25.that the UK remains a member of the single market when we leave the EU.

:49:26. > :49:37.APPLAUSE Thank you Peter. Could I ask Dr

:49:38. > :49:41.Joseph Garcia to stand by, I now call Hilary Myers from Herefordshire

:49:42. > :49:46.who wishes to speak against the motion. Conference, I want to talk

:49:47. > :49:50.to you about the law. The law of unintended consequences. I want to

:49:51. > :49:54.suggest that if you vote in favour of this motion you will be obeying

:49:55. > :49:58.that law and at the same time sleepwalking away from our shared

:49:59. > :50:04.vision of building an open, tolerant and united Britain. The law of

:50:05. > :50:07.unintended consequences. When a member of the PLP nominated Jeremy

:50:08. > :50:12.Corbyn in the first Labour leadership ballot, they were obeying

:50:13. > :50:16.the law of unintended consequences and opening the floodgates to a

:50:17. > :50:20.repressed anti-new Labour backlash. When a member of Parliament for

:50:21. > :50:27.Whitney pledged his party to a referendum on Europe, he was

:50:28. > :50:30.unwittingly obeying that same law of unintended consequences. The very

:50:31. > :50:36.consequences we are grappling with in this hall and across the country

:50:37. > :50:40.today. But just as the laws of the realm are no match for the

:50:41. > :50:45.all-powerful laws of nature, so to the law of unintended consequences

:50:46. > :50:51.is no match for the irresistible law of destiny. Conference, we need to

:50:52. > :50:55.see the bigger picture here. Let us step back from whether a small but

:50:56. > :50:59.influential island people in the northern hemisphere should remain a

:51:00. > :51:03.member of a particular economic power bloc, however attractive the

:51:04. > :51:10.advantage of membership may be. Let us step back and notice capitalism

:51:11. > :51:15.is almost on its knees. Displaced people in their millions on the

:51:16. > :51:19.move. Let us step back and notice that the ice is melting, the seas

:51:20. > :51:25.are rising and the climate is changing. And, in the face of all

:51:26. > :51:28.this global upheaval, the people of this small but influential island

:51:29. > :51:36.nation in the northern hemisphere deeply worried. If, as section seven

:51:37. > :51:40.of this motion sets out, we are to truly recognise that our priority

:51:41. > :51:45.should be to address that justifiable sense of grievance and

:51:46. > :51:48.alienation, that this referendum has so demonstrably exposed, then

:51:49. > :51:54.seeking ways to challenge, to change or to reverse the will of the 52% is

:51:55. > :52:00.not the way to achieve that priority. Rather, it is the way to

:52:01. > :52:05.greater division, discord and desperation. Fellow Liberal

:52:06. > :52:10.Democrats, old members and new. I urge you to think again. Think about

:52:11. > :52:19.the law of unintended consequences. Let us be open, tolerant and united,

:52:20. > :52:23.yes. Open to the hopes and dreams and nobler instincts of the majority

:52:24. > :52:27.as well as those of the minority, tolerant of their anger, fear,

:52:28. > :52:33.confusion, prejudices and the world and. But most of all let us be

:52:34. > :52:38.united as a country, as a people of fastly unequal regions in a shaky

:52:39. > :52:41.but historical union. Building a tolerant society starts with

:52:42. > :52:48.listening to our own people not shunting them down. A liberal, be

:52:49. > :52:56.democratic, be open, tolerant, United, but above all, be wise.

:52:57. > :53:06.Reconsider our offer to the British people. Conference, I urge you to

:53:07. > :53:14.reject this motion. APPLAUSE Hillary was a first-time speaker at

:53:15. > :53:20.conference. Thank you Hillary. Could I ask Liz Lynne to stand by and I

:53:21. > :53:25.now call Dr Joseph Garcia. Doctor Garcia is deputy Chief Minister of

:53:26. > :53:34.Gibraltar and leader of the Liberal party of Gibraltar. APPLAUSE

:53:35. > :53:37.Thank you. Thank you fellow liberals. I want to thank the

:53:38. > :53:41.conference committee for giving me the opportunity to address you to

:53:42. > :53:46.date on what is a fundamental issue as far as Gibraltar is concerned. I

:53:47. > :53:52.do so with a sense of pride as a liberal and also as a deputy chief

:53:53. > :53:56.minister of the territory. Right because in 2014 in the European

:53:57. > :53:59.elections, Gibraltar was the highest polling area for the Liberal

:54:00. > :54:09.Democrats in the whole of the United Kingdom. APPLAUSE

:54:10. > :54:18.With 67% of the vote. The referendum we topped that with 96% voting to

:54:19. > :54:21.remain in the European Union. APPLAUSE

:54:22. > :54:28.The motion speaks of the risks, and the reality is I want to stress

:54:29. > :54:33.there are some very immediate and real risks. Freedom of movement is

:54:34. > :54:37.very important to us. There is a debate in the UK about the effects

:54:38. > :54:41.that has and there are other sectors more concerned than we are. But

:54:42. > :54:46.certainly the risks to us is very real because we depend on free

:54:47. > :54:50.movement of workers. There are 12,000 people, mostly Spaniards, who

:54:51. > :54:54.live in Spain and working Gibraltar. Across the border every morning and

:54:55. > :55:03.across back every evening. Without free movement we risk losing half of

:55:04. > :55:08.our entire labour force. Let me also say that Gibraltar generates 25% of

:55:09. > :55:13.the economy of the neighbouring region of Spain. 25% of their GDP is

:55:14. > :55:19.based on the economic impact of Gibraltar and of an open border. We

:55:20. > :55:24.are the second highest employer for the region of Andalusia in Spain.

:55:25. > :55:28.First of all you have the regional government of Andalusia and then

:55:29. > :55:33.Gibraltar itself as an entity. Free movement is fundamental to us, as is

:55:34. > :55:38.access to the single market. For our financial services industry who can

:55:39. > :55:42.operate in the entire European Union. Our risks are based entirely

:55:43. > :55:46.on the statements made by the Foreign Minister of Spain that all

:55:47. > :55:50.the options will be open to Spain in the event of us leaving the EU

:55:51. > :55:56.including closing the border completely. All said they are

:55:57. > :56:01.rejecting the idea of shared sovereignty which was rejected

:56:02. > :56:06.unanimously by 99% of the people of Gibraltar in 2002. We urge

:56:07. > :56:11.conference to think of the consequences this would have an

:56:12. > :56:15.Gibraltar. Gibraltar is a shining example, proud to be British,

:56:16. > :56:19.wrapping itself in the union Jack. We can show there is no conflict

:56:20. > :56:31.between being British and being European. APPLAUSE

:56:32. > :56:36.That is a message we need to have delivered before the 23rd of June,

:56:37. > :56:40.and it is a message delivered today. There is no conflict between being

:56:41. > :56:52.British and being European. Thank you conference. APPLAUSE

:56:53. > :57:00.Thank you Dr Joseph Garcia. We do have many more speakers. Could I ask

:57:01. > :57:05.Alan Reid to stand by and I now call Liz Lynne from Mid Worcestershire

:57:06. > :57:09.who wishes to speak for the motion. I think one of our major mistakes

:57:10. > :57:14.during the referendum campaign was not to point out that it was a

:57:15. > :57:19.consultative referendum only, as stated in the European Union

:57:20. > :57:24.referendum bill. Many people are saying that people have spoken so we

:57:25. > :57:29.must now just leave. This of course creates difficulty for those of us

:57:30. > :57:36.who want to see a vote in parliament before Article 50 is triggered. But

:57:37. > :57:41.however difficult it is, we must stick to our guns. We have to have a

:57:42. > :57:46.Parliamentary vote on the terms of the negotiation at the very least.

:57:47. > :57:52.And the views of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar had

:57:53. > :57:59.to be listened to. The Leave Campaign was based on so many lies.

:58:00. > :58:04.But one of the worst things was that a large number of people were given

:58:05. > :58:09.permission by the likes of Nigel Farage, Michael Gove, Boris Johnson

:58:10. > :58:16.and the gutter press to give vent to their hatred. I have taken part in

:58:17. > :58:21.many campaigns over the years. For me it was one of the worst campaigns

:58:22. > :58:25.I have ever been involved in. Taking part in some of the panel

:58:26. > :58:32.discussions was bad enough. But it was nothing, nothing compared to the

:58:33. > :58:41.vitriol I encountered on the streets in certain parts of this country.

:58:42. > :58:45.The viciousness and hatred was something I felt that was getting

:58:46. > :58:53.out of control. It was only after the death of Jo Cox, the more

:58:54. > :58:58.outwardly aggressive behaviour died down. But the hatred was still there

:58:59. > :59:02.underneath. Many people were just using the referendum to vent their

:59:03. > :59:07.anger and the vast amount of them had no idea what they were voting

:59:08. > :59:12.for. They just believe the lies. But despite that, Theresa May keeps on

:59:13. > :59:16.repeating the mantra "Brexit means Brexit". And then they are saying

:59:17. > :59:20.whatever the outcome of the negotiations, they will take us out

:59:21. > :59:24.of the EU without giving the electorate a final say on the

:59:25. > :59:28.package that has been negotiated, however disastrous the consequence

:59:29. > :59:33.will be for the UK, and I believe they will be disastrous. Our party

:59:34. > :59:42.and our voice is needed more than ever now. How some of them think we

:59:43. > :59:46.can have tariff free access to the single market without free movement

:59:47. > :59:51.defies belief. We are the only party that is united in our views.

:59:52. > :59:57.Whatever the shortcomings of some aspects of the EU are, our future is

:59:58. > :00:01.better off in. Not being on the outside and isolated. I urge you to

:00:02. > :00:08.vote for this motion to demonstrate that we are going to continue the

:00:09. > :00:19.fight. APPLAUSE Thank you. Could I ask Hugh Annand

:00:20. > :00:25.to stand by and I now call Alan Reid from Argyll and Bute. Conference,

:00:26. > :00:31.the Tories have landed us in a shocking mess. Brexit means Brexit

:00:32. > :00:35.is all that they seem to be able to find to say. I think this inane

:00:36. > :00:41.comment covers up the truth about Brexit. The truth is, they haven't

:00:42. > :00:47.got a clue. The only certainty is that the Leave Campaign's promises,

:00:48. > :01:06.like an extra ?350 million a week for the NHS, will be broken.

:01:07. > :01:13.In the same breath, they promised that the only land's border would

:01:14. > :01:19.remain open and unguarded. The only way that that could happen would be

:01:20. > :01:25.if we stay in the EU Customs union. But being part of the EU customs

:01:26. > :01:28.union means EU would negotiate a lower international trade agreements

:01:29. > :01:36.for us. That hardly qualifies as taking control. It would also mean

:01:37. > :01:40.Theresa May summons in international trade secretary Liam Fox and saying,

:01:41. > :01:54.sorry, Liam, no job for you, you're fired.

:01:55. > :02:00.That would certainly be popular. It has also given a

:02:01. > :02:09.Nicola Sturgeon clearly hopes to use Brexit as an excuse for a replay of

:02:10. > :02:14.the independence referendum. But she too is ignoring the realities of

:02:15. > :02:18.Brexit. Exit means leaving the EU customs union and the introduction

:02:19. > :02:22.of tariffs and bureaucracy, selling goods across the borders of the EU.

:02:23. > :02:30.That would be the Tweed if the SNP got their way. Not to mention past

:02:31. > :02:34.four controls -- passport controls and now the threat and ?40 holiday

:02:35. > :02:39.tax. That is not the future we want. Scotland is a member of two unions,

:02:40. > :02:49.the UK and EU. I want keep it that way. We must oppose the narrow

:02:50. > :02:55.nationalism is of the Tories and Ukip and the SNP that seek to add

:02:56. > :02:58.borders across these islands. Instead, let's supports the positive

:02:59. > :03:03.case for a referendum on the Brexit deal and work for a progressive

:03:04. > :03:08.European future without the divisions that nationalists

:03:09. > :03:15.threaten. Thank you. Thank you. Could I ask Peter Price from Cardiff

:03:16. > :03:20.and the Vale to stand-by, and I now call Hugh Annand from Brussels and

:03:21. > :03:25.Europe. Thank you, chair and good morning conference. I used to say

:03:26. > :03:28.David Cameron was the most inept Prime Minister since Anthony Eden

:03:29. > :03:33.when it came to foreign policy but then he put me I was being unkind to

:03:34. > :03:38.Anthony Eden. I am now inclined after recent events to agree with

:03:39. > :03:44.them. This is the most part a good motion. It sets out the benefits of

:03:45. > :03:45.EU benefits and reasserts our commitments to internationalism,

:03:46. > :03:51.including cooperation with our European neighbours. I have

:03:52. > :03:58.reservations, however, about the call for a new referendum on the

:03:59. > :04:01.proposed Brexit deal. APPLAUSE On rather technical grounds. The

:04:02. > :04:05.government comes back with a deal and the people vote yes to it, OK,

:04:06. > :04:09.that's fine, that's clear, but what if they don't know? Is that no, we

:04:10. > :04:16.were quite happy with the ordeal, thank you very much, no, we want a

:04:17. > :04:19.hard Brexit, no, we want something in between, and you are opening the

:04:20. > :04:28.way for a never ending debate and you end up back where you started

:04:29. > :04:31.and nobody being happy. And also whenever the EU gets a referendum

:04:32. > :04:37.result it doesn't lie, it just asks people to vote again and again until

:04:38. > :04:40.they get the right answer. It was an argument often repeated during the

:04:41. > :04:45.campaign and we cannot allow it to fester. The right answer is to have

:04:46. > :04:52.another general election, whenever that is. And our message should be

:04:53. > :04:57.clear. If you seriously think that leaving the European Union is the

:04:58. > :05:01.right thing to do, vote Ukip, and let them deal with it and let them

:05:02. > :05:09.take the responsibility for the consequences. If you want to remain

:05:10. > :05:14.within the European Union, vote for us, and we will work within the

:05:15. > :05:17.European Union to get the best deal for the British people, and by

:05:18. > :05:23.cooperating openly without European neighbours. If you want another five

:05:24. > :05:27.years of the billing and dithering and uncertainty, with all of the

:05:28. > :05:43.economic harm that will do to our country, by all moans -- all means

:05:44. > :05:47.about Labe-servative. On that note, let's not spend ?350 million on a

:05:48. > :05:56.new referendum that spend it on the NHS instead. APPLAUSE

:05:57. > :06:01.Thank you. Could I ask Bailey Cooper to stand-by please. I now call Peter

:06:02. > :06:08.Price, the Welsh rep on federal policy campaign. Harald you like a

:06:09. > :06:15.government of the future to run Britain? What are your ideas for the

:06:16. > :06:23.way we should run the NHS, transport, education, housing, and

:06:24. > :06:33.all the rest? Imagine today is your lucky day. You have a vote. You can

:06:34. > :06:39.choose between the future you want to see or keep the realities of

:06:40. > :06:50.policies as they are today. Now vote. That's what the British people

:06:51. > :07:00.were asked to do on 23rd of June. The Leave side didn't offer any

:07:01. > :07:03.particular alternative. The relationship between Britain and the

:07:04. > :07:10.mainland was what you chose to imagine it might be. In the best of

:07:11. > :07:18.all possible worlds. The choice was between your dreamland and the

:07:19. > :07:23.reality of Europe. Now, the trouble with dreamland is that you can't

:07:24. > :07:35.stay there when the alarm sounds in the morning. By the spring of 2019,

:07:36. > :07:43.it is likely to become clear that the many benefits of being part of

:07:44. > :07:47.the European Union far outweigh any of the various things that you could

:07:48. > :07:58.find wrong with the EU as it currently is today. But the alarm

:07:59. > :08:09.clock, if the alarm clock does not sound until then, it may be too

:08:10. > :08:14.late. In the spring of 2019. Before then, we need to build public demand

:08:15. > :08:20.for a second referendum, one in which the choice would have to be a

:08:21. > :08:25.clear one. And I go further than Hugh Annand in making clear what

:08:26. > :08:31.that choice should be. It should be between leaving on the science of

:08:32. > :08:42.what terms would be in the future, and remaining in the European Union

:08:43. > :08:47.as it is today with all the chances of an influential country like

:08:48. > :08:58.Britain being able to influence its future. We can't leave it until 2019

:08:59. > :09:01.to get moving. In creating public demand for real public democracy, we

:09:02. > :09:09.have to get moving and we need to start today. APPLAUSE

:09:10. > :09:13.Thank you. Could I ask Katie Gornall to and from Glasgow South to

:09:14. > :09:21.stand-by, and I now call Daisy Cooper, who wishes to speak against

:09:22. > :09:24.line 26. Daisy? Conference, I submitted an amendment to this

:09:25. > :09:29.motion, which was unfortunately rejected. I appealed it, and it was

:09:30. > :09:34.also rejected, so I am grateful that I can speak here today. In absence

:09:35. > :09:38.of my amendment, I will support the motion but I want to speak against

:09:39. > :09:44.line 26, because I don't think it goes far enough. Line 26 calls for a

:09:45. > :09:51.Parliamentary vote on the terms of negotiation before Article 50 is

:09:52. > :09:58.triggered. The motion is silent on the triggering of Article 50 itself.

:09:59. > :10:10.We must push for a Parliamentary vote on Article 50, and we must

:10:11. > :10:14.pledge that we will vote against it. To explain how absurd it is to

:10:15. > :10:17.remain silent, imagine a group of flatmates. They say to their

:10:18. > :10:21.landlord, we would like to hand in our notice but we're not quite sure

:10:22. > :10:26.when, but if we do decide, can we please keep all of the deposit? The

:10:27. > :10:31.landlord says I'm not having that, session now, hand in your notice and

:10:32. > :10:35.then we will talk about it. Line 26 amounts to nothing more than the

:10:36. > :10:38.group of flatmates sitting around on a sofa saying, all right, then,

:10:39. > :10:43.which one is actually want to keep the deposit here? It doesn't amount

:10:44. > :10:48.to a, session about whether you want to hand in your notice or not. All

:10:49. > :10:51.we would be saying is we would really like to keep that deposit but

:10:52. > :10:55.we've also like the landlord that we would like to move back in again

:10:56. > :10:59.some day on the same terms. You can't, because if you want to move

:11:00. > :11:02.back into that house, the rent will go up, the deposit may cost more,

:11:03. > :11:09.there may be different terms, and we don't know what those are. Before

:11:10. > :11:17.the howls of pain that we must respect the vote, let me say this: I

:11:18. > :11:23.will not be lectured on democracy by a bunch of people who spread

:11:24. > :11:28.misinformation and lies. I will not be lectured on democracy by people

:11:29. > :11:32.who stirred up hate, and I will not be lectured on democracy by a bunch

:11:33. > :11:36.of Brexiteers who set themselves a few weeks before the referendum

:11:37. > :11:48.result that if it was a close loss for them, they would be campaigning

:11:49. > :11:51.I will vote for this motion because I will vote for this motion because

:11:52. > :11:54.I think it is incredibly important that we set out to the public

:11:55. > :12:22.precisely what is at risk. Could I ask Mike Brydon from

:12:23. > :12:25.Winchester to stand-by. After Mike we will move to a series of

:12:26. > :12:29.one-minute interventions, so could I ask the following people to stand by

:12:30. > :12:38.the intervention Mike on your left, the left of the auditorium, Barbara

:12:39. > :12:43.Smith from Islington, take a, Steve Bolter from Braintree and Witton,

:12:44. > :12:49.Donlon banned from North Somerset, Paul Hindley from Blackpool. Jaclyn

:12:50. > :12:55.Bell from Ed north-east only. Neil McCulloch from Oxford and West am in

:12:56. > :13:02.good. Nick Watt from Chippenham, Fiona Woolf from Olic and Graham

:13:03. > :13:08.Bishop from Bexhill and Battle. The first speaker after the intervention

:13:09. > :13:14.will be Nick Clegg. I now call Katy Gordon from Glasgow South. So I work

:13:15. > :13:18.for a leading Scottish university, and I run the careers service, and a

:13:19. > :13:21.huge amount of what graduate employers say to us as they

:13:22. > :13:26.desperately want students with that global mindset, and yet what we've

:13:27. > :13:31.done is we've denied them, or we are in danger of denying many of our

:13:32. > :13:36.students opportunities to gain those international experiences by the

:13:37. > :13:42.vote to leave. It is just one of the many consequences I see in both my

:13:43. > :13:46.work and my personal life. So the day after the referendum, one of my

:13:47. > :13:50.extended families is Austrian, and also works in higher education. She

:13:51. > :13:56.has been here for about 15 years, and she was so distraught, and so

:13:57. > :13:59.afraid, by the fear that this was her being rejected, this was her

:14:00. > :14:06.being told we don't want you any more. She has settled, she has been

:14:07. > :14:09.here, a long-term relationship. I went to Latvia on holiday about two

:14:10. > :14:16.weeks after the referendum, and we were at one of the historic Latvian

:14:17. > :14:19.castles wandering around, and a 17-year-old schoolboy guide we were

:14:20. > :14:23.talking to cover the first question he asked us was why on earth do you

:14:24. > :14:30.want to leave us? And it was a real feeling of rejection. This is from a

:14:31. > :14:32.17-year-old schoolboy. I wish we had 17-year-old schoolboys and

:14:33. > :14:36.schoolgirls who could have voted in the referendum. APPLAUSE

:14:37. > :14:40.Because they might have helped us make the point that we are damaging

:14:41. > :14:46.the chances for our young people by this vote. I do think when I came

:14:47. > :14:51.back, I came back to work, my work colleagues, one of them we were

:14:52. > :14:54.sitting around in a meeting again, she is Swedish and she was talking

:14:55. > :15:00.about how she had felt rejected ever since. Now I work in higher

:15:01. > :15:05.education, I live in Scotland and I don't actually know anybody who

:15:06. > :15:09.voted to leave. And clearly in Scotland we did vote to remain, that

:15:10. > :15:12.there are still a fair amount that voted to leave. So you may think I

:15:13. > :15:17.am living in this bubble but actually it is not a bubble. There

:15:18. > :15:21.are millions of us. It was so close as a result, and what scares me is

:15:22. > :15:26.in universities we have a triple threat now, we have a threat of

:15:27. > :15:29.funding to our research funding, and I'm involved in an international

:15:30. > :15:35.project and already the questions were, what impact is it going to

:15:36. > :15:38.have? We have the threat of EU students that still want to come and

:15:39. > :15:43.stay and study with us, and we have the threat to our EU staff. In

:15:44. > :15:46.Scotland we also have the fourth threat of the Scottish independence

:15:47. > :15:50.referendum rearing its head again. Alex Salmond was at it again

:15:51. > :15:54.yesterday, talking about a referendum in 2018. And I don't care

:15:55. > :15:58.what people should say, you should just get on with it, that was the

:15:59. > :16:03.vote, actually I want some day to stand up for me and my family and

:16:04. > :16:08.work colleagues, to stand up for my country, and who is going to do

:16:09. > :16:11.that, if not the Liberal Democrats? Vote for this motion and vote for

:16:12. > :16:15.the incredibly well argued detailed a moment as well. But above all make

:16:16. > :16:22.sure we retain our place in Europe. APPLAUSE

:16:23. > :16:34.Could Barbara Smith stand by and I now call Mike Beaden from

:16:35. > :16:38.Winchester. I keep it in a number of amendments and I am grateful to the

:16:39. > :16:45.conference committee for calling me to the stand. I want to share why we

:16:46. > :16:49.need a vote on the terms of Brexit. Whilst we respect those that voted

:16:50. > :16:57.to leave, we should not accept the democratic decision of the people.

:16:58. > :17:00.My answer to that is simple. The people have not spoken because there

:17:01. > :17:08.simply weren't enough who voted to leave. On May the 4th of the trade

:17:09. > :17:11.unions act 2016 came into law introduced by this current

:17:12. > :17:16.government. It was introduced to prevent the abuse of democracy

:17:17. > :17:23.caused when a strike is approved by a ballot with too few supporters.

:17:24. > :17:29.The act set a threshold of 40% of eligible voters voting for a strike

:17:30. > :17:34.action for that strike to be legal. In the referendum, just 36.7% of

:17:35. > :17:41.voters voted to leave. If it's too few for a strike, it is too few for

:17:42. > :17:50.major constitutional change. APPLAUSE

:17:51. > :17:55.It simply wasn't good enough, and the people have not spoken. An abuse

:17:56. > :18:04.of democracy cannot be the final word. More importantly, leaving it

:18:05. > :18:09.is not in the UK's national interest. The coalition government

:18:10. > :18:12.conducted a balance of competence review and 32 reports examined every

:18:13. > :18:18.aspect of Britain's relationship with the EU. There were two clear

:18:19. > :18:28.conclusions. First, subsidiarity was operating well, matters executed

:18:29. > :18:35.nationally and the EU only acts and those needing agreement. Second,

:18:36. > :18:40.membership of the European Union was overwhelming any in the country's

:18:41. > :18:44.best interest. Theresa May said this herself when campaigning and I

:18:45. > :18:49.quote, "It is clearly in the national interest to remain a

:18:50. > :19:00.member". Since the Leave Campaign began, the pound has slumped. From

:19:01. > :19:05.$1 56 to $1 32. A drop of 24 cents, a sick of its value. It's even more

:19:06. > :19:09.against the euro. Today, every home in the UK is worth less, every way

:19:10. > :19:16.each and every pension is worth less. Every foreign investor has

:19:17. > :19:22.seen their investment lose value. The NHS budget has not been

:19:23. > :19:27.increased, but its costs have. From drugs and prescriptions to new

:19:28. > :19:32.medical equipment, all are going up in price. So we have the evidence,

:19:33. > :19:39.leaving the EU is clearly not in the national interest. And further,

:19:40. > :19:44.Brexit threatens the very existence of the United Kingdom. Brexit is

:19:45. > :19:48.already damaging our universities, as science research programmes, our

:19:49. > :19:53.wealth, our standard of living. When we have a Prime Minister determined

:19:54. > :19:58.to act against the UK national interest, she must not trigger

:19:59. > :20:01.Article 50. Until the national interest is turned by a vote on the

:20:02. > :20:15.terms of Brexit, I remained defiant, we should not unite... INAUDIBLE

:20:16. > :20:20.Can I ask Nick Clegg to stand by. Our first intervenor speaker is

:20:21. > :20:24.Barbara Smith from Islington. As much as I enjoy holidaying in the

:20:25. > :20:29.UK, occasionally I venture across the Channel. When applying for

:20:30. > :20:35.travel insurance I am advised I must have a European health insurance

:20:36. > :20:39.card. Travel insurers base their premiums and the ability to recover

:20:40. > :20:45.medical costs via the card. If we lose that card for the likes of me,

:20:46. > :20:49.who is in her 70s and who has had cancer within the last five years,

:20:50. > :21:04.I'm afraid it's going to be a case of buy by Paris, buy by Rome and

:21:05. > :21:08.hello Bognor Regis. Thank you. My maternal grandfather fought in and

:21:09. > :21:14.was injured in the First World War. He survived only to father a son who

:21:15. > :21:22.died at the age of 17 on the beaches of Dunkirk. I was born in 1950 and

:21:23. > :21:27.my early childhood was overshadowed by my parents war experiences

:21:28. > :21:32.because they were both in the Army. My commitment to Europe is founded

:21:33. > :21:37.on my family history. And I was shattered to find that so many of my

:21:38. > :21:43.generation have so easily forgotten the bloodstained history of the 20th

:21:44. > :21:47.century and voted for Brexit. Fellow Liberal Democrats, we must not

:21:48. > :21:48.forget and we must work with our fellow citizens in Europe to secure

:21:49. > :22:05.peace. APPLAUSE Conference, I am one of the people

:22:06. > :22:13.who asked for a separate vote on paragraph ten. I consider it very

:22:14. > :22:18.rash. We have had the experience of MPs making commitments without

:22:19. > :22:23.knowing what the future would hold. This got us into trouble and the

:22:24. > :22:30.student tuition fee issue. We should learn from that. This promise of a

:22:31. > :22:33.referendum is actually, we could find ourselves with ten and 11

:22:34. > :22:39.contradicting each other. Because should Theresa May decide that she

:22:40. > :22:47.can't go ahead with negotiations and stop herself, we shouldn't commit

:22:48. > :22:54.ourselves to a referendum whatever the circumstances. We should have

:22:55. > :22:58.deleted that line and left the party to make up their mind about a

:22:59. > :23:00.referendum if the situation arose. APPLAUSE

:23:01. > :23:12.Thank you. Conference, I would like to suggest

:23:13. > :23:19.that we cannot simply respect the result of the last referendum. But

:23:20. > :23:25.like many people here, I am sure we cannot understand how 17 million

:23:26. > :23:32.votes can lead an electorate of 46 million over a cliff. To put all our

:23:33. > :23:39.hopes to a second referendum demanding that, depends on the

:23:40. > :23:45.Conservative Party playing our game. And I simply don't see that that is

:23:46. > :23:50.a possibility. We have so much evidence that the Conservative Party

:23:51. > :23:57.is concerned with only one thing, two things. Getting into power and

:23:58. > :24:04.maintaining power at all costs. No matter what the effect on the

:24:05. > :24:10.country. We cannot disregard the referendum that has taken place and

:24:11. > :24:14.we must back the nation that it was not a mandate for any government to

:24:15. > :24:18.take this country out of the EU. Thank you. APPLAUSE

:24:19. > :24:23.Thank you. Paul Hindley from Blackpool.

:24:24. > :24:29.Conference, if we are to win a future referendum on the Brexit

:24:30. > :24:34.deal, we must advance social justice. We cannot foster a sense of

:24:35. > :24:39.international community without first ensuring a sense of local

:24:40. > :24:45.community, too. In the absence of hope, fear prevails, and fear

:24:46. > :24:48.prevailed on June 23. To win on the EU in the future we Liberal

:24:49. > :24:53.Democrats must deliver better living standards, decent jobs and social

:24:54. > :24:58.housing that people need. Liberals are the agents of hope. We can

:24:59. > :25:02.deliver that hope for communities that have been left behind. Hope

:25:03. > :25:07.allows liberal internationalism to thrive, we must create it, support

:25:08. > :25:18.the motion and the moment. APPLAUSE Thank you. Conference, I'm British

:25:19. > :25:22.and European. My family and I value our freedom of movement to live,

:25:23. > :25:26.work and study in Europe. We own a house in Latvia that Katy Gordon

:25:27. > :25:32.stayed in. My husband works part-time in Estonia. His alarm to

:25:33. > :25:38.Leave landscape architecture academic and relies on EU research

:25:39. > :25:51.grants. His students benefit from Erasmus. Brexit brings uncertainty

:25:52. > :25:56.is. The uncertainty of the union as the SNP renew a cry for independence

:25:57. > :26:00.which retracts from how poorly they are running public services. There

:26:01. > :26:05.is presently no clear yellow Brick road to the Emerald city of Brexit

:26:06. > :26:09.land. Government clarity is essential and what is really

:26:10. > :26:15.important is the freedom of movement, otherwise Britain will be

:26:16. > :26:23.isolated socially, economically and intellectually. Support the motion.

:26:24. > :26:27.APPLAUSE A former Prime Minister once told

:26:28. > :26:31.this party to stop banging on about Europe. That didn't work out so well

:26:32. > :26:37.for him or the country. But while it may be heresy to say so I wonder if

:26:38. > :26:40.he might have had a point. We Lib Dems are passionate

:26:41. > :26:44.internationalists and feel bereft by the result. But by going on and on

:26:45. > :26:50.about Europe we simply sound like bad losers. Of course we have a

:26:51. > :26:54.nuanced position, but to be honest very few outside this wall can tell

:26:55. > :26:58.the difference. I propose we collectively talked less about

:26:59. > :27:02.Europe. The Tories will mess it up all by themselves. And that we focus

:27:03. > :27:06.on talking to believers to find out what are the issues that angered

:27:07. > :27:09.them and how we can help them take back control of their own futures.

:27:10. > :27:21.APPLAUSE Thank you. Conference, a European

:27:22. > :27:28.leader after the leave vote was quoted as saying British people had

:27:29. > :27:32.been brainwashed by the press. This is an intervention about old school

:27:33. > :27:37.communications. I think we have to take head-on the fact that although

:27:38. > :27:47.you will find in the Daily Mail, the Sun, the Times and the Torygraph,

:27:48. > :27:52.stories supportive of the Lib Dems. There have been over the years many

:27:53. > :27:56.unsubstantiated stories that have been challenged. You will encounter

:27:57. > :28:00.people on doorsteps influenced by these stories and it's important to

:28:01. > :28:06.much time on the Daily Express, much time on the Daily Express,

:28:07. > :28:13.they've gone into broken record on their front pages, invoke Article 50

:28:14. > :28:18.out. Thank you. This is divorce and the mood has changed in the European

:28:19. > :28:23.Parliament and the EU 27 states. Increasingly, rightly or wrongly,

:28:24. > :28:29.the UK is being blamed for having held the EU back. Once Article 50 is

:28:30. > :28:34.triggered, it's the EU 27 in the European Parliament who hold all the

:28:35. > :28:39.shots. Call all the shots. And there's absolutely no guarantee that

:28:40. > :28:44.we want to tear up Article 50 we would be allowed to do so. So please

:28:45. > :28:49.can we be very clear, that our Liberal Democrat commitment is to us

:28:50. > :28:56.being a member of the European Union not only if that's a question of

:28:57. > :28:59.remaining, but also if that actually is a question of reapplying to join.

:29:00. > :29:09.APPLAUSE Thank you. I want to make you aware

:29:10. > :29:15.of the speed with which some of the implications of Brexit will happen.

:29:16. > :29:20.Look at lines 35-37 on passporting the city's financial activities. One

:29:21. > :29:25.third of the city's activities at the nominated in euros. On the day

:29:26. > :29:28.of legal Brexit we will certainly not have those passporting rights

:29:29. > :29:33.and banks in the UK will not be able to make payments in euros. The

:29:34. > :29:38.president of the European Central Bank said it again at the weekend.

:29:39. > :29:42.The significance of these rules is simple. When we have left, or even

:29:43. > :29:47.before that two-year deadline occurs, the banks of the city.

:29:48. > :29:52.Moving off. And with it will go their tax revenues and foreign

:29:53. > :29:55.exchange earnings. In the two years the Brexiteers fantasies forced

:29:56. > :30:03.labour, revealed for exactly that and the real costs would hit the UK

:30:04. > :30:08.very hard, not only in the city but all the places that support

:30:09. > :30:11.activities in the city. I ask you to support this motion wholeheartedly.

:30:12. > :30:16.APPLAUSE We now return to the main

:30:17. > :30:23.three-minute speeches. Can I ask Doctor Mick Taylor to stand by and I

:30:24. > :30:35.now call Nick Clegg who is our spokesperson on Brexit. APPLAUSE

:30:36. > :30:40.Conference, Brexit means Brexit. Have you ever heard a more inane and

:30:41. > :30:47.disingenuous phrase in modern British political discourse? You're

:30:48. > :30:51.supposed to say no at this stage! It is used of course robotically by

:30:52. > :30:54.Theresa May to cover up, to camouflage the indignity of the

:30:55. > :31:00.paralysis at the heart of this Conservative government.

:31:01. > :31:05.Lots of commentators have said the government are in this state of

:31:06. > :31:08.paralysis because the intention of their wish to true freedom of

:31:09. > :31:11.movement and their wish to have access to the single market. I

:31:12. > :31:15.actually think it goes much deeper than that. The paralysis lies in an

:31:16. > :31:19.argument between the two sides of the Conservative brain. One part of

:31:20. > :31:25.the Conservative brain as browsers free trade, and the great exporting

:31:26. > :31:28.prowess of the United Kingdom. Untrammelled access into major

:31:29. > :31:33.markets, particularly in Europe on our doorstep. The other side of the

:31:34. > :31:35.Conservative brain argues for a return to the days of gunboat

:31:36. > :31:40.diplomacy and 19th century Parliamentary sovereignty. These two

:31:41. > :31:46.things are un-negotiable, they are mutually incompatible. You cannot

:31:47. > :31:52.have untrammelled access to a single market, which remember is a single

:31:53. > :31:56.market of rules, with about abiding in one form or shape by those rules.

:31:57. > :31:59.That is what will lead to gridlock in the next few years under this

:32:00. > :32:05.hopeless government. That is why they find themselves up this Brexit

:32:06. > :32:08.Creek, never mind that they don't have a paddle, they don't have a

:32:09. > :32:19.canoe, they don't have a map, they have absolutely no clue whatsoever.

:32:20. > :32:26.In my view, there paralysis is about to take a very serious turn and it

:32:27. > :32:31.is this. I think under pressure from them or swivel eyed backbenchers,

:32:32. > :32:36.under pressure from the Brexit press, under pressure from their own

:32:37. > :32:40.internal contradictions, they will remove the master slid towards a

:32:41. > :32:42.hard Brexit, not only taking it out of the European Union but taking us

:32:43. > :32:48.out of the single market as well. And when they do that, they will do

:32:49. > :32:54.untold damage to the British economy. They will undo an

:32:55. > :32:58.extraordinary British achievement, the creation of the world's largest

:32:59. > :33:01.borderless marketplace anywhere, and at that point, that is why I urge

:33:02. > :33:08.you to support this motion, particularly paragraph nine B about

:33:09. > :33:11.the importance of retaining the single market, because when the

:33:12. > :33:14.Conservatives do that, we must remorselessly remind them that they

:33:15. > :33:18.can never dare say again that they are the party of business, and more

:33:19. > :33:22.importantly they can never say again, having done so much damage to

:33:23. > :33:26.our great country because of their obsession about Europe, they can

:33:27. > :33:27.never again say that they are a responsible party of government.

:33:28. > :33:58.Thank you. APPLAUSE Thank you, conference. I now call Dr

:33:59. > :34:07.Mick Taylor from Calderdale who wishes to speak against line 56 and

:34:08. > :34:15.57. Conference, I oppose Brexit, I don't accept it. The result was

:34:16. > :34:22.based on lies, deception. The people who want us out of Europe never

:34:23. > :34:26.accepted the 1975 referendum, and which was far more clear, and I

:34:27. > :34:37.seemed no reason whatsoever to accept the one we have just had. But

:34:38. > :34:44.referenda are the tools of despots. And they are not a substitute for

:34:45. > :34:47.representative democracy. We have Parliamentary democracy in our

:34:48. > :34:59.country, where sovereignty rests with Parliament. The referendum was

:35:00. > :35:07.a dangerous copout by Cameron and must not be repeated. It is clear

:35:08. > :35:13.that people almost never answer the actual question posed in a

:35:14. > :35:16.referendum, and they did not understand the consultative nature

:35:17. > :35:22.of the referendum we have just had. They expected that we would leave

:35:23. > :35:30.the EU immediately, that the day after the referendum, the EU would

:35:31. > :35:37.be gone. That simply is not acceptable to me, and it should not

:35:38. > :35:43.be acceptable to our party. No. The way forward is to have a general

:35:44. > :35:48.election, and to elect a new government with a mandate to stay in

:35:49. > :35:54.the leave the EU on whatever terms have been negotiated. The problem

:35:55. > :35:57.is, as well, that these two lines in our resolution don't tell us

:35:58. > :36:05.anything about how the referendum is going to be run, what the rules are

:36:06. > :36:13.going to be. There is no voting threshold suggested, no required

:36:14. > :36:16.majority, no rules about people telling downright lies, there are no

:36:17. > :36:23.powers for the Electoral Commission to stop distribution of fake

:36:24. > :36:26.literature and literature which deceives, and there is no way of

:36:27. > :36:33.enforcing people to obey any rules that are agreed. A referendum is a

:36:34. > :36:45.bad idea. I wish we could reject it today. But we should not support it.

:36:46. > :37:04.Could I ask Menzies Campbell to stand by and now

:37:05. > :37:12.good morning conference, I am speaking today against lines 58 to

:37:13. > :37:17.60 of the motion, particularly against our proposal to campaign to

:37:18. > :37:23.remain a member of the EU. I think we have a very important choice to

:37:24. > :37:29.make today, do we be pragmatic, or do we stick our heads into the

:37:30. > :37:34.ground? I was absolutely devastated on the morning of 24 to June, but I

:37:35. > :37:43.understood that we have to move on. I am a liberal and I am a

:37:44. > :37:45.pragmatist. I was on the stronger in Europe campaign across the

:37:46. > :37:53.north-east and a few other parts of the country. I realised that the

:37:54. > :37:58.many people we spoke to on doorsteps, a vote to leave was not

:37:59. > :38:04.about our southern tree, autonomy, democracy except. A vote to leave

:38:05. > :38:13.was about a rebellion against the establishment. We fought and pain

:38:14. > :38:18.but it really divided the country. Further campaigning to rejoin the

:38:19. > :38:24.EU, I fear, will just simply continue this division. These are

:38:25. > :38:32.divides that will heal if we act now but we cannot leave it too late.

:38:33. > :38:37.Referendum is simply divide the country and liberalism I feel is

:38:38. > :38:42.about Corporation and unity, which we must focus on at this very

:38:43. > :38:48.turbulent time to stop Winnie to focus on making more accountable and

:38:49. > :38:52.more open. In such times of labour and Tory division, we should be

:38:53. > :38:59.working on providing a stable and accountable way out. Foreign

:39:00. > :39:03.investors should be persuaded with promise of EU membership,

:39:04. > :39:06.strengthening the economy, with freedom of movement, goods and

:39:07. > :39:21.services that Norway, Lichtenstein, Iceland enjoys. There is simply no

:39:22. > :39:24.turning back, even if we want to. If we really an internationalist

:39:25. > :39:30.country, we should realise and we should understand other countries

:39:31. > :39:35.have the right, the intention and their liberties, and those liberties

:39:36. > :39:42.and intentions should be respected. So I urge you to vote against the

:39:43. > :39:51.motion, so we can revise line 58 to 60 to support EASA. Conference, I

:39:52. > :39:58.urge you to be pragmatic. Thank you. Thank you. That was his first speech

:39:59. > :40:02.at conference. APPLAUSE Could I ask Sophie Thornton from

:40:03. > :40:09.Sheffield to stand by and I now call Menzies Campbell. Liberal Democrat

:40:10. > :40:12.leaders kicking about Europe are like London buses. When you want

:40:13. > :40:19.when you can't find one, and suddenly two, long together. But for

:40:20. > :40:29.the avoidance of doubt, and perhaps to be accused of plagiarism, I agree

:40:30. > :40:33.with Nick. APPLAUSE In three minutes, I cannot voice the

:40:34. > :40:36.extent of disappointment and frustration I feel about the result

:40:37. > :40:43.on 23rd of June. And I will tell you why. Because looking round, I am

:40:44. > :40:45.among the diminishing band of liberals, yes liberals, who

:40:46. > :40:52.campaigned successfully in 1975 for Britain to remain within the

:40:53. > :41:01.European Union. But like others, my disappointment and frustration has

:41:02. > :41:05.now been replaced by defiance. And what about the defiance of 16

:41:06. > :41:14.million people who voted to remain in Europe? What about them? Who will

:41:15. > :41:18.speak for them? We alone can do so. Not to labour, consumed by its own

:41:19. > :41:22.self-destruction, not the Conservatives, mouthing the gnarled

:41:23. > :41:29.mantra that Brexit means Brexit while the three unwise men fight not

:41:30. > :41:37.only over Chevening, but over the extent of the departmental response

:41:38. > :41:45.buses. Lysander fired? And hope I do because I am. I was particularly

:41:46. > :41:49.disappointed by the debate, not one moment was devoted to the hall

:41:50. > :42:01.yesterday -- the whole issue of the political value of being part of the

:42:02. > :42:03.European Union. And not one individual examined the geopolitical

:42:04. > :42:09.consequences of doing so, for which Mr Putin would no doubt have a very

:42:10. > :42:16.satisfied smile on his face, because Putin's twin objectives are the

:42:17. > :42:21.undermining of Nato and the destabilisation of the European

:42:22. > :42:24.Union. Donald Trump is probably going to do the first, and the

:42:25. > :42:34.United Kingdom has helped to do the second. My defiance is based on

:42:35. > :42:42.this. Until you know the terms of withdrawal, how can you possibly

:42:43. > :42:46.decide if they are acceptable? And I ask you to think this: supposing you

:42:47. > :42:51.were about to take a major decision in your own personal lives, would

:42:52. > :42:55.you take it without understanding what the consequences might be? Of

:42:56. > :43:01.course you wouldn't, and that is why we should be defined. And one last

:43:02. > :43:11.point, supposing the result had gone the other way, would Johnson and

:43:12. > :43:20.Gove and Farage pack their tents and silently go away? Of course not, and

:43:21. > :43:29.neither should we. APPLAUSE Thank you. Could I ask Gareth

:43:30. > :43:33.Roberts to stand by, and I now call Sophie Thornton from Sheffield who

:43:34. > :43:42.wishes to speak against lines 56 to seven.

:43:43. > :43:48.Hello, conference. When I woke up after the referendum, I was

:43:49. > :43:51.devastated, and right now there is a situation we have to salvage, which

:43:52. > :43:56.is why I want to be clear about my own view on this motion. Protecting

:43:57. > :44:02.the rights of EU citizens of the UK and vice versa, then Bishop of the

:44:03. > :44:10.single market, maintaining the four freedoms, he Nick and Erasmus, they

:44:11. > :44:14.are all things I support, but -- EHIC. But I do not support a second

:44:15. > :44:18.referendum. The meet, the huge rise in hate crime after the referendum

:44:19. > :44:22.was the worst part of the loss, it showed the type of country we were

:44:23. > :44:26.set to live in. A second referendum would only be viewed by leave photos

:44:27. > :44:34.as an assault on their democracy and we are more likely to see this than

:44:35. > :44:36.motivate the 70% of remain in client young voters who could not be

:44:37. > :44:40.bothered to turn out in the first place. The minority groups will only

:44:41. > :44:43.suffer again and a mandate that is harder to challenge than that of

:44:44. > :44:48.Brexit government. Quite frankly, I do not believe that these people

:44:49. > :44:50.should have the legitimacy of their citizenship brought to the fore

:44:51. > :44:55.again because of my principles. I believe this is not only selfish but

:44:56. > :45:00.an pragmatic. We cannot keep playing with people's lives until we get a

:45:01. > :45:04.result in our favour. APPLAUSE I feel we need to consider also how

:45:05. > :45:09.we would get a second referendum. The main way we would get one is if

:45:10. > :45:13.we were in fact in government. And if we were in government we would

:45:14. > :45:16.not need a second referendum, we would stop this Brexit madness.

:45:17. > :45:22.APPLAUSE So let's not waste our time. We are

:45:23. > :45:25.calling for another referendum, we may not have the resources for, and

:45:26. > :45:30.nor do we have any guarantee that the EU would accept its terms. If

:45:31. > :45:35.the public vote for hard Brexit, where does that leave us? We are not

:45:36. > :45:39.the opposite of Brexit fighting for a EU referendum, we are so much more

:45:40. > :45:44.than that. Now is the time for pragmatics and not pipe dreams and

:45:45. > :45:51.that is why I urge you to vote against this motion. Thank you. Mic

:45:52. > :45:57.thank you and Sophie was a first-time speaker. Could I ask Dr

:45:58. > :46:00.Kirsten Johnson from Oxford East to stand by and I now call Gareth 's

:46:01. > :46:11.Roberts. Earlier Hughes spoke about the

:46:12. > :46:15.importance of allowing Ukip to get hold of Parliament and take all its

:46:16. > :46:19.decisions. Things which make me wait in the middle of the night is the

:46:20. > :46:24.thought of unelected chamber which is crammed with Ukip MPs, something

:46:25. > :46:30.we cannot possibly allow. What we need to do however is talk about

:46:31. > :46:37.Amendment one. Amendment one speaks a lot of sense. What we need to have

:46:38. > :46:43.is the retention of rights which are currently enjoyed by those people

:46:44. > :46:50.who are EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in Europe.

:46:51. > :46:55.Importantly, we need to make sure that they retain the right

:46:56. > :46:59.franchise. The right to vote. We are Democrats and we support people's

:47:00. > :47:06.writes to have a say on the matters which affect them. Whether it is at

:47:07. > :47:08.national level or at local level. I am a council group leader for

:47:09. > :47:21.Richmond-upon-Thames, where we have an openly Europhobic leader. We have

:47:22. > :47:24.an openly Europhobic MPs that Goldsmith and they are not

:47:25. > :47:28.interested in speaking up for the rights of those citizens of the EU

:47:29. > :47:31.currently living in Richmond-upon-Thames. This is

:47:32. > :47:36.replicated up and down the country. If we are to have any form of

:47:37. > :47:40.Brexit, if we are to have any form of leaving the EU, we must not only

:47:41. > :47:46.look after those people who have chosen to come and work here and

:47:47. > :47:50.live here, but we must look after their democratic rights in order

:47:51. > :47:53.that they may have their say still on issues which will be affecting

:47:54. > :47:59.them. There's an old line which comes up regularly in America which

:48:00. > :48:05.is "No taxation without representation". We should be

:48:06. > :48:10.fighting for that for those people, that they should be allowed the

:48:11. > :48:14.right to have their say. Local government is not exciting. Nobody

:48:15. > :48:20.will ever claimed that talking about streetlights, pavements, schools,

:48:21. > :48:23.what night beans is, is going to be exciting. But people who are going

:48:24. > :48:27.to come and live in this country should have the right to get rid of

:48:28. > :48:32.those councillors, those people who seek to represent them, and they

:48:33. > :48:35.should have the rights to whether they elect them or whether they

:48:36. > :48:40.choose not to. We are the party who is going to be looking after those

:48:41. > :48:45.people. We will be speaking out. Because frankly nobody else is. I'd

:48:46. > :48:49.urge you not only to support the motion as it is but also to support

:48:50. > :49:00.the amendment one. Thank you. APPLAUSE

:49:01. > :49:10.Thank you. I now call Dr Kirsten Johnson from Oxford East. I'd like

:49:11. > :49:15.to thank the previous speaker for catching that the wording for nine A

:49:16. > :49:22.wasn't quite right and drafting this excellent amendment. I would like to

:49:23. > :49:26.briefly summarise the amendment. Ruvi has already unpacked it for me.

:49:27. > :49:31.In tabling this amendment conference we wish personally to correct the

:49:32. > :49:36.inaccuracy which distinguishes between the UK and European

:49:37. > :49:46.citizens. We are still EU citizens. Yes. And as this motion is set in

:49:47. > :49:51.the present the language needs to reflect what our present and current

:49:52. > :49:57.state of affairs is. Secondly the draft is couched in terms of EU

:49:58. > :50:01.citizens being allowed to remain. In fact, they currently have the right

:50:02. > :50:09.to remain and they don't need our permission. Thirdly we wish to amend

:50:10. > :50:15.the wording from settling to residing. As Ruvi explained,

:50:16. > :50:19.residing is the term that should be used because the Institute of Public

:50:20. > :50:23.policy research recently used this term in its recent report calling

:50:24. > :50:29.for indefinite leave to remain for citizens of other EU countries

:50:30. > :50:34.residing in the UK. And lastly, the section as drafted only protects the

:50:35. > :50:39.right to remain. Whereas individuals have acquired the rights. Let us

:50:40. > :50:45.remind ourselves that EU workers from other countries bring a net

:50:46. > :50:51.benefit to this country. They put in more than they take out. But this is

:50:52. > :50:55.not just an economic dimension. It's also a human rights point. EU

:50:56. > :51:00.citizens from other countries who live and work it should continue to

:51:01. > :51:06.have the acquired rights which they currently access as residents of the

:51:07. > :51:10.UK. And likewise it is only fair that UK citizens who are resident in

:51:11. > :51:14.other EU countries should have the right to remain in those countries,

:51:15. > :51:18.and the protection of any other rights that they have acquired as

:51:19. > :51:28.resident in those countries. So I'd like to thank... INAUDIBLE

:51:29. > :51:33.From other EU countries who are directly affected by this EU

:51:34. > :51:37.referendum vote. The University of Oxford is greatly concerned about

:51:38. > :51:41.staff retention as many citizens from other EU countries are

:51:42. > :51:46.exploring their options and there is so much uncertainty about the right

:51:47. > :51:50.to remain. We need, we must get this policy right. So I urge you to

:51:51. > :51:56.please accept this amendment and please vote for the motion as a

:51:57. > :52:02.whole. Thank you. APPLAUSE Can I remind those who are standing

:52:03. > :52:06.that after this speech we will be moving to a vote. You need to be

:52:07. > :52:09.seated if you wish to vote. There are seats in the middle of the

:52:10. > :52:15.central block and further towards the back. If you do intend to vote

:52:16. > :52:28.could you find a seat. I now call Baroness Sarah Ludford. Conference,

:52:29. > :52:34.I agree with Tom and Tim and with Nick. How great it is to be able to

:52:35. > :52:37.say that again. Although even neck with his huge expertise on EU single

:52:38. > :52:43.market and trade issues, he's been round the block in all the main EU

:52:44. > :52:47.bodies, could not magic out of a hat a Brexit deal other than worse than

:52:48. > :52:56.what we have now as an EU member state. As he and Peter have made

:52:57. > :53:00.clear, we must remain in the single market but we must also campaign to

:53:01. > :53:04.remain. We must have some kind of relationship with the EU so how much

:53:05. > :53:08.better to stay in, forcefully speaking up for it to deliver more

:53:09. > :53:14.for citizens, than passively depending on it. Brits deserve

:53:15. > :53:20.better than the three Brexiteers, as Tom said. The golf playing Liam Fox

:53:21. > :53:24.damning British business as fat and lazy, David Davis who doesn't know

:53:25. > :53:29.his single market from his customs union, and nor does Jeremy Corbyn.

:53:30. > :53:35.OK, it sounds arcane, but it makes a huge difference to how much red tape

:53:36. > :53:41.small firms as well as big will have to deal with. A potential tsunami,

:53:42. > :53:45.as Nick has put it. What was all that about not only taking back

:53:46. > :53:51.control but slashing bureaucracy? And then we have bouncing Boris.

:53:52. > :53:55.Remember that wonderful photo of him suspended in a harness waving his

:53:56. > :54:01.flag. He wants to bring back the Royal yacht. No doubt another white

:54:02. > :54:07.elephant like the London cable car on which he wasted ?60 million of

:54:08. > :54:13.taxpayers money. Brits have been conned. And they are finding that

:54:14. > :54:16.out, some sooner than others. One of the questioners to Tim yesterday

:54:17. > :54:20.said a friend of hers who voted Leave has realised that her dream of

:54:21. > :54:32.retiring to France may be in tatters. The fact is that the EU,

:54:33. > :54:33.far from being an exercise in bossy technocratic bureaucracies,

:54:34. > :54:47.simplifies your life and protects you. We want to allow Barbara Smith

:54:48. > :54:50.to holiday elsewhere than Bognor. Through the EU health card,

:54:51. > :54:54.abolishing roaming charges, compensation for flight delays if

:54:55. > :54:57.that happens. But if she does holiday in Bognor, the EU is making

:54:58. > :55:07.sure that her bathing water is clean! APPLAUSE

:55:08. > :55:12.And I say to Mr Dyson, the EU also helps ensure that your vacuum

:55:13. > :55:16.cleaner is energy-efficient. Now I would love us to be able to stop

:55:17. > :55:22.banging on about Europe. But it's the fault of Tories and Ukip that we

:55:23. > :55:27.have do do that. Instead of wasting up to a decade and masses of dosh on

:55:28. > :55:32.the folly of Brexit, let's invest in this country to address the

:55:33. > :55:37.divisions, discontent and grievances felt by so many people. Tackling

:55:38. > :55:41.public services pressures as Norman Lamb proposes on the NHS, and the

:55:42. > :55:45.gross inequality. We need to deliver on jobs, an affordable housing,

:55:46. > :55:50.equipping people with necessary skills. I agree with Hillary Myers

:55:51. > :55:55.and others on those priorities, but I don't agree on the conclusions. I

:55:56. > :56:03.don't always agree with bankers but the head of the German central bank

:56:04. > :56:08.is spot-on. For many of its citizens Europe has indeed lost its shine and

:56:09. > :56:13.become a projection screen for the downsides of globalisation and

:56:14. > :56:20.migration. Likewise the usual instincts of the EU institutions to

:56:21. > :56:23.answer crises with more brussels, more integration, no longer

:56:24. > :56:31.resonates with the public. Integration cannot be an end in

:56:32. > :56:36.itself, it has to make sense. Our aim has always been to make Britain

:56:37. > :56:42.in Europe makes sense for everyone. And we will carry on with that. I

:56:43. > :56:47.think everyone who has spoken in the debate, and I thank those for the

:56:48. > :56:54.drafting improvements in the motion on fair voting. The amendment which

:56:55. > :57:01.we accept brings welcome precision to the issue of acquired rights. How

:57:02. > :57:08.in moral to threaten to rip people from their lives, contributing in

:57:09. > :57:12.their communities. Liz Lynne rightly stresses the need for Parliament to

:57:13. > :57:20.vote on Article 50 and we insist that must be on the basis of full

:57:21. > :57:26.information from the government. Tissue, I should stress that a vote

:57:27. > :57:29.against a Brexit deal means staying in the EU. With, as Peter Price

:57:30. > :57:35.explained, the chance to influence it. To Daisy Cooper and other

:57:36. > :57:40.speakers, I stress that we are fighting to stay in the EU but also,

:57:41. > :57:47.and it is not contradictory for the best Brexit deal. We have made clear

:57:48. > :57:51.that the Parliamentary vote on Article 50 will be determined by the

:57:52. > :58:04.government's proposed negotiating terms. They must come clean. To

:58:05. > :58:09.Fiona Hall, I say, note the wording, says "Commits the Liberal Democrats

:58:10. > :58:14.to continue to campaign to remain in the EU". We ain't going nowhere.

:58:15. > :58:20.We've been doing this for more than 70 years. It ain't time to stop now.

:58:21. > :58:25.To Mick Taylor and Sophie from Sheffield, I point out that we might

:58:26. > :58:30.not have a general election in time for the public to express a view on

:58:31. > :58:35.the Brexit deal. And nor might it be with Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader

:58:36. > :58:43.in the right conditions. And vote they must, as Ming stressed. We are

:58:44. > :58:49.not calling for a second referendum. We are asking for people to vote for

:58:50. > :59:02.the first time on the terms of a Brexit deal. APPLAUSE

:59:03. > :59:08.Alex Hamilton said that the Tories in partnership with Ukip have

:59:09. > :59:13.inflicted an act of political vandalism on the United Kingdom. It

:59:14. > :59:19.is not only in Scotland but also in Ireland as Alan Reid highlighted,

:59:20. > :59:25.and in Gibraltar, and it was great to hear from Dr Garcia, we face

:59:26. > :59:32.adverse repercussions. The Conservative and Unionist party,

:59:33. > :59:36.what a bad joke! I am proud to confirm that the Liberal Democrats

:59:37. > :59:43.remain a proudly pro-European party. There is a wonderful picture in

:59:44. > :59:48.today's i with Tim Farron head-to-head with Nigel Farage.

:59:49. > :59:52.That's how we like it. We are the only real voice of opposition to the

:59:53. > :59:59.Tory Brexit government and the only party fighting to keep Britain, all

:00:00. > :00:07.together now, open, tolerant and United! One more time for a gold

:00:08. > :00:08.star! Open, tolerant and United! Conference, please support this

:00:09. > :01:21.notion and the amendment. APPLAUSE Mic thank you very much conference.

:01:22. > :01:23.Overwhelmingly passed. Can I say sorry to have the votes I cannot

:01:24. > :01:31.call. We have a massive stack of cards. We would have been here all

:01:32. > :01:37.day if we did. Can I think might aid the stage Jeremy Hargreaves and I

:01:38. > :01:57.now: handover to Joe off for the next section.

:01:58. > :02:03.Thank you, conference, good morning, if you are leaving the hall please

:02:04. > :02:07.do so quietly and promptly. We are about to move to a speech so if you

:02:08. > :02:17.are staying please sit down. Thank you very much.

:02:18. > :02:28.Good morning, conference. Hello. Good morning, conference, are you

:02:29. > :02:32.there? It gives me very great pleasure to welcome the next

:02:33. > :02:38.speaker, a transport minister under the coalition and other party's

:02:39. > :02:49.Treasury spokesman, please give a warm welcome to Susan Kramer. Thank

:02:50. > :02:52.you very much, conference, and I do understand those who feel desperate

:02:53. > :02:58.to leave the hall, what a exciting debate that was and what a superb

:02:59. > :03:03.outcome. Conference, a few years ago in 2014, a man by the name of George

:03:04. > :03:07.Osborne stood up at the Tory party conference and announced that the

:03:08. > :03:15.Conservatives had a long-term economic plan. It was a plan built

:03:16. > :03:21.on sorting out the financial mess and showing that Britain is open for

:03:22. > :03:25.business. Well, as they say, that went well, didn't it? The reality

:03:26. > :03:33.was the moment Osborne was left on his own devices, come May 2015, he

:03:34. > :03:38.doubled down on a strategy that was anything but long-term. It was a

:03:39. > :03:45.plan based on short-term targets the short-term political gain, focused

:03:46. > :03:48.on giveaways on the very richest, one deeper increasingly unnecessary

:03:49. > :03:57.cuts in welfare and support for the working poor. On slashing support

:03:58. > :04:00.for renewables, undermining our green, British industry revolution,

:04:01. > :04:05.and on setting economic targets that required severe cuts in spending on

:04:06. > :04:12.infrastructure. On the roads, rail, broadband schemes and hospitals, the

:04:13. > :04:17.very tools people need to keep our economy competitive. From May 2015

:04:18. > :04:22.onwards, George Osborne hollowed out the economic recovery. He turned

:04:23. > :04:28.away from the work of the coalition to put the economy on a path to

:04:29. > :04:31.recovery and instead embarked down a road he hoped would lead him to

:04:32. > :04:38.Downing Street. Unfortunately for him it led directly off a cliff. He

:04:39. > :04:44.suffered a backlash led by the Liberal Democrats over his plans to

:04:45. > :04:47.cut tax credits, he proposed plans to hit disabled it was so hard that

:04:48. > :04:52.even Iain Duncan Smith could not stomach it, and while job figures

:04:53. > :04:57.and headline economic figures continue to flatter him, underneath

:04:58. > :05:02.the surface we saw the construction centre enter recession, housing

:05:03. > :05:05.stocks flattened and the Bank of England downgraded forecast for

:05:06. > :05:12.wages, growth and inflation. And then Brexit happen. Now let's be

:05:13. > :05:17.clear. Brexit poses the biggest existential threat to the long-term

:05:18. > :05:24.prospects of our economy in a generation. And despite what David

:05:25. > :05:30.Davies and Boris Johnson will tell you about a Brexit bounce back, the

:05:31. > :05:35.underlying picture is only much worse than it was on June 22. The

:05:36. > :05:41.pound has plummeted and stayed down making all of us poorer,

:05:42. > :05:46.manufacturing Abbott has had three excessive month on month falls with

:05:47. > :05:50.the last immediately being the biggest fall this year and the cost

:05:51. > :05:56.faced by businesses importing raw materials into the UK, already

:05:57. > :06:02.increasing rapidly, ultimately ensuring that consumers will have to

:06:03. > :06:07.pay more. All of this has an impact on people's real lives. That is

:06:08. > :06:12.before you consider the future of the thousands of hard-working EU

:06:13. > :06:19.citizens running businesses, creating jobs and paying taxes here

:06:20. > :06:24.in the UK. Conference, Brexit is casting us into an economic storm

:06:25. > :06:26.and the government's short-term management and short-sighted

:06:27. > :06:32.management of our economy means that we are sailing on a raft that is

:06:33. > :06:37.essentially made of twigs. Three have already fallen off the raft,

:06:38. > :06:42.Cameron, Osborne, Gove. I have to confirm Boris has a sort of natural

:06:43. > :06:47.buoyancy. LAUGHTER But whenever I hear Boris, I'm

:06:48. > :06:52.always reminded of the late, great Gene Wilder, and it's not just the

:06:53. > :06:59.hair. It's that his referendum campaign was essentially come with

:07:00. > :07:11.me and you'll be in a world of imagination. So are three pollutants

:07:12. > :07:14.of politics, Boris, Davis and Fox have rolled out the old Prime

:07:15. > :07:20.Minister and in his place now stands to reason May. And let's say it

:07:21. > :07:26.quietly, her rhetoric on that first day was almost encouraging. She said

:07:27. > :07:33.that her mission was to make Britain a country that works for everyone.

:07:34. > :07:38.When we take the big calls, we will think not of the powerful but of

:07:39. > :07:44.you. Inspiring words, but from the moment they left her lips, her

:07:45. > :07:52.action has been anything but. From appointing a Secretary of State for

:07:53. > :07:57.Work and Pensions who believes to proposing a return to an education

:07:58. > :08:01.system where young people's futures are determined at the age of 11. She

:08:02. > :08:09.is a true blue Tory government for the few and not for the many.

:08:10. > :08:15.APPLAUSE And almost nowhere is this more

:08:16. > :08:18.obvious than in her appointment of Philip Hammond as Chancellor. I

:08:19. > :08:21.don't know how much you know about Philip Hammond but I would not hold

:08:22. > :08:24.your breath, you makes a point of keeping a low profile, and since

:08:25. > :08:29.taking on the second biggest job in government, he has pretty much

:08:30. > :08:35.disappeared. He has left us during the list to much as economic times

:08:36. > :08:41.since at least 28, without any sense of government's economic strategy.

:08:42. > :08:45.He abandoned George Osborne's ludicrous and unnecessary plans for

:08:46. > :08:50.a budget surplus by 2020 but he has done nothing to suggest an

:08:51. > :08:54.alternative. The governor of the Bank of England, and thank goodness

:08:55. > :08:59.for Mark Carney, raced to prop up a full during economy, the Chancellor

:09:00. > :09:05.has done nothing but offer the most basic assurances to key sectors of

:09:06. > :09:09.our economy. While experts predict a downturn, a new black hole in public

:09:10. > :09:16.spending, he has hidden away and left businesses, public sector

:09:17. > :09:21.workers and the public to wait. So we are left to looked into his

:09:22. > :09:24.history for some clues as to what our new Chancellor's priorities

:09:25. > :09:31.would be, to look at what he said in the past, and what he shows is not a

:09:32. > :09:36.man who will think of the poor, the voiceless or the public first, it

:09:37. > :09:41.shows on whose only economic priority is the wealthy elite. For

:09:42. > :09:46.example, while in opposition, the then Tory shadow chief secretary

:09:47. > :09:48.claimed that public sector workers are not treading cuts because in

:09:49. > :09:56.fact they feel a sense of liberation. I am sure that those

:09:57. > :10:00.public sector workers featuring yet further are feeling so happy with

:10:01. > :10:04.their new-found freedom. On welfare spending, he said that there should

:10:05. > :10:14.be further cuts to social security spending in order to fund increases

:10:15. > :10:18.on the fence. In the past, he has claimed the best thing to do when

:10:19. > :10:22.exchange rates fall is to ease the regular tree burden on businesses.

:10:23. > :10:29.More Conservative plans to cut regulations but protect employees

:10:30. > :10:34.and protect consumers. When it comes to standing up for those who refuse

:10:35. > :10:38.to pay their fair share in tax, can Philip Hammond deliver on this?

:10:39. > :10:43.Well, despite being one of the richest MPs in Parliament, it was

:10:44. > :10:48.reported by Channel 4's highly respected dispatches programme in

:10:49. > :10:51.2010 that he has done a Philip Green for transferred shares to his wife,

:10:52. > :10:58.which can have the happy coincidence of reducing one's tax bill. Not

:10:59. > :11:01.illegal. But is it really the action of a man willing to put the

:11:02. > :11:08.interests of Britain first, let alone to launch a crusade against

:11:09. > :11:11.corporate tax avoidance? He too is no fan of the minimum wage, claiming

:11:12. > :11:17.when it was introduced that it amounted to a tax on business. And

:11:18. > :11:20.it was just two weeks ago he told everyone not to worry about freedom

:11:21. > :11:26.of movement because he would guarantee that bankers from the EU

:11:27. > :11:31.would be able to continue to live and work in the EU. I mean, bankers,

:11:32. > :11:40.and maybe if you other wealthy individuals? Not the thousands of

:11:41. > :11:45.other Europeans working and paying taxes in Europe. The people who pick

:11:46. > :11:49.strawberries or anyone else, just for those most wealthy people, a

:11:50. > :11:55.device of society rather than an open, tolerant and United one. An

:11:56. > :12:01.economy that works not for everyone but for the select few. So let's be

:12:02. > :12:06.clear, Philip Hammond cannot deliver on the promises made by the Prime

:12:07. > :12:10.Minister. Whatever Theresa May might say, she has appointed a man to

:12:11. > :12:13.deliver an economy that works for everybody, but whose every thought

:12:14. > :12:20.and action speaks of a wealthy elite. A shrunken state and a do as

:12:21. > :12:25.you please economy. And that can only lead to one thing, just at a

:12:26. > :12:30.time when we need economic dynamism and creativity, we will have the

:12:31. > :12:34.deadlock and stagnation. The Chancellor and the Prime Minister

:12:35. > :12:38.need to be a partnership. They need to be committed to the same vision,

:12:39. > :12:44.the same goals, and you must say at least with Blair and Brown, they

:12:45. > :12:51.were fellow travellers. Mae and Hammond can't even agree on a common

:12:52. > :12:56.destination. And yet when on November 23 at his first Autumn

:12:57. > :13:00.Statement, Philip Hammond looks across the dispatch box, who will he

:13:01. > :13:07.see staring back? John McDonnell. Labour's failures as an opposition

:13:08. > :13:10.are many, but nowhere is it more damaging than their ability to

:13:11. > :13:17.present a real economy to the Conservatives, instead of offering

:13:18. > :13:22.insight, they attack business. They sneer at those who run businesses

:13:23. > :13:29.and seem content to refight the battles of the 1980s, when it was

:13:30. > :13:33.boss is against the unions. Recently proposed scrapping a ?1 billion tax

:13:34. > :13:38.allowance for companies that develop medicines. In the 21st century when

:13:39. > :13:45.our economy is more reliant than ever before on new ideas and

:13:46. > :13:49.innovation, these are the kinds of actions of someone who fundamentally

:13:50. > :13:54.has a dislike of business. McDonnell has even suggested one of Britain's

:13:55. > :13:58.most celebrated entrepreneurs Sir Richard Branson should be stripped

:13:59. > :14:04.of his title. In Branson's criticism of Jeremy Corbyn's inability to find

:14:05. > :14:07.a seat on a train, but most importantly of course when it comes

:14:08. > :14:15.to our vital membership of the single market, he and Jeremy Corbyn

:14:16. > :14:20.want to return us to a little island close to free trade, and the

:14:21. > :14:28.economic benefits it can bring. When we look to the need for our country

:14:29. > :14:30.to look outwards, to look forwards, McDonnell is dwelling on the

:14:31. > :14:34.internal label wars of the past and I for one find it so frustrating

:14:35. > :14:41.because never has it been more important to have a party focused on

:14:42. > :14:47.the next five, ten, 20 years of our future. And that means it's up to

:14:48. > :14:51.us. To do so we must challenge not just the government, the Labour

:14:52. > :14:59.Party, but ourselves. We must become the party for those who want to

:15:00. > :15:04.succeed but also that no one is left behind. To start with, we need to

:15:05. > :15:06.protect the economic well-being of our youngest generations, something

:15:07. > :15:11.successive governments have failed to do. In the last 20 years, the

:15:12. > :15:18.average household income for those under 29 has fallen by 2%. Well, for

:15:19. > :15:26.those over 70, it has increased by 66%. This isn't about pitting one

:15:27. > :15:30.generation against another. Young people will be old one day, and

:15:31. > :15:34.surprise prize, I'm old but I care about the lies of my kids and my

:15:35. > :15:39.grandchildren. We should be proud of what we have done for older people,

:15:40. > :15:43.ensuring there is a decent flat rate pension, fighting as Norman Lamb has

:15:44. > :15:49.done for a new deal on the care system so no one has to sell their

:15:50. > :15:51.home to pay the care, a deal now quietly dropped by the

:15:52. > :15:57.Conservatives, and ensuring the poorest pensioners get extra help

:15:58. > :16:00.with heating costs when it is cold. But ensuring older people have a

:16:01. > :16:08.decent life doesn't mean foisting all of the burden on the younger

:16:09. > :16:11.generation. Young adults have suffered the most joblessness, the

:16:12. > :16:18.greatest wage compression of any group during the recession. The

:16:19. > :16:22.disposable incomes of young adults have lagged well behind the rest of

:16:23. > :16:26.society, the big cost in life, education, housing, securing a

:16:27. > :16:33.pension, they all cost significantly more than they did for my

:16:34. > :16:35.generation. As Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies has

:16:36. > :16:44.said, the growing gap between young and old will fuel wider inequality

:16:45. > :16:49.within society because youngsters with rich parents would retain under

:16:50. > :16:54.fair advantages in the important early years of adulthood. He

:16:55. > :16:58.recently said it has become more and more important that your parents

:16:59. > :17:07.happen to have a house. Conference, it is our job to reverse that trend.

:17:08. > :17:11.APPLAUSE It is our job, conference, to ensure

:17:12. > :17:15.that everyone has the skills, resources and support they need to

:17:16. > :17:19.take advantage of opportunity, but the circumstances of your birth do

:17:20. > :17:23.not make the difference as to whether you can buy your own home,

:17:24. > :17:28.get a decent job or attend a first-class school. And to do that

:17:29. > :17:33.we need to ensure that balancing the needs of different generations sits

:17:34. > :17:36.right at the heart of the way our government runs. That is why last

:17:37. > :17:41.Friday I introduced a bill into the Lords, which will require any new

:17:42. > :17:45.spending rules set by the government to consider the need to balance the

:17:46. > :17:50.taxation and spending burden across the needs of different generations.

:17:51. > :17:53.We need an economy, which works for us all, not one that works for a

:17:54. > :18:05.Tory election in 2020. APPLAUSE

:18:06. > :18:09.Conference, the second priority must be to address the chronic lack of

:18:10. > :18:12.investment in infrastructure. At a time of historically low interest

:18:13. > :18:18.rates we should be seeking to invest in building the roads, schools and

:18:19. > :18:26.hospitals we need. And perhaps most importantly we need to build the

:18:27. > :18:31.houses our country needs. APPLAUSE Putting a roof over everyone's head

:18:32. > :18:36.isn't just a moral imperative but an economic one. We cannot go on

:18:37. > :18:45.building only half of the 300,000 homes we need every year. We need to

:18:46. > :18:49.double that number. From the 150,000 that we are currently producing.

:18:50. > :18:55.That includes affordable rental and social housing. A sector gutted by

:18:56. > :19:06.the Conservatives. I support home owners. But renters, let us tell the

:19:07. > :19:10.Tories, our people, too. APPLAUSE That is why my Private members Bill

:19:11. > :19:16.also includes rules requiring the government in its priorities to

:19:17. > :19:21.focus on infrastructure spending. In searing that future generations have

:19:22. > :19:29.the tools they need to compete. And it's also why I believe we should

:19:30. > :19:33.start by putting an extra ?45 billion directly into house-building

:19:34. > :19:37.over the next five years. Enough to build the homes we need and give

:19:38. > :19:47.everyone the stability they need to take advantage of their

:19:48. > :19:51.opportunities. And finally, there's a new and rising challenge that we

:19:52. > :19:56.need to face if we are to build an economy truly fit for the future.

:19:57. > :20:04.The rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning. With science

:20:05. > :20:08.fiction just a few years ago, is increasingly a reality and will have

:20:09. > :20:13.huge implications for the way we live and work. From self driving

:20:14. > :20:17.cars to automated customer service, this revolution can have huge

:20:18. > :20:22.advantages for our economy and our lives. But we also need to ensure

:20:23. > :20:26.that no one is left behind in such a revolution. Conference, the

:20:27. > :20:31.challenge is coming and we aren't just talking about a displacement of

:20:32. > :20:35.unskilled labour. There will be challenges for many of those in

:20:36. > :20:42.society who have traditionally felt safe from or migration. In the last

:20:43. > :20:47.year one of the biggest financial institutions in the country has been

:20:48. > :20:52.training automated systems to handle not just routine but complex

:20:53. > :20:57.customer facing services. Every time one of its highly skilled, highly

:20:58. > :21:02.played employees made a decision about how to help a client, the

:21:03. > :21:07.machine made a parallel decision. And every time the machine got a

:21:08. > :21:12.decision wrong, the skilled employee would correct it so that it learnt

:21:13. > :21:17.from its mistakes. As of now that team of 50 is reduced to ten people.

:21:18. > :21:21.Thankfully in such a big organisation there are ways to

:21:22. > :21:25.relocate their staff. But it shows us the scale of the challenge to

:21:26. > :21:30.come. If government isn't alive to the challenge, we risk a repeat of

:21:31. > :21:36.what happened in those great industrial towns across our country

:21:37. > :21:41.in the 1970s happening over again. And that means a government willing

:21:42. > :21:46.to invest in helping people transition into the new economy by

:21:47. > :21:51.embracing lifelong learning, serious investment into those whose jobs are

:21:52. > :21:56.at risk, and giving them the opportunities they need to develop

:21:57. > :22:00.new skills and new careers. It also means being aware of the potential

:22:01. > :22:06.exploitation that may come as a result of the transition. We have

:22:07. > :22:10.some incredibly good businesses in this country but frankly we also

:22:11. > :22:17.have some pretty awful employers as well. Can you imagine the Philip

:22:18. > :22:22.green or Mike Ashley view of how automation should affect their

:22:23. > :22:29.business. No more pesky employment rights for staff, no more bad

:22:30. > :22:34.publicity for zero hour contracts or cutting pay. Moving to the future

:22:35. > :22:39.economy means protecting employees from these unscrupulous employers.

:22:40. > :22:44.And that means rediscovering as a party our passion for different

:22:45. > :22:51.forms of ownership. To really embrace our reformist zeal for the

:22:52. > :22:54.mutual movement, the community benefit company and employee owned

:22:55. > :22:59.businesses. It also means understanding that in the businesses

:23:00. > :23:03.of the future, the old employer versus employee relationship or

:23:04. > :23:08.becoming decreasingly relevant. The gig economy as they call it,

:23:09. > :23:13.self-employed entrepreneurs and contractors are now a growing part

:23:14. > :23:19.of our workforce. But we cannot let this turn into exploitation. Four

:23:20. > :23:26.example how do we ensure that the Uber driver gets access to maternity

:23:27. > :23:32.leave? If we are to build an economy for the future, these are the kinds

:23:33. > :23:38.of questions we have two answer. That's why I am so pleased the party

:23:39. > :23:42.has set up the 21st-century economy working group led by the excellent

:23:43. > :23:46.Julia Church and Mike Todd free to look at how we can build an economy

:23:47. > :23:52.where people have a stake in their work and they reap the economic

:23:53. > :23:56.rewards. I believe that to be a party of the future we must tackle

:23:57. > :24:05.these questions head-on. And that is why addressing the transition to a

:24:06. > :24:13.machine economy must be the third plank in the economic rules for the

:24:14. > :24:16.future. During the coalition, we prove we are an economic lead

:24:17. > :24:24.credible party. Since leaving it, the Conservatives have proved they

:24:25. > :24:29.are anything but. Our country lacks the leadership and the opposition at

:24:30. > :24:36.a time when it truly needs both. By embracing a vision of a better

:24:37. > :24:38.future, tackling intergenerational unfairness, investing in

:24:39. > :24:42.infrastructure and ensuring no one is left behind by the changes in our

:24:43. > :24:45.working lives, we can build an economy that is fit for the future.

:24:46. > :25:07.Thank you, conference. We are now breaking for lunch. We

:25:08. > :25:08.are back in the room at