20/09/2016 - Live Morning Session

:03:10. > :03:16.Good morning, Conference. Thank you very much for coming in for this

:03:17. > :03:23.first session this morning. A great pressure to see you. I am your

:03:24. > :03:28.chair. Thank you to my aids in advance, just in case I forget at

:03:29. > :03:33.the end in all the excitement. Can I ask Susan Fletcher to stand by,

:03:34. > :03:40.Susan from Stockton North, and I also call Chris White to move this

:03:41. > :03:47.emergency motion. Good morning, Conference. In August

:03:48. > :03:51.I went into the Jungle in Calais with other councillors from the

:03:52. > :03:54.Local Government Association. It is hard, really, to describe it. It is

:03:55. > :04:00.more a shanty town than a cab. It more a shanty town than a cab. It

:04:01. > :04:05.has places to eat, it almost has shanty restaurant quarters although,

:04:06. > :04:10.of course, the food is running out. Help is needed, they need cash. The

:04:11. > :04:16.charities are extremely emphatic, sending carloads of stuff is not

:04:17. > :04:22.helpful, cash is. People are free to come and go, but might get beaten or

:04:23. > :04:31.harassed by the French see RS riot police. One teenager was left

:04:32. > :04:35.permanently brain-damaged by a CRS rubber bullet. It comprises mainly

:04:36. > :04:40.men and boys, although there are some women and girls, mainly from

:04:41. > :04:45.Eritrea. The majority from Afghanistan, although there are some

:04:46. > :04:49.Syrians and others, of course. It is located by the main road to the

:04:50. > :04:57.Channel Tunnel, protected by fences paid for by you and me, as British

:04:58. > :05:02.taxpayers. We arrived, a charity had managed to make arrangements for

:05:03. > :05:06.four boys to enter the UK legally, to be settled with relatives. Just

:05:07. > :05:13.four. But well over 800 children and young people remain. The camp has

:05:14. > :05:18.been growing daily of late. It doesn't officially exist, of course,

:05:19. > :05:24.and the mayor of Calais wants to demolish it. It was partially

:05:25. > :05:31.demolished in March, at which point 127 children just disappeared. Why

:05:32. > :05:36.are they there? Are they refugees or migrants? If it is the BBC, or the

:05:37. > :05:41.tabloids, not much difference between them these days, it is

:05:42. > :05:44.always migrants. Of course, there are both. People who have despaired

:05:45. > :05:53.or whose parents have despaired about what is happening in their own

:05:54. > :05:56.country. Stuff like war, forced recruitment by the Taliban, general

:05:57. > :06:01.violence. They cross to Europe, perhaps from Iran and then through

:06:02. > :06:06.country after country if they can. The Syrians are doing the same to

:06:07. > :06:11.Lesbos and other places in Greece or Italy or elsewhere. You know, it is

:06:12. > :06:15.a long way to come just to claim benefits. Which is why the word

:06:16. > :06:22.migrants is a slower, both to the people in the Jungle and for those

:06:23. > :06:25.arriving through the Syrian vulnerable persons relocation scheme

:06:26. > :06:30.-- which is why the word migrants is a slur. They don't trust people. The

:06:31. > :06:34.children are as likely to have nightmares about the CRS as about

:06:35. > :06:39.the Taliban back at home. That is why they still try to climb on a

:06:40. > :06:42.lorry, even when their application to enter the UK has been agreed.

:06:43. > :06:51.They don't think it will really happen. Why do we in the UK question

:06:52. > :06:57.the motives of people who travel so perilously? Why do we question the

:06:58. > :07:01.economic motives of children? Why to be dared question the motives of

:07:02. > :07:07.people fleeing the consequences of this country's paled foreign and

:07:08. > :07:12.defence policy? -- why do we dare to question? Why do we extra -- accept

:07:13. > :07:19.the existence of purely bureaucratic barriers to children rejoining

:07:20. > :07:25.relatives seeking asylum in the UK? Why is funding so far so slow to

:07:26. > :07:29.arrive from the UK Government? Why are some cancelled so slow to help

:07:30. > :07:36.other councils? What is the matter with us in the UK that we regard

:07:37. > :07:44.this as a threat or it rather than something straightforward to solve?

:07:45. > :07:49.I spoke to one young boy. He was aged eight. He got here to the

:07:50. > :07:54.Jungle from Afghanistan. He did not travel alone, his cousin was looking

:07:55. > :07:59.after him. His cousin was aged nine. That is what we are dealing with

:08:00. > :08:05.here. Think about the children, think about humanity, and support

:08:06. > :08:09.this emergency motion. Thank you, Conference.

:08:10. > :08:13.APPLAUSE Thank you very much, Chris.

:08:14. > :08:17.Can I ask Spencer had art from Cambridge to stand by, now I call

:08:18. > :08:24.Suzanne Fletcher from Stockton North and South to speak for lines one and

:08:25. > :08:29.two and 23 and 26. Thank you, and good morning,

:08:30. > :08:35.Brighton. We are all here today because we chose to be here. Most of

:08:36. > :08:40.us live in the UK, not because we chose to be, but because it is where

:08:41. > :08:46.we were born. And most of us have done nothing to deserve living here

:08:47. > :08:52.in a country where, although we have its faults, we have a democracy,

:08:53. > :08:56.freedom of religion, freedom of speech. And safety from bombing

:08:57. > :09:02.terror. We have it because we happen to be born here. There are those who

:09:03. > :09:07.do not have that freedom can do not have that security, do not have that

:09:08. > :09:13.safety, because they happen to have been born somewhere else, none of it

:09:14. > :09:19.is their fault. Surely it is only right, as this motion says, that we

:09:20. > :09:23.welcome a fair share of the refugees, including unaccompanied

:09:24. > :09:28.children? Not, as Theresa May says, close our borders and build walls,

:09:29. > :09:36.spending as much as ?80 million in the process to do that?

:09:37. > :09:43.We only talking about taking a fair share, not expecting those countries

:09:44. > :09:47.that happen to be near the to take everybody -- happen to be near the

:09:48. > :09:54.Mediterranean to take everybody. Of all asylum claims made in the EU in

:09:55. > :09:59.2016 so far, only 3% have come to the UK. We can hardly say we are

:10:00. > :10:03.being overwhelmed. That money is better spent supporting local

:10:04. > :10:06.authorities in a way that they can properly plan and support those

:10:07. > :10:12.people, and also that they have enough money to do that for

:10:13. > :10:15.continued funding for vulnerable people, especially the children.

:10:16. > :10:20.When they have arrived here they have a lot of extra needs, it is

:10:21. > :10:26.only right that our councils make sure they have enough money,

:10:27. > :10:31.especially in times of cuts to lots of services, to be able to do that.

:10:32. > :10:34.The motion moves to talk about suitable housing available. Of

:10:35. > :10:38.course it has to be suitable housing. Let's not forget that we

:10:39. > :10:42.have lots of destitute asylum seekers here with no housing, no

:10:43. > :10:46.money and they are not allowed to work. It talks about improved

:10:47. > :10:50.provision for English-language teaching for those who needed. Of

:10:51. > :10:54.course we need that, and we also needed for the refugees arriving

:10:55. > :10:58.here, where there is no promised funding and they need not only

:10:59. > :11:04.English language teaching that the introduction and continued support

:11:05. > :11:10.for life in the UK, with different cultures, different ways of travel,

:11:11. > :11:15.shopping and everything else. So I just ask that we keep up the

:11:16. > :11:21.support, keep up the pressure, for the Government to give its fair

:11:22. > :11:24.share. For councils to be able to take on the responsibility for

:11:25. > :11:30.taking in the people, and we are only talking a fuel for each

:11:31. > :11:34.council, if everybody does it, and for all communities to play a part

:11:35. > :11:39.in making these refugees truly welcome. Thank you.

:11:40. > :11:43.APPLAUSE Many thanks, Susan.

:11:44. > :11:50.Can I ask Henry van from Bedford Borough to stand by. And I call

:11:51. > :11:55.Spencer had art from Cambridge. Fellow Liberal Democrats, tiny

:11:56. > :12:00.Lebanon has accepted up to 1 million people uprooted in the world's worst

:12:01. > :12:04.ever displacement crisis. Dixie 5 million people are uprooted from

:12:05. > :12:10.their homes, over 21 million of them are now refugees from civil strife,

:12:11. > :12:14.war and natural disasters -- 65 million. Britain, under the

:12:15. > :12:19.unlamented former Prime Minister David Cameron, miserably offered

:12:20. > :12:23.refuge to 25,000 people over four years. It is our mission as Lib Dems

:12:24. > :12:28.to rouse the conscience of the nation to get that number multiplied

:12:29. > :12:31.Andrey multiplied, to ensure that means are provided for communities

:12:32. > :12:37.up and down the country to do the right thing that so many wish to, to

:12:38. > :12:45.offer resettlement, rehabilitation and hope. The astonishing thing to

:12:46. > :12:48.many people, Conference, is that being true to core values in this

:12:49. > :12:52.way pays remarkable political dividends. From our stance against

:12:53. > :12:59.the aliens act of 1905 in the face of Tory vilification, to our

:13:00. > :13:04.campaign that achieved in about-face in the Ted Heath Government smack

:13:05. > :13:13.willingness to accept the Asians expelled from Uganda in 1972. The

:13:14. > :13:17.latter was followed by a stream of Parliamentary by-election gains for

:13:18. > :13:24.proceeding party, the Liberals. A string of games over the following

:13:25. > :13:29.14 months in 1972/ three. But, for me, this is not merely an issue of

:13:30. > :13:34.principle and profoundly political, but also deeply personal. I doubt

:13:35. > :13:39.that my own grandparents, fleeing the pogrom is in western Ukraine in

:13:40. > :13:43.1906, would have dared to come to Scotland, would have been able to

:13:44. > :13:49.come to Scotland, if the newly elected Liberal Government hadn't

:13:50. > :13:57.forced the 1905 alien act of the Tories. It did not, they came -- had

:13:58. > :14:02.enforced. Likewise, if the Liberals and Jeremy Thorpe, having fought

:14:03. > :14:07.Labour's immigration act in the 1960 's had simply let Heath get away

:14:08. > :14:11.with his callous intentions in 1972, then the friends I made in Uganda

:14:12. > :14:17.where I was working before, jeering and briefly after the expulsions

:14:18. > :14:21.began, would have been scattered to the four wins, not a cherished part

:14:22. > :14:29.of my family life for the past 45 years. And the beneficiaries of the

:14:30. > :14:34.Liberal administration in Watford, by the way. Conference, I would like

:14:35. > :14:40.to conclude by daring to suggest that a country as fractured as I was

:14:41. > :14:44.seems to be today will help itself to heel by acts of generosity to

:14:45. > :14:51.people whose plight is truly appalling.

:14:52. > :14:55.APPLAUSE The city of Leicester found this out

:14:56. > :14:59.when it went on to build one of Britain's most harmonious society is

:15:00. > :15:05.once it had woken to the appalling folly of its advertisement to

:15:06. > :15:12.Ugandan Asians in the Uganda Aga is that I read, that refugees would not

:15:13. > :15:17.be welcome in Leicester in 1972. They change their mind and, my

:15:18. > :15:22.goodness me, how glad they are they did. This catastrophic rises of

:15:23. > :15:27.underage demands the very best of us. As people, the British are

:15:28. > :15:32.better by far than our current Government pretends we are. We have

:15:33. > :15:35.proved it before and we can do so again. Conference, please support

:15:36. > :15:42.this motion. APPLAUSE

:15:43. > :15:47.Thank you very much, can I ask David Priti from Mole Valley to stand by,

:15:48. > :15:49.and I now call Henry Vann, who wishes to speak for the motion as a

:15:50. > :16:00.whole. I urge you to support this motion.

:16:01. > :16:03.There is good news that the Liberal Democrats run Bedford Council has

:16:04. > :16:12.already taken refugee families. APPLAUSE And even more good news,

:16:13. > :16:17.yesterday I heard that on this very day we are welcoming another family

:16:18. > :16:22.from Syria. We have taken a family on each chartered flight we have

:16:23. > :16:30.been offered and the council has used money at made available to put

:16:31. > :16:34.in place a structure, working with partners to multiply that support

:16:35. > :16:41.and I would like to praise the work of Bedford refugee and asylum seeker

:16:42. > :16:45.support, they employ an Arabic speaking support worker who worked

:16:46. > :16:48.with the Council on the vulnerable persons relocation scheme providing

:16:49. > :16:54.support for families who have arrived. It is this sort of activity

:16:55. > :16:58.recognised in this motion that demonstrates why local authorities

:16:59. > :17:02.must be leading the integration of refugees in communities and must be

:17:03. > :17:06.properly funded to do so. These refugee families have been made

:17:07. > :17:12.homeless. We have heard horrific stories already from Chris. They

:17:13. > :17:17.have been made homeless and vulnerable by devastating conflict

:17:18. > :17:20.and are in desperate need of a safe and stable home. The message has

:17:21. > :17:26.gone out from the Liberal Democrats and I hope it will go out again that

:17:27. > :17:29.we will do our part to help these families start a new happy and

:17:30. > :17:36.stable life. The role of local authorities is key. We are going to

:17:37. > :17:40.continue to provide support to families but local schools have

:17:41. > :17:45.welcomed children and the families are integrating well into

:17:46. > :17:48.communities. This motion covers much of the good work going on by local

:17:49. > :17:53.authorities at much that needs to change in how the government is

:17:54. > :17:58.supporting refugees. We must take our fair share as a country. Every

:17:59. > :18:03.single council must take its fair share. We must challenge the benefit

:18:04. > :18:07.cap which is causing problems for local authorities trying to support

:18:08. > :18:11.these families, and we must challenge the underfunding of local

:18:12. > :18:16.government by central government. The families that arrive from Syria

:18:17. > :18:20.generally have to or three children and when they arrive they are truly

:18:21. > :18:22.dependent and need the support package from local authorities so I

:18:23. > :18:33.urge you to support this motion. Many thanks.

:18:34. > :18:41.I now call David Preedy. Good morning. While supporting all

:18:42. > :18:45.aspects of the motion I want to talk about how refugees are treated when

:18:46. > :18:48.they reach the UK and how we can improve their welcome and accelerate

:18:49. > :18:54.their integration as productive members of society. At spring

:18:55. > :18:57.conference I got a text from my wife, hello, David, you know we have

:18:58. > :19:04.talked about hosting refugees? We now have a family staying with us. A

:19:05. > :19:06.family whose only alternative accommodation that weekend would

:19:07. > :19:11.have been at a police station in north London because they were

:19:12. > :19:15.destitute. Since then we have shared their ups and downs, despair of a

:19:16. > :19:20.letter from the Home Office describing their situation as,

:19:21. > :19:24.evidence your account is not credible. Their confusion when asked

:19:25. > :19:30.to provide evidence they have no source of funds. And the immense

:19:31. > :19:35.relief when they were finally granted asylum. I have been

:19:36. > :19:38.following how local councils have implemented the resettlement

:19:39. > :19:43.programme in our own area and in Swansea where my daughter helps

:19:44. > :19:48.refugees to integrate. In both areas, but not I am pleased to hear

:19:49. > :19:52.in Bedford, the authorities seem to want to keep refugees separate from

:19:53. > :19:57.those who have reached Britain under their own steam. It is

:19:58. > :20:01.counter-productive. I call for local authorities to follow Bedford and

:20:02. > :20:04.reach out more and collaborate with voluntary groups. My experience has

:20:05. > :20:10.confirmed the limits of what volunteer hosts can achieve. Our

:20:11. > :20:14.house in a small village might be fine for asylum seekers not yet

:20:15. > :20:18.allowed to work with is a handicap when the guests are looking for

:20:19. > :20:23.work. I know the family could benefit from access to scheme set up

:20:24. > :20:29.by the council to help with housing, language training and help to work.

:20:30. > :20:33.I know refugees in council schemes could benefit from what volunteers

:20:34. > :20:41.can enable, such as mutual help, social integration. Our family's

:20:42. > :20:45.some speaks pretty good English and accompanies other refugees to the

:20:46. > :20:49.job centre to translate. It is helpful and rebuilds his self-esteem

:20:50. > :20:53.because he is helping others, contributing back to an organisation

:20:54. > :20:59.that his family have reached. Living with a family helps guests untangle

:21:00. > :21:04.the mysteries of English life. Why are we always talking about the

:21:05. > :21:09.weather? How come England played Pakistan in cricket on so many days

:21:10. > :21:14.throughout the summer? And all refugees in our area were delighted

:21:15. > :21:18.to join in celebrations as the son of one host family got their A-level

:21:19. > :21:23.results. Little steps that make these people feel welcome and no

:21:24. > :21:29.council run scheme can achieve this. I call on all local authorities to

:21:30. > :21:32.adopt a collaborative approach to reduce the time refugees need

:21:33. > :21:36.expensive support and I ask everyone to support the motion and think

:21:37. > :21:49.about how you can help these people rebuild their lives.

:21:50. > :21:53.APPLAUSE. Thank you very much. I now call Juliet from Islington party to

:21:54. > :22:05.speak in favour of the motion. Juliet. Are you here? No. In that

:22:06. > :22:12.case... Graham, having asked you to stand by, it is your moment. Would

:22:13. > :22:20.you mind moving up the order? And I need the next person to stand by,

:22:21. > :22:25.please. Can I ask Jackie Delta stand-by. Good morning, this is my

:22:26. > :22:33.first time speaking at a conference. APPLAUSE. I work as children's

:22:34. > :22:36.social worker and I have direct experience of working with

:22:37. > :22:43.unaccompanied asylum seekers and families with no recourse to funds.

:22:44. > :22:47.I welcome the call for a national coordination to share intelligence

:22:48. > :22:51.in a foster care capacity. When I first started working in child

:22:52. > :22:58.protection, I was bemused to discover that when we look at

:22:59. > :23:02.accommodating a child, in an age of advanced information technology,

:23:03. > :23:07.foster care placements are largely found by a social worker telephoning

:23:08. > :23:15.people until they can find someone to care for the child. Good foster

:23:16. > :23:19.carers are a scarce resource and any coordination of information about

:23:20. > :23:24.capacity can only be a good thing. Can I suggest what we need is more

:23:25. > :23:29.people to volunteer to become foster carers? Something we experience all

:23:30. > :23:33.the time is a shortage of placements which does not just impact on asylum

:23:34. > :23:39.seeking children but all children in the UK. Often when we decide to

:23:40. > :23:42.accommodate children in local authority care the decision to

:23:43. > :23:48.accommodate a chart particular home has less to do with the match with

:23:49. > :23:53.the carer, and more to do with whatever is available at that time.

:23:54. > :24:03.Often the placements available could be 40 miles away from the child's

:24:04. > :24:06.home and what is already a stressful experience is made more traumatic

:24:07. > :24:13.because you move the child from their home, friends, school and

:24:14. > :24:16.everything they know. For asylum seeking children it is not uncommon

:24:17. > :24:22.they are placed with families who cannot speak their language, let

:24:23. > :24:28.alone understand their culture. I have a favour to ask. When you are

:24:29. > :24:33.out campaigning and talking to local communities, somebody talks about

:24:34. > :24:37.the refugee crisis, something they are particularly worried about, you

:24:38. > :24:44.can encourage people to register their interest to become a foster

:24:45. > :24:51.carer. They do not have to take in a scary foreign child! In order to

:24:52. > :25:00.improve outcomes for all children in general. Conference, I urge you to

:25:01. > :25:06.support this motion. APPLAUSE. I am sorry your speech had

:25:07. > :25:16.less notice and others. I now call Jackie Bough. Conference, the image

:25:17. > :25:22.of a small boy drowned on beach brought the reality of the refugee

:25:23. > :25:27.crisis home to many. Liberal Democrats for seekers of Sanctuary

:25:28. > :25:32.have campaigned since 2012 to improve conditions for those seeking

:25:33. > :25:36.sanctuary in Britain. Our work has been increasing with the devastating

:25:37. > :25:42.refugee crisis. Britain may be caught up in Brexit but hundreds are

:25:43. > :25:46.still drowning in the Mediterranean and Syria is still burning. Many

:25:47. > :25:53.individuals and local authorities offered help that the government

:25:54. > :25:58.response has been slow. East Lothian Council pledge to take up to seven

:25:59. > :26:03.families a year. The county has a history of help having accommodated

:26:04. > :26:09.hundreds of Bosnians in the 90s. Local projects were already helping

:26:10. > :26:13.with one family, a mother and daughter, making eight trips to the

:26:14. > :26:18.Jungle. The first two families did not arrive in East Lothian until

:26:19. > :26:24.February. Three came in May. Two more are due in the next weeks. The

:26:25. > :26:31.council provides furnished accommodation and extra comforts

:26:32. > :26:36.have come to East Lothian Welcome to refugees and teddies are provided

:26:37. > :26:40.for the youngest children. Groups have delivered welcome cards

:26:41. > :26:44.provided by the community and given general friendship and support. As

:26:45. > :26:50.well as the council response locals offered to give accommodation but

:26:51. > :26:53.the council prefers to use its own tenancies. Consequently the numbers

:26:54. > :26:57.taken are smaller than the initial offers of places to stay by the

:26:58. > :27:03.community. But the offers of hosting remain. There are local concerns

:27:04. > :27:11.about unaccompanied children who are at risk in Europe and in the camps.

:27:12. > :27:16.Most of the Syrian families are in Midlothian where I was the Scottish

:27:17. > :27:21.election candidate. They thought their teenage son had died that he

:27:22. > :27:28.is actually in Calais. The process of reunification is ponderous with

:27:29. > :27:33.many tests to prove he is their son and meanwhile he is at risk. There

:27:34. > :27:38.are lots of people and local authorities on the ground willing to

:27:39. > :27:43.help. Sadly the government is not so keen. Theresa May wants refugees to

:27:44. > :27:46.ask for asylum in the first safe country they reach, which puts

:27:47. > :27:51.pressure on poorer countries like Greece and Italy. It is shameful

:27:52. > :27:56.that government once to stall on taking its fair share to support

:27:57. > :28:03.those caught up in this humanitarian crisis. Theresa May, in addressing

:28:04. > :28:11.the UN, is out of step with the feeling of many British people. Not

:28:12. > :28:17.all believe that hate of the Daily Mail and Express. A picture of

:28:18. > :28:23.another traumatised boy in Aleppo has brought horrific scenes in Syria

:28:24. > :28:27.back to many. Conference, let us stand up for refugees and others

:28:28. > :28:36.seeking sanctuary. Please support this important motion today. Jackie,

:28:37. > :28:46.thank you very much. Can I ask Michael from Leeds West to stand-by.

:28:47. > :28:53.Conference, we face the biggest humanitarian crisis since the Second

:28:54. > :28:57.World War with millions of refugees fleeing war and persecution and

:28:58. > :29:03.death. In many ways it is getting worse. History will judge us for our

:29:04. > :29:07.actions and how has our government responded. We are doing the bare

:29:08. > :29:12.minimum, actively making the situation worse for many. Take

:29:13. > :29:17.Calais, instead of sending a single penny of aid or offering safe and

:29:18. > :29:22.legal routes, we have spent millions on fences, barbed wire, police and

:29:23. > :29:27.attack dogs, making the crossing was lethal. It leaves people with no

:29:28. > :29:32.other option than to waste away in conditions in the camp or risk their

:29:33. > :29:36.lives on a perilous journey. This week saw the news of the youngest

:29:37. > :29:41.refugee yet losing his life to come to the UK to be with his family. He

:29:42. > :29:45.had a legal right to be here and his death was needless and a failure of

:29:46. > :29:50.our government will stop there are hundreds like him in Calais who have

:29:51. > :29:53.a right to be in the UK and the government must act on their

:29:54. > :30:00.obligations to save them. But we turned our backs. The government is

:30:01. > :30:05.not providing the determination or adequate support to local

:30:06. > :30:09.authorities to enable them to help Syrian families and unaccompanied

:30:10. > :30:15.children. We are not even beating our woeful target of 20,000

:30:16. > :30:22.refugees. It is left to small groups like ours in Camden to find housing,

:30:23. > :30:27.foster carers, pressure local authorities and do the government's

:30:28. > :30:31.job for them. There is a vital need for a national coordination and

:30:32. > :30:35.strategy for resettling refugees. The government ought to take the

:30:36. > :30:39.lead and take steps to remove blockages between local and central

:30:40. > :30:44.government and provide support to welcome refugees. We have capacity

:30:45. > :30:50.and resources to save lives, there is no excuse. If we have millions to

:30:51. > :30:59.build a wall in Calais then we have the resources to save refugees.

:31:00. > :31:03.Conference, we must not let Brexit derail our determination and resolve

:31:04. > :31:09.to offer hope for refugees. We cannot let that happen. We must pass

:31:10. > :31:12.the motion and stand up for those who need it most and pressure

:31:13. > :31:18.Theresa May and the government to welcome refugees and provide support

:31:19. > :31:22.necessary to do so. Then when we say refugees are welcome, we mean it and

:31:23. > :31:34.can make our words a reality. Can I ask the delegate from Bath and

:31:35. > :31:42.North East Somerset to stand-by? I now call Michael Madigan forward.

:31:43. > :31:45.-- Michael Meadowcroft. Good morning, Liberal Insomniacs! I

:31:46. > :31:54.wonder what is happening to this country and its treatments of

:31:55. > :31:59.refugees. This country took and literally hundreds of thousands of

:32:00. > :32:03.Jewish refugees from the Russian Empire, and they are invaluable to

:32:04. > :32:08.the cultural and financial life of my city, because we took them in.

:32:09. > :32:12.Looking further onto a Kindertransport in Germany, just one

:32:13. > :32:17.example, the Liberal MP, previously from Leeds West, Ted Harvey, he and

:32:18. > :32:23.wife took in two Jewish boys into their own home in 1939.

:32:24. > :32:28.We move onto the Ugandan Asians, we took 17,000 in. I doubt one of them

:32:29. > :32:32.is not a millionaire today. And Richard Wainwright, MP for Colne

:32:33. > :32:36.Valley and his wife, took Ugandan Asian family into their home.

:32:37. > :32:39.We have thousands of Vietnamese boat people. Have they been a huge

:32:40. > :32:45.problem in Britain? I have not noticed. But in the UK we

:32:46. > :32:51.now have the Government which is very against all such suggestions

:32:52. > :32:53.are people coming here. And in the evidence in the opinion polls, we

:32:54. > :32:57.have a national view that we don't want refugees and asylum seekers.

:32:58. > :33:02.But the curious fact is that I have never known a case in a locality

:33:03. > :33:06.where a refugee or asylum seeker that has been threatened with

:33:07. > :33:11.deportation had not been supported by the local community. Every case.

:33:12. > :33:15.That is particularly true of the faith communities. In West Leeds,

:33:16. > :33:21.for instance, the local church fought unsuccessfully for a man and

:33:22. > :33:26.his son to stay here. They were taken to a detention centre near to

:33:27. > :33:31.Heathrow. In that detention centre the man hanged himself in front of

:33:32. > :33:36.his 13-year-old said because he said he wanted his son to be able to stay

:33:37. > :33:40.in this country. That is the reality of what we are doing to people, and

:33:41. > :33:45.it shames me what this country has done. The job of the liberal

:33:46. > :33:50.politician is to enhance altruism and to diminish selfishness. It is

:33:51. > :33:55.not enough just to pass a motion like this. It is a question of

:33:56. > :34:00.liberal politicians, all of us in the Conference, to bang on the doors

:34:01. > :34:02.of the local authority, to be making representations at surgeries of

:34:03. > :34:08.councillors and members of Parliament, saying we want this

:34:09. > :34:11.area, this council, this town to accept refugees, because they are

:34:12. > :34:15.welcome here and they will enhance our community. Thank you very much.

:34:16. > :34:22.APPLAUSE Thank you, Malcolm. I now call the

:34:23. > :34:35.representative from Bath and North East Somerset.

:34:36. > :34:40.Conference, I hadn't actually plan to speak today. This is my first

:34:41. > :34:44.time of actually speaking to a conference.

:34:45. > :34:48.APPLAUSE I hadn't planned because it seems

:34:49. > :34:50.absolutely, you know, we are preaching, I would hope, to the

:34:51. > :34:54.converted. But I wanted just to share a small

:34:55. > :35:03.thing of something that I took part in a week ago. A week ago I joined

:35:04. > :35:07.Bath Welcomes at the summit of all the Welcome Refugee groups across

:35:08. > :35:13.the UK. The summit was well attended by at least 500 other people,

:35:14. > :35:17.including a wide range of faith representatives, Council and

:35:18. > :35:21.government offices, ordinary people and, most importantly, refugees from

:35:22. > :35:26.across the globe, from the crises of today and the past.

:35:27. > :35:30.We heard stories from refugees from Syria, Poland, Nepal, and from Jews.

:35:31. > :35:36.As you can imagine, this was extremely moving and, at times,

:35:37. > :35:40.deeply upsetting. Families are being torn apart. Some permanently. The

:35:41. > :35:44.refugees themselves always had something positive to say.

:35:45. > :35:49.Invariably about the support and help they had received. For me, the

:35:50. > :35:54.most moving the stories told by some of the 23 that came to Bath and

:35:55. > :35:58.Bristol, at those who support them here. These people have suffered

:35:59. > :36:04.appallingly, and there are many more who continue to do so. They are not

:36:05. > :36:10.media stunts, it is suffering by real people, babies, young people,

:36:11. > :36:15.students, mothers. It is clear that, as a nation, we are not doing

:36:16. > :36:18.enough. Over 300 children have an acknowledged right to come to the UK

:36:19. > :36:24.but are trapped on their own in the camps of Calais. Reaching Government

:36:25. > :36:27.figures and targets on those we help is not good enough. There are many,

:36:28. > :36:33.many more that need help. We must do as much as we should, not as little

:36:34. > :36:37.as we can. If Government won't all continues to drag its heels, local

:36:38. > :36:41.councils must try to make a real difference for real people. I will

:36:42. > :36:47.be using every opportunity to keep the momentum going and will be

:36:48. > :36:51.bringing a motion to the council in Bath and North Somerset in the

:36:52. > :36:56.summer, which I hope all councillors will support. I will ask all at this

:36:57. > :37:00.Conference to do everything they can to bring these children into safety

:37:01. > :37:05.in our country and support proposals to bring more refugee families here,

:37:06. > :37:06.again with support. I hope all here will support this notion.

:37:07. > :37:13.Thank you. APPLAUSE

:37:14. > :37:18.I now call a summation on the motion as a whole.

:37:19. > :37:23.Conference, let me start by saying how proud I am that this emergency

:37:24. > :37:30.motion came top in the ballots. By some margin. It shows that we

:37:31. > :37:36.Liberal Democrats are far from dead, we still have a beating heart. Let

:37:37. > :37:43.me start by thanking Chris for bringing this motion to us. And for

:37:44. > :37:49.moving it so ably and knowledgeably. It was in the 18th century that

:37:50. > :37:56.Edmund Burke said, the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is

:37:57. > :38:01.that good men do nothing. And this evil that we see in Europe today,

:38:02. > :38:08.the biggest forced movements of people since World War II is not one

:38:09. > :38:14.that any decent person can ignore. And that has a point made

:38:15. > :38:19.passionately by Bradley, who I know has been a tireless worker on behalf

:38:20. > :38:25.of refugees. And Jackie referred to the lack of

:38:26. > :38:29.leadership, and she is right. Because instead of leadership with

:38:30. > :38:38.humanitarian vision, our leaders have given is paralysis and, worse,

:38:39. > :38:44.xenophobia. Fenced border is going up between Schengen countries and a

:38:45. > :38:49.dodgy deal with Turkey. Until conditions in the Middle East and

:38:50. > :38:56.north in sub-Saharan Africa improve, and safe areas in the region are

:38:57. > :38:59.established, we must use our responsibility and international

:39:00. > :39:05.law. This is not just about staying on the right side of the law, this

:39:06. > :39:09.is a moral imperative on all of us. Compassion for fellow human beings.

:39:10. > :39:16.This is what defines us as a civilised society. Many speakers

:39:17. > :39:23.spoke of the benefits to us that refugees bring, not just

:39:24. > :39:35.economically but also socially, culturally and, dare I say it,

:39:36. > :39:39.gastronomically. Michael Meadowcroft and is Fed spoke passionately on

:39:40. > :39:43.that subject. As a regular visitor to the Jungle camp in Calais, I know

:39:44. > :39:47.people are desperate to leave. Winter is coming and a rumour that

:39:48. > :39:52.the camp will be demolished before Christmas is creating huge tensions.

:39:53. > :39:56.In the aftermath of the last demolitions, about 150 children

:39:57. > :40:04.disappeared. So there is a race against the clock to at least get

:40:05. > :40:14.some children out of harms way. But there is not anywhere for the vast

:40:15. > :40:18.majority of them to go. One women and children's Centre, believe it or

:40:19. > :40:25.not, will not take unaccompanied children, only children with their

:40:26. > :40:28.mothers. The containers are for adult men only, and when children

:40:29. > :40:37.are allowed in they often end up sharing spaces with adults unknown

:40:38. > :40:44.to them, and usually different adult men every night. This is not safe

:40:45. > :40:49.practice. So in their desperation, they take risks and try nightly to

:40:50. > :40:53.come to Britain on the back of lorries, sometimes with fatal

:40:54. > :40:59.consequences, as Bradley referred to. So movingly.

:41:00. > :41:05.Our government has failed in the very basic duty to uphold national

:41:06. > :41:09.law and safeguard children using safe and legal means. Our Government

:41:10. > :41:17.should hang its head in shame for its part in this human tragedy. And

:41:18. > :41:24.it often deflects blame onto cash strapped local authorities. And the

:41:25. > :41:33.impact on local authorities was a point made by several speakers. The

:41:34. > :41:37.impact not just of offering child centre refugees, but ongoing

:41:38. > :41:41.support, something referred to by many speakers. Suzanne spoke of it,

:41:42. > :41:48.as did Spencer. Spencer, thank you so much for sharing your story with

:41:49. > :41:54.us. So, cash-strapped local authorities.

:41:55. > :42:00.But, you know, if the Government was to work with them to harness the

:42:01. > :42:04.outpouring of the generosity of the British people who have offered

:42:05. > :42:10.their home to a refugee, that would take some of the burden of local

:42:11. > :42:13.authorities. Yes, of course we have do have stringent vetting

:42:14. > :42:19.procedures, but let's get on and do it. Henry illustrated graphically

:42:20. > :42:26.what can be done when there is a will, as in Bedfordshire. Family

:42:27. > :42:33.reunification, that is a safe and legal route. The children in those

:42:34. > :42:38.circumstances already have a home in the UK, and a support network. So

:42:39. > :42:44.the local authority would have reduced burden on its resources. But

:42:45. > :42:50.the Government is inexcusably dragging its feet. When you talked

:42:51. > :42:55.about the importance of social work with children and some of the

:42:56. > :43:00.challenges their, you remind me of an organisation called Social Worker

:43:01. > :43:06.first, operating now on the grounds in Calais. It is made up of

:43:07. > :43:09.professional social workers, all registered in the UK. They do a

:43:10. > :43:14.fantastic job because they do assessments of the Child in the UK

:43:15. > :43:18.and they come to the UK and do an assessment of the receiving family.

:43:19. > :43:26.Those two things together make a powerful case, and they need more

:43:27. > :43:33.help. So let me just finish by saying that we have shown it is

:43:34. > :43:38.possible to make this work without putting all the burden on local

:43:39. > :43:45.authorities. Politics is the art of the possible, so let's get on with

:43:46. > :43:46.it. I urge you to pass this motion with a resounding majority. Thank

:43:47. > :43:53.you. APPLAUSE

:43:54. > :44:00.Thank you. We will now be moving to a vote on

:44:01. > :44:07.this emergency motion. Have you got your badges ready? Can I see those

:44:08. > :44:14.in favour of this motion? Thank you very much. And those against? I see

:44:15. > :44:17.no votes at all, so that is very clearly carried. Thank you very

:44:18. > :44:26.much, Conference. APPLAUSE

:44:27. > :44:29.And thank you to my aides, Joe and Mary. In a moment I will hand the

:44:30. > :45:36.chair over. DDC DDC good morning, conference. We

:45:37. > :45:44.are now moving to the constitutional amendment on committees which is set

:45:45. > :45:51.out on pages 52 to 77. There are two amendments and they are detailed on

:45:52. > :45:58.page four of conference daily. Can I ask Sarah Noble pleased to stand-by.

:45:59. > :46:07.And I now call Baroness Brinton of Watford. She is president of the

:46:08. > :46:12.party. And to move the motion. Good morning, conference and welcome to

:46:13. > :46:19.the 600 line constitutional amendment session. Can I say,

:46:20. > :46:22.because I cannot use the rostrum, I am juggling five bits of paper and

:46:23. > :46:26.so if everything goes scattering, someone will have to come and help

:46:27. > :46:32.me pick them up will stop I want to set the scene before we get into the

:46:33. > :46:40.detail. It might be helpful if you have still got, nearby, the booklet

:46:41. > :46:46.Towards a more effective party government. The third we have

:46:47. > :46:52.published on the consultation process. I know that particularly

:46:53. > :46:56.for new members who may not have seen it before, you need to

:46:57. > :47:02.understand that the starting point, just over a year ago, of the review,

:47:03. > :47:07.was a strong message from the party that nobody understood how the

:47:08. > :47:11.federal committees worked, many of which were indivisible, the

:47:12. > :47:20.subcommittees were invisible and unaccountable, also how it linked.

:47:21. > :47:28.My first task was to get it into perhaps a more traditional

:47:29. > :47:36.organogram rather than a spaghetti Junction. On page 16 you can see the

:47:37. > :47:43.structure that is proposed. There are no new committees being created.

:47:44. > :47:50.We are bringing committees out of the shadows and making them more

:47:51. > :47:55.accountable to you. But it is much more than that. The rest of this

:47:56. > :48:01.paper and if you have not read it, please look at it, is also about

:48:02. > :48:05.ensuring we change the way we work. One of my constant criticisms of the

:48:06. > :48:09.Conservatives is they think they can change the delivery of public

:48:10. > :48:14.service your lead by rearranging the deck chairs. Moving to

:48:15. > :48:20.grant-maintained schools as if the name of a school and structure alone

:48:21. > :48:23.will change the way education should be improved. Quite a lot of the

:48:24. > :48:30.document talks about how we will have to change the way we work and

:48:31. > :48:34.there is a reason for that. When I became president, I think the

:48:35. > :48:40.politest way of putting it is the committee structure was

:48:41. > :48:44.dysfunctional. I am not just referring to federal committees.

:48:45. > :48:48.When I became president, as promised, I went round most of the

:48:49. > :48:53.federal and state committees and asked for their views and almost to

:48:54. > :49:01.a committee they said, we are perfect, but they are not. And what

:49:02. > :49:04.was worse, it was all their fault because they didn't listen. There

:49:05. > :49:11.was a lot of talking and not a lot of listening going on. In a classic

:49:12. > :49:14.situation, federal committees would blame the English party and the

:49:15. > :49:18.English party would blame the federal party and the regions. The

:49:19. > :49:26.regions would blame the English party and the local party would

:49:27. > :49:30.blame everybody. We today are responsible for looking at the

:49:31. > :49:33.federal structure but if we are changing at a federal level we need

:49:34. > :49:38.to change things throughout the party. It is not the role of the

:49:39. > :49:43.federal party to dictate the state party, regions and local parties how

:49:44. > :49:47.they do it. We would love you to use the same principles, which Dawn

:49:48. > :49:55.Barnes outlined when we discussed it on Saturday, that that is down to

:49:56. > :49:58.you. When I said we were bringing committees out of the shadows, there

:49:59. > :50:05.are three I want to highlight. If we go to the back page chart, we have

:50:06. > :50:10.in addition to the continuing role of the federal policy committee and

:50:11. > :50:13.federal conference committee, we have a Federal communications and

:50:14. > :50:18.elections committee which was formally and is currently the Sea

:50:19. > :50:23.CC, a subcommittee of FC that does not report to you as conference and

:50:24. > :50:28.does not report publicly and yet it is responsible for all major

:50:29. > :50:32.election campaigns. At the moment that committee has absolutely no

:50:33. > :50:37.ability to have any oversight over candidates. In the Welsh and

:50:38. > :50:41.Scottish parties they have a candidates and campaigns committee

:50:42. > :50:45.but the English party only has a candidate 's committee. One problem

:50:46. > :50:49.we faced in the past is that at a federal level, campaigns has gone

:50:50. > :50:54.like that and candidates in England has gone like that, because there

:50:55. > :50:59.has not been this talking together we ought to be having. I am

:51:00. > :51:05.delighted to be able to tell you that last night we had the second

:51:06. > :51:08.joint meeting of the campaigns and communications committee and the

:51:09. > :51:14.joint State candidates committee. Even before you have a vote today,

:51:15. > :51:19.that meeting said whatever happens, they want to continue meeting

:51:20. > :51:23.because, guess what, we have discovered working together and

:51:24. > :51:27.talking to each other helps. The consequence of your saying to the

:51:28. > :51:30.federal party and in this case the English party, guys, we don't know

:51:31. > :51:36.what you're doing and we are unhappy, we are already changing our

:51:37. > :51:41.ways and thanks to the committees for taking that to heart. We have

:51:42. > :51:45.also brought up to a federal level the international relations

:51:46. > :51:49.committee and taken three different committees to bring them into one

:51:50. > :51:54.new federal committee, which is the federal equal development committee.

:51:55. > :52:03.We have had, but it has never met, a joint states members committee. Did

:52:04. > :52:07.you know that? One or two geeks will know. Thanks, Nigel. It hasn't met

:52:08. > :52:14.for a very long time. We have a training task force. It is important

:52:15. > :52:17.with member development. We also have the diversity engagement group.

:52:18. > :52:24.At the moment, they all sit in splendid isolation, not meeting.

:52:25. > :52:28.There should be member oversight at a federal level and that is what

:52:29. > :52:33.bringing this committee together will do. The work goes on but it

:52:34. > :52:38.goes on behind your eyes. The other thing we have brought forward is the

:52:39. > :52:42.federal audit and scrutiny committee, which for those in the

:52:43. > :52:53.know, sometimes referred to as the trustees, or Lib Dems Ltd. It has

:52:54. > :52:56.audit responsibility but it was too arm's length because in

:52:57. > :52:59.organisations the audit and scrutiny committee will report back to the

:53:00. > :53:03.members and so they will report to the federal board and the federal

:53:04. > :53:11.board will report back to you on their work. I want to move briefly

:53:12. > :53:16.to give you federal executives' view on a member one and two. The

:53:17. > :53:24.principle behind Amendment one is clear and thanks to Sarah noble

:53:25. > :53:29.forgetting it right. The proposal in the 600 line constitutional

:53:30. > :53:34.amendment is we move at a federal level from a two-year term of office

:53:35. > :53:38.to three years. Sarah says we should have to years and she will argue why

:53:39. > :53:44.in it. The federal executive opposes this because part of the new ways of

:53:45. > :53:48.working is the federal board will a strategy and deliver that strategy

:53:49. > :53:53.over three years. If somebody does not want to stay on the committee

:53:54. > :53:57.for three years as at the moment they don't for two, it is fine,

:53:58. > :54:04.because the next person on the list will be elected in their place. All

:54:05. > :54:11.right, Colin is saying no. There will be someone else to come through

:54:12. > :54:17.will stop them and two, the joint state candidates subcommittee, Steve

:54:18. > :54:24.says that the powers that are proposed for the federal committee

:54:25. > :54:27.to actually take over the work of the state candidates committee that

:54:28. > :54:32.is failing, the English party is saying it should only happen if they

:54:33. > :54:36.are failing in their constitutional duty. There is a safeguard in the

:54:37. > :54:41.proposals in front of you to say there must have been consultation

:54:42. > :54:45.with that state party at federal level and with the joint state

:54:46. > :54:51.candidates committee. The problem with the English party proposal is

:54:52. > :54:55.you can fail, did not fail constitutionally, and that is the

:54:56. > :54:59.problem. Please reject both amendments, please help us move to a

:55:00. > :55:04.more effective way of working and please pass a massive 600 line

:55:05. > :55:08.constitutional amendment, which is the fruit of your work over the past

:55:09. > :55:16.two years. Thank you.

:55:17. > :55:22.APPLAUSE. Can Steve Jarvis stand-by. I now

:55:23. > :55:27.call Sarah Noble to move a member one. Good morning, conference. This

:55:28. > :55:33.would not be a proper debate if it did not have someone from Calderdale

:55:34. > :55:45.causing us a lot of trouble. It is interesting to read why the FE

:55:46. > :55:50.thinks we should have three-year terms. I agreed the committees

:55:51. > :56:00.appear like groups that are a never ending, where people serve for long

:56:01. > :56:03.periods of time. Which is why it is strange we are proposing we have

:56:04. > :56:09.members serve a long time without standing for re-election. I believe

:56:10. > :56:14.committees have to be selective especially if party strategy has to

:56:15. > :56:21.change. Moving to three-year terms does the opposite. The federal

:56:22. > :56:25.policy committee, which will write the 2025 election manifesto, will be

:56:26. > :56:31.elected under the new timetable in October 20 22. That is half a

:56:32. > :56:39.Parliamentary term and a lot can change in that time. We went from

:56:40. > :56:50.Charlie, to Ming Campbell to Nick in that time. In 12 months our

:56:51. > :56:58.membership has doubled. Another point that is raised is that

:56:59. > :57:02.administering party democracy would be more expensive. I think this was

:57:03. > :57:12.a point raised in opposition in the first place. I do not think we

:57:13. > :57:22.should abridge democracy just because it is too expensive. The

:57:23. > :57:29.cycle goes federal, state, regional. The way this appears to me, the

:57:30. > :57:33.Yorkshire Humber region would be pressed by financial concerns more

:57:34. > :57:40.than anything to reduce elections from annually to try annually. So

:57:41. > :57:45.much for reducing these cliques. What if the English party was

:57:46. > :57:51.abolished? Which half of us probably want. What happens to the schedule

:57:52. > :57:56.then? I believe accountability is best served when democracy is best

:57:57. > :58:00.served. If I were elected to a committee, I would not feel

:58:01. > :58:03.comfortable with only being accountable once every three years.

:58:04. > :58:15.Party members deserve better and I urge you to support the amendment

:58:16. > :58:22.because democracy in -- is precious. Thank you. Can Alan fox stand-by. I

:58:23. > :58:27.call Steve Jarvis from North Hertfordshire and Stevenage to move

:58:28. > :58:32.a member two. Good morning. I feel I should

:58:33. > :58:36.apologise for spending your time on an amendment to a constitutional

:58:37. > :58:43.amendment on what looks on the face of it to be a pretty minor change.

:58:44. > :58:52.But in my view what we are talking about in this area, and I agree with

:58:53. > :58:56.almost everything else Sal had to say. We are talking about protecting

:58:57. > :59:00.the way the party chooses Parliamentary candidates in a

:59:01. > :59:06.democratic and accountable way. For years we had a process designed to

:59:07. > :59:11.ensure we have people with the skills and knowledge to do the job,

:59:12. > :59:15.commitment to our cause, selected via a democratic process. Like any

:59:16. > :59:19.process it does not always work perfectly. We have members who when

:59:20. > :59:25.they are told they don't have the skills or knowledge do not react

:59:26. > :59:29.favourably to that. We have occasions when candidates who don't

:59:30. > :59:35.get selected allege it is because the process is wrong or did not

:59:36. > :59:42.work. Although occasionally things don't work, we have had a system

:59:43. > :59:45.that has been tested in this party's processes and on at least one

:59:46. > :59:52.occasion in the High Court. Over the past 15 years I calculate it has

:59:53. > :59:58.successfully selected candidates for more than 2500 seats and

:59:59. > :00:02.constituencies. It has delivered a Liberal Democrat candidate we could

:00:03. > :00:08.be proud of in every seat in every Parliamentary election the century.

:00:09. > :00:13.I agree the organisation that does that should talk more with the

:00:14. > :00:19.campaign 's organisation, but it seems rather strange that the only

:00:20. > :00:24.place where the constitutional review proposes taking powers to

:00:25. > :00:30.centralise a process is one operated for that time with that degree of

:00:31. > :00:33.success. I am prepared to accept we have to have a backstop. If the

:00:34. > :00:40.English or Welsh or Scottish candidates selection functions do

:00:41. > :00:43.not do their job, we can't have a position where there are seats that

:00:44. > :00:49.are not fought. We need a backstop will stop even though it is a

:00:50. > :00:54.position that has never yet happened. What concerns me about the

:00:55. > :01:00.backstop proposed is it fails to place limits on when that can be

:01:01. > :01:05.used. Sal said there would be consultation. We have all been

:01:06. > :01:09.consulted and all recognise the consultation means that someone asks

:01:10. > :01:15.your view. It does not necessarily mean someone takes any notice.

:01:16. > :01:22.My concerns about this are increased by the events that took place this

:01:23. > :01:26.summer. Because having decided that there should be preparations for a

:01:27. > :01:30.snap general election, there was then a proposal from the campaigns

:01:31. > :01:36.and communications committee to just a of candidates to all the most

:01:37. > :01:41.winnable seats. No chance for any other candidate to apply, no say for

:01:42. > :01:47.any local parties involved. Under the present arrangements, it was

:01:48. > :01:51.possible to avoid doing that, and it might be in future. But the

:01:52. > :01:56.unamended proposals would make that much more difficult. The amendment

:01:57. > :02:00.makes it clear that we have an organisation set up to manage the

:02:01. > :02:06.selection of our parliamentary candidates, which we should use if

:02:07. > :02:11.it works. I don't think we should be abandoning openness and democracy in

:02:12. > :02:15.order to achieve expediency. And I hope, if you agree with me, that you

:02:16. > :02:20.will support amendment two. APPLAUSE

:02:21. > :02:25.Thank you very much. Could prove braid stand-by, I now

:02:26. > :02:31.call Alan Fox from Leicester City, who wishes to speak against

:02:32. > :02:35.amendment two. Conference, in opposing amendment

:02:36. > :02:38.two I should make it clear that I am not doing it because I have

:02:39. > :02:42.criticisms of the English candidates committee. In fact, it is the only

:02:43. > :02:51.part of the English party that I have respect for. But the amendment

:02:52. > :03:00.is badly worded. It means that it is only if the English or Welsh or

:03:01. > :03:04.Scottish Candidates Committee are not carrying out their

:03:05. > :03:15.constitutional, and I would underline the word constitutional,

:03:16. > :03:19.responsibilities, that JC RC can move. There are plenty of other

:03:20. > :03:25.responsibilities that it may or may not be carrying out. It may be doing

:03:26. > :03:35.more than its constitutional responsibilities. Would any part of

:03:36. > :03:40.our party carry out more than its constitutional responsibilities? I

:03:41. > :03:44.was handed this as I came into the hall the other day, from the English

:03:45. > :03:49.party who are proposing this amendment. It explains the work of

:03:50. > :03:52.the English party. The only mention of the English Candidates' Committee

:03:53. > :03:59.is to say that it is chair is Richard Brett. Two committees that

:04:00. > :04:06.it says two important work have no basis in the constitution, in the

:04:07. > :04:10.federal constitution or in the Constitution of the Liberal

:04:11. > :04:18.Democrats in England. Therefore, I think it is important that we should

:04:19. > :04:27.not allow organisations, no matter how good their work is at the

:04:28. > :04:32.moment, to be able to act with impunity if they carry out more than

:04:33. > :04:36.their responsibilities or if they carry out other responsibilities

:04:37. > :04:41.badly, bringing the party into disrepute.

:04:42. > :04:49.Thank you, Conference. Thank you very much, could Peter Dunphy please

:04:50. > :04:56.stand by, and I now call Pru Bray from Wokingham, who wishes to speak

:04:57. > :05:01.against some of the lines. It is a muted opposition, I am

:05:02. > :05:03.speaking as chair of the Parliamentary candidates

:05:04. > :05:08.Association. The lines that affect candidates are the ones I am

:05:09. > :05:12.interested in. I am generally in favour of the provisions of the

:05:13. > :05:16.committee structure, I think it is a step in the right direction. The

:05:17. > :05:20.bits to do with candidates, not so much. The first thing has remained

:05:21. > :05:26.the same and I think should have been made different, that is the

:05:27. > :05:30.composition of the Joint States Candidates' Committee. Under the

:05:31. > :05:37.Constitution, the membership is as outlined in the motion starting with

:05:38. > :05:43.the line 147. But custom and practice has been that somebody from

:05:44. > :05:46.the PCA sits on the Joint States Candidates' Committee, and I have

:05:47. > :05:51.had that role in the last few years. I would like to think that I have

:05:52. > :05:54.made a contribution and I am very sad to see that the composition of

:05:55. > :05:58.that committee is the same as before, and there is no explicit

:05:59. > :06:01.role for candidates or representatives of candidates must

:06:02. > :06:09.committee. I hope that will be noted by those responsible for setting it

:06:10. > :06:11.up on the overarching committee, the Campaigns And Elections Committee,

:06:12. > :06:17.which would be the parent of that committee. I hope it will use power

:06:18. > :06:22.over its subcommittees to take a different form and include a

:06:23. > :06:29.candidate's representative. The other side is to do with

:06:30. > :06:31.amendment two and lines 437 to 440, where the English party's amendment

:06:32. > :06:35.should be supported, it is a step in should be supported, it is a step in

:06:36. > :06:46.the right direction. What I am concerned, to be slightly nerdy,

:06:47. > :06:49.paragraph 1188, match currently exists and is not propose to be

:06:50. > :06:53.changed, currently gives the party the ability to vary selection

:06:54. > :06:57.procedures if we are faced with emergency situations like a snap

:06:58. > :07:02.general election, which we have just prepared for. That is the paragraph

:07:03. > :07:07.that use. And it worked, as has outlined. My concern about inventing

:07:08. > :07:12.a backstop which says that the federal party can do it if the state

:07:13. > :07:15.parties are not doing it is that once you have introduced something

:07:16. > :07:22.like that there will be a temptation to use it. States parties have the

:07:23. > :07:25.devolved responsibility for candidate selection, and I do

:07:26. > :07:29.believe that we should take a step towards the federal party doing it

:07:30. > :07:34.if the state parties are doing it now. We are not a party that

:07:35. > :07:38.believes in centralisation of power. So it is not enough to stop you

:07:39. > :07:43.voting for the motion as a whole, although I would prefer it if it had

:07:44. > :07:48.amendment two in it, but afterwards we need to sit down as a party and

:07:49. > :07:52.write some protocols for the circumstances in which that would be

:07:53. > :07:57.acceptable to be invoked, and what we would do. The last thing we want

:07:58. > :08:01.is to be in an emergency situation and be arguing about territory.

:08:02. > :08:05.Please support amendment two, support the motion as a whole, then

:08:06. > :08:09.let's work out some of the practical details of how it would operate

:08:10. > :08:14.without removing some of the better democratic elements in the party.

:08:15. > :08:19.Thank you. Can Colin Rosenstiel please stand

:08:20. > :08:23.by, and I now call Peter Dunphy from Westminster, who wishes to speak

:08:24. > :08:29.against amendment one. Thank you very much. Amendment one

:08:30. > :08:35.is basically seeking to change this three-year cycle to a two year cycle

:08:36. > :08:40.for the election of committees. There are three basic reasons why I

:08:41. > :08:45.want you to reject this and to go on and support the motion as a whole.

:08:46. > :08:50.Firstly, there is an issue of continuity on committees. On all of

:08:51. > :08:56.those committees, the policy committee, what will be the federal

:08:57. > :09:01.board, the finance and resources committee, I think it is important

:09:02. > :09:05.that members of those committees are able to really get to know how the

:09:06. > :09:12.committee works, what its functions are, what is going on, what the

:09:13. > :09:17.current issues. It takes a year, at least, to find out what the current

:09:18. > :09:22.federal finance and administration committee is responsible for and

:09:23. > :09:27.what it does, to get into the detail of how the party puts together its

:09:28. > :09:31.budgets, how the structuring of finance, how all of these things

:09:32. > :09:36.operate take a while. Having a two year cycle is simply not fit for

:09:37. > :09:39.purpose. We would not do that for members of Parliament, we would not

:09:40. > :09:44.do that for a local authority, we would not even do that for a parish

:09:45. > :09:48.council, for obvious reasons. Those of you who are elected councillors,

:09:49. > :09:53.how would you feel about having to go back and get re-elected every two

:09:54. > :10:00.years? It simply does not make sense. The second reason is that one

:10:01. > :10:05.votes, membership as a whole, they are being presented with large slate

:10:06. > :10:14.of candidates in a series of elections every year. There is a

:10:15. > :10:19.rather elegant way of putting together these elections so that

:10:20. > :10:25.members are not faced with two sets of elections in the same year. If

:10:26. > :10:29.you switch back to two years, that goes away, and in the same way as

:10:30. > :10:35.fighting a whole series of different types of elections on the same day,

:10:36. > :10:43.we will be forced to send two whole sets of ballot papers for numerous

:10:44. > :10:48.types of committee at different levels of the party, may be regional

:10:49. > :10:54.and federal in the same day. It does not make sense.

:10:55. > :11:00.The third point, Sarah mentions that we should not stop doing something

:11:01. > :11:03.because it is too expensive. People would be very familiar, if they know

:11:04. > :11:08.me at all, that I am the man in the party that tries to stop things from

:11:09. > :11:11.being too expensive. There is a good reason to not do things which are

:11:12. > :11:18.too expensive, that is because we have limited resources, and I would

:11:19. > :11:22.rather see that money spent on fighting hard a parliamentary

:11:23. > :11:29.by-election, or extra money is it we can fight more target seats -- or

:11:30. > :11:33.extra money being spent so can we fight more target seats, rather than

:11:34. > :11:36.to administer internal party elections. Reject amendment one and

:11:37. > :11:42.support the main motion. Thank you very much. Can Sheila

:11:43. > :11:50.Thompson please stand by, I now call Colin Rosenstiel from Cambridge.

:11:51. > :11:57.Thank you, your ladyship. I have been a member of this party for over

:11:58. > :12:01.50 years this year. And I have also been a supporter of electoral reform

:12:02. > :12:06.throughout that time. And I had to remind members who forget that we do

:12:07. > :12:10.our elections in this party by the single transferable vote, and one of

:12:11. > :12:15.the things that insurers is we don't get a complete turnover of committee

:12:16. > :12:19.that an election. -- one of the things that insurers. So I want you

:12:20. > :12:23.to reject the idea that you need to have less frequent elections to get

:12:24. > :12:27.continuity on committees, because that is never what this party has

:12:28. > :12:29.done, even when we had elections every year.

:12:30. > :12:34.The other very important thing to bear in mind in this debate, and I

:12:35. > :12:37.can say this because I have never been a member of a federal committee

:12:38. > :12:44.of this party ad never even stood for election for federal committee,

:12:45. > :12:52.but I have counted the votes for all the people. I think this party owes

:12:53. > :12:57.an enormous debt is just -- gratitude to the volunteers who give

:12:58. > :13:01.up their time to keep this party going by being on federal

:13:02. > :13:05.committees. But I also want the new people who come into this party,

:13:06. > :13:08.including an enormous number at present, to have a chance to join in

:13:09. > :13:12.and give their best from that. I think having elections every three

:13:13. > :13:20.years, that is over half a Parliament apart, is too infrequent

:13:21. > :13:24.to refresh the blood that helps to keep this party going, and that is

:13:25. > :13:31.why I support this amendment and as you to carry it overwhelmingly.

:13:32. > :13:37.Thank you very much. Can Brian Nowell please stand by, I now call

:13:38. > :13:41.Sheila Thompson, the convener of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

:13:42. > :13:44.Conference, can I first speak against amendment number one,

:13:45. > :13:51.extending the term to three years won't mean less democracy, and it

:13:52. > :13:55.won't mean that people will stay on committees for too long. For some

:13:56. > :14:02.people it will mean they stay on for slightly less. Some of them think

:14:03. > :14:07.they have just got into two years, in a working group of Scottish

:14:08. > :14:11.federal level, they are coming towards a second year and they are

:14:12. > :14:15.pushed to doing another two years, four years, which sometimes they

:14:16. > :14:22.don't want to do. Three years can allow them to get through a piece of

:14:23. > :14:25.work and come to an end, so it becomes operational, a good length

:14:26. > :14:30.of time to be on a committee, Bernard, do something and see the

:14:31. > :14:34.fruition of your work. -- be on a committee, learn it, do

:14:35. > :14:38.something and see the fruition of your work.

:14:39. > :14:44.There are different ways of looking at it. Three years can allow people

:14:45. > :14:48.to be on committees less and open up new opportunities for more people.

:14:49. > :14:53.Think about it, think about how long you would want to be committed to

:14:54. > :14:57.it. Do you want to have to restart and in the middle of a piece of

:14:58. > :15:02.work? What does that do to the work we are giving in the committees? How

:15:03. > :15:06.do we finish it if halfway through a working group the person is no

:15:07. > :15:10.longer on the committee? It is really from an operational point of

:15:11. > :15:14.view in allowing that to happen, but I support the motion for the three

:15:15. > :15:19.years. At present in Scotland we are two years. We are about to start our

:15:20. > :15:23.governance review, we have waited for this one to go through, to

:15:24. > :15:30.hopefully loan and maybe speed processor little bit. -- to

:15:31. > :15:33.hopefully loan. We might be putting that to the next Conference in

:15:34. > :15:43.spring. We can learn from each other and move forward by doing that.

:15:44. > :15:47.Because we cant the votes by SJV it does not mean that people have

:15:48. > :15:51.longer terms of office or move on to committees, it is only for the rest

:15:52. > :15:56.of that term, if someone steps in, which gives them even less time to

:15:57. > :16:00.learn it in a two year period. In three years, if somebody has had to

:16:01. > :16:04.step down for personal reasons, change in employment or whatever,

:16:05. > :16:07.somebody coming in behind them might have slightly longer to do it. If

:16:08. > :16:16.they have only done it for a short period they will know the value of

:16:17. > :16:19.standing for another three years and be able to put their case forward.

:16:20. > :16:23.So I would really press you to vote against amendment one. As for

:16:24. > :16:27.amendment two, when we first read it and I spoke with the leader of the

:16:28. > :16:33.Scottish party, and what does that do to us and how does that affect

:16:34. > :16:37.us, and we said, let it go. Let it go through. Why? Because we would

:16:38. > :16:41.doubt well know in Scotland that a Scottish executive of our campaigns

:16:42. > :16:44.and candidates committee were not doing their job. We would be sorting

:16:45. > :16:49.it out long before the federal party knew about it. Trust me, if the

:16:50. > :16:54.federal party picked up on something first and came and spoke to us, we

:16:55. > :16:58.would want to work with them. We would want to work with them so they

:16:59. > :16:59.didn't have to takeover, but can support us, and make sure it

:17:00. > :17:10.happens. We want a successful committee in

:17:11. > :17:15.Scotland as I am sure you do in the English regions. The backstop, if we

:17:16. > :17:20.go for the amendment, could end up in a talking shop, which means

:17:21. > :17:24.neither the federal committee nor the state or regional committee

:17:25. > :17:29.actually get on with the work. It could end up nobody is doing it and

:17:30. > :17:35.where is that going to get as in the run-up to the election? This is a

:17:36. > :17:39.backstop, not about not trusting the committees and the regions and

:17:40. > :17:44.state, it is a backstop. I took the point made about maybe have written

:17:45. > :17:49.rules that can go around it, which is fine, but it is a backstop. Let's

:17:50. > :17:55.trust the committees and have it purely as that, let's move this

:17:56. > :17:59.motion. It is the best way forward, the governance review has listened

:18:00. > :18:06.to the members and the work has gone forward. Please vote for the motion

:18:07. > :18:14.as a whole. Thank you. Can James stand-by and I called Brian from

:18:15. > :18:23.Kensington and Chelsea. Who does not appear to be in the

:18:24. > :18:29.hall. I am sorry, James. I call James Girling. And could face

:18:30. > :18:32.Ponsonby stand-by. There is a certain justice in I had that

:18:33. > :18:38.experience when chairing the previous session. I am here to talk

:18:39. > :18:44.about Article 12 and why I support the recommendations and the

:18:45. > :18:50.amendments we suggest. This relates to the federal campaigns and

:18:51. > :18:55.elections committee. You have to be thankful if you are an admirer of

:18:56. > :18:58.the character Father Jack we did not make it the federal elections and

:18:59. > :19:07.campaign committee the other way round. Small numbers will understand

:19:08. > :19:11.that joke. This does not stem simply from the constitutional review, it

:19:12. > :19:18.comes from the findings we had at the general election review in which

:19:19. > :19:20.thousands of you responded in which I and the campaigns and

:19:21. > :19:26.communications committee I chair went through. One thing, admittedly

:19:27. > :19:31.not all of you alighted on this, was structure of command coming through

:19:32. > :19:36.in the way we run campaigns. Back in the mists of time, the committee was

:19:37. > :19:43.designed to ensure coordinating function happened between the person

:19:44. > :19:48.that leader appointed as responsible for a general election campaign and

:19:49. > :19:52.the campaigns delivered. Over time, back committee, part of the

:19:53. > :19:58.Constitution of the federal executive, although not part of the

:19:59. > :20:01.formal constitution, became superseded by direct appointments,

:20:02. > :20:04.so that we have an appointed person running local campaigns, an

:20:05. > :20:10.appointed person the general election, another appointed person

:20:11. > :20:16.running European campaign. It did not help staff being able to

:20:17. > :20:20.dedicate resources or be clear where our accountability is. This

:20:21. > :20:24.amendment makes it clear in this federal campaigns and elections

:20:25. > :20:32.committee where the responsibility lies madness the first benefit. The

:20:33. > :20:34.other is in the responses made to Sal's review, two thirds said

:20:35. > :20:39.candidate should come into this committee which is one of the major

:20:40. > :20:45.achievements of this amendment. In terms of amendment one to this

:20:46. > :20:51.amendment, there is an issue residing on whether or not the

:20:52. > :20:58.backstop powers relate to operational necessity and a time of

:20:59. > :21:01.the election run-up, or a discussion about the constitutional

:21:02. > :21:06.requirements of the two parties. I am being brave because I will

:21:07. > :21:08.disagree with Richard and Steve and that is dangerous to do sometimes,

:21:09. > :21:15.because they are persuasive speakers. Do not be persuaded by

:21:16. > :21:20.their arguments. Allow the backstop powers to be there and ensure they

:21:21. > :21:28.will only be used in consultation with the state parties as the

:21:29. > :21:32.amendment clearly sets out. This is setting out a possibility for

:21:33. > :21:37.operational decisions if everything is going wrong, what you want is a

:21:38. > :21:48.decision and not a discussion about constitutional requirements. Do vote

:21:49. > :21:54.for this motion. Thanks. Can show Otten stand-by and I call Faith

:21:55. > :21:58.Ponsonby. Good morning, conference. I am not a constitutional bird and I

:21:59. > :22:07.am amazed there are so many in the hall today. -- nerd. I have to admit

:22:08. > :22:13.a lot of the reviews have passed me by. A sickly I am a local

:22:14. > :22:17.councillor, very busy, currently mayor of the borough and thanks to

:22:18. > :22:24.the Conservatives. The only Lib Dem on the council. I have been involved

:22:25. > :22:28.in nine regional level, not this year obviously, in the candidates

:22:29. > :22:36.committee. I was vice-chair. One thing I had to do in 2015 in

:22:37. > :22:43.January, when we had a number of local parties that did not have a

:22:44. > :22:48.candidate, was to ring around the candidates in Hampshire and try to

:22:49. > :22:55.twist their arms to stand for a seat. It was an experience, talking

:22:56. > :23:00.to people, because we were at the end of the coalition and a number

:23:01. > :23:05.had strong feelings about that. It was quite difficult, we only just

:23:06. > :23:09.managed to get a candidate in every Parliamentary constituency in the

:23:10. > :23:15.south, and that is I think appalling. I also volunteer and I

:23:16. > :23:21.would urge anybody to do this, as one of the assessors nationally for

:23:22. > :23:25.Parliamentary candidates. It is a rewarding job. I may have

:23:26. > :23:31.interviewed some of you. I love it every time, I learn from them. We

:23:32. > :23:37.had some excellent candidates, but we need to maintain standards and it

:23:38. > :23:41.is important, because you never know when you select a Parliamentary

:23:42. > :23:46.candidate if some huge issue is going to crop up in your

:23:47. > :23:50.constituency, like Hinckley, and you might suddenly be on national

:23:51. > :24:00.television and we have to ensure the candidates are able to do this. Then

:24:01. > :24:06.we come to this motion. I think my concern is about all the

:24:07. > :24:10.ramifications it introduces. I welcome a prohibition in line 11 of

:24:11. > :24:15.being elected to many committees. You cannot be elected to more than

:24:16. > :24:19.one, which I think is excellent because it will spread the

:24:20. > :24:25.membership of committees really well. We already have a number of

:24:26. > :24:31.people who come up year on year and I admire them for doing it. I could

:24:32. > :24:36.not get up to London for meetings weekly or even monthly. I support

:24:37. > :24:44.this motion will stop with hindsight, I support the section on

:24:45. > :24:50.the candidates' part, which has been controversial, because I think we

:24:51. > :24:55.have to have a backstop, in case there is a sudden election,

:24:56. > :24:59.something happening. We have to have a co-ordinated campaign, coordinated

:25:00. > :25:03.selection, but working with the regions on this. Thank you,

:25:04. > :25:16.conference. APPLAUSE. Can Duncan STV stand-by.

:25:17. > :25:20.Good morning, conference. I am speaking in favour of amendment one

:25:21. > :25:25.to retain the two-year cycle of federal committee selections.

:25:26. > :25:30.Although it is an amend into the motion, the motion has changed in

:25:31. > :25:35.the current cycle and the amendment restores the two-year cycle. I was

:25:36. > :25:42.not elected to the federal committee, I was a runner-up, and

:25:43. > :25:47.gained a place when Sandra resigned in the summer. It has been a

:25:48. > :25:52.revelation, a fascinating time serving for this one conference. It

:25:53. > :25:56.gives me a better understanding of why the motions and amendments I had

:25:57. > :26:00.written in the past has been rejected. LAUGHTER.

:26:01. > :26:08.If you want to know what I know, I will be in the back of the hall and

:26:09. > :26:13.can share wisdom after. It has given me understanding why so many

:26:14. > :26:17.Speaker's cards have been rejected. I had not appreciated the value of

:26:18. > :26:22.putting it in early. Before the chairs plan the debate. Put it in

:26:23. > :26:26.early and you are more likely to get called. This is not a digression,

:26:27. > :26:32.the serious point is that it is better to have some turnover, some

:26:33. > :26:36.new blood. Really speakers have mentioned this. One said we will get

:26:37. > :26:43.more new blood by having longer terms. I do not think that is right.

:26:44. > :26:49.A shorter term, you get better turnover. There are very capable

:26:50. > :26:55.people. I am not trying to disparage anyone on committee. Some people

:26:56. > :26:59.stick around for years and years and sometimes a little bit of change,

:27:00. > :27:04.new ideas, and more opportunity for more members to get involved and

:27:05. > :27:10.understand how things work, and more members therefore to become more

:27:11. > :27:14.effective, better volunteers, better politicians, to spread the skill

:27:15. > :27:22.spread, understanding, spread the knowledge and insight into party

:27:23. > :27:30.strategy. Policy, whatever it is. Please support amendment one.

:27:31. > :27:34.Turnover, it is about striking a balance and I think we strike the

:27:35. > :27:43.balance already on not quite enough turnover. Re-elect people who have

:27:44. > :27:49.done one term, all one conference! Let's not shift the balance in the

:27:50. > :27:54.wrong direction. Let's have some continuity, some new blood. Support

:27:55. > :28:02.amendment one. Thanks. Can George Potter stand-by and I called Duncan

:28:03. > :28:07.Brack. My main reason to be called is not to miss the chance to speak

:28:08. > :28:13.on the 600 line cost tuition amendment, which does not happen

:28:14. > :28:16.enough! I find myself in the odd position of agreeing with Joe, even

:28:17. > :28:22.though I have been around years and years, one of the people he wants to

:28:23. > :28:27.get rid of. I ask you to support amendment one. We had good input

:28:28. > :28:32.into the governance review and our committee did not discuss this

:28:33. > :28:36.issue. I want to apologise to Sal and to Chris because I have not

:28:37. > :28:40.raised it with them. It had not occurred to me until I saw the

:28:41. > :28:45.amendment this week and I have reflected on it. I think there is a

:28:46. > :28:51.problem with three-year terms. I have been in office and we have a

:28:52. > :28:57.problem with exhaustion. People are elected on a burst of enthusiasm and

:28:58. > :29:00.it tails off, circumstances change. We have a punishing schedule,

:29:01. > :29:06.particularly when we are producing manifestos. The committee has two

:29:07. > :29:12.meetings of the last two weeks and we did not have more than half the

:29:13. > :29:14.membership at each. There is a good argument for accountability and

:29:15. > :29:21.regular chances for the electorate to have a say. You need a regular

:29:22. > :29:26.injection of enthusiasm, even if it is people standing again. When they

:29:27. > :29:29.stand they have to think about what they have to do, they get fired up

:29:30. > :29:36.and you get the chance to have new people. Peter makes a fair point

:29:37. > :29:42.about continuity. Until 12 or 13 years ago we used to have annual

:29:43. > :29:47.elections to the committees. I was chair of the FCC when the amendment

:29:48. > :29:52.was put to change that to two years. And they got the words biennial and

:29:53. > :29:58.biannual mixed up and we had elections every six months! But we

:29:59. > :30:01.fix that. You need a balance between continuity and injecting more

:30:02. > :30:06.energy. One year is too short as three years too long. Two years is

:30:07. > :30:16.about right and that is why I will support amendment one. Can Richard

:30:17. > :30:22.Brett stand-by. I call George Porter for the summary of amendment one.

:30:23. > :30:34.Who does not appear to be in the hall. Can Chris White stand-by and I

:30:35. > :30:44.call Richard Brett to summate on amendment two.

:30:45. > :30:46.Conference, I stand before you as a first-time Speaker and I promise it

:30:47. > :30:52.will be the last time speaking at conference.

:30:53. > :30:57.APPLAUSE. Do not applaud, it eats into by time! I am here not

:30:58. > :31:01.defending the empire called the English candidates committee because

:31:02. > :31:07.in three months, I will be standing down. I would like you to step act

:31:08. > :31:16.and look at the words again in the lines that we are looking at. JC SCE

:31:17. > :31:21.may instruct a state candidates committee to take appropriate action

:31:22. > :31:25.or may take over its actions if the federal board so decides. The

:31:26. > :31:30.amendment does not change that, but think where that would strike you as

:31:31. > :31:34.appropriate. Is it more likely you would find those words in Jeremy

:31:35. > :31:40.Corbyn's Labour Party or a police state? I recall when I was made a

:31:41. > :31:44.member of the West Yorkshire Police authority talking to the Chief

:31:45. > :31:48.Constable who I asked, how do you work with your command team? He said

:31:49. > :31:55.with a slight smile on his face, if I ask them to jump, their only

:31:56. > :32:00.response is to ask me how high. We are not in that sort of

:32:01. > :32:04.organisation. It is sad that we are having this discussion in these

:32:05. > :32:16.terms because I think what has happened this summer has improved

:32:17. > :32:21.hugely the links between CCC and EEC. I was invited to the executive

:32:22. > :32:26.18 months into my term as chair and I wish we had better links earlier.

:32:27. > :32:31.I suspect what has happened this summer may hugely improve the links

:32:32. > :32:35.that we have. I would very much like that the English candidates

:32:36. > :32:37.committee when we review rules has a permanent representative from CCC

:32:38. > :32:49.coming to our meetings. I want to stress that a lot of what

:32:50. > :32:55.candidates do depends on volunteers. They do not take well to being

:32:56. > :33:00.instructed from outside. That, I'm afraid, is a fact of life. Everyone

:33:01. > :33:03.has their own little area, it is sad that candidates can sometimes be

:33:04. > :33:10.insular. What happened this summer is instructive. Lots of people have

:33:11. > :33:14.congratulated me, that is quite rare. Candidates do not get

:33:15. > :33:19.congratulations and praise. Ten times more often we get people

:33:20. > :33:22.saying, this is wrong, and we get modems, so it is very unusual for me

:33:23. > :33:26.at the moment to have lots of people saying, thank you very much for what

:33:27. > :33:30.you have done this summer. What has happened this summer is that the

:33:31. > :33:34.federal executive use their powers, quite rightly, in my view, to say

:33:35. > :33:41.that we must prepare for a general election. We have done that. We have

:33:42. > :33:44.candidates in place in nearly all the seats in England. We have more

:33:45. > :33:48.candidates coming forward. It is looking healthy. But it is not

:33:49. > :33:52.without some damage. Having intervention from outside has a

:33:53. > :33:56.cost. A number of candidates are very bruised. Officers have resigned

:33:57. > :34:01.over the process in some local areas. Many could not take place in

:34:02. > :34:06.the rapid selections this summer because of the rules that we had to

:34:07. > :34:11.use, not having postal boats and it being a holiday period. Alan, I

:34:12. > :34:14.really don't understand how you are saying we might do more than our

:34:15. > :34:19.constitutional duty. It will not happen. We struggled to do

:34:20. > :34:22.everything that we are asked to do. James, I hope I have not

:34:23. > :34:26.disappointed you. I think some people might vote on this on whether

:34:27. > :34:35.they believe you that it is not a land grab or that it is, but I

:34:36. > :34:37.welcome your praise and saying I was an excellent speaker, I hope you

:34:38. > :34:41.still think this is the case. I ask you all to do two things today.

:34:42. > :34:44.Could you please thank one of the thousand people involved in the

:34:45. > :34:48.rapid selections this summer, whether a member of the ECC, whether

:34:49. > :34:54.a returning officer, and assessor or somebody involved simply in the

:34:55. > :35:01.short listing committees. Could you draw your remarks to a close? Please

:35:02. > :35:05.support amendment two. Conference, my apologies, it is not

:35:06. > :35:12.Chris White, it is Neil Fawcett who will some eight on the motion as a

:35:13. > :35:15.whole. I now call Neil Fawcett. I have been called a lot of things

:35:16. > :35:21.in my time! LAUGHTER

:35:22. > :35:26.Right, this is my one appearance in the Conference hall during this

:35:27. > :35:29.Conference, because I am very help -- busy helping to prepare for a

:35:30. > :35:33.particular political event taking place on October the 20th in a

:35:34. > :35:37.beautiful part of West Oxfordshire, I hope to see you there.

:35:38. > :35:42.More of you there than here, hopefully. This is the ultimate in

:35:43. > :35:46.splitting hairs, isn't it? I speak on behalf of the federal executive,

:35:47. > :35:51.of which I am a new member. It is the third time I have been on a

:35:52. > :35:53.federal committee in my 20 80th' activity in the party. Each time I

:35:54. > :36:08.have stood for 12-macro year slot. I am currently thinking about

:36:09. > :36:11.whether to stand again for another two years, I would rather have stood

:36:12. > :36:13.for 13-year term. In the two and have had we have had a general

:36:14. > :36:15.election, its aftermath, a campaign review, the aftermath of the local

:36:16. > :36:18.elections, a European referendum, preparation for a snap general

:36:19. > :36:23.election. That does not leave a lot of time for the primary job of the

:36:24. > :36:27.federal executive, agreeing a longer term strategy for the party. I

:36:28. > :36:31.believe the federal committees need a little bit longer in each term.

:36:32. > :36:35.There is still an allowance, as people have said, for turnover,

:36:36. > :36:39.because people sometimes drop out and replaced because of the system

:36:40. > :36:44.we use. But it is an important job and not want which I think you can

:36:45. > :36:52.come to knew, learn the ropes and make a full contribution innate two

:36:53. > :36:55.year term. I serve on two cancels, each a four year term, I would

:36:56. > :37:01.challenge anyone who had spoken against a three-year term to start

:37:02. > :37:06.campaigning that they should be re-elected every two years. Please

:37:07. > :37:10.reject amendment one. Amendment two, some very serious points have been

:37:11. > :37:14.made. If this was a proposal for the federal committees to walk in and

:37:15. > :37:19.take over the candidate function I would strongly oppose. But there is

:37:20. > :37:21.a key difference between the state candidates committee is just a cheap

:37:22. > :37:24.and take over the candidate function I would strongly oppose. But there

:37:25. > :37:25.is a key difference between the state candidates committee is just

:37:26. > :37:28.achieving their constitutional requirement, and actually doing the

:37:29. > :37:31.job the party needs them to do. They have achieved, as Steve jobs said,

:37:32. > :37:40.having a candidate in every seat in every election. -- as Steve Jarvis

:37:41. > :37:45.said. I personally thank every volunteer involved in that process,

:37:46. > :37:52.and the hard-pressed staff. But that is the minimum. As a political party

:37:53. > :37:58.we need candidates in place early, we need them on the ground building

:37:59. > :38:03.seats up. That is more than the pure constitutional requirements. If you

:38:04. > :38:07.can imagine a situation where significant numbers of local parties

:38:08. > :38:12.are waiting around because the party has not been able to help them

:38:13. > :38:16.select candidates, in my view you should support the motion as it

:38:17. > :38:20.stands and reject the amendment. If we get to that point, if the federal

:38:21. > :38:25.board in the future has made it clear that we need to be selecting

:38:26. > :38:29.candidates for a general election, and for whatever genuine reasons

:38:30. > :38:35.that is not happening, I believe federal boards should have the right

:38:36. > :38:50.to step in, have discussions with the state candidate committee

:38:51. > :38:53.responsible and sort the situation out. If you can see that

:38:54. > :38:55.circumstance happening, please vote against amendment two and supported

:38:56. > :38:57.the original motion. Please supported as a whole, support the

:38:58. > :39:00.government review, it will make the party better, more fit for purpose

:39:01. > :39:03.and more able to stage the fight back, which this country desperately

:39:04. > :39:08.needs. Conference, we moved to the votes.

:39:09. > :39:13.There will be three. We will vote on amendment one, then amendment two,

:39:14. > :39:18.then the motion as amended or not amended. We need a simple majority

:39:19. > :39:22.on both of the amendments, but the motion as a whole, because it is

:39:23. > :39:28.constitutional, would require a two thirds majority. Can you show me

:39:29. > :39:40.your badges, please, with the word voting facing me, can I see those in

:39:41. > :39:49.favour of amendment one? Thank you. Those against amendment one?

:39:50. > :39:51.I'd like to take that again, please, if I may?

:39:52. > :40:01.May I see those in favour of amendment one?

:40:02. > :40:09.Thank you. And those against? I think we are going to have to cans

:40:10. > :40:36.that. We needed some excitement this morning, didn't we?

:40:37. > :40:42.Please may I see those in favour of amendment one, can you keep your

:40:43. > :41:22.hands up until the stewards have counted you, please?

:41:23. > :42:08.Thank you. Put your hands down. And those against amendment one?

:42:09. > :42:16.Thank you very much. Those are being counted, I would like to take the

:42:17. > :42:21.votes on amendment two, please. Please don't have a counter vote on

:42:22. > :42:28.amendment two. May I see, please, those in favour

:42:29. > :42:32.of amendment two? Thank you very much. And those

:42:33. > :42:38.against? That is very clearly lost. Thank you.

:42:39. > :42:43.LAUGHTER It's why I've got a bird's eye view

:42:44. > :42:46.appear, and you haven't. We now just had to wait for the

:42:47. > :42:50.results of amendment one before we can votes on main motion, so just a

:42:51. > :44:30.little patience, please. OK, the result is for the amendment

:44:31. > :44:33.66, and against the amendment 90 seven. So that amendment is also

:44:34. > :44:39.lost. We will now move to vote on the

:44:40. > :44:44.motion as a whole, as did buy the two amendments. May I see those in

:44:45. > :44:49.favour of the motion as a whole? Sorry, I beg your pardon. Unamended.

:44:50. > :44:54.It is all this counting, it is really upsetting me. I have never

:44:55. > :45:01.had a counter before. May I see those in favour of the motion,

:45:02. > :45:10.unamended? Thank you. And those against? Oh,

:45:11. > :45:20.that is very, very clearly carried. Thank you very much, Conference. Can

:45:21. > :45:21.I thank my aides, Jeremy Hargreaves and Lindy Northover. And I now hand

:45:22. > :45:56.over the chair to Liz. Good morning, let's move straight to

:45:57. > :46:02.the standing order amendments, which can be found on page 77 of the

:46:03. > :46:07.conference agenda. And the existing text is there. Standing orders

:46:08. > :46:12.require a two thirds majority for the final vote and I call Chris

:46:13. > :46:17.White from St Albans, member of the federal executive to propose the

:46:18. > :46:21.motion. Thank you, conference, it really is me this time and thank you

:46:22. > :46:27.for the ringing endorsement from Niall a few moments ago. I was

:46:28. > :46:31.reflecting on this half an hour ago and thought I would text my wife to

:46:32. > :46:34.say what I had been up to a conference and told her I was about

:46:35. > :46:42.to make a barnstorming speech about amendments to standing orders. It

:46:43. > :46:49.was only when I had sent it to her that I realised my iPhone had

:46:50. > :46:55.betrayed me and turned it into a bar storming speech. It is a tidy up

:46:56. > :46:59.exercise, clearly having changed the names of some of our bodies and

:47:00. > :47:03.created new bodies we have to ensure the standing orders match. It is a

:47:04. > :47:07.simple proposal to do it and I will ask you please to support it and

:47:08. > :47:16.then because I have so much time also ask you to go to Whitney. Thank

:47:17. > :47:18.you. Thank you. As we have no cards in for questions, as it is such a

:47:19. > :47:41.simple motion, I ask the summary. We have had a very interesting

:47:42. > :47:56.debate. LAUGHTER. Right. Chris completely through me.

:47:57. > :48:01.Yes, please do go to Witney. I want to thank everyone involved over the

:48:02. > :48:07.past four days in the decisions we have made about the governance of

:48:08. > :48:11.the party in which this final but little important strand will

:48:12. > :48:16.complete the first stage. For those of you unhappy about losing

:48:17. > :48:21.amendment not just in this, the previous debate and earlier in the

:48:22. > :48:25.week, we will be watching, as you will, to see whether it works and we

:48:26. > :48:31.will come back to you if it doesn't. If there are problems and structural

:48:32. > :48:34.changes elsewhere in the party, we will have to have constitutional

:48:35. > :48:39.changes because everything is interlocking. I want to thank the

:48:40. > :48:46.thousands who responded. It is really into you did so and you

:48:47. > :48:51.really did change what came in that consultation through to what we saw

:48:52. > :48:56.today. I want to thank every formal party body that debated and

:48:57. > :49:00.responded from their own perspective. Duncan mentioned that.

:49:01. > :49:06.The FPC had done its job and looks at the bits that affected them

:49:07. > :49:12.rather than taking a few wider. I also want to thank a large number of

:49:13. > :49:18.staff who you have not heard from, not seen, who have worked tirelessly

:49:19. > :49:21.to make all the different bits of this fit, because this structure

:49:22. > :49:27.also affects the way the party itself operates. Every single

:49:28. > :49:31.department, James was talking about the work of the campaigns

:49:32. > :49:38.department, who have been involved to ensure this is fit for purpose.

:49:39. > :49:41.We have had Laura Davies as the director of people development

:49:42. > :49:46.talking and looking through all proposals about how the staff can

:49:47. > :49:52.ensure the new people development committee at federal level will be

:49:53. > :49:56.able to operate effectively. I want to offer our staff, federal staff,

:49:57. > :50:03.state staff who have contributed to this, and I particularly want to

:50:04. > :50:12.thank Tim Gordon as chief executive, and Rachel Clarke and Chris Adams,

:50:13. > :50:17.particularly Chris, who has been an absolutely wonderful governance

:50:18. > :50:34.Officer, keeping all of this at his fingertips. Please join me in

:50:35. > :50:42.applause for vat. -- for factor. --. That. Please pass the amendment by a

:50:43. > :50:47.two thirds majority. And we move straight to the vote. If you can

:50:48. > :50:55.have your cards ready. All in favour please show. All of those against.

:50:56. > :51:07.That is carried with I think one against. Yes, thank you. I will hand

:51:08. > :51:12.over to Mary the Parliamentary party reports. There will be a short break

:51:13. > :51:14.when the chairs and tables come out but he will be as quick as he can,

:51:15. > :55:24.thank you. Good morning, conference. And

:55:25. > :55:31.welcome to the report from our Parliamentary parties. I have three

:55:32. > :55:42.people with me on the sofa. Who you all know and love. They will each in

:55:43. > :55:51.turn present their reports to you and then answer a few questions.

:55:52. > :55:58.First, Tom Brake. Tom has been the MP for Carshalton and Waddington

:55:59. > :56:03.since that famous day in May 1997, when a whole swathe of south-west

:56:04. > :56:08.London suburbs turned Lib Dem gold. And in the coalition he became

:56:09. > :56:11.deputy Leader of the House of Commons and like most of his

:56:12. > :56:17.colleagues, he now finds himself with more than one job. Including

:56:18. > :56:24.acting as our spokesperson for foreign affairs. He is here today in

:56:25. > :56:27.his role as Lib Dem Chief Whip in the House of Commons. Tom, please

:56:28. > :56:45.present your report and tell us what you have been up to. Do you want to

:56:46. > :56:49.do it from the Lex turn -- lectern. Good morning, it is nice to see

:56:50. > :56:53.people have woken up after what might have been a hard night last

:56:54. > :56:59.night to hear the reports. It is safe to say the last couple of

:57:00. > :57:10.months in politics has been rather difficult. Whilst we have seen some

:57:11. > :57:14.very positive results around the country in the local elections and

:57:15. > :57:22.we are starting to see a revival I think both from the south-west right

:57:23. > :57:27.through up to Scotland, where we got good results in the constituency

:57:28. > :57:34.elections in Scotland, we have the disappointment of the EU referendum.

:57:35. > :57:40.And the impact of that in Westminster has been palpable. We

:57:41. > :57:43.now have as a result of that a new Prime Minister, a restructured

:57:44. > :57:48.Whitehall and a new look cabinet. You will recall in her first speech,

:57:49. > :57:54.our Prime Minister Theresa May set out she was going to be a

:57:55. > :58:00.compassionate, one nation Conservative, dedicated to social

:58:01. > :58:05.justice. With my seven colleagues, we will hold her to account on that

:58:06. > :58:14.and ensure that what she says was not simply a speech and that it is

:58:15. > :58:19.followed up by real action. Although I think what she has tried to do is

:58:20. > :58:24.cultivate the perception she is a safe pair of hands, one has to

:58:25. > :58:29.question whether her appointment of Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary

:58:30. > :58:35.confirms that is what she is. What we are seeing in terms of bills

:58:36. > :58:40.within the House of Commons is and what we are facing when we return

:58:41. > :58:44.after the conference recess is a government focused on preserving

:58:45. > :58:50.party unity. The bills coming forward in October are of an

:58:51. > :58:56.extremely minor nature and that is because I think the government are

:58:57. > :59:02.working hard to keep themselves together at a time when I think

:59:03. > :59:07.Brexit, far from stopping the Tories talking about Europe, is in fact

:59:08. > :59:14.amplifying the volume of what's they are saying in relation to Europe. We

:59:15. > :59:20.have got some concerns, there is one will, the Investigatory Powers Bill,

:59:21. > :59:26.also known as the snoopers' Charter, which we fought hard to block in

:59:27. > :59:31.coalition, which has made a return. You will recall that in coalition we

:59:32. > :59:40.received a lot of flak for the position we adopted in relation to

:59:41. > :59:45.those sorts of issues from Shami Chakrabarti, the head of Liberty.

:59:46. > :59:49.She has now of course become a Labour peer and it will be

:59:50. > :59:53.interesting to see if she is as aggressive towards Labour whose

:59:54. > :59:58.stance on these issues is often much closer to the Conservatives that it

:59:59. > :00:03.is to us and that is an area that I know Alistair Carmichael will want

:00:04. > :00:07.to work on with great energy to ensure the concerns we have about

:00:08. > :00:17.that Bill will hopefully be addressed. The Labour Party, there

:00:18. > :00:22.is not much to say about them, other than we know that on the 23rd of

:00:23. > :00:28.September it is highly likely Jeremy Corbyn will be re-elected. That will

:00:29. > :00:36.lead to further confusion, division and I think national derision, about

:00:37. > :00:42.what they are doing and going as a party. For the country as a whole,

:00:43. > :00:47.this means the major opposition party will not have much time to

:00:48. > :00:51.focus on what their real role as an opposition is, major opposition

:00:52. > :00:56.party, official opposition, which is to focus on what the government are

:00:57. > :01:02.doing, as opposed to focusing internally on their own party

:01:03. > :01:07.dilemmas. We as a party, with my seven colleagues in the House of

:01:08. > :01:12.Commons, and even more so with the much larger, hundred plus peers, the

:01:13. > :01:16.Liberal Democrats have in the House of Lords, we will focus on doing

:01:17. > :01:18.everything we can to make sure we provide the opposition to the

:01:19. > :01:27.government. Who will particularly be doing that

:01:28. > :01:32.in relation to Brexit and the European Union, where we will track

:01:33. > :01:37.both what Boris Johnson, David Davies and Liam Fox have said in the

:01:38. > :01:42.past, but also, more importantly, what they are actually delivering in

:01:43. > :01:48.Government. I think we already taking bets on how long it will be

:01:49. > :01:56.before Liam Fox is forced to resign, giving the number of gaffes that he

:01:57. > :01:59.has already managed to make. You will have heard his remarks about

:02:00. > :02:02.lazy and fat British businesses, you might not have heard his

:02:03. > :02:07.recommendation of British businesses should invest abroad at a time when

:02:08. > :02:12.everyone feels that the economy is at risk of taking a nosedive, and

:02:13. > :02:19.therefore what we want UK businesses to do is invest in the UK to create

:02:20. > :02:24.jobs here. We have the real risk of a huge economic challenge to the

:02:25. > :02:32.country. And an area that we have focused on very heavily is the role

:02:33. > :02:40.that EU citizens play in boosting our economy and trying to protect

:02:41. > :02:45.than and ensure that they have the rights, or retain the rights, that

:02:46. > :02:50.they have got in the United Kingdom. That is why we have put forward a

:02:51. > :02:56.ten minute rule Bill called the EU citizens' right to stay Bill, which

:02:57. > :03:00.received nearly all-party support, and we will continue to maintain

:03:01. > :03:08.that pressure. That is clearly a benefit to the 3 million EU citizens

:03:09. > :03:12.in the UK. It is also a benefit to, for instance, the users of my local

:03:13. > :03:18.hospital, that patients who go there, because my most recent

:03:19. > :03:23.recruitment drive that it was nurses from Spain, Italy and Portugal that

:03:24. > :03:27.they were hiring to stay in that hospital. By putting pressure on the

:03:28. > :03:33.Government to secure the rights of EU citizens we are also helping UK

:03:34. > :03:38.citizens in the UK countries. Because just as UK citizens here are

:03:39. > :03:41.worried about the impact on them of Brexit, UK citizens in other EU

:03:42. > :03:48.countries are equally concerned about what it means for their

:03:49. > :03:53.futures in whichever UK... EU country they are currently resident

:03:54. > :03:57.in. There is no doubt that with eight MPs it is very difficult to

:03:58. > :04:03.make our voices heard, but I would like to take this opportunity to

:04:04. > :04:06.thank our colleagues are the fantastic work they do. We are

:04:07. > :04:11.trying to cover as many bases as we can and we know we can always count

:04:12. > :04:16.on the back-up of House of Lords colleagues, who are certainly

:04:17. > :04:20.pulling their weight. If in the comments we have an opportunity to,

:04:21. > :04:24.for instance, make a couple of interventions during the second

:04:25. > :04:27.reading debate about a particular bill, we know that in the Lords they

:04:28. > :04:32.have an opportunity to do much more in terms of other stages of the bill

:04:33. > :04:36.and make sure that the Liberal Democrats position on things is

:04:37. > :04:41.articulated in much, much greater detail. I would like to take this

:04:42. > :04:45.opportunity to pay particular tribute to Jim Wallace for his

:04:46. > :04:57.excellent leadership of the Lords group, I am absolutely certain he

:04:58. > :04:59.will play a formidable role as a member of the team in the Lords on

:05:00. > :05:02.the backbenches. And I welcome, also, many of you will be here

:05:03. > :05:04.today, the very large number of new members who have joined the party

:05:05. > :05:11.since the general election. We have seen a boost of 120% in party

:05:12. > :05:15.membership since the general election in 2015. As someone who has

:05:16. > :05:18.been active in the party for 30 years, and I think there are

:05:19. > :05:23.probably colleagues here who have been active for as long as I have,

:05:24. > :05:28.it is nice to see some younger people, some people who are fresh

:05:29. > :05:33.and enthusiastic. Not that we are not enthusiastic, but I think we

:05:34. > :05:37.might find it hard to argue that we are fresh after 30 years of

:05:38. > :05:43.political activity, to see some young blood coming in, campaigning

:05:44. > :05:46.on the values that we hold dear. So I therefore hope that you throw

:05:47. > :05:50.yourself into the battle we have ahead of us, particularly in

:05:51. > :05:54.relation to Brexit, where we need to make sure, ideally, that the UK has

:05:55. > :05:59.second thoughts about the votes taken on the 23rd of June, but if

:06:00. > :06:08.that is not the case, that we secure as much as possible for the UK,

:06:09. > :06:12.whether UK citizens, it EU citizens, UK businesses, in whatever our

:06:13. > :06:17.future relationship with the EU will be. I would like to finish with a

:06:18. > :06:20.couple of words about the Parliamentary office of the Liberal

:06:21. > :06:25.Democrats. Since my last report we have been very fortunate in having

:06:26. > :06:28.first of all the advisory unit and the parliamentary support team is

:06:29. > :06:35.making a huge contribution to the way that we can operate as members

:06:36. > :06:40.of Parliament. Given the different breeds that we are all carrying, so

:06:41. > :06:44.I am both foreign affairs, International development, defence,

:06:45. > :06:48.Shadow Leader of the House, Shadow Cabinet office minister and Chief

:06:49. > :06:52.Whip. As you can see, it is important that we have people

:06:53. > :06:57.working behind us. So the important role that the Parliamentary advisers

:06:58. > :07:01.make in making sure Lib Dems get out into the media, so the things that

:07:02. > :07:07.we campaign upon are amplified through the media, they are doing a

:07:08. > :07:09.fantastic job. A very small number both in the Parliamentary advisory

:07:10. > :07:14.unit and the Parliamentary support teams are making sure we punch way

:07:15. > :07:18.above our weight, I know that is true in the portfolio that I speak

:07:19. > :07:22.on on foreign affairs where, I am very pleased to say, in conversation

:07:23. > :07:26.with some journalists they are much, much way inclined to come to us than

:07:27. > :07:33.to the Labour Party because, at the moment, if they go to the Labour

:07:34. > :07:35.Party, no one is able to give them what the official Labour Party

:07:36. > :07:39.position is on foreign affairs, because they are too divided to have

:07:40. > :07:43.one. So it is thanks to the Parliamentary advisers at the

:07:44. > :07:48.parliamentary support teams that we can position ourselves in that way.

:07:49. > :07:51.I would like to conclude by thanking Jack Fletcher and Joe Edwards for

:07:52. > :07:58.their fantastic work with the whips office and providing support to

:07:59. > :08:02.members of Parliament, and occasionally providing us with some

:08:03. > :08:07.very interesting gossip about things happening in parliament, which I

:08:08. > :08:12.will keep to myself. And also to thank the Parliamentary advisory

:08:13. > :08:18.unit, Giles Darrington, venous Ali, Claire Mathis, Rosie, Fiona Todd and

:08:19. > :08:23.Rosie Cobb, the newest addition, who continue to offer us fantastic

:08:24. > :08:26.advice and creativity in all of their portfolios. Last but not

:08:27. > :08:31.least, the Parliamentary support team made up of Rosie Gray, Euan

:08:32. > :08:36.Stone and Jenny Steiner 's. They have developed excellently and after

:08:37. > :08:41.further expert advice. Hopefully that gives you a feel. We have not

:08:42. > :08:46.been lazy and fats during the last 12 months, you will be pleased to

:08:47. > :08:49.hear, I look forward to answering difficult questions shortly in the

:08:50. > :08:55.Q Thank you. APPLAUSE

:08:56. > :08:59.Thank you, Tom. Next, Dick Newby. Just a few months

:09:00. > :09:03.after Tom was elected to the House of Commons, Dick was created a life

:09:04. > :09:08.peer and has been working just as hard for others in the Lords as Tom

:09:09. > :09:12.has in the Commons. He has served as a Lib Dem Chief Whip in the House of

:09:13. > :09:20.Lords and you will see that he has referred to as that in the agenda,

:09:21. > :09:24.that last week he won an election. The electorate was all our members

:09:25. > :09:29.in the House of Lords, and they elected Dick as the leader of the

:09:30. > :09:36.Liberal Democrats in the Lords. So let's all congratulate him.

:09:37. > :09:39.APPLAUSE Conference, it is a great honour for

:09:40. > :09:45.me as the newly elected leader of group in the Lords to present a

:09:46. > :09:51.Parliamentary reporter conference. I ought to and must start, as Tom

:09:52. > :09:54.mentioned, by paying tribute to my predecessor, Jim Wallace. He has an

:09:55. > :09:58.extraordinary track record in public life over a number of decades. He

:09:59. > :10:03.has been, more than any other person, the person who has breathed

:10:04. > :10:09.life into the concept of multiparty government in Britain, the stubble

:10:10. > :10:14.as an initial minister in the coalition when the Scottish

:10:15. > :10:18.parliament was established, subsequently as a minister in our

:10:19. > :10:23.coalition after 2010. Jim became the go to person for the

:10:24. > :10:28.Tories in the Lords. When things got really difficult and they could not

:10:29. > :10:34.find anybody who had the ability to deal with something, particularly if

:10:35. > :10:39.it related to the law, Jim was asked to stand in and do this job for the

:10:40. > :10:47.Government, which he did on every occasion with great ability. And he

:10:48. > :10:51.has been an absolute epitome of what we expect from a senior public

:10:52. > :10:55.servant. He has had wisdom and dedication over many years, and

:10:56. > :11:01.having worked with him very closely for many of those years, I am

:11:02. > :11:06.extremely grateful for all the work he has done. And as leader, I will

:11:07. > :11:09.be knocking on his door, asking him to help us in a number of respects

:11:10. > :11:20.in the future. APPLAUSE

:11:21. > :11:26.Over the last session, as ever, are immensely diligent and talented team

:11:27. > :11:29.in the Lords has had a big impact on public life.

:11:30. > :11:37.We played a key part, as you will be aware, in killing off the issues in

:11:38. > :11:41.tax credits, we played a key part with Labour in stopping the worst

:11:42. > :11:46.parts of the very Draconian trade union legislation that came forward,

:11:47. > :11:51.and we led the charge, which Alf Dubs subsequently took up, to allow

:11:52. > :11:56.child refugees in Europe to be allowed to come to the UK.

:11:57. > :12:00.Particularly on that latter point, we are working very hard, Roger

:12:01. > :12:05.Roberts and others, to hold the Government's fee to the fire. So

:12:06. > :12:08.having been forced to accept an amendment to do something, they show

:12:09. > :12:13.every sign of trying to wriggle out of that, and we won't let them.

:12:14. > :12:18.Sadly, we are not always successful. We managed to pass an amendment to

:12:19. > :12:23.the referendum bill which would have given all 16-year-olds a vote. The

:12:24. > :12:30.Government, in its wisdom, decided that was a bad idea. In the end, we

:12:31. > :12:36.lost. They may now wish they had been a bit more generous in that

:12:37. > :12:42.respect. I want to make it clear that, as in the last year, so in the

:12:43. > :12:46.next, the group will continue to be extremely assertive in using the

:12:47. > :12:51.influence we have to holding the Government to account. One of the

:12:52. > :12:57.most ludicrous ironies about life in the Lords is that the Labour and

:12:58. > :13:01.Tory dinosaurs who fought against reform of the Lords, and there in

:13:02. > :13:09.mind that over 70% of both Tory and Labour peers are opposed to

:13:10. > :13:14.democratic reform, they now fulminate against our group, using

:13:15. > :13:21.our place to do our job. Well, they'd better get used to it. We

:13:22. > :13:24.offer democratic reform, we continue to seek democratic reform in the

:13:25. > :13:30.Lords. At the establishment parties have another think coming if they

:13:31. > :13:37.think we will step back from defeating the Government in the

:13:38. > :13:40.system they insisted on keeping. We wanted to change it, they said it

:13:41. > :13:45.can't be improved upon, and now they say it is not fair, you have all

:13:46. > :13:54.these 105 peers, what is all that about? I am afraid that, having

:13:55. > :13:58.willed the system, they will suffer the consequences, which is a very

:13:59. > :14:05.assertive Lib Dem group. APPLAUSE

:14:06. > :14:09.One of the chief jobs, of course, over the coming year, will be

:14:10. > :14:14.holding whatever Brexit package the Government begins to put together up

:14:15. > :14:18.to the light. As you know, we are committed to a referendum on final

:14:19. > :14:22.outcome, but in the meantime, the group will call the Government out

:14:23. > :14:27.any time it seems to be abandoning the British national interest to

:14:28. > :14:33.solve its own political problems. I am determined that this is not just

:14:34. > :14:38.a fight and an effort that takes place in the cosseted environment of

:14:39. > :14:44.the Lords itself. Over the next few months, my priority and that of the

:14:45. > :14:47.group will be to engage with all sectors of society, to hear people's

:14:48. > :14:51.concerns about Brexit and what they are looking for from the Brexit

:14:52. > :14:56.negotiations. In the next few weeks I will appoint more of our team to

:14:57. > :15:04.be spokespeople, to help with this task. I want them to engage with

:15:05. > :15:09.stakeholders in whatever sector for which they have responsibility. It

:15:10. > :15:14.may be Chambers of Commerce, citizens advice, universities,

:15:15. > :15:18.hospitals and health care trusts, trade unions, colleges, farmers and

:15:19. > :15:22.significant employers. We want to take the Brexit chaos as an

:15:23. > :15:26.opportunity for the party to be seen and heard by all these groups. At

:15:27. > :15:32.this great national consultation should not be confined to peers. As

:15:33. > :15:36.you know, as a party we have just appointed PBC Yes in constituencies

:15:37. > :15:47.across the country. And in many case, I think, newly selected PPCs

:15:48. > :15:51.find themselves without resources are not an immediate election, so

:15:52. > :15:55.they are looking to see how they can use that position to the advancement

:15:56. > :15:59.of the party. So I want every PPC to use the credibility that we deserve

:16:00. > :16:05.as a pro-European party to reach out to all the groups I have just you --

:16:06. > :16:10.enumerator that we will deal with nationally, to do the same in their

:16:11. > :16:15.constituency. As soon as I can I intend to write to every PPC and

:16:16. > :16:19.provide them with a toolkit to help them undertake this consultation

:16:20. > :16:25.exercise in their constituency, and I want them to feed the information

:16:26. > :16:29.they receive from us on the Brexit issues back to the Lords group

:16:30. > :16:33.before the Christmas recess, so that as we move towards the point at

:16:34. > :16:37.which the Government triggers article 50 we will be clear what a

:16:38. > :16:38.negotiating mandate might look like, which would minimise the cost of

:16:39. > :16:50.Brexit. In the run-up to the election we did

:16:51. > :16:56.over 1000 visits to constituencies. We greatly enjoyed it. But, we think

:16:57. > :17:02.that we need to do even more of it. 50% of the party is new since

:17:03. > :17:08.polling day on the general election and they are immensely talented,

:17:09. > :17:17.able people, as you have seen at the conference. But many of them no lead

:17:18. > :17:19.-- know relatively little about the party and about campaigning and

:17:20. > :17:24.whatever strengths and weaknesses the group in the House of Lords has

:17:25. > :17:30.it does know quite a bit about those. So we will go out in ever

:17:31. > :17:33.greater numbers I hope to constituencies to explain what it

:17:34. > :17:36.means to be a Liberal Democrat and how you set about winning as a

:17:37. > :17:44.Liberal Democrat. And we are definitely all going to win. It is

:17:45. > :17:50.appropriate for me to thank the staff who make this possible and in

:17:51. > :17:55.particular Poly Martin, who organised those 1000 visits.

:17:56. > :17:59.Although it has been exhausting, her enthusiasm is diminished for a party

:18:00. > :18:04.and she is sadly leaving us to take another job. I would like to thank

:18:05. > :18:08.her and all the other staff who make it possible to do what we do.

:18:09. > :18:15.Humphrey Amos, Elizabeth Plummer, Sarah Pugh, Dave Shaw. It is a

:18:16. > :18:21.fantastic team in the Whips' Office and they keep us on the straight and

:18:22. > :18:27.narrow. 35 years ago, I left the civil service to work for the STP at

:18:28. > :18:32.a point when there was a need for a new force on the centre-left of

:18:33. > :18:36.British politics. Today, I believe the vacant space in the centre and

:18:37. > :18:43.centre-left of British order takes is wide it even than it was in 1981.

:18:44. > :18:49.Our job as a party is to march in and occupied that space and I and my

:18:50. > :19:00.colleagues will use all our energies to do very much.

:19:01. > :19:06.APPLAUSE. Thank you. Finally, Catherine, who was elected member of

:19:07. > :19:13.the European party for south-east England in 2009 and uniquely she

:19:14. > :19:19.still is. As sadly our only MEP currently, I suppose she is leader,

:19:20. > :19:23.Chief Whip and spokesperson for everything. I expect you have a lot

:19:24. > :19:32.to tell us this year, so do present us your report.

:19:33. > :19:39.APPLAUSE. I want to start by thanking you, all

:19:40. > :19:44.of you, and all the people who don't come to conference but I know worked

:19:45. > :19:48.their socks off in the referendum. We asked you to do what you could

:19:49. > :19:58.and you did and you really stepped up to the plate. OK, I can't do it

:19:59. > :20:08.without this on. One last time. OK. APPLAUSE. So we lost the referendum,

:20:09. > :20:12.but it was not because of the liberal Democrats. We went out

:20:13. > :20:19.there, we were asked to do what we had to do to make sure the UK stayed

:20:20. > :20:25.in the European Union. We lost that referendum, but it was not because

:20:26. > :20:29.of the Lib Dems. You fought, you had street stalls, raised money, spoke

:20:30. > :20:34.to people and connected with justices, with schools and

:20:35. > :20:39.everybody. The sad thing is it was not quite enough and we started from

:20:40. > :20:46.too far back. I think the campaigns on both sides were not up to the

:20:47. > :20:52.task of a referendum, given the short period of time. The other

:20:53. > :20:56.thing that we should all learn from is that the lies told in that

:20:57. > :21:01.referendum were the most appalling things I have ever seen in

:21:02. > :21:06.electioneering. They all say politicians lie, but this was on a

:21:07. > :21:11.grand scale we have not seen before. Please, members of the House of

:21:12. > :21:18.Commons and Lords, start working on changing electoral law so it has to

:21:19. > :21:23.match what the advertising standards do so you can only tell the truth,

:21:24. > :21:27.lying about money was the most appalling thing we have seen, so

:21:28. > :21:37.please get on with that bit of legislation.

:21:38. > :21:40.APPLAUSE Many of you do not quite know but jarring the referendum we

:21:41. > :21:45.sent out boxes to local parties to run street stalls.

:21:46. > :21:51.Audrey, a new member of staff in my office had a brilliant idea and

:21:52. > :21:58.every time another five street stalls were booked, another ten, 50,

:21:59. > :22:02.she had a bell and rank it so that everybody knew there were more

:22:03. > :22:06.street stalls. It worked so well that even in the gloom after the

:22:07. > :22:12.referendum result, suddenly something else was happening in HQ.

:22:13. > :22:17.Members were joining, phoning up, sending in money, and so every time

:22:18. > :22:29.we reached another 50, 100,000, the bell was ringing in HQ. -- the

:22:30. > :22:39.hundreds and thousands. That Belle is going to go to Witney and so are

:22:40. > :22:45.you. Every time you take leaflets out, that Belle will be ringing.

:22:46. > :22:52.Make sure you get to Witney, to ring the bell. For me, in Europe, Tom

:22:53. > :22:57.were saying you will have multiple roles, I have many, I have to have

:22:58. > :23:04.the eyes and ears around and I have a brilliant staff team in Brussels,

:23:05. > :23:09.but it has been much harder after the referendum vote. There is a real

:23:10. > :23:15.mood that, OK, the British are going, will you hurry up and make up

:23:16. > :23:21.your mind and go. That has not been easy for any of us Brits working

:23:22. > :23:28.there. Nothing has changed, we are still full members of the European

:23:29. > :23:33.Union, and in that scenario, we are still MEPs and do the job we are

:23:34. > :23:36.elected to do, we still have casework, I can lobby the

:23:37. > :23:43.commission, take part in putting amendment is and voting and working

:23:44. > :23:48.on reports. You will see in your report that one of the biggest

:23:49. > :23:54.pieces over the past year I have worked on is the report from the

:23:55. > :24:00.Parliament on how we deal with the trafficking of human beings. That

:24:01. > :24:06.went through and I am very proud of that. It is an issue I have

:24:07. > :24:10.campaigned on for years. I am currently working on the

:24:11. > :24:15.Parliamentary report on illegal wildlife trafficking. The commission

:24:16. > :24:20.has come up with a plan and we are commenting on that, and I am pleased

:24:21. > :24:27.I am getting cross-party support for the things I am calling on. Better

:24:28. > :24:32.sentences for those who traffic and better training for front-line staff

:24:33. > :24:35.and getting someone in charge, a named person in the commission,

:24:36. > :24:42.responsible for collecting statistics. Illegal wildlife crime

:24:43. > :24:46.is not only decimating fragile areas on the planet, and some heading that

:24:47. > :24:52.way, but it is the fourth largest criminal activity on the planet and

:24:53. > :24:59.it is destabilising communities, feeding into criminal gangs, into

:25:00. > :25:03.terrorists and the rest. It is something we have to get our heads

:25:04. > :25:08.around. It is not fluffy environmental policy, it is serious

:25:09. > :25:14.big as nurse that is damaging the planet and it is something I am

:25:15. > :25:25.pleased to be working on. The other thing is January, I am up for

:25:26. > :25:29.election as a questor. It is the trade union representative in the

:25:30. > :25:32.Parliament and gives me a seat on the bureau, the President's

:25:33. > :25:38.committee in Parliament, and I am the only Brit there and it is vital

:25:39. > :25:45.I am there to stand up, not just for the MEPs... It is not just the MEPs

:25:46. > :25:50.who will lose their job when we leave the EU, there are thousands of

:25:51. > :25:54.Brits working in European constitutions across Europe and they

:25:55. > :25:58.are not allowed to work in those institutions if they are not

:25:59. > :26:03.citizens of the EU. Their jobs are in jeopardy and I need to be

:26:04. > :26:09.fighting, you fight for the right for Europeans to remain here, I

:26:10. > :26:13.fight the rights of the employees of EU institutions their pensions and

:26:14. > :26:21.approved rights. APPLAUSE. Finally I have a busy few

:26:22. > :26:29.months ahead. I am travelling so much before Christmas, going to

:26:30. > :26:33.Cites, where we are defending wildlife in the conference. I will

:26:34. > :26:44.go to Hanoi for a wildlife conference. I am going to Ken --

:26:45. > :26:53.Kenya, where I will meet the African Pacific nations. And another meeting

:26:54. > :26:59.in Togo where the Liberals in the... Across Africa come to meet. You

:27:00. > :27:04.would not believe how the liberal movement is moving through Africa.

:27:05. > :27:11.They have tried despots, they have tried socialism, it does not work,

:27:12. > :27:17.and now they are looking to liberalism to build and work with

:27:18. > :27:22.citizens. It is a busy time, but I am still a jobbing MEP working on

:27:23. > :27:27.your behalf and on behalf of my constituents and your behalf and the

:27:28. > :27:33.UK's behalf and also the EU's behalf. Finally I want to thank my

:27:34. > :27:38.staff. So many people get in touch to say thank you to my staff and so

:27:39. > :27:47.I must thank them. I have lost some of them. Rinse the referendum, but

:27:48. > :27:52.still have Henry and Audrey and Elliott. I lost Pablo, that was a

:27:53. > :28:01.real loss. Anybody who has come across Pablo knows he is a star. We

:28:02. > :28:14.have Henry, Audrey, Elliott, in London now. And in Brussels I have

:28:15. > :28:22.Lewis and Agnes and Just. They make sure where I am supposed to be and I

:28:23. > :28:26.could not do without them and I know we could not have done the

:28:27. > :28:31.referendum without them and also without you and thanks for

:28:32. > :28:35.everything you do to support me in my work and the Lib Dems in their

:28:36. > :28:40.work. Thank you.

:28:41. > :28:47.APPLAUSE. Thank you, thank you. We have not had any questions by the

:28:48. > :28:51.deadline yesterday evening, but I have a few I would like to ask and I

:28:52. > :28:59.would like to start with you, Catherine. You could possibly be the

:29:00. > :29:08.last ever Lib Dem MEP. If that happens, what would you be proudest

:29:09. > :29:16.of having achieved? Still being there, I think, is something to be

:29:17. > :29:19.proud of. I also think what got me into politics was the environment

:29:20. > :29:24.and my real concern about biodiversity loss, what we call the

:29:25. > :29:30.Silent crisis in the European Parliament, which is not talked

:29:31. > :29:34.about. You cannot hear trees dying, bees disappearing, when the birds

:29:35. > :29:40.stop singing you do not notice until you go somewhere else and hear them.

:29:41. > :29:49.The work I am managing to do, not just for this country but European

:29:50. > :29:54.wide, it is international. I am off to Cites and the report I am working

:29:55. > :30:00.on now will hopefully go through in November and if I do nothing else, I

:30:01. > :30:04.will achieve what I have stood up to do. I wanted to stand for election

:30:05. > :30:08.because I care about the environment.

:30:09. > :30:16.APPLAUSE. Tom, how can you use Parliament to

:30:17. > :30:21.promote a pro-European agenda? Thank you for that question. I want to

:30:22. > :30:26.pick up on what Catherine said. I heard on Radio 4 that trees can talk

:30:27. > :30:31.to each other so maybe we can hear what they say, as well. Certainly

:30:32. > :30:37.Prince Charles thinks that we can. In terms of the EU agenda, how can

:30:38. > :30:44.we push this? We have an important role in Parliament to play in

:30:45. > :30:49.holding Brexit to account over the promises they made during the

:30:50. > :30:53.campaign and I will use every opportunity, as I have done recently

:30:54. > :30:58.Parliamentary questions, to remind them for instance of the ?350

:30:59. > :31:04.million a week pledge for the NHS. I was fortunate to have a question at

:31:05. > :31:08.Prime Minister's Questions a couple of weeks ago and I think I am the

:31:09. > :31:14.first member of Parliament to have put in a bid for the first two weeks

:31:15. > :31:21.of the ?350 million for my local hospital. I asked the Prime Minister

:31:22. > :31:27.to secure that because St Helier hospital needs investment. I am

:31:28. > :31:32.afraid she had nothing to offer but I have been the first to put in the

:31:33. > :31:36.bid for that money. We will remind them of the pledges and there will

:31:37. > :31:42.be many opportunities. I took advantage of a point of order last

:31:43. > :31:48.week to ask the Speaker if he had any request from David Davis to come

:31:49. > :31:53.to the House of Commons to make a statement about the progress that

:31:54. > :32:01.the government had made on kicking off a major row with the trade

:32:02. > :32:05.negotiations -- round. With all partners, which David Davis

:32:06. > :32:08.predicted the Prime Minister would have done by the 9th of September

:32:09. > :32:13.and nothing of the sort has happened, so we will be there to

:32:14. > :32:19.remind those of the broken pledges they are making, or have age. We

:32:20. > :32:26.will push the agenda for EU citizens so this white to stay for EU

:32:27. > :32:32.citizens. It is important not just for EU citizens but also UK citizens

:32:33. > :32:37.in other EU countries. If we can secure agreement from our government

:32:38. > :32:43.that the acquired rights of EU citizens will be retained in the UK,

:32:44. > :32:46.it makes, I think, the position of UK citizens in other countries

:32:47. > :32:51.stronger, because there won't be the risk of using this as a bargaining

:32:52. > :32:56.chip in the way Theresa May has she will be doing.

:32:57. > :33:06.I have helped set up an all-party group on freedom of movement, which

:33:07. > :33:11.is a cross-party initiative. At our first meeting we had diplomats from,

:33:12. > :33:14.I think, at least half of the EU countries, who were there because

:33:15. > :33:19.they want to hear what we believe will be the impact of Brexit on

:33:20. > :33:23.freedom of movement. And they are able to feedback from us what they

:33:24. > :33:26.fear from -- feedback to us what they are hearing from their

:33:27. > :33:31.respective countries. Norman Lamb was part of the all-party group on

:33:32. > :33:36.open Britain, which campaigns on the single market. So we're working on

:33:37. > :33:41.cross-party initiatives. We will press for the vote on article 50,

:33:42. > :33:46.although the Prime Minister has said she will not deliver it. But,

:33:47. > :33:49.certainly, there are very significant people in Parliament

:33:50. > :33:54.such as Dominic Grieve on the Tory benches, a past Attorney General,

:33:55. > :33:59.who believes there is a requirement for Parliament to be able to vote on

:34:00. > :34:05.article 50. And we will play back to the Brexiteers the message is that

:34:06. > :34:08.they play to the country over sovereignty. If Parliament is

:34:09. > :34:17.sovereign, it needs to be in terms of making a decision about whether

:34:18. > :34:22.to proceed with article 50. There will be further opportunities

:34:23. > :34:25.through, for instance, the mechanisms or the procedural tricks

:34:26. > :34:30.such as ten Minute Rule Bills to raise these issues in Parliament.

:34:31. > :34:37.And I have no doubt that at some point in the near future when

:34:38. > :34:43.article 50 is invoked, we will be seeking, for instance, a ten Minute

:34:44. > :34:48.Rule Bill on the subject of a referendum on the terms of the

:34:49. > :34:52.Brexit deal before we exit the European Union to give people the

:34:53. > :34:56.chance to have their say in a popular vote on whether they feel

:34:57. > :35:02.that we are better off with whatever the Brexit deal will be or whether,

:35:03. > :35:07.with hindsight, they think that the status quo and staying at the EU is

:35:08. > :35:14.better for the United Kingdom, as we believe. Thank you, Tom. Dick, I'm

:35:15. > :35:20.afraid we've run out of time. I do apologise. Can I say thank you to

:35:21. > :35:25.all three of you, and a big Conference thank you for everything

:35:26. > :35:30.you do to keep a liberal democracy alive and flourishing.

:35:31. > :35:35.APPLAUSE And thank you to my aid, Paul

:35:36. > :35:38.Tyldesley, and I hand over to Pauline, who is chairing the next

:35:39. > :36:15.session. Good morning, Conference. The

:36:16. > :36:22.observant among you will have noticed that I am not Pauline

:36:23. > :36:29.Pierce, I am her aide, but I will be chairing this with great authority,

:36:30. > :36:29.because all I have to do for you is introduce the party president,

:36:30. > :36:43.Baroness Stowell Brington. Good morning. Here we are,

:36:44. > :36:49.constitutional amendments concluded. How will we manage next week without

:36:50. > :36:52.the excitement? Seriously, I want to thank you for your involvement and

:36:53. > :36:57.responses to the challenge I put to you over a year ago to think about

:36:58. > :37:00.how we could improve federal structures and work more effectively

:37:01. > :37:05.as a party. The thousands of suggestions and comments that you

:37:06. > :37:09.made to the federal executive have truly helped shape what came to

:37:10. > :37:14.Conference, and your contributions to those debates over the last few

:37:15. > :37:18.days has been genuinely helpful. The policy debates have also been

:37:19. > :37:23.outstanding, I particularly want to thank the many people who spoke at

:37:24. > :37:27.Conference for the first time. In debate after debate, first-time

:37:28. > :37:31.speakers were called to the stage, and you gave your views. And what

:37:32. > :37:38.effective contributions they were. APPLAUSE

:37:39. > :37:43.As we wait to hear from Tim Farron later this morning, I've been very

:37:44. > :37:49.aware how there has been a slight interesting nuance during this

:37:50. > :37:53.Conference, that we've been reflecting on our history. And I

:37:54. > :37:59.noticed some on Twitter even going back as far as the weeks. Tim

:38:00. > :38:03.reminded us at the rally that nearly 100 years ago, the Liberals lost

:38:04. > :38:07.touch with their base, the core voters, and forgot what they were

:38:08. > :38:14.there to do. And we spent decades in the wilderness. And yet many of our

:38:15. > :38:19.members worked tirelessly through that time, even though it was very

:38:20. > :38:24.tough going. And one of the sad tasks that your president has to do

:38:25. > :38:29.is to report on some of the members who have died during the last year.

:38:30. > :38:34.We mark their contribution today to the history of our party. We have

:38:35. > :38:40.lost three members of the House of Lords, and one former MP, as well as

:38:41. > :38:45.some outstanding activists. I shared an office with the first of the

:38:46. > :38:50.three peers, Lord Derek Ezra. And even at 96 he was still coming into

:38:51. > :38:54.the Lords to ask pertinent and probing questions to ministers about

:38:55. > :38:58.energy usage and climate change. Before he entered the Lords he was

:38:59. > :39:05.famous as the chairman of the national coal board. A true,

:39:06. > :39:10.open-hearted liberal, he worked with Joe Gormley, the president of the

:39:11. > :39:16.National Union of Mineworkers, to stop the Conservative Government

:39:17. > :39:20.closing 23 hits. And he even got a promise of investment in the minds

:39:21. > :39:24.from Margaret Thatcher. But after he retired from the coal board in the

:39:25. > :39:33.early 80s, Thatcher reneges on her word. That shows how strong and

:39:34. > :39:37.powerful he was. Lords Eric Avebury, Eric Lubbock, won the orbiting

:39:38. > :39:42.by-election in 1962 to the astonishment of the Tory

:39:43. > :39:47.establishment. He served in Parliament for over 50 years, first

:39:48. > :39:52.as an MP and then in the House of Lords. Eric was passionate about

:39:53. > :39:55.supporting the most vulnerable, and became one of the first champions

:39:56. > :40:00.for Gypsy and Traveller communities. He fought tirelessly the individuals

:40:01. > :40:08.denied human rights, both here and worldwide. In 2009 he led a campaign

:40:09. > :40:11.which succeeded in abolishing blasphemous libel. He was a long

:40:12. > :40:17.supporter of the Ahmadi Muslim community and was awarded their

:40:18. > :40:23.peace prize. Lord John Roper was a member of the House of Commons from

:40:24. > :40:28.1970 to 83, an opposition spokesman on defence and Chief Whip of the

:40:29. > :40:34.SDP. More recently he was the Liberal Democrat Chief Whip in the

:40:35. > :40:38.House of Lords, and he served as the principal chair of committees in the

:40:39. > :40:43.House of Lords and chairman of the European Union committee, both of

:40:44. > :40:49.which were very important roles. Ralph Bancroft from Harrow and from

:40:50. > :40:55.The Liberator Collective, four years was an absolute linchpin of the glee

:40:56. > :40:57.club, and don't we still miss him by greatly?

:40:58. > :41:03.APPLAUSE Judge John Baker, a stalwart of the

:41:04. > :41:06.Liberal club who died aged 90, was a Parliamentary candidate for the

:41:07. > :41:11.Liberal party on a number of occasions, holding the liberal face

:41:12. > :41:16.during the quiet decades and also in some better times, too.

:41:17. > :41:19.Jonathan Webber, former chair of the West Midlands and a passion is

:41:20. > :41:27.European, was director of international trade at the Greater

:41:28. > :41:30.Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, where he was described as a real

:41:31. > :41:33.one-off, a maverick, not one for bureaucracy or rules, but he never

:41:34. > :41:38.missed targets and got the best out of his team. That sounds like a real

:41:39. > :41:42.liberal to me. Susan Ashton was a passionate

:41:43. > :41:46.campaigner from her earliest days. Creating many lasting friends of a

:41:47. > :41:52.young liberal and is continuing as an actor best year in, year out in

:41:53. > :41:58.later years in support with Nigel Ashton. They made an invincible

:41:59. > :42:03.campaigning power. Susan has passed on her Liberal Democrat genes to her

:42:04. > :42:10.son, Chris Wiggins, who continues in her inimitable style. He had his

:42:11. > :42:11.hair shaved at Glee Club last night for Macmillan Cancer research in her

:42:12. > :42:18.memory. APPLAUSE

:42:19. > :42:24.Last night, at the stewards' party, we raised a glass to Phil Thompson

:42:25. > :42:27.from Kingston, who served as a party steward for many years.

:42:28. > :42:31.He personified the selflessness of stewards, who give up their

:42:32. > :42:36.Conference to serve us, the members, and other delegates as well. Brian

:42:37. > :42:42.Niblett was a veteran campaigner who joined the Lib Dems, sorry, the

:42:43. > :42:47.Liberals, while living in Taunton in the early 80s. He always said it

:42:48. > :42:51.felt like the constituency had a membership prevention officer,

:42:52. > :42:54.because he found it so hard to join. The experience always lived with him

:42:55. > :42:59.and he became passionate about membership and out of this

:43:00. > :43:04.development. He was specifically well-known for all he did in Newbury

:43:05. > :43:07.and Berkshire over many years, including getting David Rendell

:43:08. > :43:13.elected and re-elected. Sadly, within a few months of Brian's

:43:14. > :43:18.death, we had the news of the loss of David Rendell. David won the

:43:19. > :43:24.faintest Newbury by-election in 1993 with a stunning 28% swing. Members

:43:25. > :43:29.from all over the country went to help David, and he, one of the most

:43:30. > :43:34.open spirited and generous people I have ever met, returned the

:43:35. > :43:39.campaigning time and time again to local parties up and down the

:43:40. > :43:44.country over the subsequent years. David's Memorial meeting in Newbury,

:43:45. > :43:48.one speaker after another talked about his commitment to liberalism

:43:49. > :43:55.in every single part of his life, not just politics. He had a special

:43:56. > :44:07.passion as an internationalist, his dedicated as a constituency MP for

:44:08. > :44:09.many years was legendary in Newbury. He was never afraid to seize the

:44:10. > :44:13.moment and his favourite song, The Rose, said at that meeting says, it

:44:14. > :44:16.is the heart that is afraid of breaking that never learned to

:44:17. > :44:22.dance. It is the dream afraid of waking but never takes the chance.

:44:23. > :44:27.Well, David was never afraid to take the chance. He stood in Somerton and

:44:28. > :44:32.free in the 2015 election, even though he was ill, because he wanted

:44:33. > :44:40.to campaign and make a difference right to the end.

:44:41. > :44:44.APPLAUSE All of these people and the Lib Dems

:44:45. > :44:49.that we have lost this year believed, along with Martin Luther

:44:50. > :44:54.King, that our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the

:44:55. > :45:00.things that matter. So, to their families and friends, we send our

:45:01. > :45:04.deepest sympathies and say thank you for the time you lent them to us,

:45:05. > :45:15.the country and the wider world. APPLAUSE

:45:16. > :45:19.We honour them for their work, their love and dedication to our Liberal

:45:20. > :45:23.Democrat cause. Once again, the press and media are

:45:24. > :45:28.bemused about why we are in such good heart. I have taken particular

:45:29. > :45:33.delight in telling them it is because we are open, tolerant and

:45:34. > :45:41.United, unlike Labour, the Conservatives and Ukip. Diane James'

:45:42. > :45:45.honeymoon period as the leader of Ukip was short lived. Within an hour

:45:46. > :45:50.of her taking up her post on Friday she had scrapped the speeches of the

:45:51. > :45:55.four opponents and, perhaps most fun of all, turned Neil Hamilton's

:45:56. > :46:01.speech on Saturday into a coffee break. Yes, a coffee break.

:46:02. > :46:05.APPLAUSE Once more, Conference, he discovered

:46:06. > :46:10.this from a reporter who had a copy of the reply -- revised schedule

:46:11. > :46:14.before him. You could's purges aren't even done behind closed

:46:15. > :46:19.doors. Then there is that photo of her red Nigel Farage that was all

:46:20. > :46:25.over the press and media. I know that Nigel Farage backed her as his

:46:26. > :46:32.successor, but that photo is so revealing. She just didn't want him

:46:33. > :46:37.at close. So Ukip score no points for being neither open, tolerant nor

:46:38. > :46:43.United. And Labour? Here in Brighton and Hove, Momentum have taken over

:46:44. > :46:47.the local party and so public about their attempts to deselect the MP

:46:48. > :46:53.that they have been suspended. And it isn't just here in Brighton.

:46:54. > :46:59.Across the country, Jeremy Corbyn's activists are taking over local

:47:00. > :47:02.parties and moving against anyone perceived as anti-corporate. Some

:47:03. > :47:08.MPs are even threatening to sue those trying to deselect them. Pro

:47:09. > :47:12.Corbynites hate dissent so much that anything that does not come out of

:47:13. > :47:18.the Corbyn playbook is attacked in a violent vicious way.

:47:19. > :47:24.I'm pleasant politics used against political opponents is distasteful,

:47:25. > :47:30.but when used against people in your own party, it is unforgivable, but

:47:31. > :47:32.that is what they are, unforgiving, certainly not open, tolerant or

:47:33. > :47:41.united. APPLAUSE. And watching all of this

:47:42. > :47:47.from her new home in number 10 Downing St is Theresa May. Last week

:47:48. > :47:52.she again reaffirmed that Brexit means Brexit, even though it is now

:47:53. > :47:59.absolutely clear that neither she nor her Brexit ministers have any

:48:00. > :48:04.idea what it means. Does it mean remaining in the single market?

:48:05. > :48:08.Theresa May, or she may not. But it mean keeping or curtailing free

:48:09. > :48:14.movement of people? Theresa May, or she may not. Does it mean continuing

:48:15. > :48:22.to invest in universities to keep them the best in the world? Theresa

:48:23. > :48:26.May, or she may not. Does it mean working with European countries to

:48:27. > :48:30.protect the environment and climate change? Theresa May, or she may not.

:48:31. > :48:37.The Tories have been good at papering over the cracks of their

:48:38. > :48:40.spirits but the resignation of David Cameron as MP seems to have

:48:41. > :48:47.encouraged his wing of the party to speak out. Theresa May's

:48:48. > :49:04.Conservative Party, their record on police stop and search for BME, not

:49:05. > :49:10.tolerant and not united. And this Sunday, one headline was Lib Dems's

:49:11. > :49:15.revival is a blow to sorry label. It said fair play to the Lib Dems,

:49:16. > :49:18.under Tim Farron the party has risen from the ashes of electoral oblivion

:49:19. > :49:30.to reposition itself as the only effective opposition.

:49:31. > :49:35.APPLAUSE. I have not finished creating it yet. The Lib Dems have

:49:36. > :49:38.not only capitalised on the fallout from the referendum but also the

:49:39. > :49:43.disintegration of the Labour Party. They are speaking up for ordinary

:49:44. > :49:51.voters on issues that matter, such as the NHS and education. Was this

:49:52. > :49:56.the Observer on Polly Toynbee's day off? The Independent? No, my

:49:57. > :50:06.friends, this was the Sunday express. I am delighted that Tim is

:50:07. > :50:11.at last getting the recognition he deserves and I suspect that phrase,

:50:12. > :50:15.the only effective opposition, might appear in leaflets and tabloids over

:50:16. > :50:22.the next few months. Over to you with that. We are the only major

:50:23. > :50:25.party that has not traded on fear, but challenges the racism,

:50:26. > :50:31.nationalism and populism sweeping the country. We have not just

:50:32. > :50:37.watched the appalling increase in hate crime, but we heard on Sunday

:50:38. > :50:41.in our combating racism debate how our own friends and neighbours have

:50:42. > :50:47.been attacked, and that is why I still wear my safety pin. I still

:50:48. > :50:52.get comments from people who say how reassuring it is to know that there

:50:53. > :50:56.are people who will call out any hate crime. Keep calling it out

:50:57. > :51:00.every time you see it, you cannot know how powerful it is to

:51:01. > :51:07.intervene, politely but firmly, to support a bit Tim of such behaviour.

:51:08. > :51:13.I want to finish by returning to my theme of last year, the future of

:51:14. > :51:17.our party. It is wonderful we have had over 18,000 new members since

:51:18. > :51:21.the referendum and it is wonderful we are doing well in by-elections,

:51:22. > :51:26.but I want to ask you to do three things over the next weeks,

:51:27. > :51:32.regardless of whether you are a new member or old like myself. To propel

:51:33. > :51:38.the Lib Dems further in our winning ways. First, should Jeremy Corbyn be

:51:39. > :51:41.re-elected, I know the number of Labour supporters and members who

:51:42. > :51:49.will be feeling very lost. Please befriend them. Let them know we are

:51:50. > :51:53.still the party that is pro-EU, while Labour are facing inwards and

:51:54. > :52:00.fighting. We will be the party that holds the May Tory government to

:52:01. > :52:03.account, investing in the NHS and on fighting against the growth of

:52:04. > :52:07.grammar schools. They may now want to supporters and some will want to

:52:08. > :52:14.join us because they share our values. Don't be afraid to ask them.

:52:15. > :52:17.Second, I want to see new members coming forward to stand for

:52:18. > :52:22.elections of the party, whether local, regional or federal

:52:23. > :52:26.elections. One of the strong messages you told us in the

:52:27. > :52:31.governance review was that too few people stand for office in the

:52:32. > :52:38.party. The usual suspects. Do not assume it is someone else's job stop

:52:39. > :52:43.you want fresh faces in these roles, please stand and get others to

:52:44. > :52:51.stand. This is watered and if you are from underrepresented group,

:52:52. > :52:56.black, Asian, minority and ethnic. LGBT, your party needs you. Find out

:52:57. > :53:01.what the role entails and put yourself up for election. It is that

:53:02. > :53:14.simple and it is your destiny. APPLAUSE. And finally, thirdly, help

:53:15. > :53:19.build on election successes. Go to help in Witney. We have one month to

:53:20. > :53:23.make our mark. Tonight the local party selects their candidate but

:53:24. > :53:26.the first leaflets have gone out. More help is needed and

:53:27. > :53:31.Parliamentary by-elections are so much fun. I promise if you have not

:53:32. > :53:38.been to one, you will enjoy it. And if you have a moment in the lunch

:53:39. > :53:43.break, sign up to help at Witney and go and help in your nearest council

:53:44. > :53:47.by-election. Every extra pair of hands makes a big difference. I

:53:48. > :53:53.promise you will learn skills there that you can use in your patch. Last

:53:54. > :53:59.but not least, try and stand a candidate in every election in your

:54:00. > :54:05.area. The reception is so much more positive out there that even six

:54:06. > :54:09.months ago. We won a seat in North East Derbyshire even though we did

:54:10. > :54:14.not stand a candidate in the previous election. Even if we do not

:54:15. > :54:19.do as well is that every time, standing a candidate reminds voters

:54:20. > :54:24.we are fighting for them and using the brilliant toolkit, pick a board

:54:25. > :54:29.and win it, you can build up your supporters network and move on to

:54:30. > :54:33.victory. I am so proud to be your president. Proud that you have

:54:34. > :54:39.refused to allow the media to write us off. Proud that you are the front

:54:40. > :54:47.line of our revival. Proud that you stand alongside Tim Farron in

:54:48. > :54:52.showing this country that there is one party and one party only who

:54:53. > :54:56.will fight for the vulnerable and dispossessed, who will fight for our

:54:57. > :55:01.place in Europe and the world and who believes Britain is, and should

:55:02. > :55:25.be, open, tolerant and united. Thank you.

:55:26. > :55:34.Thank you, Sal, for all you do on behalf of us and our party and thank

:55:35. > :55:36.you conference and also to Cara, and I hand over to Zoe O'Connell for the

:55:37. > :56:20.transport debate that comes next. Good morning, conference and welcome

:56:21. > :56:25.to future transport, which you can find on page 79 of your agenda.

:56:26. > :56:32.There are drafting amendments and one moved Amendment that you can

:56:33. > :56:36.find on page five of Conference Daily. We will be taking short

:56:37. > :56:42.interventions later in the debate. If you wish to give a one-minute

:56:43. > :56:46.speech, please can you fill in a small yellow card that you can

:56:47. > :56:57.collect from the Speaker's desk. Moving on, could I ask Richard

:56:58. > :57:06.Gaston to stand by and I call now to move the motion.

:57:07. > :57:10.Jenny. Conference, all of us travel, we are all affected by our latest

:57:11. > :57:17.frustration on the journey to work, or visiting friends and family. For

:57:18. > :57:22.some, with a long commute, it dominates their whole week. Try

:57:23. > :57:28.asking a passenger on Southern rail services. We are all transport

:57:29. > :57:34.experts. But we lack as a party a clear and comprehensive and recent

:57:35. > :57:41.statement about transport policy. We have excellent policy on cycling,

:57:42. > :57:45.diesel vehicles, well-documented opposition to airport expansion and

:57:46. > :57:48.excellent policy on youth concessionary fares but much of the

:57:49. > :57:57.rest lacks a comprehensive approach at a time of great change. Such as

:57:58. > :58:02.driverless cars, zero emission technology, aviation biofuels and

:58:03. > :58:09.with the government facing the decisions on airport capacity and

:58:10. > :58:15.rail investment. For us, our policy cuts across our environmental

:58:16. > :58:20.objectives. Health policy, equality issues, rural policy, and it

:58:21. > :58:26.underpins our economic development ambitions. Transport policy must be

:58:27. > :58:30.environmentally sustainable, it must improve health with major and urgent

:58:31. > :58:37.reduction in emissions. It must put the passenger at its heart, having

:58:38. > :58:39.them can deviance, reliability, value, and easy access to

:58:40. > :58:46.compensation when things go wrong. It must spread disparity well beyond

:58:47. > :58:55.the Golden Triangle of the south-east of England. No modern

:58:56. > :59:00.economy can prosper without a good transport infrastructure with good

:59:01. > :59:04.public transport at its core. It takes decades to put transport

:59:05. > :59:09.problems right and both Labour and Tory governments failed to invest

:59:10. > :59:13.for the long-term will stop our whole nation, our children's health

:59:14. > :59:19.and economic prosperity are put at risk. In the coalition we started on

:59:20. > :59:23.long-term investment with the biggest railway building programme

:59:24. > :59:27.since Victorian times, and much more. But the Tories are

:59:28. > :59:34.backpedalling like fury and we have to hold them to account. Two thirds

:59:35. > :59:41.of journeys made on public transport are by bus, yet they have faced

:59:42. > :59:46.severe cutbacks. Rural areas where buses are essential for community

:59:47. > :59:50.survival are particularly badly hit. London is a success story, but

:59:51. > :59:58.outside London, many areas face poor and declining services. Buses reduce

:59:59. > :00:01.traffic congestion and they reduce the air pollution that threatens the

:00:02. > :00:08.health of so many, especially in urban areas. The years since

:00:09. > :00:13.deregulation in the 80s have cemented decline and we need a big

:00:14. > :00:19.change in approach. In the Lords we are working to make the bus services

:00:20. > :00:24.bill more effective. We support greater powers such as those

:00:25. > :00:31.relating to franchises for local authorities. But councils must use

:00:32. > :00:36.those contract to require reduced emissions, much better disability

:00:37. > :00:43.access, smart ticketing, and if this is to produce a step change we need,

:00:44. > :00:47.those improvements must be there, otherwise it is just another Tory

:00:48. > :00:53.missed opportunity. As we are here in Brighton, I want to highlight

:00:54. > :00:59.these yellow cards. They are part of the helping hand initiative run by

:01:00. > :01:06.Brighton Hove Albion is to help bus users with special requirements

:01:07. > :01:11.by letting them know and tell the driver easily and quickly what those

:01:12. > :01:18.requirements are. It is a simple, cheap and highly effective scheme.

:01:19. > :01:23.Overcrowding on the railways gets a lot of publicity, but that is a

:01:24. > :01:28.result of the popularity of the railways, with nearly twice as many

:01:29. > :01:33.passengers as when the franchise system was introduced. Someone needs

:01:34. > :01:35.to tell Jeremy Corbyn that, possibly at the same time they explained to

:01:36. > :01:45.him how to find a seat. Of course, there are problems with

:01:46. > :01:51.the existing system, but Lib Dems would tackle them with investment in

:01:52. > :01:57.rolling stock, new stations, reopens and new minds, electrification. What

:01:58. > :02:02.we don't need is to reorganise or renationalise. You will not get back

:02:03. > :02:09.to the future with this party. APPLAUSE

:02:10. > :02:13.Rail passengers must get a better deal with Smart ticketing and much

:02:14. > :02:18.more flexible compensation arrangements. We must make it clear

:02:19. > :02:26.now, ladies and gentlemen, that the amendments on planning and on

:02:27. > :02:35.badgers to draw attention to disabled people, we are very happy

:02:36. > :02:41.with -- and badges to draw attention to. We oppose amendments one on HS2,

:02:42. > :02:46.not because we are unsupportive of the high-speed line, we are very

:02:47. > :02:49.supportive, but we need to scrutinise this expensive project

:02:50. > :02:54.which could suck in all investment and starve the rest of the north of

:02:55. > :02:59.England of investment in rail improvements. For us, public

:03:00. > :03:05.transport has to come first. But people will still want to own cars

:03:06. > :03:10.and will still need to. But those cars need to become low or zero

:03:11. > :03:16.emission as as soon as possible. With more incentives for drivers to

:03:17. > :03:23.buy electric cars, for instance, more research into new technologies.

:03:24. > :03:26.Personally, I'm very excited by the development of autonomous vehicles.

:03:27. > :03:31.I like the idea of a car that does it all for me. I like the idea that

:03:32. > :03:35.we no longer need to own a car, we can just summon it up when we

:03:36. > :03:40.needed. But this is not a starry eyed vision of the future. Tests are

:03:41. > :03:45.already taking place in Britain and across the world, and we have to

:03:46. > :03:51.remain at the forefront of this research, despite the impact of

:03:52. > :04:01.Brexit. As a party, we oppose the airport expansion, but people will

:04:02. > :04:03.still want to fly, so we must emphasise sustainability. We had to

:04:04. > :04:06.deal with the result of Gatwick and Heathrow once it is made. It's our

:04:07. > :04:12.duty to scrutinise every corner of the impact that it will have both

:04:13. > :04:16.locally and nationally. Britain needs a coherent transport policy,

:04:17. > :04:21.not the current pick and mix approach. I believe these

:04:22. > :04:25.principles, Enviro mentalism, technology as a solution commie

:04:26. > :04:30.quality of access, a system available to all with passengers at

:04:31. > :04:34.its heart, these will enable the Liberal Democrats to lead the debate

:04:35. > :04:42.on the future of transport. APPLAUSE

:04:43. > :04:51.Thank you, could I ask Annemarie Barker from Woking to stand by, and

:04:52. > :04:54.I now call Richard, a PPC opposing amendments one.

:04:55. > :05:00.Thank you, China and Conference. This amendment is about both HS2 and

:05:01. > :05:05.HS three, and I want to deal with the two separately. The reason we

:05:06. > :05:08.need HS2 is because the main lines between London, the Midlands and the

:05:09. > :05:16.North of England are full, the trains are not full but the lines

:05:17. > :05:20.are full. Some of the trains are crowded, the one that Jeremy Corbyn

:05:21. > :05:24.was on might not have been, but there are some where you can sit

:05:25. > :05:29.down. The real problem is we can't run any more trains to relieve the

:05:30. > :05:32.ones that are busy. It has taken ten years and three attempts to get more

:05:33. > :05:39.than one train a day between Blackpool and London. At the end of

:05:40. > :05:44.that we finally have six starting in 2018, six trains a day, it took ten

:05:45. > :05:57.years to squeeze them into a line that is absolutely packed. The

:05:58. > :06:01.most important place that we need more trains is not passengers, it is

:06:02. > :06:03.freight. About ten years ago the freight rail Association estimated

:06:04. > :06:06.demand for 2030. In spite of their being a recession, it is higher now

:06:07. > :06:11.than they thought it would be them. They say that we have not built a

:06:12. > :06:16.substitute to move passenger trains off the rails by 2030, there will be

:06:17. > :06:25.nearly 500 extra lorry loads that will not fit on the railway, 500

:06:26. > :06:30.lorries on the M1, the M6, the 40. 500 and hour. HS2 will start

:06:31. > :06:37.construction next year. We don't think the design is perfect. Join

:06:38. > :06:42.the club. Come and talk to me in the bar and be prepared to listen to an

:06:43. > :06:47.hour-long ranter. But as anyone who has ever sat on a planning

:06:48. > :06:52.committee, anyone who has ever worked on a major construction

:06:53. > :06:55.project, nose, you can't redesign a year before starting construction.

:06:56. > :07:00.If we started redesigning now it would be ten more years of those

:07:01. > :07:04.lorries running up and down motorways. Our motorways,

:07:05. > :07:10.environment, atmosphere, traffic system cannot wait for perfect. HS2

:07:11. > :07:14.is pretty good, you know. The things that are wrong can be fixed later,

:07:15. > :07:21.it is definitely good enough. I wanted to talk about HS3, but I can

:07:22. > :07:26.see the yellow light. Let me say something simple. When we look at

:07:27. > :07:31.transport we better time and again on London. We built the Delisle --

:07:32. > :07:36.the DLR, the Jubilee line extension, the Thames Link, Crossrail, no doubt

:07:37. > :07:42.we will build Crossrail two. Those have all benefited the growth of the

:07:43. > :07:47.City of London and paid off, time and again. Just once, Liberal

:07:48. > :07:50.Democrats, can we bet on the North of England with HS3?

:07:51. > :07:57.APPLAUSE Thank you.

:07:58. > :08:03.Could I ask Lee from Birmingham to stand by, I now call Anne-Marie

:08:04. > :08:08.Barker, the PPC for Surrey Heath, who wishes to speak against the

:08:09. > :08:13.motion. Conference, there is much that is

:08:14. > :08:18.good in this motion, but it is just so broad brush. There are some lazy

:08:19. > :08:23.assumptions and a number of omissions. I would like to pick up

:08:24. > :08:27.on three specific points on buses, rail and cycling and walking, and

:08:28. > :08:33.then revealed to you the elephant on the tracks but I think is one of the

:08:34. > :08:38.major omissions in this motion. On buses, conference seven notes that

:08:39. > :08:44.many rural areas have suffered a sharp cut in bus services. It is not

:08:45. > :08:47.just rural areas, although I do not downplay the impact that bus cuts

:08:48. > :08:53.have on these communities. Suburban areas of Surrey where I live and I

:08:54. > :08:58.am a PPC are seeing a gradual eating away of bus services. Have so many

:08:59. > :09:03.changes, that anyone who would consider using a bus has no idea

:09:04. > :09:07.when one might run. Guess what? That means the buses are used less and

:09:08. > :09:11.less and less and makes an excuse to make more cuts in bus services.

:09:12. > :09:19.Meanwhile, the roads are filling up with more and more cars. On rail,

:09:20. > :09:25.Conference three calls for a stronger body to act as a voice for

:09:26. > :09:28.rail and bus. I'm not sure why the existing structure wants to be

:09:29. > :09:35.thrown away. There is no information on this, no information what we

:09:36. > :09:40.would do better, what the existing body is not been well enough, just

:09:41. > :09:45.that it is not strong enough, effectively. Something strong always

:09:46. > :09:50.has to be good, hasn't it? But it is lazy nonspecific policy that does

:09:51. > :09:56.not us anywhere. Moving on to cycling and walking,

:09:57. > :10:00.Conference asks for an increase in investment in cycling and walking as

:10:01. > :10:05.part of the transport strategy. No argument at all. Like the rest of

:10:06. > :10:10.this motion it is very laudable. But whilst being liberal and wanting to

:10:11. > :10:13.allow for local determination of our local needs, we need to put a bit

:10:14. > :10:19.more flesh on this. Too often investment in cycling has meant a

:10:20. > :10:24.cycle lane that ends suddenly, dumping the cyclist into a busy

:10:25. > :10:28.road. Does not work at all for anybody, does not make it more

:10:29. > :10:32.acceptable for people to want to cycle. I am pleased that there are

:10:33. > :10:37.some walking initiatives now, I would like to have seen more of that

:10:38. > :10:40.in this motion. In London, for example, there is a Chuka map

:10:41. > :10:45.showing you how long it would take to walk between Tube stations. If we

:10:46. > :10:53.could push for more of these in other areas, lets people know how

:10:54. > :10:54.easy it is to go by foot, it would help some of the shorter car

:10:55. > :10:59.journeys as well. Finally, the elephant on the tracks.

:11:00. > :11:04.The motion misses a key point on rail. Many of the issues leading to

:11:05. > :11:07.delayed and cancelled rail journeys are dead to infrastructure. Points

:11:08. > :11:12.failures and broken rails are not the responsibility of train

:11:13. > :11:16.companies, but Network Rail. Drink companies are visible, they are a

:11:17. > :11:22.convenient whipping boy, I have with South West trains, my local

:11:23. > :11:27.provider, many times. But the element in the rumours Network Rail,

:11:28. > :11:31.whose website tells us, we run, maintain and develop British rail

:11:32. > :11:35.trucks... Bring your remarks to a close, please.

:11:36. > :11:37.We need to get the answers and the information.

:11:38. > :11:40.APPLAUSE Thank you, could I ask Colin

:11:41. > :11:47.Rosenstiel from Cambridge to stand by, I now call Lee Dark from

:11:48. > :11:53.Birmingham. Thank you. I am from Birmingham, I'm

:11:54. > :11:57.a little bit biased towards HS2, we are above the M25 so I guess you can

:11:58. > :12:03.cost as as the North of England as well. I had too much light is

:12:04. > :12:07.prepared and Jeremy Corbyn and they have both been stolen, I am really

:12:08. > :12:13.disappointed, so I will not go there -- I had two lines prepared on

:12:14. > :12:17.Jeremy Corbyn. I am no fishy warning mental health into every policy

:12:18. > :12:22.debate, I am sorry to say I can do it here. -- I am known for

:12:23. > :12:27.shoehorning mental health. I am pleased with the development on the

:12:28. > :12:31.Please Offer Me A Seat proposal, please do that when you go on public

:12:32. > :12:37.transport. Policies are not perfect. Leaving

:12:38. > :12:43.aside questions over the welfare bill, there is no policy I have seen

:12:44. > :12:46.that is perfect. I disagree with the last speaker but just because the

:12:47. > :12:54.whole policy is not perfect we throw it out. We can change policy in the

:12:55. > :12:58.future. I support the motion, but I would specifically like to ask you

:12:59. > :13:03.to support amendment one. There is something called the TCS, I am

:13:04. > :13:07.involved in the rail industry, some control systems, which is everything

:13:08. > :13:11.you do not see on the track, how you organise trains and get them to move

:13:12. > :13:16.from point a to point B and even point see if they run. The E stands

:13:17. > :13:26.the European commerce safe to say all Liberal Democrats can like this

:13:27. > :13:30.process. The points of ETCS is it can increase capacity, as seen in

:13:31. > :13:35.other countries, by up to 40%. It will start to be integrated into

:13:36. > :13:36.HS2, but because it relies on a lot of remedial works on existing lines

:13:37. > :13:42.it will be decades before we get it. it will be decades before we get it.

:13:43. > :13:46.For those of you that know things like Formula 1, the technology there

:13:47. > :13:50.improves the road cars, the technology in HS2 will help improve

:13:51. > :13:55.the existing lines. So having HS2 does not mean we forget about the

:13:56. > :14:00.existing lines, it is improving all the network system. We invented the

:14:01. > :14:05.train network system, the most civilised form of transport in the

:14:06. > :14:10.world, I agree with Peter Hitchens. But other companies are now

:14:11. > :14:16.effectively on HS5 and we are squabbling about two. Those of you

:14:17. > :14:20.in the rail industry will know it is not just about protecting badgers

:14:21. > :14:24.and not standing on newts, the sustainability plans are humongous,

:14:25. > :14:29.we do not ignore it. Please support Amendment one, as well as the whole

:14:30. > :14:35.motion. On the scrutiny point, I am not saying that we're seeing it will

:14:36. > :14:37.not be scrutinised. Politicians and especially Liberal Democrats,

:14:38. > :14:42.policies in all areas will be scrutinised to the nth degree, so

:14:43. > :14:45.that will not go. Please pass Amendment one, and the motion as a

:14:46. > :14:50.whole. Thank you. Thank you, could I ask

:14:51. > :14:56.Barbara Smith from Islington to stand-by? I now call Colin

:14:57. > :14:58.Rosenstiel from Cambridge, wishing to speak against parts of the

:14:59. > :15:02.motion. Thank you, this is a critical friend

:15:03. > :15:09.sort of speech from somebody who has spent much of my political life

:15:10. > :15:14.dealing with transport issues. Can I first ball commend lines nine to

:15:15. > :15:19.which criticises the failure of Labour and Conservative governments

:15:20. > :15:22.in the past. I am very concerned we should not fall subject to the same

:15:23. > :15:28.criticism ourselves, I will come to the reasons as we go along. Let's be

:15:29. > :15:31.mentioned cycling, because I come from Cambridge, where something like

:15:32. > :15:36.30% of the population cycled to work. That is perfectly normal in

:15:37. > :15:42.Holland, unfortunately it is about double the next best place in this

:15:43. > :15:46.country. So an increased investment in cycling and walking as part of

:15:47. > :15:51.the transport strategy is woefully inadequate to address the most

:15:52. > :15:55.important contribution to sustainable and personal transport

:15:56. > :15:58.available now all over this country for peanuts, compared to the cost of

:15:59. > :16:06.improving roads and railways. APPLAUSE

:16:07. > :16:13.The Government plans to spend ?1.5 billion on improving a bit of the

:16:14. > :16:17.A40 near Cambridge. For that sort of money they could revolutionise the

:16:18. > :16:22.provision of cycling across this country, as has started to happen in

:16:23. > :16:26.London, I must say. Cambridge has such a high cycling rate not because

:16:27. > :16:36.of good cycling infrastructure, but despite the lack of it.

:16:37. > :16:44.It but teeter support and encourage it. On the transport strategy. --

:16:45. > :16:49.but it continues. They manage to ignore something that happened under

:16:50. > :16:56.the coalition Government, the railways were nationalised. Network

:16:57. > :17:00.Rail became a nationalised company, no Government legislation, it just

:17:01. > :17:06.happened. We are still feeling the consequences. The great advantage of

:17:07. > :17:10.privatisation was that investment was set up in five-year planning

:17:11. > :17:14.here is committed with Flex ability to borrow to make sure projects were

:17:15. > :17:18.delivered. They are now back under the thumb of the Treasury as they

:17:19. > :17:22.were under British rail to the people who would like to return to

:17:23. > :17:28.British rail do not know what they are asking for. We have to address

:17:29. > :17:31.this as a party and come up realistic solutions to get the

:17:32. > :17:36.structure of the railways right, particularly so that the enterprise

:17:37. > :17:41.railway managers have brought to double the number of people using

:17:42. > :17:46.the railways since privatisation can go on happening and not be screwed

:17:47. > :17:52.down by the idiots in the Treasury who know the value of nothing and

:17:53. > :18:02.the importance of... They cannot think beyond money. The other points

:18:03. > :18:06.I wanted to make, in clause six lines 53 and four we ask for greater

:18:07. > :18:11.sanctions on franchises. We don't want to be like the Labour Party and

:18:12. > :18:19.only wanting sanctions, we want incentives and encouragement, the

:18:20. > :18:25.problem for much but also Network Rail who provide to them, we need to

:18:26. > :18:31.help them not sanction. Thank you, could I ask Peter Jones of Chilton

:18:32. > :18:39.to stand by and I now call Barbara Smith from Islington who wishes to

:18:40. > :18:42.speak for the motion. Conference, one of the great advantages of

:18:43. > :18:50.having grey hair and a slightly frail build is that on the tube

:18:51. > :18:54.young men and women are now leap up to offer me a seat. Assuming always

:18:55. > :19:01.they have raised their eyes from their smartphone to notice me. I

:19:02. > :19:07.think that please offer me a seat for disabled passengers is out -- is

:19:08. > :19:12.a brilliant idea. Often with disabilities who cannot tell person

:19:13. > :19:15.is disabled or even if it is possible, people are very

:19:16. > :19:20.embarrassed to ask for a seat so the bad would be marvellous. The great

:19:21. > :19:24.advantage with the baby on board badge is you can actually be certain

:19:25. > :19:30.woman is pregnant and she is not just been overdoing it on the cream

:19:31. > :19:37.buns. I would actually like to see if possible that please offer me a

:19:38. > :19:41.seat extended to those senior citizens who wanted. It is a badge,

:19:42. > :19:45.you don't have to use it every time. At a conference two years ago I

:19:46. > :19:50.described myself as a baby boomer still dancing to the Rolling Stones

:19:51. > :19:54.and I am often quite happy to stand three or four stops on the tube but

:19:55. > :19:57.there are times when I think, please, somebody give me a seat and

:19:58. > :20:03.if on those occasions I had the badge that would be very helpful. My

:20:04. > :20:11.final point is about the Lib Dem conference. Having been to two

:20:12. > :20:15.fringe meetings were sitting on the floor or leaned against the walls

:20:16. > :20:20.there were people who should obviously have been seated while

:20:21. > :20:24.there were a lot of very strong looking people who cannot all have

:20:25. > :20:35.been disabled in seats. I think we should put it in for fringe meetings

:20:36. > :20:39.here as well. Thank you come after the next speech we will move to a

:20:40. > :20:43.series of short interventions, can I asked the following people go to the

:20:44. > :20:49.intervention mike on the left of the whole please. Nick courses, North

:20:50. > :20:55.Cornwall, Catherine Bill, haven't, David Beckett, Newcastle-under-Lyme,

:20:56. > :21:00.Jenny weight, Calderdale, Matthew Clark, North Glasgow, Kay Kirk,

:21:01. > :21:06.Killian Shipley, Councillor Doctor James Walsh from Aaron and Nick

:21:07. > :21:13.Sanford from Peterborough. And I now call Peter Jones from children.

:21:14. > :21:17.Thank you, I will start by saying I'm originally from Leeds, most of

:21:18. > :21:21.my family are still in Leeds, I was keen on the north as the rest of you

:21:22. > :21:26.and I put it to you in that context that HS2 is a very London centric

:21:27. > :21:31.policy. It is about the tight London, that is the way the money

:21:32. > :21:35.will go as well -- vitae to London. If you don't me, why are they

:21:36. > :21:38.starting from the London end. I hope our conference will go back to

:21:39. > :21:44.Glasgow but I bet we never go there and HS2. It is funny how the people

:21:45. > :21:50.who are supportive of HS2 never tell you how much it will cost. Probably

:21:51. > :21:55.because nobody really knows the last guesstimate I heard was ?80 billion.

:21:56. > :21:59.I can tell you what they said start with in their summary economic case

:22:00. > :22:06.six and a half years ago: This would cost ?32 billion to build, ?44

:22:07. > :22:11.billion to run in the first 60 years and in that time you would get ?27

:22:12. > :22:22.billion back in revenue. 76-27 anybody? ?49 billion. ?1 million

:22:23. > :22:27.49,000 times over. That is not a business case as those in business

:22:28. > :22:32.understand the term, think what else you could do with that money? And I

:22:33. > :22:36.have to say to all the other regions apart from North and London, if you

:22:37. > :22:39.think this has nothing to do with you, forget it because you are

:22:40. > :22:45.paying for it and getting no benefit. Apologists for HS2 will say

:22:46. > :22:50.there are wider economic benefits, it is really good value, honest.

:22:51. > :22:57.That is true of any Government spending. You could make a scale

:22:58. > :23:02.model of the Taj Mahal and put it on Eastbourne Beach and the Stephen

:23:03. > :23:06.Morris visitors centre and you would get the same wider economic

:23:07. > :23:10.benefits, you would probably get more because a relative return on

:23:11. > :23:17.HS2 is very poor. Yet what could you have instead? I agree entirely about

:23:18. > :23:20.aged three and improving the East West communication route in the

:23:21. > :23:24.North, I wouldn't bother with the HS2 it but the difficulty and time

:23:25. > :23:29.of getting during the great cities Manchester and Leeds is ridiculous.

:23:30. > :23:33.You could invest in manufacturing industry in the North ante-post

:23:34. > :23:38.Brexitied might be easier. You could invest in decent homes for people to

:23:39. > :23:43.live in coming you could invest in a wonderful culture of the great

:23:44. > :23:48.Northern cities. I say to the leaders of those cities, he went to

:23:49. > :23:51.the Government and said scrap HS2, spend the money on this Northern are

:23:52. > :23:56.hosting instead I bet they would be pleased with that idea. You can have

:23:57. > :24:03.all those things or a complete waste of money. I applaud what Jenny

:24:04. > :24:07.Anderson said about scrutiny, I look at this motion and there is lots of

:24:08. > :24:16.good things in it but amendment one makes it worse, please vote against.

:24:17. > :24:22.Thank you. We moved to a series of formative interventions, can I ask

:24:23. > :24:26.Andrew Hudson to stand by as the first speaker after the

:24:27. > :24:30.interventions. Our first intervener is Nick are 47, North Cornwall.

:24:31. > :24:35.Conference, I wish to speak against amendment one as well. Banners

:24:36. > :24:40.Anderson was right in looking beyond the south-east but the amendment

:24:41. > :24:43.ignores the south-west in particular and speaks about the North of

:24:44. > :24:53.England, one you to think about North Cornwall, it is quite a

:24:54. > :24:56.different part of the country. The people who want amendment one are

:24:57. > :25:00.quite right that the lines to Birmingham Arfield but at least you

:25:01. > :25:03.have a railway line. In zero Cornwall we don't have a single

:25:04. > :25:10.railway station on the mainline. In North Cornwall. Bodmin Parkway is

:25:11. > :25:18.actually not in North Cornwall although Bodmin is. Doctor Beeching,

:25:19. > :25:23.of course, 50 years ago is to blame for all that. The motion unamended

:25:24. > :25:30.gets the balance right, it does not single out a particular region,

:25:31. > :25:41.please support the motion but reject amendment one. Thank you. Thank you.

:25:42. > :25:45.Catherine Bill. I support this motion but I don't think it goes far

:25:46. > :25:50.enough. I agree we need to get freight off roads and we need to

:25:51. > :25:54.increase our capacity and rail. HS2 is not about getting to Manchester

:25:55. > :25:59.quickly, it is about increasing our capacity. But I think we've missed a

:26:00. > :26:07.trick. And that trick is moving freight by water. For the London

:26:08. > :26:10.Olympics of the waterways were upgraded and 1.75 million tonnes of

:26:11. > :26:18.building materials brought into the Olympic village by barge, which save

:26:19. > :26:23.170,000 lorries from our roads. Green transport and inland

:26:24. > :26:28.waterways, it is Green, the lowest carbon footprint of any freight

:26:29. > :26:34.transport, there is less pollution, lower noise and it is a visually

:26:35. > :26:38.unintrusive. I agree that we need a good transport infrastructure but it

:26:39. > :26:49.should include integrated water can't spot as well as road and rail.

:26:50. > :26:56.Thank you. -- water transport. We need investment in rail and the

:26:57. > :27:01.additional capacity but we do not need the speed, environmental damage

:27:02. > :27:06.and cost of HS2. I would have preferred for us to abandon support

:27:07. > :27:12.of HS2 in its current format but I suggest rigorous support of the

:27:13. > :27:22.costs could possibly achieve that aim. Please do not support amendment

:27:23. > :27:26.one. Jerry rig from Calderdale. I was going to speak about open access

:27:27. > :27:30.operators but I see we are all arguing about amendment one. I

:27:31. > :27:36.cannot believe the previous speaker from the stage who said we could get

:27:37. > :27:44.rid of HS2 and get a jittery faster. There is no way on earth we will get

:27:45. > :27:48.a chest three without HS2 first. And we need HS2 full capacity reasons

:27:49. > :27:57.that so many other people have. Thank you. Matthew Clarke from North

:27:58. > :28:03.Glasgow. I am supporting this motion and the amendment because we have to

:28:04. > :28:09.be ambitious on trust board. The poor relation in this that has been

:28:10. > :28:14.spoken about earlier is buses. 5.16 billion passenger journeys by public

:28:15. > :28:19.transport in the UK per year, two thirds by bus and about half of

:28:20. > :28:24.those in London. So many people rely on buses outside of London and they

:28:25. > :28:29.have a retrenching service that is based on antiquated 20th-century

:28:30. > :28:33.model. This and the other areas of transport mentioned today we must be

:28:34. > :28:39.more ambitious on, Smart ticketing, over papered -- normal paper tickets

:28:40. > :28:42.that you have to pay for imprecise change, timetables updated live

:28:43. > :28:45.electronically and not in tiny print on printed timetables that I'm sure

:28:46. > :28:52.even fully sighted people find difficult to read. On-board

:28:53. > :28:56.services, bust I've is difficult to speak to and maybe even talking

:28:57. > :29:08.buses. It is accessible for the Blind and also if you are, thank

:29:09. > :29:10.you. Kay Kirkham from Shipley. I am in favour of transport

:29:11. > :29:15.infrastructure investment in the north of England and I support the

:29:16. > :29:20.thrust of the motion but it is increasingly clear the cost of HS2

:29:21. > :29:26.makes entry points it look like a good deal. -- Hinkley point. The

:29:27. > :29:30.North of England doesn't need a way to get to the north of London ten

:29:31. > :29:34.minutes faster growing need to a vocation, medium speed rail to

:29:35. > :29:37.create capacity, reopening of Henri 's lines and a better balance of

:29:38. > :29:43.funding between London and the North. -- of unused. The motion is

:29:44. > :29:50.rightly cautious about HS2 so please vote against amendment one. Gotrel

:29:51. > :29:55.James Ward from Aaron? Thank you, I wish to speak in support of lines 53

:29:56. > :30:00.and 54 burial franchisees should be held more accountable and greater

:30:01. > :30:06.sanctions on them. -- were real. The issue for passengers in Sussex is

:30:07. > :30:11.whether they are fetched at all, the daily cuts to services and late

:30:12. > :30:14.running on cancellations, lack of air conditioning, plus the safety

:30:15. > :30:19.issues over the guards dispute call into question their management

:30:20. > :30:23.abilities. The final insult was the self awarding bonuses to their

:30:24. > :30:27.directors presiding over this shambles. I feel they have to be

:30:28. > :30:32.held to account and I call as the Lib Dem leader on West Sussex County

:30:33. > :30:35.Council for the ending of the Southern rail franchise and return

:30:36. > :30:40.either to the Government owned company that runs GN ER or

:30:41. > :30:49.re-tendering exercise Fergal Biafra Southern rail. And Nick Sanford from

:30:50. > :30:55.Peterborough. Thank you, I support HS2 but in lines 28-30 of the motion

:30:56. > :30:58.its book rights of the financial concerns and increasingly there are

:30:59. > :31:06.environmental concerns, the conservation charity waddling trust

:31:07. > :31:12.has identified 63 ancient pond are indirectly or directly threatened by

:31:13. > :31:16.just a phase one of the HS2 project. Our party policy says ancient

:31:17. > :31:19.woodland is important, because it has been there for hundreds of years

:31:20. > :31:25.or thousands of years, it is important because it is providing a

:31:26. > :31:33.home to thousands of animals and plants but it is important because

:31:34. > :31:35.it is and irreplaceable habitat. There is still time, there is

:31:36. > :31:41.legislation through Parliament that our pairs and MPs should try and

:31:42. > :31:47.change to change the route to address these environmental concerns

:31:48. > :31:48.but let's sport environment and transport could make it and by

:31:49. > :31:59.mentally sustainable. Thank you, could I ask the

:32:00. > :32:02.representative from Twickenham and Richmond to stand-by, now Andrew

:32:03. > :32:11.from Barrow in Furness wishes to speak against lines 23 to 27.

:32:12. > :32:15.Thank you, chair. The present situation is unsatisfactory. I was

:32:16. > :32:19.recently on a Dutch sailing ship in the Western Isles, my Dutch

:32:20. > :32:25.shipmates were amazed to find out that they were on ScotRail. We have

:32:26. > :32:28.an absurd situation where a foreign owned companies can bid for

:32:29. > :32:32.franchises but domestic bids are not allowed. The East Coast main line

:32:33. > :32:38.took over from a failed private operator and is bringing in money

:32:39. > :32:43.for the taxpayer. What did they do? Sell it off? Or franchising has done

:32:44. > :32:50.is made the stakeholder and uninterested shareholder. One local

:32:51. > :32:55.example is the Lewes bonfire festival, Cartmel races in Barrow in

:32:56. > :32:59.Furness. They don't put on coaches but there may have the cheek to

:33:00. > :33:03.blame the Government. Recently there were a future against

:33:04. > :33:09.an slightly differently on the Furness line, done by direct rail.

:33:10. > :33:16.On Good Friday I went on one, it was amazing. Comfortable, there was

:33:17. > :33:19.room, no problems. It was state-owned. Customer services by

:33:20. > :33:24.rail operators lead a lot to be desired. I once booked an advanced

:33:25. > :33:32.fare for an event cancelled at short notice, not my fault, no refund. I

:33:33. > :33:36.wrote to Great Western. The person answering me went on to tell me what

:33:37. > :33:42.a wonderful value for money that affairs were, the difference was

:33:43. > :33:47.about ?5. The problem with the spin doctors, you can't believe what they

:33:48. > :33:51.come out with. It is an insult to my intelligence. Thankfully, I bought

:33:52. > :33:57.the ticket using vouchers from a cock up over the Christmas period.

:33:58. > :34:03.Network Rail were responsible. Railtrack or whoever. They were

:34:04. > :34:06.paying the bill. Nowadays, I find -- they find any excuse not to pay up.

:34:07. > :34:11.There was a cock up with reservations. A double booking on

:34:12. > :34:19.the same seats, computers breaking down and trains. Go-ahead made

:34:20. > :34:23.record profits but have done bog-standard servers, they are

:34:24. > :34:27.putting safety in jeopardy by removing guards. I think there

:34:28. > :34:31.should be somebody else on the train than the driver closed doors, it is

:34:32. > :34:35.bound to make it safer. In the event of a crash, the driver might be

:34:36. > :34:40.incapacitated. This is the view from the cab.

:34:41. > :34:44.Taking the railways back into public ownership is proper. Let's not

:34:45. > :34:46.saddle ourselves with not conserving it. I might make an exception for

:34:47. > :34:52.rail freight. APPLAUSE

:34:53. > :34:58.Thank you, could I ask Greg Stone from Newcastle city to stand-by, I

:34:59. > :35:56.now call Avril from Twickenham and Richmond, a first-time speaker.

:35:57. > :36:03.Conference, please excuse us. First-time speaker, first-time

:36:04. > :36:11.Conference. You will understand the reason when our colleague here gets

:36:12. > :36:22.a chance to speak. Are you OK? Do you want me to speak for you? OK. I

:36:23. > :36:27.will hold your card. OK? I will hold that and give it to you in a moment.

:36:28. > :36:44.Go. You can speak. What should I say?

:36:45. > :36:51.What's on the card. I'll do it up there. Apply? -- up there? I've got

:36:52. > :37:35.you. Good afternoon, Conference. My name

:37:36. > :37:39.is Avril from Twickenham and it is my first time speaking at

:37:40. > :37:45.Conference, so please bear with me. APPLAUSE

:37:46. > :37:49.As a person with hidden disabilities, I'm taking part in

:37:50. > :37:56.Transport for London's Please Offer Me A Seat blue badge trial over the

:37:57. > :38:01.next three weeks. I understand the frustration that people like myself

:38:02. > :38:07.with hidden disabilities face. Not only in my area but, no doubt,

:38:08. > :38:14.across the country. And there should be at least 500,000 of us like

:38:15. > :38:18.myself who get looks and are unable or confident to ask for a seat to

:38:19. > :38:23.sit down when they needed. Because if they get looked back at by people

:38:24. > :38:27.that don't believe that they genuinely need a seat. Having blue

:38:28. > :38:33.badge would enable people with hidden disabilities to have the

:38:34. > :38:39.confidence to ask for a priority seat. It would also prevent drivers

:38:40. > :38:48.from asking disabled people to get up and give their seat up. So I

:38:49. > :38:57.support the amendment to the transport motion. And if you get the

:38:58. > :39:06.opportunity to vote for it, I urge you to support the motion as well,

:39:07. > :39:12.and the amendment. I know that the Baby On Board badge has been a

:39:13. > :39:15.success. There is a member here at Conference who used it when she was

:39:16. > :39:19.pregnant and found it very helpful and effective. Because of regional

:39:20. > :39:24.variations on public transport across the country, it is only right

:39:25. > :39:35.that a trial takes place in every county around the country so that

:39:36. > :39:40.issues can be discovered and dealt with. So please, Conference, support

:39:41. > :39:40.this motion and the amendment. Thank you.

:39:41. > :40:00.APPLAUSE Thank you, Avril.

:40:01. > :40:04.Can I ask Alistair to stand-by, and I now call Greg Stone from Newcastle

:40:05. > :40:10.city, who wishes to speak for the motion as a whole.

:40:11. > :40:14.Thank you, Conference. This motion rightly emphasises our commitment

:40:15. > :40:18.and aim to a zero carbon Britain and the need to safeguard our quality in

:40:19. > :40:23.cities through ultralow emission zones. This should become the norm

:40:24. > :40:27.in big cities in the coming decade. Support for development of low

:40:28. > :40:31.emission vehicles is particularly important in my region, where Nissan

:40:32. > :40:40.is a massive employer, providing, of course, we stay in the single

:40:41. > :40:42.market. I want to speak about buses. As a

:40:43. > :40:45.part of Newcastle's former Liberal Democrat council I helped to

:40:46. > :40:48.introduce a hybrid bus fleet on the Newcastle and Gateshead quayside. It

:40:49. > :40:52.was expensive and required good partnership with the bus companies.

:40:53. > :40:55.While some criticism of bus companies is deserved, good

:40:56. > :40:59.partnership working with them is crucial. We support the devolution

:41:00. > :41:02.of bus powers to local authorities but I would advise proceeding

:41:03. > :41:06.carefully along this particular bus route. We should not automatically

:41:07. > :41:11.assume that councils no better than bus operators how to run a bus

:41:12. > :41:12.network effectively. The Labour Council in Newcastle cannot collect

:41:13. > :41:27.the beans on time, I have little confidence in them running the buses

:41:28. > :41:30.on time and budgeting. If passenger numbers continue to fall, there will

:41:31. > :41:32.be greater financial shortfalls and greater risks to council tax payers.

:41:33. > :41:35.When front line services are being cut, it would be naive to think that

:41:36. > :41:37.the services would not face cutbacks. Labour council leaders in

:41:38. > :41:41.the North of England pursued a controversial scheme at a cost of

:41:42. > :41:45.several million pounds. It was scrapped, wasting money at a time

:41:46. > :41:49.where transport budgets are stretched already unsubsidised

:41:50. > :41:52.services in the north-east looked to be cut back.

:41:53. > :41:56.Transporting sounds fantastic, but to run a London style franchising

:41:57. > :42:00.system ad frequency requires London style passenger numbers and funding,

:42:01. > :42:12.that is simply not the case in every area. I support improved partnership

:42:13. > :42:14.with bus operators to improve services, fares and standards of

:42:15. > :42:16.vehicles, but do not assume that councils can do this better than bus

:42:17. > :42:20.operators do. I would like to support the motion,

:42:21. > :42:29.however, and the amendment. Thank you. Could I ask Caroline

:42:30. > :42:33.Pidgeon to stand-by, I now call Alistair Calder McGregor from

:42:34. > :42:36.Calderdale to sum up for amendment one.

:42:37. > :42:41.Let me paint you a picture. I know it is a traditional rhetorical

:42:42. > :42:47.device, right? This picture, the third largest economic area is a

:42:48. > :42:51.network of cities connected by high-speed rail with each city

:42:52. > :42:57.having a well maintained, well funded transport infrastructure

:42:58. > :43:03.within two feed passengers into that system. Doesn't that sound great?

:43:04. > :43:14.Well, it exists. So why am I not supporting this amendment? Well, you

:43:15. > :43:21.see, that is the cities of Cologne, D sseldorf and Bonn. And some others

:43:22. > :43:25.that I can't pronounce, I am afraid. HS2 and HS3 are absolutely essential

:43:26. > :43:29.to the economic health of the North. As Richard Seddon proposing the

:43:30. > :43:32.amendment, if you look at the transport infrastructure that has

:43:33. > :43:37.gone into London, Crossrail, Crossrail two, the Tube

:43:38. > :43:44.infrastructure, HS one, all the rest of it. What is for the North? Hugger

:43:45. > :43:49.all, so far. HS2 is absolutely essential, because aside from the

:43:50. > :43:53.environmental benefits of taking all the dam freight off the roads, it

:43:54. > :43:59.will bring the economic heartland of the UK, that is the North, for those

:44:00. > :44:04.of you who are not paying attention, back into regular contact on the

:44:05. > :44:10.same timescales as the rest of the continent already enjoys. Somebody

:44:11. > :44:14.asked earlier why start building it from the south? You don't just start

:44:15. > :44:18.building a railway in the middle of nowhere. The only time that has been

:44:19. > :44:26.done was when we were building Liverpool to Manchester, the very

:44:27. > :44:32.first railway anywhere. Various speakers, Matthew particularly from

:44:33. > :44:38.the intervention, picked up that HS3 and buses are actually an integrated

:44:39. > :44:43.solution. This is all about getting the infrastructure in place on every

:44:44. > :44:47.level that will work together to generate and really energise the

:44:48. > :44:51.north of England back to its economic status. We are massively

:44:52. > :44:57.overheated in the South as an economic entity, and the rest of the

:44:58. > :45:03.country is left derelict. That, Conference, is a disgrace. It is a

:45:04. > :45:06.disgrace that successive governments, and I must regret to

:45:07. > :45:14.say that we did not manage to do anything about it in coalition,

:45:15. > :45:18.because the Tories blocked every move, but it is a disgrace that,

:45:19. > :45:21.going back 40 or 50 years, successive Tory and Labour

:45:22. > :45:26.governments have abandoned the North. For anyone who votes Labour

:45:27. > :45:30.in the North of England, if you think Labour are doing you a favour,

:45:31. > :45:36.you have another think coming. APPLAUSE

:45:37. > :45:42.So, I am asking you very seriously Conference, including all of you in

:45:43. > :45:49.the South, vote for energising the North. This will pay you more than

:45:50. > :45:53.dividends for its self. Votes for a country that is economically

:45:54. > :45:57.vibrant, north to south. Votes for amendment one, and the motion as

:45:58. > :46:03.amended. Thank you. APPLAUSE

:46:04. > :46:06.Thank you, and can I finally called Caroline Pidgeon from Bermondsey and

:46:07. > :46:12.Old Southwark, who is a London assembly member.

:46:13. > :46:19.Thank you very much, this has been a great debate and what has come

:46:20. > :46:25.through is how crucial transport is in every part of our daily lives and

:46:26. > :46:29.a proper transport network that is affordable and accessible can

:46:30. > :46:31.unleash opportunities for individuals and this motion

:46:32. > :46:38.recognises the transport feeds into many other policies, particularly it

:46:39. > :46:42.cannot decarbonise the economy and tackle the appalling air pollution

:46:43. > :46:45.that many cities and towns face unless we have the right transport

:46:46. > :46:52.policies. Addressing the wider contributions we've had today, there

:46:53. > :46:56.is huge debate on the amendment. Richard and Alistair, high speed is

:46:57. > :47:01.part of the package in here, we said we need to keep constant scrutiny,

:47:02. > :47:04.we've also heard environmental issues mentioned today, high-speed

:47:05. > :47:10.to have been secretive, they need to be more open. The idea that this

:47:11. > :47:13.motion is about putting one part of the country against another is

:47:14. > :47:19.against what we are saying, we want cross-border investment across every

:47:20. > :47:29.region, not just trying to beat North against South. -- countrywide

:47:30. > :47:33.investment. This is a set of principles, we do have detailed

:47:34. > :47:37.policy in some areas and I think we need a detailed policy paper going

:47:38. > :47:43.forward to spell out some of the detail. This is about principles,

:47:44. > :47:52.not detailed policy in every area. Leesburg biotechnology needed for

:47:53. > :47:57.existing lines, absolutely. -- Lee you spoke about technology. Collins

:47:58. > :48:01.book were cycling policy, we passed two pages at least have detailed

:48:02. > :48:05.policy couple of years ago when Julian Hubbard was the spokesperson,

:48:06. > :48:11.we have good cycling policy, I can assure you. We had a number of

:48:12. > :48:14.contributions, particularly Barbara mentioned the bully -- be offered me

:48:15. > :48:23.a seat that and what of the Bastick first speech today from -- speech

:48:24. > :48:28.today. She mentions the trial and I hope that gets brought up across all

:48:29. > :48:35.transport networks to help those with disabilities, we seem the

:48:36. > :48:38.success of the baby on board badge. It is fantastic and health and power

:48:39. > :48:46.passengers so they can travel around. Other comments I have here,

:48:47. > :48:49.high-speed to, some of the debate we've had and contribute is against

:48:50. > :48:53.HS2, this is about building capacity, not about whether we

:48:54. > :48:56.should have another railway line or not, we need another railway, it is

:48:57. > :49:00.about whether it high-speed or not, we believe it is and have been at

:49:01. > :49:03.the forefront of that and must make it is delivered in a reasonable

:49:04. > :49:09.budget and without some of the damaging side-effects we've been

:49:10. > :49:13.told about today. South West England came up, absolutely, this is a

:49:14. > :49:21.policy for every region. Catherine mentioned about water and that is an

:49:22. > :49:24.area we must look at and Greg spoke about zero emission vehicles, we

:49:25. > :49:30.must support that as well. And boss franchising will not be the solution

:49:31. > :49:33.everywhere. This motion is wide ranging and comprehensive and

:49:34. > :49:36.recognises we need long-term thinking in terms of transport

:49:37. > :49:41.planning and to insure investment is sustained across every part of the

:49:42. > :49:45.country. It is about ensuring we keep moving and modernise ticketing

:49:46. > :49:48.and make sure it is fit for modern working practices and it is about

:49:49. > :49:52.delivering transport infrastructure and networks and making sure they

:49:53. > :49:56.deliver for us, ensuring we can breathe clean a and move towards a

:49:57. > :50:01.cleaner and more sustainable environment. Please support the

:50:02. > :50:04.motion today an amended to show our commitment to HS2 and moving forward

:50:05. > :50:11.to keep the entirety of the UK moving in the future. Thank you.

:50:12. > :50:15.APPLAUSE Thank you and thank you to all of

:50:16. > :50:18.our speakers, as you can imagine for a debate on transport which also

:50:19. > :50:23.includes issue about disability and the regions, we had far more cards

:50:24. > :50:28.than I could call so apologies to those of you I could not call. We

:50:29. > :50:34.moved a series of two votes. The first vote will be on the amendment

:50:35. > :50:38.which you can find on page five of your conference paper and we will

:50:39. > :50:42.then move to vote on the motion as a whole are major differences are.

:50:43. > :50:50.Could I see those in favour of amendment one showing your cards

:50:51. > :50:59.with the word of voting towards me. Thank you and can I see those

:51:00. > :51:07.against amendment one. I would like to see that again please, can I see

:51:08. > :51:15.those for amendment one? And can I see those against amendment one.

:51:16. > :51:16.That is too close, we will have to count, stewards, get ready for

:51:17. > :51:38.account please. Can those in favour of amendment one

:51:39. > :52:36.please hold your cards up and keep them in the air.

:52:37. > :52:51.Thank you can hand down a mechanic now see those against amendment one

:52:52. > :53:28.and as the air. -- and as before keep your hands in the air.

:53:29. > :53:33.Thank you, you may put your hands down will have a brief pause while

:53:34. > :53:36.we do some maths which is a little difficult the morning after the

:53:37. > :55:07.club. The liver of folks in favour was 194

:55:08. > :55:18.and against was 170. Amendment for his past -- amendment one is passed.

:55:19. > :55:25.We now must vote on the motion as amended, can I see those in favour

:55:26. > :55:31.of the motion? And can I see those against please? There is a couple of

:55:32. > :55:37.interviews yesterday people against but that is overwhelmingly passed,

:55:38. > :55:47.thank you very much conference. It is now launched we shall resume back

:55:48. > :55:49.here at ten past two. Thank you. Have a lunch. -- have a good lunch.