03/03/2012

:00:09. > :00:12.The ninth of welcome to the Welsh Liberal Democrat spring conference

:00:12. > :00:16.here in Cardiff. The party is busy gearing up for those local

:00:16. > :00:26.elections in May, so over the next two hours, we will be looking at

:00:26. > :00:33.

:00:33. > :00:38.the party's fortunes, hopes and Welcome to the Holland House Hotel

:00:38. > :00:42.in Cardiff, where this afternoon, Nick Clegg will be headlining this

:00:42. > :00:48.two day conference. He is here already, meeting delegates upstairs

:00:48. > :00:53.and giving that speech in about 40 minutes. This is a party in power

:00:53. > :00:59.in Westminster and in opposition in Cardiff. How does that plague into

:00:59. > :01:05.the local elections? Our political editor will be keeping me company

:01:05. > :01:10.all afternoon. Are they in good mood? They are. It was quite quiet

:01:10. > :01:14.this morning. More arrived in time for Kirsty Williams' speech. It

:01:14. > :01:18.will be full for Nick Clegg this afternoon. They are hearing that we

:01:18. > :01:23.know it is tough, but when you go out in May and not on those doors,

:01:23. > :01:27.Givet all you have got and tell them the good bits. The over the

:01:27. > :01:32.next two hours, we will bring you all the debates and that crucial

:01:32. > :01:35.speech from the hall. James Williams is there for us. Yes, I am

:01:35. > :01:43.keeping an eye on proceedings in the all. This morning, we had a

:01:43. > :01:46.speech from the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams.

:01:46. > :01:51.And the headline her this afternoon will be the Deputy Prime Minister

:01:51. > :01:58.and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg's speech. Just outside

:01:58. > :02:03.the hall, milling with all the delegates, our reporter. Yes, I

:02:03. > :02:09.will be mingling with the delegates and hoping to have a word with the

:02:09. > :02:14.candidates about their hopes for the local election. So, Nick Clegg

:02:14. > :02:20.arrives. A few protesters outside. Not an easy afternoon? No. He was

:02:20. > :02:26.told beforehand that there were protesters outside from the local

:02:26. > :02:30.area. He was offered to go in by the side door, but he said no. He

:02:30. > :02:35.was happy to face the protesters. He wants to be seen to be

:02:35. > :02:41.acknowledging that things are tough for his own party, tougher the

:02:41. > :02:47.activists and tough for everybody. But what do here all the time about

:02:47. > :02:52.the Liberal Democrats? It is that they have compromised. The job now

:02:53. > :02:57.is to tell people why, and what they have gained from those

:02:57. > :03:02.compromises. Kirsty Williams this morning listed the things achieved

:03:02. > :03:07.because of deals struck with Labour. I am sure we will hear Nick Clegg

:03:07. > :03:10.listing the things that he will argue we are better off for having

:03:10. > :03:14.because of the Liberal Democrats. How difficult their messages that

:03:14. > :03:18.for them to sell on the doorstep? It is difficult. They have struck a

:03:18. > :03:23.deal with Labour in Cardiff and the Conservatives in Westminster. The

:03:23. > :03:27.only way to square this circle, even a minute apart the that is a

:03:27. > :03:30.broad church, is to say that it is about compromise, but to turn that

:03:31. > :03:36.word around and say it is about influence. You use your influence

:03:36. > :03:40.to make a difference. But he knows it will be extraordinarily tough.

:03:40. > :03:46.He was asked this morning by a young schoolchild, do you like

:03:46. > :03:53.being Deputy Prime Minister? And even he could only muster a "most

:03:53. > :03:57.of the time". It is going to be tough. But unless you give your

:03:57. > :04:02.activists something specific to go out and sell, the speech this

:04:02. > :04:06.morning from Kirsty Williams and again from Nick Clegg will be based

:04:06. > :04:13.on facts. How much better off are you every month because of changes

:04:13. > :04:18.to income tax? How many schools have gained her how much because of

:04:18. > :04:21.the pupil premium being introduced in Wales? It is giving activists

:04:21. > :04:27.weapons to go out and something to sell so that when they have a hard

:04:27. > :04:31.time on the doorstep, which they fully expect, they have something

:04:31. > :04:35.to come back with. To what extent do you think they are putting more

:04:35. > :04:42.clear yellow water between them and the Conservatives in London? He

:04:42. > :04:46.knows he needs that gap here in Wales. Yes, and at this point, when

:04:46. > :04:51.horns are being locked about big policy in Westminster and he is

:04:51. > :04:55.being seen baps more recently than in the past as standing his ground

:04:55. > :04:59.and not allowing things to go through, every time there was a

:04:59. > :05:04.fight within the coalition, it is not bad for Nick Clegg and his body.

:05:04. > :05:12.It is no bad thing for people to see that. He knows that the party

:05:12. > :05:17.in Wales and his leader is pleased to see that sort of thing going on.

:05:17. > :05:21.Any headline-grabbing moments from the speech? Kirsty Williams did

:05:21. > :05:28.refer to what is going on in Westminster. She did not sweep it

:05:28. > :05:31.under the carpet. She said, we are succeeding in Cardiff Bay. We are

:05:31. > :05:38.achieving in local government. We are battling in Westminster.

:05:38. > :05:42.Interesting choice of words. Nick Clegg will be saying what a

:05:42. > :05:47.difference the Liberal Democrats are making. What Labour didn't do

:05:47. > :05:51.and what the Liberal Democrats are trying to achieve. You would think

:05:51. > :05:57.that with all these security men that Nick Clegg would know which

:05:57. > :06:01.flew to go to. You would, but apparently he ended up in the

:06:01. > :06:07.ladies'. Apparently he ended up with an activist from Oxfam, who

:06:07. > :06:15.said "nice to meet you" and handed him a flyer about child poverty. So

:06:15. > :06:20.she had a captive audience. Much more over the next two hours. Let's

:06:20. > :06:23.check what is happening in the hall now, James. Yes, it is a question

:06:23. > :06:26.and answer session with the Federation of Small Businesses at

:06:26. > :06:30.the minute. They are poring over some of the issues that small

:06:30. > :06:38.businesses are finding difficult at this time such as bank lending

:06:38. > :06:46.rates. It is being chaired left by the Liberal Democrats' shadowed

:06:46. > :06:52.business minister in the assembly. We can listen to them now. Swansea

:06:52. > :06:55.has one that is working, but that is the only one in Wales. It does

:06:56. > :07:00.not seem to be right. A lot of people are saying, I am paying

:07:00. > :07:06.enough anyway. Shouldn't they be doing this anyway for the money and

:07:06. > :07:12.paying without me giving them extra? We are going to look at this.

:07:12. > :07:17.For now, it does not seem right. Yes, I think we can talk about

:07:17. > :07:21.parking and those kinds of things. They are talked about a lot, the

:07:22. > :07:27.likes of the large global brands. We need to consider how to

:07:27. > :07:37.encourage more food for during Monday to Friday into the town

:07:37. > :07:43.centre -- more ft 4. If you were to take that football, particularly

:07:43. > :07:47.during the core hours of 11 o'clock to 2 o'clock, out of the town

:07:47. > :07:53.centre, you lose those potential customers. We need to think about

:07:53. > :07:58.how to diversify the use of the town centre. We keep thinking about

:07:58. > :08:02.how to extend the usable time of a town from the morning further into

:08:02. > :08:06.the evening. But none of these questions are easy to answer. We

:08:06. > :08:09.need to have politicians both at local government level in the

:08:09. > :08:15.assembly chamber right up to the House of Lords who are saying,

:08:15. > :08:19.these are real issues. They are not just abstract issues. They are core

:08:19. > :08:24.issues about sustainable town centres and business districts. At

:08:24. > :08:28.the moment, when you hear about town centres, people go yourn,

:08:28. > :08:36.parking and supermarkets. It is more challenging than that. It

:08:36. > :08:39.would help if we took a more holistic approach. I have been

:08:39. > :08:46.keeping an eye on what happens in Newport, partly because I lived

:08:46. > :08:50.that way. If you don't know, Newport town centre, if you looked

:08:51. > :08:57.at it, you would say it was dying on its feet. It has been for some

:08:57. > :09:05.while. It has gone up and down over the years. I happen to have looked

:09:05. > :09:11.into this and made inquiries about what is happening. I read the News

:09:11. > :09:16.Letter the Council produces and so on. The things that are actually

:09:16. > :09:23.happening are very good. They have done something about car-parking

:09:23. > :09:28.fees and all sorts of things. But it is still not working. The major

:09:28. > :09:34.stores are threatening to up sticks and go to out-of-town areas and so

:09:34. > :09:39.on. The more that happens, the more people feel the place is dying and

:09:39. > :09:43.don't want to go there. I hear people saying, I do not go to the

:09:43. > :09:47.high street now a new port. There is nothing there. That is not true.

:09:47. > :09:51.There are plenty of things still there, but not as much as there

:09:51. > :09:58.were. My concern from the Government will side is, there are

:09:58. > :10:04.only certain things you can do. It takes time to schedule everything.

:10:04. > :10:09.You have got planning and all sorts of things going on. In Newport's

:10:09. > :10:14.case, the developers who were appointed went bust. But the whole

:10:14. > :10:20.thing takes far too long. My latest exasperation was a month or two

:10:20. > :10:29.back, when it was declared that the new developers had been appointed

:10:29. > :10:34.and were ready to go to planning. "and we are hoping work will start

:10:34. > :10:39.in the middle of 2013". To an observer who does not know what is

:10:39. > :10:48.going on, you think, for goodness' sake. Let me have it sorted out by

:10:48. > :10:58.tea time. It is such a delay. I get the impression that stuff is sat on

:10:58. > :10:58.

:10:58. > :11:05.people's desks. The whole thing is very slow and ponderous. That needs

:11:05. > :11:09.to be addressed. It is not so much the ideas and the things people are

:11:09. > :11:14.trying to do in local government and with town centres. All very

:11:14. > :11:21.good, but it is taking far too long. Please can we do something about

:11:21. > :11:26.that. My view is that many town centres across the country are

:11:26. > :11:30.almost identical. From shoppers' perspective, people go shopping for

:11:30. > :11:35.an experience. They want to enjoy it. We are in competition with the

:11:35. > :11:39.internet in the retail sector. It is an unstoppable thing. So we need

:11:39. > :11:43.to look at what the customer experience is like when they go

:11:43. > :11:47.into town centres. We do not want to replicate and be the same

:11:47. > :11:50.everywhere. Each town needs to have its own identity. We want to

:11:50. > :11:54.encourage small, independent businesses with a difference to

:11:54. > :11:57.make each town have a different identity. You go there because you

:11:57. > :12:02.know you will have an experience that is different to somewhere else.

:12:02. > :12:07.This has been achieved in places like Bath and Brighton. They do it

:12:07. > :12:11.differently. That is what we need in the smaller towns. The larger

:12:12. > :12:16.cities are doing fine. People will go to Bristol and Cardiff and have

:12:16. > :12:19.an expectation and they get what they expect. But when we go to

:12:19. > :12:27.Caerphilly and Merthyr and the other towns, we want to have a

:12:27. > :12:34.different shopping experience. Maybe our local authorities should

:12:34. > :12:40.encourage more craft shops, things that are different, and designers

:12:40. > :12:44.and such like to open up their own different businesses. Let me add

:12:44. > :12:50.something in support of what was just said. I saw the list of the

:12:50. > :12:56.richest towns in the UK. You have to question some of the things that

:12:56. > :13:00.were in there, but anyway, take a look. The richest towns in the UK,

:13:00. > :13:05.the towns where people want to live, the high streets are all old

:13:05. > :13:10.fashioned high streets. You have the butcher, the baker and the

:13:10. > :13:14.candlestick maker. You have the old-fashioned values. Not a popular

:13:14. > :13:21.thing to say, but observe what is happening. That is where people

:13:21. > :13:26.want to live. Why? Because of the shopping experience. Ben tune. We

:13:26. > :13:31.had some interesting views their from the shopping experience to

:13:31. > :13:36.parking. If you have a cash-cow that is on its last legs, if the

:13:37. > :13:46.cow is dying, stop milking it. Any questions on the retail sector from

:13:47. > :13:48.

:13:48. > :13:52.the floor? Yes? Like most people, I work from 9-5. So I find it

:13:52. > :13:57.frustrating when all the shops are shut when I finish work. Why do you

:13:57. > :14:01.think so many retail businesses are still wedded to open in from 9-5,

:14:01. > :14:05.when everyone else is busy? That is a very valid point. We would say to

:14:05. > :14:12.our members of the retail sector in the FSB that you live and die by

:14:12. > :14:16.the market. You have to adapt. I do not think anyone in business would

:14:16. > :14:21.say we want to tilt the balance in favour of businesses carrying on as

:14:21. > :14:27.usual. Good businesses recognise that they have to adapt. Like

:14:27. > :14:32.yourself, it is convenient for me to shop from 6:00pm to 8pm at night

:14:32. > :14:38.in a large retail centre. That goes back to my point about having a

:14:38. > :14:41.nine-to-five approach as well. If I can go out at lunchtime, I will

:14:41. > :14:45.spend more in the town centre, but ultimately, the business has to

:14:45. > :14:52.respond to the customer. I do not think anyone on this panel would

:14:52. > :14:59.like us to fossilise the business environment. FSB businesses believe

:14:59. > :15:03.in the market, something we believe has the ability to bring change.

:15:03. > :15:08.But we are concerned that there is market failure largely because

:15:08. > :15:11.regulation is wrong and we are going about things in a way that is

:15:11. > :15:16.unsustainable. Parking is an example of that. I take on board

:15:16. > :15:26.what you are saying. We do not expect businesses to say, you have

:15:26. > :15:27.

:15:27. > :15:31.to meet our demands. They have to The problem of trying to get the

:15:31. > :15:35.regional -- evening economy of working in regional town centres is

:15:35. > :15:41.difficult. We had been looking to see what we can do to try and do

:15:41. > :15:46.that. It means getting a mix of businesses to try and include

:15:46. > :15:50.restaurants and other things. We also have a problem were shutters

:15:50. > :15:57.get rolled down during the day and they come to life during the

:15:57. > :16:00.evening. During the day it is an eyesore. It is also to do it using

:16:00. > :16:05.accommodation above shops so you have people walking around in the

:16:05. > :16:11.evening. When you have people walking around, you reduce

:16:11. > :16:16.vandalism. It means decent lighting, it means CCTV, it means a lot of

:16:16. > :16:22.things to try and get it right. The local authority can instigate

:16:22. > :16:25.things, but the shops must come on board as well. It has got to be a

:16:25. > :16:32.partnership and it is difficult and it is taking us longer than I would

:16:32. > :16:36.like, but we are moving in the right direction. That is quite

:16:36. > :16:43.right. The shops will open if there is true there and they can afford

:16:44. > :16:49.to do so. It is a chicken and egg thing because everyone has to do it.

:16:49. > :16:54.It has been a problem, Swansea market for example trying to open

:16:54. > :16:59.on Sunday, some stores will open and some will not. You have

:16:59. > :17:05.shutters over some, and not over others. This is the problem you

:17:05. > :17:09.have. What is a very good move that has been happening over recent

:17:09. > :17:16.years is that we're encouraging people to live in city centres

:17:16. > :17:22.again. That does make it a safer environment for people to work, and

:17:22. > :17:27.it encourages a longer shopping experience. You have local people

:17:27. > :17:31.who you can sell to if they are living above shops and on the

:17:31. > :17:36.street. If you go to places like the Vienna, there are no shutters

:17:36. > :17:40.on any shops. It feels like a safe environment and people are there

:17:41. > :17:49.out and about until quite late. We need to look at where it is done

:17:49. > :17:55.elsewhere and learn from other people's. I agree absolutely with

:17:55. > :18:00.all of that. You cannot micro manage these things. You cannot say,

:18:00. > :18:05.you have to have this or that. What you can do is create an environment

:18:06. > :18:10.for these things do exist. Why does a little corner shop on an estate

:18:10. > :18:15.stay open until 11pm. Because it is a good idea and he can make money,

:18:15. > :18:19.and he has observed that. Why do certain things happen in town

:18:19. > :18:25.centres? It is because people can perceive they can do something with

:18:25. > :18:28.it, it is of the used to both them and their business. If you

:18:28. > :18:38.encourage these things, if you set up the right environment for them,

:18:38. > :18:39.

:18:40. > :18:44.it will happen. I would disagree a little bit. We will have to leave

:18:44. > :18:49.it there. We have been discussing the difficulties town centres have

:18:49. > :18:56.been having in the current economic climate. A hot political topic that

:18:56. > :19:01.has been talked about in the Assembly recently.

:19:01. > :19:07.No doubt that hall will fill up for Nick Clegg in about 20 minutes

:19:07. > :19:16.times. He is due to start his speech. I am joined by Assembly

:19:16. > :19:20.member Peter Black and Jenny Randerson. Welcome to both.

:19:20. > :19:26.Tremendous fun in the chamber, a hugely challenging and rather

:19:26. > :19:32.strange. In what way? It is an interesting amalgam of the results

:19:32. > :19:36.of hundreds of years of tradition. In some ways it is immensely

:19:36. > :19:42.effective and a very thoughtful way of doing things. On the other hand,

:19:42. > :19:49.you cannot ever imagine inventing it like that. We now face the issue

:19:49. > :19:53.of reform coming our way. There is huge potential with that. Did you

:19:53. > :19:57.do not have to stand for election at the moment, who knows in the

:19:57. > :20:02.future. Peter Black, you're the party's spokesperson on local

:20:02. > :20:06.government. How tough will it be for you? Any election is tough,

:20:06. > :20:12.especially when you're in government. We will have to sell

:20:12. > :20:17.our message harder than in the past. We have always received protest

:20:17. > :20:20.votes in the past, and now people are protesting against us.

:20:20. > :20:25.you're knowledge you have been a party that receive the protest

:20:25. > :20:31.vote? We have received protest votes, we have always had vision

:20:31. > :20:37.and policies, but people have come to us in protest. But we have got a

:20:37. > :20:40.good message to send. We're in government, we have local --

:20:40. > :20:46.influence in local government. We're making a difference for

:20:46. > :20:52.people and we are delivering on our manifesto and on our agenda. We are

:20:52. > :20:56.reducing tax for some people. We have put �450 into schools as part

:20:56. > :21:02.of the people premium. In local government we have got local

:21:02. > :21:08.council taxes and we are delivering better services. Peter raises an

:21:08. > :21:13.interesting point. You won't get to the protest vote, will you? You

:21:13. > :21:18.could suffer seriously because of that, Jenny Randerson? You need to

:21:18. > :21:23.look at it this way. Throughout my political experience, I had been

:21:23. > :21:29.told year after year, we like what you're saying to us. We would vote

:21:29. > :21:34.for you if we thought you could win. Now we have proved that we can win,

:21:34. > :21:39.we have proved it at every level. You were the maths that made up the

:21:39. > :21:44.blocks to going to Government. and we are doing the job well

:21:44. > :21:51.indeed. Nobody won the last general elections. You did not win, did

:21:51. > :21:56.you? We won the election in Cardiff. And we have won the election two

:21:56. > :22:01.times coming in Cardiff. We have been running harder for eight years,

:22:01. > :22:06.hugely successfully. Similarly in Swansea. We're doing equally well

:22:06. > :22:12.in Wrexham and in Newport. If you look at those cities, you will see

:22:12. > :22:17.them transformed under the Liberal Democrats in the last eight years.

:22:17. > :22:23.If it is all about selling a positive message, Jenny, you had

:22:23. > :22:27.the chance to form a coalition. You could have pushed Labour and said,

:22:27. > :22:35.let's do deal. Why didn't you go for a fully-fledged dealer with

:22:35. > :22:42.Labour? I do not think we were desperately keen to go into

:22:42. > :22:47.coalition with a very tired Labour Party. I think Kirsty Williams has

:22:47. > :22:53.been a hugely successful in terms of up the influence that she has

:22:54. > :23:00.exerted. The people Premium, the �450 per pupil per year for those

:23:00. > :23:06.poorer pupils eligible for free school meals, that will transform

:23:06. > :23:09.education here in Wales. There is one school in Cardiff that will get

:23:09. > :23:14.a quarter of a million pounds additional funding as a result of

:23:14. > :23:19.this. It is very important to every family throughout Wales, that is

:23:20. > :23:24.better than a coalition. Peter Black, the problem for the party is

:23:24. > :23:28.that you have done a deal with Labour in Cardiff. You were very

:23:29. > :23:35.much in bed with the Tories in London. People will say, where is

:23:35. > :23:45.your identity as a party? A fully- fledged coalition was never on the

:23:45. > :23:46.

:23:46. > :23:49.table in Cardiff. We are willing to talk to anybody about how we can

:23:49. > :23:54.deliver Liberal Democrat policies and that is what we have been doing.

:23:54. > :23:58.We did a deal with Labour to promote Liberal Democrat parties.

:23:58. > :24:01.When you vote for the Liberal Democrats, you vote for our

:24:01. > :24:07.policies and you should expect us to have them put into effect and

:24:07. > :24:17.that is what we have done. His it comfortable for you, with Labour in

:24:17. > :24:19.

:24:19. > :24:24.car -- Cardiff Bay? What we are in politics to do is to change things,

:24:24. > :24:27.I improve people's lives. To deliver the policies we stand for

:24:27. > :24:31.election on. In Westminster we are in coalition with the Tories and

:24:31. > :24:35.delivering Liberal Democrat policies. In Cardiff Bay we are

:24:35. > :24:41.working with Labour to deliver Liberal Democrat policies. Why are

:24:41. > :24:46.you so low in the polls? One of the important things that we have to do

:24:46. > :24:53.is a cert for herself our own identity, our own policies. --

:24:53. > :24:58.assert for ourselves. At a time when the UK government is facing

:24:58. > :25:02.huge challenges dealing with the mess the Labour Party left behind,

:25:02. > :25:07.although people understand that Labour left a mess and we have to

:25:07. > :25:12.cleared up, they still do not enjoy the process of clearing it up. The

:25:12. > :25:15.interesting thing is that when you look at real elections, local

:25:15. > :25:19.government by-elections, all through last year when we were

:25:19. > :25:24.supposed to have been doing so badly in the opinion polls, we were

:25:24. > :25:30.winning more seats than other parties. In the elections this year

:25:30. > :25:35.so far we have already gained in Wales are three extra seats. The

:25:35. > :25:39.opinion polls are not being borne out in actual elections. You know

:25:39. > :25:44.it was tough in the Assembly elections, Peter, the message was

:25:44. > :25:47.not going down well that you had teamed up with the Tories in London.

:25:47. > :25:52.That was the first year of the coalition and people took some time

:25:52. > :25:55.getting used to it. People are more used to it now and maybe they have

:25:55. > :26:01.got the protest out of their systems. Since then there have been

:26:01. > :26:04.more cuts, there has been a series of public sector pay. There are no

:26:04. > :26:08.cuts to benefits at the moment. There is a welfare reform bill

:26:08. > :26:13.which will transform the way the benefit system works. It will

:26:13. > :26:17.encourage people to get back into work. It will mean less money for a

:26:17. > :26:21.lot of people in Wales. That programme has a lot of support

:26:22. > :26:26.within the Welsh electorate. We need to give people the opportunity

:26:26. > :26:31.to go back to work. Yes, there are problems with that agenda and there

:26:31. > :26:34.are problems with people's perception of the agenda. But it is

:26:34. > :26:39.our job as politicians to sell the message and explain to people what

:26:39. > :26:46.we have achieved. We have taken people out of tax, improve tax

:26:46. > :26:52.credit for people, the pupil premium �450 for every pupil. Free

:26:52. > :26:57.school meals, it is a good message for people. Jenny Randerson, any

:26:57. > :27:01.advice for Nick Clegg? I very much hope he will take the opportunity,

:27:01. > :27:11.at first of all to praise the local council groups that had been doing

:27:11. > :27:18.

:27:18. > :27:22.such an amazing job year in Wales, he will also take the opportunity

:27:22. > :27:28.to says some of those things about taking people out of the lowest

:27:28. > :27:33.band of tax. Given people the biggest increase in pensions that

:27:33. > :27:40.there has been. It is important people are reminded of the good

:27:40. > :27:48.things. The media always dwell on the bad things. Bad news is news.

:27:48. > :27:55.But the good things are happening as well, Nick must emphasise that.

:27:55. > :28:01.Peter Black and Jenny Randerson. I have got two people who are going

:28:01. > :28:07.to be very busy over the next nine weeks. John Williams and Nigel

:28:07. > :28:12.howls. Nigel, we are on your home turf here. What is the reaction on

:28:12. > :28:18.the doorstep at the moment? Nick Clegg says it will be a difficult

:28:18. > :28:22.election for you. It is quite positive on the doorstep. Council

:28:22. > :28:28.elections mean the most to people. It is councils to educate our

:28:28. > :28:34.children, fix the roads, look after our old people. As Liberal Democrat

:28:34. > :28:38.we have got a fantastic record, not just in Cardiff, but throughout

:28:38. > :28:43.Wales looking after our communities. Are the people on the doorstep

:28:43. > :28:47.listening to those messages, the policies you're achieving? Yes, and

:28:47. > :28:51.the feedback we are getting is that they are appreciating what we are

:28:51. > :28:56.doing investing in our communities. Couple that with some of the lowest

:28:56. > :29:01.council tax rises in Wales. In Cardiff, the average council tax

:29:01. > :29:07.raised has fallen through the floor. We're one of the councils with the

:29:07. > :29:13.lowest council tax in Wales. Under Labour, residents had to put up 11%

:29:13. > :29:17.council tax rises every year. Williams, you are new to this game,

:29:17. > :29:21.standing for the first time. What are your thoughts on the election?

:29:21. > :29:29.It will be difficult, but we will work hard to get our messages

:29:29. > :29:36.across. The people premium is a fantastic thing for children in our

:29:36. > :29:42.society, these are the messages we need to deliver. It is a hard

:29:42. > :29:45.message to sell, especially with the coalition with the

:29:45. > :29:50.Conservatives in Westminster. Are you feeling a backlash from that on

:29:50. > :29:59.the doorstep? Not really. People understand these cuts have to

:29:59. > :30:03.happen. It is very important. We're in a difficult situation, the cuts

:30:03. > :30:09.are necessary, but we need to make sure they fall on those with the

:30:09. > :30:16.broadest shoulders. That is what we have done in Government. Nigel, you

:30:16. > :30:20.are an old hand at this. Have you got any tips? John is a very bright

:30:20. > :30:25.young man and it epitomises what it is to be a Liberal Democrat

:30:25. > :30:29.councils. To be active in your community and listen to the people.

:30:30. > :30:39.More importantly, delivered on your promises. We have done that in

:30:40. > :30:41.

:30:41. > :30:46.You are known free of constant campaigning. Do you hope that will

:30:46. > :30:50.get you through the election? have been knocking on a few doors

:30:50. > :30:55.already, and the message we are getting is that people recognise

:30:55. > :31:00.what we do for Communities. As you say, we do not just do what we do

:31:00. > :31:05.at election time. We are therefore our communities year in, year out,

:31:05. > :31:09.in the rain, sleet and hail, and they appreciate that. I hope they

:31:09. > :31:12.will deliver more Liberal Democrat councillors in Wales, because it is

:31:12. > :31:17.what the councils in Wales desperately need. Are you looking

:31:17. > :31:21.forward to the speech from Nick Clegg? Very much so. It should be a

:31:21. > :31:26.positive message and I look forward to it. What did you think of

:31:26. > :31:30.Kirsty's speech? Both of them are emphasising the things you are

:31:30. > :31:35.achieving at all levels of government. Absolutely. We need to

:31:35. > :31:40.be positive. We are making tough decisions, but we are also making

:31:41. > :31:46.good decisions. Kirsty's speech was great. I look forward to seeing one

:31:46. > :31:50.Nick Clegg has to say. Thank you both.

:31:50. > :31:53.It has gone very quiet here, which can only mean that everybody is

:31:53. > :32:00.making their way into the hall for Nick Clegg's speech. Is it getting

:32:00. > :32:04.packed? We are still in the question-and-answer session from

:32:04. > :32:07.the Federation of Small Businesses. They have now moved on from town

:32:07. > :32:10.centres to looking at the employability of the workforce,

:32:10. > :32:20.specifically youth unemployment, which we all know is a hot topic.

:32:20. > :32:21.

:32:21. > :32:25.Let's listen in. The more restrictions you put in to

:32:25. > :32:33.safeguard people, you could actually end up marginalising

:32:33. > :32:37.people more. Hold your nerve on this one. It is important to give

:32:37. > :32:41.young people real-life experience in the workplace. Thank you. We

:32:41. > :32:45.have to move things on a bit. We are running out of time. One

:32:45. > :32:50.important question is the subject of business support. But because we

:32:50. > :32:55.are short of time, let me ask you to be shorter with your answers.

:32:55. > :33:03.How difficult have you as business people found it to access business

:33:03. > :33:08.support, and what could we be doing differently to make a difference?

:33:08. > :33:14.By business support, I presume you mean through enterprise agencies

:33:14. > :33:18.and things like that? OK. I have worked for a short while for an

:33:18. > :33:23.enterprise agency. At the time, we had plenty of European money. We

:33:23. > :33:33.did what we thought was right. We called it mentoring, and reclaimed

:33:33. > :33:34.

:33:34. > :33:40.for it. That is no longer the case. If local or national Govan has too

:33:40. > :33:43.much of a hand in that, it becomes managed in a silly way. I have seen

:33:43. > :33:49.things like diagnostics that needed to be done just because the

:33:49. > :33:54.paperwork needed to be filled in. I have seen advisers go out and do

:33:54. > :33:59.visits just because they were targeted to do so. That is wrong

:33:59. > :34:07.and not in the spirit of the thing. That is what you get when you have

:34:07. > :34:12.this sort of system. Business support locally has involved new

:34:12. > :34:15.contracts being handed out. I think that was extremely badly managed. I

:34:15. > :34:19.could go on all afternoon about that. I do not wish to mention

:34:19. > :34:26.names, but there were serious deficiencies in the way that was

:34:26. > :34:34.handled. Many businesses advisers out there can't do the job. There

:34:34. > :34:41.are some good ones, but many, I would not give sixpence to, to use

:34:41. > :34:45.an old expression. That is wrong. They are not equipped to do things

:34:45. > :34:50.properly. A Unfortunately, there is a lot of money being wasted on

:34:50. > :34:58.business advice. It is not being delivered by people who know how to

:34:58. > :35:02.do it. So I share Bob's view. But the mentoring has been good. We are

:35:02. > :35:09.behind mentoring schemes. There are a lot of successful businesses who

:35:09. > :35:12.are willing to help other businesses start. Maybe the Welsh

:35:12. > :35:17.government should do more to encourage people to mentor, maybe

:35:17. > :35:22.by covering costs to do that. It is purely voluntary and that their own

:35:22. > :35:29.cost at the moment. That would be better than the sort of advice we

:35:29. > :35:36.get now. I know there are agencies currently employed to give people a

:35:36. > :35:40.free audit of what computer problems they may have. Any company

:35:40. > :35:46.in IT offers a free audit anyway just get the business. It is

:35:47. > :35:51.unnecessary. Just because I like to start a fight, I believe this might

:35:51. > :35:55.be your area of expertise, Bob? Have worked as a business adviser

:35:55. > :35:59.for some time. But I do not do it now because the bureaucracy has got

:35:59. > :36:06.so much that I was spending little time talking to businesses and most

:36:06. > :36:10.of my time filling forms in. The art, as best practised at that time,

:36:10. > :36:14.was that people wanted grants. But what they needed was advice and

:36:14. > :36:22.mentoring. The grant was a hook to get people involved in business

:36:22. > :36:26.advice. The delivery was a holistic look at the deficiencies in

:36:26. > :36:32.management skills and giving a fresh momentum to turn up. I think

:36:32. > :36:36.the Welsh government lost its way after the Bonfire of the quangos.

:36:36. > :36:43.We now have more silver surfers. There is a lot more form-filling,

:36:43. > :36:50.but very little core advice from business people who know what a

:36:50. > :36:55.successful business needs. I am disappointed in this. Is it easier

:36:56. > :37:00.to get good business advice? No. It no longer is. A survey recently

:37:00. > :37:04.from our members says that when we need advice, we go to people we

:37:04. > :37:08.trust. That means people they know who are in business, accountants,

:37:08. > :37:14.people in the banking sector. They know what advice they need, and

:37:15. > :37:19.they get it. That is the informal network of support. I ran my own

:37:19. > :37:24.business for two and a half years before coming to work for the FSB.

:37:24. > :37:28.The questions I needed to be answered were questions such as

:37:28. > :37:38.What do I do in the event of...? The best person to speak to is

:37:38. > :37:38.

:37:38. > :37:41.somebody who has been there and done it. We would encourage a much

:37:41. > :37:47.more business-led approach to business advice rather than leaving

:37:48. > :37:54.it to those with no experience. the subject of turning to people we

:37:54. > :37:58.can trust, banking. Obviously, there is an issue with provision of

:37:58. > :38:03.finance to business. It is one of the biggest problems some of the

:38:04. > :38:12.smaller businesses are facing. What are your views on establishing some

:38:12. > :38:17.non-traditional forms of lending? If you look at business figures and

:38:17. > :38:21.Project Merlin, you will see that small businesses have failed to

:38:21. > :38:24.receive the capital and investment they need. We could start having a

:38:24. > :38:30.name calling session between small businesses and the banks, but that

:38:30. > :38:36.will not get us anywhere. We need a new way forward. We believe that

:38:36. > :38:42.way is to establish new lending models to get capital into private

:38:42. > :38:46.sector. In parts of the UK, they have good credit unions which serve

:38:46. > :38:49.particular needs. We need to explore what that would lookalike

:38:49. > :38:58.for a business credit union. We need to look at the model that

:38:58. > :39:06.Germany uses, and Scandinavia. They have business banks. We need to

:39:06. > :39:11.look at what happens in France. It's they have specialist banking

:39:11. > :39:16.groups which serve the business network. We need to see that

:39:16. > :39:25.happening in the UK. We hope the UK government will respond. We feel

:39:25. > :39:35.there is a role for Welsh government in taking the lead. We

:39:35. > :39:37.

:39:37. > :39:43.need something aligned with small businesses. I apologise for

:39:43. > :39:46.continue off in your prime, but I believe our time is up. The full

:39:46. > :39:51.hall would lead me to believe not only that this was a fascinating

:39:51. > :39:56.discussion, but also that perhaps our next speaker may shortly be

:39:56. > :40:03.with us. Can I take this opportunity to ask the altar back

:40:04. > :40:10.the panel members. -- I thank -- I ask the hall to thank the panel

:40:10. > :40:14.members. Bent you, gentlemen, very much.

:40:14. > :40:18.We leave the All There as it prepares for Nick Clegg. Betsan

:40:18. > :40:22.Powys, you have seen the speech. What is he going to say? Much as we

:40:22. > :40:26.anticipated, it is about the messages he wants activists to get

:40:26. > :40:30.out there on the doorstep, come May. The good things the party has done

:40:30. > :40:39.with its influence, as he would argue, the things they are digging

:40:39. > :40:44.their heels in over. You will hear about changes to income tax. You

:40:44. > :40:47.will hear about the pupil premium, as they call it here in Wales. It

:40:47. > :40:52.is the sort of speech that will go down well with the activists who

:40:52. > :40:57.are here. You just wonder about those who are not here because they

:40:57. > :41:07.have chosen not to come this year. We have to go back to the all now.

:41:07. > :41:19.

:41:19. > :41:25.It is time for the Deputy Prime Minister. Thank you.

:41:25. > :41:31.Friends, this party has a proud history. The generations, our

:41:31. > :41:39.predecessors have fought for Liberty, Equality and community.

:41:39. > :41:46.And we all follow in the footsteps of some great men and women. Emlyn

:41:46. > :41:50.Hughes and was one of the great Welsh Liberals of all. Kirsty

:41:50. > :41:55.Williams has spoken movingly about him today as both a man and a

:41:55. > :42:01.politician. All I want to say is that you and I can only fight for

:42:01. > :42:07.the things we believe in today because people like Emlyn blazed a

:42:07. > :42:11.trail before us. Emlyn was the father of the Welsh Liberal

:42:11. > :42:17.Democrats. He will be sorely missed and fondly remembered. The best

:42:17. > :42:26.tribute any of us can give is to go out there and continue to fight for

:42:26. > :42:30.the things he believed in. Ince has spoken before about -- Vince has

:42:30. > :42:33.spoken about the Kirsty Williams welcome, which is a big smile, a

:42:33. > :42:37.kiss on the cheek and then a right rollicking about all the things we

:42:37. > :42:43.should be doing in Wales. I have been on the end of one or two of

:42:43. > :42:49.Kirsty Williams' welcomes myself. But that is what is so great about

:42:49. > :42:54.Kirsty. She shows real leadership. She fights for what she believes in,

:42:54. > :42:59.and she gets what she wants. She runs rings around the other party

:42:59. > :43:09.leaders in Wales, and punches well above her weight. And she is not

:43:09. > :43:15.alone. We have a fantastic team of AMs. One barely has her feet under

:43:15. > :43:20.the table, and already, she has won the Member to Watch award. We also

:43:20. > :43:24.have three brilliant, committed and hard-working MPs in Mark, Roger and

:43:24. > :43:31.Jenny. I'm especially delighted that Jenny has recently joined the

:43:31. > :43:34.government whips' team. In them, we have some of the sharpest,

:43:34. > :43:38.shrewdest and most impressive parliamentarians in British

:43:38. > :43:48.politics. The future of the Liberal Democrats is bright, and it is

:43:48. > :43:54.

:43:54. > :44:00.being led by a trio of strong Welsh women. It is no secret that we took

:44:00. > :44:05.a real hammering across the UK in last May's elections. I know you

:44:05. > :44:10.have come under fierce attack here in Wales, too. But thanks to all of

:44:10. > :44:15.you, we held our own in the Welsh election. It gives me great pride

:44:15. > :44:19.to come here and see our party in such good heart. We have shown in

:44:19. > :44:23.Westminster that we are prepared to put our differences aside to do the

:44:23. > :44:29.right thing for the country. One of the things I am most proud that we

:44:29. > :44:33.are delivering in England is the pupil premium. It is a sign of

:44:33. > :44:37.Kirsty's leadership and your resilience that you will be able to

:44:37. > :44:40.deliver a pupil premium for Wales, to. I have always believed the best

:44:40. > :44:46.way to give children the ferrous start in life and the best chance

:44:46. > :44:50.to fulfil their own potential is to help them when they are still young

:44:51. > :44:55.enough for that help to make all the difference. That is what the

:44:55. > :45:01.pupil premium does. Help for those who need it most, when they need it

:45:01. > :45:06.most. We are seeing its impact in England already. Catch-up classes,

:45:06. > :45:11.one-to-one tuition, extra teachers, support staff, outreach workers

:45:11. > :45:15.giving help to struggling families. The pupil premium is leading a

:45:15. > :45:20.revolution in schools and making a real difference to children's lives.

:45:20. > :45:24.But it does not just help the poorest. It helps all

:45:24. > :45:31.schoolchildren. Fewer children falling behind means less

:45:31. > :45:35.disruption in a class and a better education for every child. And

:45:35. > :45:40.nowhere is that more important than in Wales, where results still lag

:45:40. > :45:50.behind the rest of the country. That is Labour's legacy to the

:45:50. > :45:50.

:45:50. > :45:54.children of Wales, and I am proud Labour has led the spending gap

:45:54. > :46:00.between pupils in England and Wales grow every year since the Assembly

:46:01. > :46:05.was established. Worst GCSE results than English pupils, worse A-level

:46:05. > :46:09.results than English pupils, leading Welsh young people with

:46:09. > :46:14.worse prospects than those in England. Education used to be

:46:14. > :46:20.something that Wales could be proud of. But under Labour, standards

:46:20. > :46:25.have slipped back, and back, and back. Labour should be ashamed, it

:46:25. > :46:31.does not need to be this way. Giving our children the best start

:46:31. > :46:36.in life is the most liberal, most liberating thing that we can do.

:46:36. > :46:39.That is the difference we are making. Whether we are working with

:46:39. > :46:44.Conservatives at Westminster, or negotiating with Labour in Wales,

:46:44. > :46:49.we are showing we're putting our differences aside to get the right

:46:49. > :46:54.thing for our country. It is not just education that has suffered at

:46:54. > :46:58.Labour's hands. There has been a lot of debate over the last few

:46:58. > :47:03.years and not least of all the last few weeks, about the future of the

:47:04. > :47:09.NHS. Look at what happened in Wales when the nation's help was left in

:47:09. > :47:13.Labour's hands? Longer waiting times than in England. Worst

:47:13. > :47:17.outcomes than in England. Labour has spent more money per head on

:47:17. > :47:23.health in Wales yet has a worse results in almost every single

:47:23. > :47:28.indicator. On that Newsnight recently, Labour's shadow health

:47:28. > :47:38.minister could not defend their record in Wales, so why will take

:47:38. > :47:41.

:47:41. > :47:45.no lectures from Labour on the NHS. People in Wales are living with

:47:45. > :47:49.Labour's legacy in health and education. Just as you, and

:47:49. > :47:55.everyone else in the United Kingdom, are living with the legacy of

:47:55. > :47:59.Labour's economic incompetence. Labour gave us the biggest bust for

:47:59. > :48:04.generations. They bet to their house on a gamble may have no right

:48:04. > :48:10.to make, and no chance of winning. There are villages, towns and

:48:11. > :48:16.cities across Wales that still bear the scars of Thatcherism. Labour's

:48:16. > :48:20.answer was to throw cash at them until the money ran out. The took

:48:20. > :48:25.the taxes from the banks and the financial gamblers in the City of

:48:25. > :48:30.London, and recycle did in Wales and elsewhere in public spending.

:48:30. > :48:35.They kept communities afloat by replacing a industrial jobs with

:48:35. > :48:41.public sector jobs. This would have been fine if it was not so short-

:48:41. > :48:47.sighted. When the banks collapsed, they left us defenceless. The money

:48:47. > :48:51.dried up overnight and Labour's lie was exposed. Now those villages,

:48:51. > :48:57.towns and cities have been hit with a double whammy. First by

:48:57. > :49:02.Thatcherism, and then by Labour. Now it falls to ask, acting in the

:49:02. > :49:07.national interest, to start to rebuild. That is why we have taken

:49:07. > :49:11.the difficult decisions that we have. It is why we must show the

:49:11. > :49:20.courage to see them through. As we do so, we are laying the

:49:20. > :49:28.foundations of a Ferrar, a greener, more liberal Wales. Here in a more

:49:28. > :49:31.fair, Moorgreen liberal United Kingdom's. With new green jobs in

:49:31. > :49:37.advanced manufacturing and technology. Investing in our young

:49:37. > :49:43.people to give them skills for the jobs of tomorrow. I know it can

:49:43. > :49:47.fill difficult to be optimistic when times are so tough, but we are

:49:47. > :49:51.doing the right things. For Wales and the whole of the United Kingdom.

:49:51. > :49:58.I believe we have every reason to look forward with our heads held

:49:58. > :50:05.high. Not least of course because of the great work of our councils.

:50:05. > :50:09.In Swansea, Liberal Democrats have frozen council tax and pumped an

:50:09. > :50:17.extra �1.2 million into schools. Money is focus specifically on

:50:17. > :50:20.helping children learn to read. In Wrexham, Liberal Democrat inherited

:50:20. > :50:29.a council with the second-worst recycling results in Wales and

:50:29. > :50:33.lifted it into the top five. Here in Cardiff, Liberal Democrats under

:50:33. > :50:41.-- introduced weekly doorstep recycling and opened new world

:50:41. > :50:44.class libraries. They were to doubt waste it to keep council tax low.

:50:44. > :50:50.Liberal Democrats in local government, putting our children's

:50:50. > :50:55.education first. Giving people help in tough times and going green,

:50:55. > :51:01.just like we are in national government. I am so proud of the

:51:01. > :51:05.work of our excellent councils. Across Wales, Liberal Democrat

:51:05. > :51:11.counsellors are fighting for the things that matter most to their

:51:11. > :51:15.communities. Our councils are quite simply the life blood of our party.

:51:15. > :51:18.Without your good work, we would not be able to make the difference

:51:18. > :51:28.we are making in Wales and Westminster and I would like to

:51:28. > :51:33.

:51:33. > :51:39.So, Wills is stronger for having Liberal Democrat in national

:51:39. > :51:43.government. -- Wales. But we want to make it a stronger still. The

:51:43. > :51:52.only time I want to be weaker Wales was when I was with my oldest son

:51:52. > :51:57.in Twickenham last week. I will put that behind me are! Liberal

:51:57. > :52:02.Democrat are not afraid to talk about further devolution. Devolving

:52:02. > :52:08.power is in our DNA and we are delivering that in Government. I

:52:08. > :52:13.want more power in Wales, that is why I was delighted with a yes vote

:52:13. > :52:18.in last year's referendum. It is why the coalition government has

:52:18. > :52:22.set up the sulk Commission and why we give more of power to the people

:52:22. > :52:28.of Wales. I cannot say what the commission will ultimately

:52:28. > :52:32.recommend, and it is right it is independent of government. But

:52:32. > :52:36.where there is a sensible case for giving more power to Wales, I will

:52:36. > :52:42.support it. That is exactly what Welsh Liberal Democrats have set

:52:42. > :52:46.out in their reports up to the commission. More powers for the

:52:46. > :52:52.Assembly to invest in Welsh infrastructure. More control hide

:52:52. > :52:57.money is raised and spent in Wales. After a time when debate over

:52:57. > :53:01.constitutional settlement is being had so strongly in Scotland, it is

:53:01. > :53:05.only right to look at giving more power to Wales. The yes vote in

:53:05. > :53:09.last year's referendum has not closed the case for more power in

:53:09. > :53:14.Wales. They no vote of for Scotland will not end devolution north of

:53:14. > :53:19.the border. Liberal Democrats believe in localism, in giving

:53:19. > :53:24.power back to people, and we will never stop campaigning for the

:53:24. > :53:30.further devolution of power. But we must not get sidetracked from what

:53:30. > :53:34.is really important right now. Constitutional issues can feel

:53:34. > :53:40.abstract at a time when so many people are feeling squeezed. I know

:53:40. > :53:44.many of you are worried, if you have not had a pay rise for two

:53:44. > :53:48.years or more, if you cannot plan for the future because you look

:53:48. > :53:52.around and worry about what might happen if you lose your job or if

:53:52. > :53:57.your partner does. All the while, things just keep getting more

:53:57. > :54:02.expensive. One day you come back from the supermarket and wonder why

:54:03. > :54:08.your weekly shop costs more than it did. Next, gas and I just do bills

:54:08. > :54:15.arrive and they have gone up again. You fill up at the petrol station

:54:15. > :54:22.and the price has gone up again. If you were young and you do not even

:54:22. > :54:25.own a home, you wonder if you ever will. -- if you are young. You

:54:25. > :54:32.never ask for anything, but everything seems to be getting

:54:32. > :54:38.harder. We are coming out of a crisis. Like an economic heart

:54:38. > :54:43.attack. There is no magic wand that will make everything better

:54:43. > :54:50.overnight. But as we build a new economy from the rubble of the old,

:54:50. > :54:56.Liberal Democrat will give you real, practical help in tough times. That

:54:56. > :55:04.is why we have cut your income taxes, even though we have had to

:55:04. > :55:09.make tough decisions to raise money elsewhere. We have put �200 a year

:55:09. > :55:13.back into your pockets last year, and another 130 from next month. We

:55:14. > :55:18.want to go further and faster lifting millions of the poorest

:55:18. > :55:24.workers out of paying tax altogether by raising it to �10,000

:55:24. > :55:31.the amount you can earn tax-free. Putting �60 back in your pockets

:55:31. > :55:36.every month. That means 200,000 a Welsh workers would pay no tax

:55:36. > :55:41.whatsoever. And 800,000 Welsh workers will see �60 more in the

:55:41. > :55:46.wages every month. That is a million Welsh people better off

:55:46. > :55:51.because of Liberal Democrat. The vast majority of all the working

:55:51. > :55:56.people in the whole country. Liberal Democrat tax cuts for the

:55:56. > :56:01.many, not the few. This coalition government is standing up for the

:56:01. > :56:07.culture of work that is such a proud part of Wales's history. By

:56:07. > :56:10.making sure that worker always pays. By making sure people can keep more

:56:10. > :56:15.of the money that they earn and by making sure our young people have

:56:15. > :56:20.the support they need to enter into the world of work. For those of you

:56:20. > :56:26.whose working life is over, Liberal Democrats are on your side. Thanks

:56:26. > :56:30.to our pensions triple lock, more than 600,000 Welsh pensioners will

:56:30. > :56:34.receive the most generous cash rise in the state pension in a

:56:35. > :56:42.generation. From next month you will receive an extra �5.30 per

:56:42. > :56:49.week. No more of Labour's insulting 75p pension rises. Liberal

:56:49. > :56:53.Democrats are giving you a real help. So, when you go out there at

:56:53. > :56:57.a knock on people's doors over the next few weeks, tell them the

:56:57. > :57:02.difference Liberal Democrat are making. Tell them how our

:57:02. > :57:06.councillors are standing up for our communities and our local people.

:57:06. > :57:10.Tell them higher Assembly members are putting their children's

:57:10. > :57:16.education first. Tell them how it Liberal Democrat in government are

:57:16. > :57:21.giving them real help whether they are young or old. Giving their

:57:21. > :57:28.children a fighting chance. Fixing the decades of damage done to Wales

:57:28. > :57:34.by previous governments. We have a great story to tell. We have a

:57:34. > :57:40.great team of people to tell it. So let's go out there again, with our

:57:40. > :57:50.heads held high, and show them the difference we are making. We are

:57:50. > :57:53.

:57:53. > :57:58.building a Ferrar, greener and more That is the Deputy Prime Minister

:57:58. > :58:05.Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, finishing his speech. He

:58:05. > :58:08.talked about how the party was working for the benefit of all.

:58:08. > :58:14.Putting the party's differences aside with other parties and doing

:58:14. > :58:18.what they could to help people in difficult times.

:58:18. > :58:24.Let's SS that speech with a political editor. What did you make

:58:24. > :58:28.of that? It was quite short. I am not sure he had time to work up

:58:28. > :58:32.steam. There were a few examples of applause, but I was inside

:58:32. > :58:37.listening for most of it and it is always going to go down well in

:58:37. > :58:44.your own party conference, but it felt slightly flat to me. The line

:58:44. > :58:49.of attack was clear, on a Labour's legacy. It is always around health

:58:49. > :58:55.and education. That is where the attack was once again. Labour's

:58:55. > :58:59.legacy on the health service in Wales. The same for education.

:58:59. > :59:04.Labour's hands in the Wales, you're left with worse results than in

:59:04. > :59:10.England. There is something you have to say, this is a consistent

:59:10. > :59:16.message now from the UK Government on those subjects. Perhaps health

:59:16. > :59:20.even more than education. There is a view, in London at least, there

:59:20. > :59:25.is a view the NHS is regarded in England as a bit of a basket case

:59:25. > :59:34.in Wales. Labour needs to engage with that argument and to start

:59:34. > :59:42.putting things right. That is what we got from Nick Clegg, Labour's

:59:42. > :59:51.legacy, worse off. He told the BBC earlier that devolution cannot come

:59:51. > :59:58.fast enough for him. He clearly wants powers transferred, doesn't

:59:58. > :00:05.he? It depends how you look at it. Do the coalition government really

:00:05. > :00:09.want that? Would the concern be from Carwyn Jones that they want to

:00:09. > :00:14.get to a point worth the whole Commission has positive about the

:00:14. > :00:18.transfer of tax powers to Wills, simply to use that as a stick to

:00:18. > :00:23.beat the Labour government within Wales. They are far more cautious

:00:23. > :00:28.about whether that would leave Wales better off or not. They would

:00:28. > :00:35.argue do not just devolve for a day revolution's sake. It is a

:00:35. > :00:39.different -- difficult dynamic for Labour. The Secretary of State is

:00:39. > :00:44.talking positively about devolving accountability to Wales. You have

:00:44. > :00:48.got to back that off quite carefully. You have to accept that

:00:48. > :00:53.accountability is good, but you still have to chip away and say, we

:00:53. > :00:59.must make sure it leaves us better off. I think they are hoping to

:00:59. > :01:09.catch Labour there. They need to make sure they get it right and not

:01:09. > :01:15.In terms of devolution, this is the party of federalism. Do we know

:01:15. > :01:18.what they want? I do not think they are clear. The argument has come

:01:18. > :01:27.from Cardiff Bay that the First Minister has asked for a commission

:01:27. > :01:32.in order to spell out what sort of UK they might want in future. He

:01:32. > :01:35.wants it made clear to everybody what they might be voting for at

:01:35. > :01:40.some point. But there was no clarity in that fairly short

:01:40. > :01:47.passage from Nick Clegg. His speech had another job to do today, if you

:01:47. > :01:51.like. His job today was to talk about people being �200 better off,

:01:51. > :01:56.schools in Cardiff, Wrexham, Swansea. That is where this speech

:01:56. > :02:02.was aimed. I did not think it was perhaps as rousing as those in the

:02:02. > :02:06.hall might have expected. Yes, and from those you have spoken to, are

:02:07. > :02:12.there some in the party still cross that he did this deal with David

:02:12. > :02:16.Cameron, and Gardai over that yet? Absolute key there are, and they

:02:16. > :02:19.are not here. This is be point, that those who are here are here

:02:19. > :02:25.because they are still in the battle, and they want to be

:02:25. > :02:30.galvanised. The problem for the party is how many are not prepared

:02:30. > :02:36.to go out to the doorsteps. Those who are here are clear on the

:02:36. > :02:39.numbers in their area. They are prepared to fight. The interesting

:02:39. > :02:45.thing is whether Labour activists are still angry enough to come out

:02:45. > :02:50.and fight in a local election for Labour, or have things bottomed out

:02:50. > :02:55.as far as galvanising in both parties is concerned? That is what

:02:55. > :03:01.we might learn by May. The kettles are back on here. People are coming

:03:01. > :03:05.out for coffee and tea. Elliw, you have some delegates with you?

:03:05. > :03:10.I am joined by two delegates who were listening to the speech.

:03:10. > :03:13.Dominic, let me start with your reaction? It was very good. It was

:03:13. > :03:21.a good round up of what the Lib Dems are achieving in Westminster,

:03:21. > :03:24.taking thousands of Welsh people out of tax, helping thousands of

:03:24. > :03:27.Welsh pensioners after the insultingly low increases we saw

:03:27. > :03:32.under Labour. Nick Clegg showed a real understanding of how

:03:32. > :03:36.councillors are doing in Welsh communities, keeping council tax

:03:36. > :03:41.down, opening libraries and Devon - - delivering great public services.

:03:41. > :03:45.You will have then lot of hard work ahead of you. Are those declines of

:03:45. > :03:49.messages you can take back to people on the doorsteps in your

:03:49. > :03:54.area? I think Nick was francs. He was not frightened to shy away from

:03:54. > :03:58.talking about the NHS, the economy and education. Those are the things

:03:58. > :04:05.people on the doorstep are telling me they are concerned about. I am

:04:05. > :04:12.grateful to have been the pupil premium come to Wales, �450 for the

:04:12. > :04:16.education system. That is something my residents are delighted about. I

:04:17. > :04:22.know the residents are happy. Clegg was talking about the things

:04:22. > :04:26.you are achieving as a party. But aren't you a little concerned about

:04:26. > :04:29.what people might be thinking about the cuts that they are really

:04:29. > :04:34.feeling in their pockets because of the coalition with the

:04:34. > :04:39.Conservatives? It is a real cost to us as a party. We had to go through

:04:39. > :04:43.a painful process. The pain is mirrored by the general population.

:04:43. > :04:47.I am personally not happy to be in the coalition, but I am happy with

:04:47. > :04:52.the things we are achieving in Wales and I am proud of the things

:04:52. > :04:57.we have managed to get through the coalition. The rise in income tax,

:04:57. > :05:01.better pensions and the money for pupils. These are difficult times

:05:01. > :05:06.and difficult decisions need to be made. I am bad there are Lib Dems

:05:06. > :05:11.in the coalition doing things the Tories would not otherwise have

:05:11. > :05:18.done. Will that speech resonate well with people at home, do you

:05:18. > :05:21.think? I think it will. Real people out there on the doorsteps who we

:05:21. > :05:27.are talking to in these elections recognise that it is a difficult

:05:27. > :05:32.time. But they also recognise that Labour left millions of pounds of

:05:32. > :05:38.debt, money we did not have. In these elections, it is of course

:05:38. > :05:44.about local issues. People remember what a lot of the councils like

:05:44. > :05:50.Swansea and Wrexham and Cardiff were like under Labour. They

:05:50. > :05:55.remember the waste of council taxes. They know that you get a better

:05:55. > :06:00.deal with a Lib Dem councillor and a Lib Dem council. We are not

:06:00. > :06:05.shying away from the difficult decisions to clean up Labour's mess.

:06:05. > :06:10.You did well in 2008, mainly because of that surge against the

:06:10. > :06:15.Labour Party. Is it inevitable that you may lose seats as some Labour

:06:15. > :06:22.supporters come back to the party? I think we did well in 2004 because

:06:22. > :06:27.of a phenomenal campaign on the ground by our councillors.

:06:27. > :06:35.Whichever party people support, people will support their local Lib

:06:35. > :06:38.Dem team. People will not want to go back to the years of what under

:06:39. > :06:44.Labour. I am confident that we will do well in this election, because

:06:44. > :06:48.we have a record which can be proud of. No council tax rises, investing

:06:48. > :06:52.in services. There was talk about my breeze closing across the

:06:52. > :06:57.country. Here in Cardiff, the Lib Dem council is opening libraries

:06:57. > :07:01.and delivering cleaner streets. That is a strong record to campaign

:07:01. > :07:06.on. After that speech, we look forward to get in out there and

:07:06. > :07:11.continuing to sell that message, as we do all year round. I agree. I

:07:11. > :07:17.cannot add anything to that. Nick was really energetic in his speech,

:07:17. > :07:22.which is refreshing to see, as he is doing a hard job. Kirsty's

:07:22. > :07:26.speech this afternoon, I thought would be hard to top. So you got a

:07:26. > :07:32.boost from that speech to go out there, continuing with the

:07:32. > :07:40.leafleting and hard work. Thank you very much.

:07:40. > :07:45.Joining me now, Jenny Willetts, the MP who stood down to Chris Huhne

:07:45. > :07:50.over tuition fees. You have had your issues with the party. In

:07:50. > :07:56.terms of Nick Clegg's speech, not at his most motivational, maybe?

:07:56. > :07:58.What he was saying was bang on the money. He is right. We have an

:07:58. > :08:05.awful lot to say at the local elections over what we have

:08:05. > :08:09.delivered in Wales that is really positive. People often forget at

:08:09. > :08:13.the moment that there is a huge amount that the Liberal Democrats

:08:13. > :08:17.are delivering. We need to remember to tell people so that they know we

:08:17. > :08:21.do keep our word. But are you delivering the right things? You

:08:21. > :08:25.clearly did not think so when it came to tuition fees. A lot of your

:08:25. > :08:30.supporters did not think so. Now you have welfare reform and lots of

:08:30. > :08:35.unpopular cuts being put forward by your coalition government. Do you

:08:35. > :08:39.feel 100% behind what Nick Clegg is doing these days? I absolutely

:08:39. > :08:43.support Mick. We are in a coalition government. We have to compromise

:08:43. > :08:49.on all sorts of things. For me, tuition fees was a step too far.

:08:49. > :08:52.But on everything we have done since then, I am fully behind Nick.

:08:52. > :08:58.We are in a difficult situation as a result of Labour's growing up the

:08:58. > :09:03.economy when they were in power. Whoever was going to come in after

:09:03. > :09:12.the last election was going to have a tough time. We are doing the

:09:12. > :09:17.right thing. You know Nick Clegg well. When you resigned, you must

:09:17. > :09:22.have told him, this is a step too far? What does he tell you

:09:23. > :09:27.privately? "I have to do this"? I know you will not tell me exactly

:09:27. > :09:36.what goes on behind those closed doors. But how did he sell it to

:09:36. > :09:40.somebody like you? Need is a realist. There are some issues

:09:40. > :09:45.where I have put my views on the record, such as tuition fees. He

:09:45. > :09:48.knew he could not persuade me on that. But with all the things the

:09:48. > :09:52.Government does, there is a good reason. Not everyone will agree

:09:52. > :09:56.with each reason, but it is important to set out the reasons

:09:56. > :10:03.why we are doing something. Not everyone will agree, but at least

:10:03. > :10:07.we can explain why. Everybody in the party as a whole understands

:10:07. > :10:11.why we are taking the decisions we are, even if they are difficult and

:10:11. > :10:15.particularly when they are sometimes unpopular. We need to put

:10:15. > :10:21.our case so that people understand why we are doing what we are doing.

:10:21. > :10:26.As a party, you are back in what Labour is up to in the Budget in

:10:26. > :10:30.Wales. For many of your supporters in Wales, that is a more

:10:30. > :10:37.comfortable match than the one in Westminster? I would be the first

:10:37. > :10:41.to say that as well. After the last election, I can honestly say...

:10:41. > :10:48.Thank you very much! After the last election, it never occurred to me

:10:48. > :10:54.that we would be doing a deal with the Tories. But the electoral maths

:10:54. > :11:00.did not add up. It was impossible to do a deal with the Labour Party.

:11:00. > :11:04.And the fact that we can work with the Conservatives in London and

:11:04. > :11:10.Labour in Wales shows that we are happy to work with whoever to get

:11:10. > :11:15.the right deal. But people worry that you compromise your principles,

:11:15. > :11:19.your identity. But it is on issue by issue. In Labour, we did a deal

:11:19. > :11:23.on the basis that we got the two key priorities we had in the

:11:23. > :11:27.assembly election, pupil premium for children from deprived

:11:27. > :11:30.backgrounds and more investment in unemployment and job creation.

:11:30. > :11:36.Those were things we stood on in the last assembly elections. It was

:11:36. > :11:42.a chance to deliver those commitments. People in the public

:11:42. > :11:45.do not want parties to squabble among themselves and just stick to

:11:45. > :11:49.narrow party interests. They want people who are prepared to work

:11:49. > :11:55.with others, to look at the bigger picture and identify their

:11:55. > :11:59.priorities. If people want that, then you are perfect as a party,

:11:59. > :12:04.because you are doing exactly that, and yet from the language of the

:12:04. > :12:09.polls, you are getting from eight to 13%. The message is not striking

:12:09. > :12:14.a chord with the public. We need to do better at telling people what we

:12:14. > :12:19.are doing and showing our achievements. It is always

:12:19. > :12:23.difficult in a coalition government. The way British politics and the

:12:23. > :12:28.British media are set up is oppositional. So it is the media's

:12:28. > :12:33.fault? I am not saying that, but it is oppositional. People say one

:12:33. > :12:38.thing, and someone else disagrees. It is taking time the people to get

:12:38. > :12:43.used to the coalition. I think it is positive that people have seen

:12:43. > :12:49.that Labour can work in Wales with the Liberal Democrats and with

:12:49. > :12:52.Plaid Cymru. It is a much more grown-up approach to politics. In

:12:52. > :12:56.Westminster, it has been such a long time since we have had a

:12:56. > :13:03.coalition that people are not used to that. We need to be better at

:13:03. > :13:06.selling our achievements so that people know what we have achieved.

:13:06. > :13:10.Talking about that responsibility, as a member of a party in

:13:10. > :13:14.Westminster which is in power, taking the flak for a lot of the

:13:14. > :13:19.cuts that you have to put through at the moment, you would argue, if

:13:19. > :13:23.you look back on the M4 at Cardiff Bay where they are given the money

:13:23. > :13:26.and they spend it, and there if -- if there is not enough to go round,

:13:26. > :13:32.they can blame you in Westminster. Should more of that responsibility

:13:32. > :13:40.come down here These and get more accountability for decision-making

:13:40. > :13:46.in Cardiff? Absolutely. The assembly now has a lot more power

:13:46. > :13:52.to be able to do more in Wales. But they need the responsibility that

:13:52. > :13:56.goes with that. They need to know that what they do for economic

:13:56. > :14:05.development will make a difference to their budget. It will encourage

:14:05. > :14:09.them to make the right decisions. On taxation, we have heard from

:14:09. > :14:14.Carwyn Jones, who is not keen on income tax. He wants smaller taxes,

:14:14. > :14:18.for example stamp duty. They have been referred to as peanut taxes.

:14:18. > :14:23.Nick Clegg suggested this week that he would like the whole shebang

:14:23. > :14:27.coming down the M4, but he is waiting for the commission. Why

:14:27. > :14:32.shouldn't the UK Government say, have these big taxation is, and

:14:32. > :14:38.sought your own finances out? up to the people of Wales to decide

:14:38. > :14:43.what we think we should have. The commission is involving lots of

:14:43. > :14:49.people in the public and then coming to a considered conclusion.

:14:49. > :14:54.That is the right way forward. We have made it clear that we think

:14:54. > :14:59.there should be taxation powers moved down to the assembly and

:14:59. > :15:06.borrowing powers so that they can have responsibility for raising

:15:06. > :15:09.taxes. So and then we can see the benefits of that in Wales. But I do

:15:09. > :15:14.not think it is up to the Westminster government to tell the

:15:14. > :15:19.Welsh Assembly what powers it should have. Do you think Nick

:15:19. > :15:24.Clegg is enjoying this? It is tough, isn't it? Remember Cleggmania, when

:15:24. > :15:28.he was like a pop star? What happened to those days? It is hard

:15:28. > :15:32.work being in government. But it is incredibly satisfying. I remember

:15:32. > :15:35.one of the Labour ministers in the last Parliament saying that the

:15:35. > :15:45.worst day in government is still better than the best days in

:15:45. > :15:47.

:15:47. > :15:52.opposition. I am sure Nick would So, we have heard from Nick Clegg,

:15:52. > :15:59.but earlier today it was the turn of Kirsty Williams, the leader of

:15:59. > :16:09.the Welsh Liberal Democrats, to address the conference. Friends,

:16:09. > :16:09.

:16:09. > :16:13.this morning tribute was led to Lord Emlyn Hooson. M and was

:16:13. > :16:19.respected in his own community and in the wider political arena for

:16:19. > :16:25.his passionate liberalism, his love of Wales, and his razor-sharp

:16:25. > :16:30.intellect. Not only will he be remembered for his high-profile

:16:30. > :16:37.leadership -- legal work, but keeping the flame of liberalism

:16:37. > :16:41.alive in Wales through the 1960s. Wales has lost one of its true

:16:41. > :16:47.gentleman, and the Welsh Liberal Democrats have lost a step fast

:16:47. > :16:53.champion. Among his many, many achievements, he was the person who

:16:53. > :16:59.founded the Welsh Liberal Party in 1966. The first of the UK parties

:16:59. > :17:04.to recognise Wales's unique political needs, and to understand

:17:04. > :17:09.that Welsh people need Welsh politicians are free from London of

:17:09. > :17:14.whips to speak up for our nation. Of course, the creation of the

:17:14. > :17:19.Welsh Liberal Party did not come out of the blue. Before Emlyn

:17:19. > :17:27.Hooson, Lloyd George lead and fought for a Welsh home rule. As

:17:27. > :17:32.long ago as 1897 founded the Welsh Liberal council. When I hear Plaid

:17:32. > :17:36.Cymru call themselves the party of Wales, and when I hear Carwyn Jones

:17:36. > :17:40.tell the Labour Party conference they are the true party of Wales, I

:17:40. > :17:49.say that the Welsh Liberal Democrats are the original party of

:17:49. > :17:55.Wales. Welsh democracy, the great Welsh

:17:55. > :18:02.project started by Lord George, sustained by Emlyn Hooson, Richard

:18:02. > :18:07.Lindsey and many more in our party, but, yes, in other parties too. No

:18:07. > :18:11.Welsh party has the monopoly over Wales. The people of Wales will

:18:11. > :18:17.want political leaders grown-up enough to accept that we are, all

:18:17. > :18:22.of us of whatever party, elected in Wales, accountable to the people of

:18:23. > :18:27.Wales and with Welsh interests at are hard. For us, insisting that

:18:27. > :18:32.the coalition government establish the Silk commission was a natural

:18:32. > :18:36.next step in our battle for strength and devolution. The BBC

:18:36. > :18:42.poll released this week showed that we are the party most in tune with

:18:42. > :18:47.the people of Wales. Plaid Cymru's call for independence attract

:18:47. > :18:50.support from do 7% of the people. The Labour and Conservative

:18:50. > :18:55.hostility to financial autonomy is overwhelmingly rejected by the

:18:55. > :18:58.Welsh people. Two-thirds of people agree with our opinion that it is

:18:58. > :19:03.time to bring more accountability and responsibility to the Welsh

:19:03. > :19:08.Government. Not just for its own sake, but because it progressive

:19:08. > :19:14.Government could use these powers to drive forward Wales's economic

:19:14. > :19:17.development, creating jobs and prosperity for our people. It is

:19:17. > :19:23.not for the first time that the people and the Welsh Liberal

:19:23. > :19:28.Democrats are leading the way. So, Carwyn Jones, Labour, what are you

:19:28. > :19:31.afraid of? As a representative on the commission, Rob Humphreys is

:19:31. > :19:35.working hard to insure our commitment to strengthening

:19:36. > :19:40.devolution is at the heart of everything the commission does. I

:19:40. > :19:45.know he will not be able to get his own weight all the time, he and

:19:45. > :19:49.other members will have to work hard to balance competing and

:19:49. > :19:55.sometimes conflicting views that the committee will hear from

:19:55. > :19:59.different parties and organisations. But still, Robb has any easier job

:19:59. > :20:03.than Nick Bourne. As the Conservative representative on the

:20:04. > :20:07.commission, he will have to work hard to balance the three

:20:07. > :20:13.conflicting and contradictory submissions that have been it made

:20:13. > :20:16.by, well, the Conservative Party. One from the Assembly group, one

:20:17. > :20:23.from the Conservative Party, and one from the former director of

:20:23. > :20:26.policy. Perhaps I am being unfair. All political parties are a broader

:20:26. > :20:33.church and it is sometimes difficult to develop a coherent

:20:33. > :20:40.position. You know how we resolve those issues? We hold a conference,

:20:40. > :20:49.and we debate policy openly and democratically. Yes, a party

:20:49. > :20:55.conference in Wales. The Tories it should really give it a try. To be

:20:55. > :20:59.fair, having cancelled their conference they have belatedly

:20:59. > :21:06.realised that they need to organise something different instead. They

:21:06. > :21:11.have come up with the idea of a rally. No political discussion, no

:21:11. > :21:17.debate, no democratic decisions, just set peaches -- set piece

:21:17. > :21:21.speech after set piece speech. I am not sure why they did not just call

:21:21. > :21:28.it a Conservative Party conference. Perhaps that is why they have

:21:28. > :21:33.rescheduled it to take place on Internationale awful day. -- wore

:21:33. > :21:38.full day. Today is the one year anniversary of that historic

:21:38. > :21:43.referendum that gave Wales greater powers. When the people of Wales

:21:43. > :21:47.took that palled step and gave the National Assembly increased

:21:47. > :21:50.responsibility to better their lives. I remember as those yes

:21:51. > :21:56.votes were coming in last year, there was a feeling of hope and

:21:56. > :22:02.optimism. People turn to the Assembly to deliver. Wales could

:22:02. > :22:06.come out of the slow lane, and overtake into the fast lane. Then,

:22:06. > :22:10.a few months later another Labour government was formed in the

:22:10. > :22:15.Assembly. He a Labour government that said this time it was all

:22:15. > :22:20.about delivery. No more excuses, they said. Exactly one year ago

:22:20. > :22:24.today, the people of Wales were promised a new beginning. Since

:22:24. > :22:30.that referendum, the Welsh Labour government have published just one

:22:30. > :22:36.piece of legislation. What is this Bill that we have been waiting over

:22:36. > :22:42.600 years for, I hear you ask? Well, it is the local government byways

:22:42. > :22:46.laws and Wales Bill. Don't get me wrong, both as a Liberal Democrat

:22:47. > :22:52.and was fascinated by the Minya shy of local government by-laws as

:22:52. > :22:57.everybody else here in this hall. But it is hardly a great leap

:22:57. > :23:03.forward, is it? Some say legislation is not everything, and

:23:03. > :23:08.to some extent I do agree. But this speaks volumes about the lack of

:23:09. > :23:15.ambition, sense of urgency that characterises Labour leadership.

:23:15. > :23:19.Carwyn Jones, standing up for Wales, that is what he repeats. But it is

:23:19. > :23:25.difficult to taken seriously when he is slouched over his podium

:23:25. > :23:29.every week. His Government is sluggish, and Wales has left

:23:29. > :23:33.suffering. Months after the Westminster government announced

:23:33. > :23:38.the creation of enterprise zones to attract business to England, the

:23:38. > :23:46.Welsh Labour government is still floundering. Delaying decisions

:23:46. > :23:52.while English enterprise zones is still at the March. It is only

:23:52. > :24:02.because of our colleagues harrowing that the big decision has been

:24:02. > :24:02.

:24:02. > :24:07.forced at all. We have all heard of read Ed. In Wales Edwina Hart is so

:24:07. > :24:13.unreconstructed. She even said she regretted the capitalist system.

:24:13. > :24:17.Well, why you regret the nasty capitalist system, I regret that

:24:17. > :24:21.Jaguar Land Rover were pumping investment into Wolverhampton

:24:21. > :24:26.siting your lack of a decision with enterprise zones as one of the

:24:26. > :24:31.reasons that Wales was left behind. 750 jobs gone to the West Midlands

:24:31. > :24:37.that could have been brought here. Under Labour, a Welsh businesses,

:24:37. > :24:43.Welsh workers are being left behind. What about education? One in five

:24:43. > :24:47.children leaving primary school cannot read and write properly.

:24:47. > :24:53.Functional illiteracy. That is what the Government's own inspectors

:24:53. > :24:58.tell us. What hope do those pupils have of succeeding in secondary

:24:58. > :25:02.school if they cannot read and write well enough to understand and

:25:02. > :25:07.participate in lessons? When our schools fail, the Labour First

:25:07. > :25:12.Minister tries to blame it on local of Thirties, the schools, head

:25:12. > :25:18.teachers, everybody but his own government. Under Labour, a Welsh

:25:18. > :25:23.pupils are being left behind. In Carwyn Jones's speech to Labour

:25:23. > :25:29.conferences two weeks ago, he said the NHS was made in Wales and was

:25:29. > :25:34.safe in Wales. So safe that earlier this week, at 800 people felt

:25:34. > :25:37.compelled to come up down to the Senedd to protest about the

:25:37. > :25:45.downgrading of their local hospital. So safe that the minor injuries

:25:45. > :25:48.unit across Wales have been closed under Labour. So save that you wait

:25:48. > :25:55.six months and Wales for an operation when you wait 16 weeks in

:25:55. > :25:59.England. Again, everybody is to blame but themselves. Under Labour,

:25:59. > :26:06.what patients are being left behind. Harold Wilson once said that the

:26:06. > :26:13.Labour Party was a moral crusade or it was nothing. Labour, a moral

:26:13. > :26:17.crusade, with that record? I do not think so. But whilst Labour had

:26:17. > :26:22.been sitting back, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have been rolling

:26:22. > :26:27.up our sleeves. Before the election last year, Labour predicted a

:26:27. > :26:31.comfortable majority, but they ended up with no majority at all.

:26:31. > :26:34.Last year, I told you that following the election results at

:26:34. > :26:40.the Welsh Liberal Democrats may have the opportunity to influence

:26:40. > :26:46.the direction of our country. And that when that opportunity came,

:26:46. > :26:50.this party would not let the people of Wales down. We were clear that

:26:50. > :26:55.the Welsh Liberal Democrats would not back any budget that did not

:26:55. > :27:00.make progress towards closing the funding gap with England, starting

:27:00. > :27:05.with our poorest children who need the extra help the most. Nor would

:27:05. > :27:09.we vote for a Budget that neglected the need to boost the Welsh economy.

:27:09. > :27:16.Those were our priorities during the election and they were our

:27:17. > :27:21.priorities during this budget round. And so, from this April as a result

:27:22. > :27:29.of Welsh Liberal Democrat influence, and Welsh Liberal Democrat votes,

:27:29. > :27:39.every child in a Wales on free school meals will receive an extra

:27:39. > :27:44.

:27:44. > :27:47.�450 towards their education Our priority as Welsh Liberal

:27:47. > :27:51.Democrats has always been to make sure that the most disadvantaged

:27:51. > :27:59.children get the help of that they need, they help that they deserve,

:27:59. > :28:04.and they help that will get them out of the vicious cycle of poverty.

:28:04. > :28:10.�118,000 for his school and Swansea. A quarter of a million pounds for

:28:10. > :28:15.another school in Cardiff. �111,000 for his school and Wrexham. Funding

:28:15. > :28:20.going direct to schools who will spend this money how they see best.

:28:20. > :28:24.All children starting life on the same footing, the equal and fair.

:28:24. > :28:33.That is Welsh Liberal Democrats. Using our influence and making a

:28:33. > :28:40.difference. On top of that we also managed to agree an economic

:28:40. > :28:43.stimulus package worth nearly �39 million. Funding for an additional

:28:44. > :28:49.2000 apprenticeships to help young people tick the first step on the

:28:49. > :28:54.career ladder. Capital investment in our school buildings, assistance

:28:54. > :28:59.in helping people keep their homes a warm and their energy bills low.

:28:59. > :29:04.New affordable homes and enterprise zones to create jobs. It would have

:29:04. > :29:09.been easy for the group to walk away from the Budget talks. It is

:29:09. > :29:14.always easier to sit on the sidelines and throw pot shots. But

:29:14. > :29:19.Wales needed a budget, and it is a better budget because of our

:29:19. > :29:26.influence. Welsh Liberal Democrats using our influence and making the

:29:26. > :29:30.difference. In less than nine weeks, the people of Wales will go to the

:29:31. > :29:35.polls to elect the people in their communities who will stand up for

:29:35. > :29:40.them in County Hall. In 2004, the Welsh Liberal Democrats won a

:29:40. > :29:44.record number of seats. We took over the leadership of Wrexham,

:29:44. > :29:49.Swansea and Cardiff. It was the first time the Welsh Liberal

:29:49. > :29:53.Democrats have ever lead these councils. In 2008 we increase the

:29:53. > :29:58.number of our councillors and managed to continue providing good,

:29:58. > :30:03.value-for-money services for people across our nation. This year, we

:30:03. > :30:07.owe it to Wales to succeed once again. Local Government and local

:30:07. > :30:13.democracy means so much more to us was Liberal Democrat than any other

:30:13. > :30:18.party. For Labour, local DUP -- local government is a delivery of

:30:19. > :30:25.control. Micro government from Cardiff, eight people around a

:30:25. > :30:29.cabinet table dictating to people. But that is not local democracy.

:30:29. > :30:34.Welsh Liberal Democrats want decisions taken and services

:30:34. > :30:39.delivered at the most local level possible. That is what makes us

:30:39. > :30:44.Liberal Democrat. Her liberalism is about power, who wields it, for

:30:45. > :30:54.whom and to what purpose. We want to see local people using it on

:30:55. > :31:01.

:31:01. > :31:05.behalf of their community to help Here, in Cardiff, a record �180

:31:06. > :31:09.million invested in school buildings across the city. St

:31:09. > :31:14.David's two, bringing jobs and prosperity. Recycling rates have

:31:14. > :31:24.shot up. Libraries have been saved and new ones have been built. Gone

:31:24. > :31:27.

:31:27. > :31:34.are the days of Labour's huge council tax hikes. That is Cardiff

:31:34. > :31:38.Liberal Democrats. Compare that with the Vale of Glamorgan council.

:31:38. > :31:44.Home turf of the Tory assembly group leader. He has vocally

:31:44. > :31:50.committed his party to a 0% council tax rise. Guess what? His own Tory

:31:50. > :31:56.council are proposing - yes, you have got it - just that, a council

:31:56. > :32:00.tax rise. In Swansea, we have built a stunning public transport hub in

:32:00. > :32:05.the city centre, a leisure centre to be proud of, a football stadium,

:32:05. > :32:11.home to the and the Welsh team in the Premier League. For now. Come

:32:11. > :32:16.on, you Bluebirds. And additional funding to help boost literacy and

:32:16. > :32:26.numeracy. And all of that while freezing council taxes for the

:32:26. > :32:32.

:32:32. > :32:35.people of Swansea. That is Swansea Liberal Democrats. Compare that to

:32:35. > :32:41.record with the neighbouring Labour-controlled council, where

:32:41. > :32:50.council tax is �250 a year higher than in Swansea, and the second

:32:50. > :32:55.highest in all of Wales. In Newport, a �21 million investment to fix the

:32:55. > :33:00.city's crumbling roads. A major employer, Admiral, attract to the

:33:00. > :33:04.city centre, with the potential for 1200 jobs. They have started a

:33:04. > :33:14.major redevelopment of the city centre. That is Newport Liberal

:33:14. > :33:18.

:33:18. > :33:25.Democrats. Compare that with Plaid Cymru's Caerphilly council, which

:33:25. > :33:35.spends less per pupil than any other council in Wales. And in

:33:35. > :33:36.

:33:36. > :33:42.Wrexham, an additional PCSOss on the streets, keeping people safe.

:33:42. > :33:49.Investment in school buildings. GCSE pass rates doubled. That is

:33:49. > :33:55.Wrexham Liberal Democrats. Compare that with the Labour run council

:33:55. > :33:58.nearby. They failed to tackle the 3000 empty homes in their area, and

:33:58. > :34:04.they slashed the salaries of the lowest-paid staff at the council,

:34:04. > :34:08.but have protected the salaries of those earning more than �40,000. In

:34:08. > :34:14.Ceredigion, in Powys, in Conwy, all across the country, we are

:34:14. > :34:18.delivering services to half the population of Wales with great

:34:19. > :34:24.success. That is the Welsh Liberal Democrats. And wherever there are

:34:24. > :34:34.live Welsh Liberal Democrat council has, we use our influence and make

:34:34. > :34:38.

:34:38. > :34:42.a difference. St David said: do the little things. Going one step

:34:42. > :34:47.further up and down the country. Welsh Liberal Democrats are doing

:34:47. > :34:51.the little things for people in their community. BAFTAs, like

:34:51. > :34:56.Councillor John Bell, out in his ward, in his waders, pulling up

:34:57. > :35:00.manhole covers to stop holes from being flooded. Local heroes like

:35:00. > :35:05.Councillor John Roberts, shovelling snow and gritting hills to allow

:35:05. > :35:10.safe access to over 100 homes. Dedicated representatives like

:35:10. > :35:16.Alice Robinson in Colwyn Bay, who has served her community for over

:35:16. > :35:21.three decades. Now in her eighties, she is at the centre of the charge

:35:21. > :35:25.to refurbish the local theatre for her local community. Community

:35:25. > :35:30.leaders like Maureen McKenzie in Paris, who threw her tireless work

:35:30. > :35:33.fund-raising with local people has brought in hundreds of thousands of

:35:33. > :35:38.Pounds worth of funding for the arts, community halls and gardens

:35:38. > :35:43.and playgrounds in her area. And councillors like Amy in Merthyr,

:35:43. > :35:49.who went out of her way to help former servicemen suffering from

:35:49. > :35:55.post-traumatic stress disorder. He was left in a small flat, with just

:35:55. > :36:01.a sofa. No heating, no hot water, no fridge, no cooker. His life, he

:36:01. > :36:06.said, was held. But the compassion and a rallying calls of a local

:36:06. > :36:11.councillor turned his life around. If it was not for Amy, he said "if

:36:11. > :36:18.I was not a strong person, I could be dead by now". This hall is full

:36:18. > :36:24.of such councillors. You work so hard for our party. But you work

:36:24. > :36:27.even harder for your communities. I want to thank you all. For the

:36:28. > :36:32.Welsh Liberal Democrats, being a councillor, serving their community,

:36:32. > :36:42.it is not just something you put on a CV. It is what we do and it is

:36:42. > :36:52.

:36:52. > :36:57.who we are. Conference, we know how difficult it is to make budgets

:36:57. > :37:01.stretched into a financial times. That is why the Welsh Liberal

:37:01. > :37:05.Democrats are using our influence at whatever level of government to

:37:05. > :37:09.make a difference and help struggling Welsh families. On a

:37:10. > :37:15.local level, Welsh Liberal Democrat-led councils have

:37:15. > :37:19.consistently kept council tax rises low. In the assembly, we have

:37:19. > :37:25.ensured that children from the poorest backgrounds get the help

:37:25. > :37:28.they deserve. In Westminster, we are lifting millions of people at

:37:28. > :37:33.out of the paying income tax and putting more money in their pockets.

:37:34. > :37:39.�200 last year and a further �130 this year on top of that. Nick

:37:40. > :37:46.Clegg is fighting for even more tax cuts for the lowest paid, funded by

:37:46. > :37:50.closing tax loopholes for the wealthiest. For us, April is a

:37:50. > :37:55.month of pounding the streets, delivering the leaflets and

:37:55. > :38:01.promoting our achievements. It is a month of worn-out shoe leather,

:38:01. > :38:07.dangerous dogs and lethal letter boxes. But it is also a month of

:38:07. > :38:14.listening and engaging with people who are only too ready to put their

:38:14. > :38:20.faith in people who put their community first. This year, April

:38:20. > :38:24.will be so much more. April, when families and Welsh Liberal Democrat

:38:24. > :38:30.councils are protected from harsh council tax rises. Our achievement

:38:30. > :38:35.in local councils. April, when the poorest children will receive an

:38:35. > :38:41.additional �450 going towards their education. That is our success in

:38:41. > :38:45.the assembly. April, when hard- working families across Wales will

:38:45. > :38:50.take home more of their own wages because of our fair tax policies,

:38:50. > :38:55.when pensioners across Wales will receive the largest increase in

:38:55. > :39:01.their pension ever, thanks to the triple lock guarantee won by the

:39:01. > :39:06.Liberal Democrats, our battle in Westminster. In difficult times,

:39:06. > :39:16.Welsh Liberal Democrats are putting people first, using our influence

:39:16. > :39:17.

:39:17. > :39:20.and making a difference. And that is really standing up for Wales.

:39:21. > :39:25.And a standing ovation for Kirsty Williams, who addressed the

:39:25. > :39:31.conference this morning. We will chat with Kirsty shortly. First,

:39:31. > :39:34.let's cross to Elliw. Yes, I am back in the exhibition hall and

:39:34. > :39:40.joined by Veronica and Maria. You were listening to the speech this

:39:40. > :39:44.morning. What were your thoughts? It was a really good speech. I

:39:44. > :39:48.thought, here we have, in Wales, other parties talk about delivering,

:39:48. > :39:51.and the Welsh Liberal Democrats are delivering that pupil premium,

:39:52. > :39:58.making things better for poorer children in our country, giving

:39:58. > :40:02.them an opportunity for the future. And we have delivery at Westminster

:40:02. > :40:07.with the pensions and taking people out of tax. Kirsty hammered that

:40:07. > :40:14.home. It makes you think yet, the tide is turning. We are looking up

:40:14. > :40:18.now. Do you think that message is getting through? I agree. We have

:40:18. > :40:22.to fight hard to get the message through. With Kirsty, we can do

:40:22. > :40:31.that. Some see Wales as Labour country, but actually, Kirsty

:40:31. > :40:40.reminded us all to sell just how well we are running councils where

:40:40. > :40:45.we are in charge. And I think her soundbites, where Plaid Cymru says

:40:45. > :40:52.we are the Wales, Labour says, we are the party of Wales, but we are

:40:52. > :40:57.the original party of Wales. That sums it up. No one is better than

:40:58. > :41:02.Kirsty at something that up for. I hope the message comes across and

:41:02. > :41:07.we are now fired up to sell it on the doorstep. Are you raring to go

:41:07. > :41:11.now after the conference? Has it given you that boost to take to the

:41:11. > :41:14.doorstep? Absolutely. We have a really good story to tell, and

:41:14. > :41:20.people should be proud of that. I get the impression that everybody

:41:20. > :41:24.is fired up. There is no reticence. Perhaps in the past, we felt a bit

:41:24. > :41:28.cagey. But everybody is saying, Welsh Liberal Democrats have a good

:41:28. > :41:38.story to tell. We are delivering the people and we need to make sure

:41:38. > :41:42.everybody knows what we are doing. Kirsty Williams joins me now. Nick

:41:42. > :41:51.Clegg mentioned because D Williams welcome, which is a smile, a kiss

:41:51. > :41:55.and then a rollicking. Has he had a rollicking today? No. But it is my

:41:55. > :41:59.job to ensure that I keep telling the Westminster government about

:41:59. > :42:04.what the priorities are for people here in Wales, and to ensure that

:42:04. > :42:07.Wales' voice is being listened to at Westminster level and delivery

:42:07. > :42:13.things for Wales. So yes, in the past, I have given him a rollicking

:42:13. > :42:18.about the need for electrification of the railway line to Cardiff,

:42:18. > :42:23.about it in a Silk Commission that can give the assembly greater

:42:23. > :42:27.powers. And there will continue to be voicing what Wales needs to

:42:27. > :42:31.Westminster at every opportunity. So the rollicking applies to what

:42:31. > :42:34.you have power over. You do not talk about welfare reform or the

:42:34. > :42:40.spending cuts and pay freezes, the things that are timing everywhere

:42:40. > :42:44.in Wales? I think there is an understanding that what our

:42:44. > :42:47.colleagues are having to do in Westminster is make tough decisions

:42:47. > :42:53.because of the economic mess we were left by the previous

:42:53. > :42:57.government. The public recognise that. And I am saying, move faster

:42:57. > :43:01.with the policy of lifting people out of tax altogether. That policy

:43:01. > :43:05.will help people in Wales more than in any other part of the country.

:43:05. > :43:12.So I continue to argue the policy for Westminster that I feel will be

:43:12. > :43:19.beneficial to people in Wales. in your speech, you had a big clap.

:43:19. > :43:23.That was your natural territory, kicking the Conservatives. A no. My

:43:23. > :43:27.familiar territory where I feel comfortable is standing up for

:43:27. > :43:31.people in Wales and a decent public services wherever they have gone

:43:31. > :43:38.wrong. But you have done a deal with Labour, and that suits you

:43:38. > :43:44.better. What suits me is being able to deliver an additional �450 for

:43:44. > :43:48.every child on free school meals. That is a huge thing for schools

:43:48. > :43:52.across Wales, and it begins to address the issue of the gap in

:43:52. > :43:57.funding which has arisen, and it addresses one of the weaknesses of

:43:57. > :44:00.the Welsh economy, which is that we are a low-skill economy. Getting

:44:00. > :44:04.education right will hopefully bring an end to that in the future.

:44:04. > :44:09.Would you have done that deal, had there been a Conservative

:44:09. > :44:13.government in the Welsh Assembly? I know that his crystal ball gazing

:44:13. > :44:17.and hypothetical, but in terms of a natural fit for Kirsty Williams,

:44:17. > :44:25.you are more at ease with the Labour Party than with the

:44:25. > :44:27.Conservatives. What I am at ease with is you -- using Liberal

:44:28. > :44:32.Democrat influence to achieve good things for the people of Wales and

:44:32. > :44:40.to make a difference. That has been the hallmark of this conference.

:44:40. > :44:43.Wherever you find the Welsh Liberal Democrats, in the assembly or at

:44:43. > :44:46.Westminster, we want to use the influence we have to make a

:44:46. > :44:54.difference for people. We are doing it in cities and towns across the

:44:54. > :44:57.nation. What will be the message for these elections in May? You

:44:57. > :45:07.have always represented yourselves as the party of local government.

:45:07. > :45:10.

:45:10. > :45:14.We will campaign hard, reminding people that when they alleged a

:45:14. > :45:17.Liberal Democrat councillor they're electing someone to represent them.

:45:17. > :45:26.Where we run and councils we have seen improvements in public

:45:26. > :45:32.services. Recycling rates in Cardiff had shot up. We do it by

:45:32. > :45:37.delivering good services, value for money. In Swansea this year, a 0%

:45:37. > :45:42.council tax rise. We offer individuals who will champion in a

:45:42. > :45:49.community. I am told Nick Clegg is waiting for you outside, so you'd

:45:49. > :45:56.better go. That it is it.

:45:56. > :46:01.With me now is Gareth Hughes. What kind of conference has it been?

:46:01. > :46:05.They have talked about all kinds of things that none of the rest of the

:46:05. > :46:10.population would consider. For instance, would you like another

:46:10. > :46:15.election for the national parks? Surprise, surprise, they decided we

:46:15. > :46:17.needed another elections. We have elections for a police

:46:17. > :46:24.commissioners, councils and national parks if they get their

:46:25. > :46:34.way. And we will be doing about - that we will be doing that on an

:46:34. > :46:38.STV. It has been quite quiet, hasn't it? They are all out on the

:46:38. > :46:42.doorsteps with leaflets. There are local elections coming, those

:46:42. > :46:47.magazines have to be delivered. That is what being a Liberal

:46:47. > :46:53.Democrat is about. What are your thoughts on Nick Clegg's speech, it

:46:53. > :46:58.was not the rousing speech one would expect? It was a bit of a cut

:46:58. > :47:05.and paste the speech. It was very similar to one you didn't Scotland

:47:05. > :47:10.yesterday. The same themes, things like, our counsellors are doing a

:47:10. > :47:15.good job. We're doing a good job. We're holding those nasty Tories

:47:15. > :47:18.back in the coalition and Westminster. It is a part they are

:47:18. > :47:24.playing to deliver the moderate message that comes out of

:47:24. > :47:29.Westminster. That is the theme, and he delivered it reasonably well.

:47:29. > :47:33.you think that message is resonating with the people at home,

:47:33. > :47:38.that they are delivering, for our people are just feeling of those

:47:38. > :47:43.cuts? I do not think the polls are saying the message are getting

:47:43. > :47:48.through. They have flat lined in the polls for a long, long time.

:47:48. > :47:52.Maybe in local elections they might get a bit of a boost because their

:47:52. > :47:58.record locally it have been reasonably good. Unfortunately,

:47:58. > :48:03.most people do not vote on local election results, they vote on what

:48:03. > :48:09.is happening nationally. They still have real difficulties, standards

:48:09. > :48:14.of living is dropping and people are having a tough time. That

:48:14. > :48:18.translated to the way people vote in a local election, I would think

:48:18. > :48:24.they will probably not do as well this time as they did four years

:48:24. > :48:32.ago. Four years ago was a very good result for the Liberal Democrats.

:48:32. > :48:37.They are starting from quite a high point for them. If they do lose,

:48:37. > :48:43.would it be so bad? Swings in local government a quite dramatic when

:48:43. > :48:48.they do happen. I would think that because Labour in Wales tend to do

:48:48. > :48:53.well when there is a Conservative government in Westminster. We have

:48:53. > :48:59.got a coalition and Westminster now, but Labour tend to do very well in

:48:59. > :49:03.local elections. It is a barometer as to how you feel about the

:49:03. > :49:07.National Government. I am not sure that the Liberal Democrats will be

:49:07. > :49:11.able to overcome that tremendous burden that they have for being in

:49:11. > :49:16.government in Westminster. Liberal Democrat councillors are the

:49:16. > :49:21.bedrock of the party. What happens if they lose quite a lot of them

:49:21. > :49:27.the local elections? It could have a dramatic effect on the parties.

:49:27. > :49:31.This is what happens in every party. All parties now organise themselves

:49:31. > :49:35.either by not going out on the doorsteps at all and by doing

:49:35. > :49:41.telephone canvassing, but if you really want to make an effort and

:49:41. > :49:46.get to the people you have got a knock on doors. If you lose your

:49:46. > :49:49.councillors, then that party machine locally is not there. So in

:49:49. > :49:55.subsequent elections it is much more difficult for that party to

:49:55. > :49:59.have an impact. If they do lose their local government's seeds,

:49:59. > :50:03.then the next election and that they stand for, they will have

:50:03. > :50:09.greater difficulties. What is your prediction for those local

:50:09. > :50:15.elections? I would think that they will do badly. I think Labour will

:50:15. > :50:22.gain some control, certainly Swansea and Newport, Cardiff is

:50:22. > :50:27.more difficult to read. The Liberal Democrats have got a very big,

:50:27. > :50:32.while we do not have an overall majority, but they are the largest

:50:32. > :50:41.party. Whether they can succeed in holding all those seats, I do not

:50:41. > :50:47.know. They are holding power here, and they have been coalition on a

:50:47. > :50:55.number of other councils. They have quite a lot of power at the moment.

:50:55. > :51:00.This may continue because often councils are hung councils. It is

:51:00. > :51:03.the parties that are the most flexible to do a deal. One thing

:51:03. > :51:08.that we know about the Liberal Democrats is that they will do

:51:08. > :51:12.deals. Small parties have to. I would envisage a they will do deals

:51:12. > :51:22.were there is no overall majority, they will go into bed with one

:51:22. > :51:24.

:51:24. > :51:29.party or another. In Cardiff that they are in bed with Plaid Cymru.

:51:29. > :51:38.It varies according to the local authority. Do not rule them out,

:51:38. > :51:44.they will probably be in power, but perhaps not on their own. We are

:51:44. > :51:48.joined now it buying a representative from the

:51:48. > :51:54.representatives of small businesses. You're doing the rounds of all

:51:54. > :51:59.conferences. What do you make of this lot? It is a very interesting

:51:59. > :52:05.conference. As Gareth has said, this party often holds the balance

:52:05. > :52:10.of power. We know the internal challenges they face. Plaid Cymru

:52:11. > :52:20.has a conference coming up just after its leadership. Each of the

:52:21. > :52:23.

:52:23. > :52:26.parties are different. The agendas are mainly the same. In terms of

:52:26. > :52:31.what they're offering in terms of business, have they got a plan that

:52:31. > :52:36.will sell well on the doorstep? think so. There are very localised

:52:36. > :52:40.party and get a lot of the issues that affect local people. Things

:52:40. > :52:45.about the town centre, the business conditions that his local people

:52:45. > :52:49.day-in and day-out. It is easy to talk about the economy, price of

:52:49. > :52:56.oil and diesel, but the things that really matter to people are, will I

:52:56. > :53:03.be able to get a service, will I be forced to pay for my parking, and

:53:03. > :53:07.we had a lot of conversations this morning about Merthyr Tydfil. These

:53:07. > :53:11.are real life questions. In the past they have done quite well and

:53:11. > :53:15.the bigger scheme of things. They are obviously facing a big

:53:15. > :53:20.challenge now because of the coalition. You were in touch with

:53:20. > :53:26.many small businesses across the country, when it comes to local

:53:26. > :53:32.elections they are more keen on voting for someone in Cardiff and

:53:32. > :53:35.London. Is it down to what happens locally? We in the media say it

:53:35. > :53:40.events in London are really going to colour this, but you don't think

:53:40. > :53:44.so? People will vote in local elections because they are

:53:45. > :53:49.interested in those elections. The question for the Lib Dems is how

:53:49. > :53:52.they can connect with the people who vote on what really matters. We

:53:53. > :53:57.need to understand the context of what is happening in Westminster,

:53:57. > :54:01.but we also need to understand what is happening on the ground and how

:54:01. > :54:05.engaged local councillors are. Maybe these elections will be all

:54:05. > :54:10.about what happens locally, the size of the pot holes and so forth,

:54:10. > :54:14.and ignore what is going on in London? Partly, but it is

:54:14. > :54:18.impossible to escape from the overall picture. When there are

:54:18. > :54:21.headlines in the paper Daily and news bulletins talking about

:54:21. > :54:26.difficulties, the difficult decisions that the coalition

:54:26. > :54:29.government is making. When you see protest and hear the word

:54:29. > :54:33.compromise all the time it is quite a big ship to have to turn around

:54:33. > :54:38.for these local elections. This is what Nick Clegg and Kirsty Williams

:54:38. > :54:43.have tried to do today. Where you heard the word compromise, we are

:54:43. > :54:50.saying the word influence. When you hear difficult decisions, we say

:54:50. > :54:54.make a difference. There will be specific instances of what has

:54:54. > :54:58.happened to improve people's lives, this is what they will say to

:54:58. > :55:03.people on the doorsteps. These conferences are meant to put a

:55:03. > :55:08.spring in the step while at -- before it these people go out on to

:55:08. > :55:16.the doorsteps. Has this conference done that? For those that are here,

:55:16. > :55:19.yes, it has been fairly quiet. But there will be many, many Liberal

:55:19. > :55:24.Democrat who want to be there. Those who are here will feel they

:55:24. > :55:29.have heard the message they wanted, and it is galvanising those who

:55:29. > :55:35.have not turned up which is the challenge. It has been a difficult

:55:35. > :55:39.a week for Kirsty Williams. There expect -- leaders are expected to

:55:39. > :55:45.feel in fine form at the party conference. This is a doctor who

:55:45. > :55:49.recently lost her father. He was buried this week. The pressure

:55:49. > :55:54.would be on her to be here, to give that speech and to give that

:55:54. > :55:58.leadership, and that is what she has had to do. There has been no

:55:58. > :56:03.sign today of what she is undoubtedly going through. She gave

:56:03. > :56:10.a very good speech, there is always a moment where you feel she is

:56:10. > :56:17.connected to those in the hall. She knows them, and they know her.

:56:17. > :56:22.let's get predictions. That we have got Cardiff, Wrexham, Swansea, they

:56:22. > :56:27.are not going to gain any more, are they? They will not gain anywhere,

:56:27. > :56:31.they're going to lose out. The question is can they hold on to

:56:31. > :56:37.Cardiff. Whether it is managing expectations, I do now know, but I

:56:37. > :56:43.never Labour sources saying Cardiff will be tougher for us to grab it

:56:43. > :56:48.back. It will be hard enough perhaps for them to get their

:56:48. > :56:53.supporters out as well as watching what other parties are doing. They

:56:53. > :56:58.will take a battering, they pretty much said so on the stage today. It

:56:58. > :57:04.is just about trying to prevent it being a worst battering ram they

:57:04. > :57:08.are prepared for. Where next? Cymru. Which gives us a couple of

:57:08. > :57:15.weeks to breed before the next one. And they will have a new leader by

:57:15. > :57:25.then. And we get the results? is a another very close race. No-

:57:25. > :57:29.

:57:29. > :57:35.one knows who is going to win. is it from us. Next up hot on the