The Liberal Democrats have a campaign song - all about the slogan that sums up what we are about this election - “Change that works for you”.

This was the background to Nick Clegg’s keynote speech to Lib Dem Party Conference last weekend.

The full version can be downloaded from ITunes here!

I’ve just returned from Birmingham as one of the delegates from Bury Liberal Democrats to the Party’s national Spring Conference.

There’s a link to Nick Clegg’s speech to Conference below - well worth a read. In a statement Nick said:

I’m not the kingmaker.

45 million voters are the kingmakers.

Today I’ve used my keynote speech to our Spring Conference in Birmingham to make that one very simple, very important point. Some days the papers say our party is doing a deal with Labour. Some days the Conservatives. But they can’t predict the future. I can’t predict the future.

Voters should give politicians their marching orders - not the other way around.

We’ve made it clear how our Party will change Britain.

Under the Liberal Democrats, no-one will pay tax on the first £10,000 they earn. That’s the most fundamental change to the tax system for decades.

We will give every child the fair start they deserve, by reducing class sizes and increasing one to one tuition in our schools.

We’ll rebalance the economy so that Britain is no longer just betting on things, but Britain starts building things again.

And we will build a clean, open, fair politics.

Things don’t have to be the way they are. The coming election is a chance to get fairness and to get change.

Almost 1 in 4 voters chose the Liberal Democrats at the last election. If that increased to 1 in 3, we could lead the next government.

That is what we can achieve together. Thank you for all you are doing to bring it about.

With all best wishes,

I’m in Birmingham as one of Bury Liberal Democrat’s reps to our national conference.

Vince Cable spoke to Conference today. Here’s his statement and a link to his speech:

I have a very simple message for you. We the Liberal Democrats were right about the financial crisis. We warned of the dangers and led the debate when the crisis came. And now we have a clear vision for the future of the British economy.

Now the public wants to know who can guide the country out of the present crisis. Who’s going to deal with the broken, discredited banking system. Who’s going to lead Britian out of the longest recession since the War. And who will deal with the unsustainable level of Government borrowing.

Today in my speech to Liberal Democrat Party Conference I set out the Liberal Democrat answers to these questions. You can read it here.

The challenges are enormous. We have to be frank with people about the difficulties ahead. We have to be fiscally responsible. But the Tories and their cronies want to create a financial panic to frighten people into voting for them on May 6th.

Only the Liberal Democrats have identified £15bn of savings to make from bloated bureaucracy and unaffordable commitments. We will identify our priorities and debate them publically. That’s open, democratic and Liberal.

Only the Liberal Democrats will invest in jobs with a Green New Deal.

Only the Liberal Democrats will change our unfair tax system so that 3.6 million people will no longer pay any income tax at all. Pensioners will be £100 better off and the average person’s income tax bill will be cut by £700.

People are desperate to see the back of this Labour Government. But they don’t want the same old Tories. And make no mistake, the Tories are exactly the same.

Thank you for what you are doing in the Liberal Democrat campaign to change Britain for real.

Today at a speech to Barnado’s Nick Clegg announced one of our four key policies for the General Election campaign ahead - A Fair Start for Every Child.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today pledged to give every child a fair start in life by investing an extra £2.5bn in schools which could be used to cut class sizes, offer one-on-one tuition and provide catch-up classes.

In a speech to Barnardo’s this morning, Nick Clegg set out the Liberal Democrat manifesto pledge to introduce a Pupil Premium which would raise the poorest children’s school funding to private school levels.

Commenting, Nick Clegg said:

“One of the biggest challenges we face as a country is breaking this link between financial deprivation at home and educational under-achievement in the classroom.

“Despite all the money that has been spent by Labour, schools taking disadvantaged children aren’t getting the money they need to break this link by cutting class sizes and providing them with extra support.

“As we work our way out of this recession and rebuild a country which is fairer, we must ensure our school system gives every child a chance to fulfil their potential irrespective of their background and where they live.”

View a full copy of the speech here.

Read the rest of this entry.

A huge thank you to everyone who made it out for our final leafleting session for 2009 yesterday - leafleting in heavy show on Holyood Road yesterday.

Nick Clegg: Conference 2009

This was Nick’s speech to Party Conference - Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats: Speech to Conference 2009.

My favourite quote? “If you supported Labour in 1997 because you wanted fairness. You wanted young people to flourish. You wanted political reform. You wanted the environment protected. Or you simply believed in a better future. Turn to the Liberal Democrats. We carry the torch of progress now.”

In the last eight weeks, 28 British soldiers and Royal Marines have been killed in Afghanistan. However easy it may be to forget, we are a nation at war. Already more than 75,000 British men and women have done tours of duty in Afghanistan.

Thousands upon thousands of our compatriots, putting their lives on the line in the burning heat and the frozen winters of a country on the other side of the world. I want to pay tribute, on behalf of all of us, to the tenacity, bravery and extraordinary professionalism of every one of them. Their families, too, have borne with incredible fortitude the separation, the fear, and the anguish of bereavement. We salute them.

I’m afraid the hardship has been deepened, for all of them, by the enormous difficulties of this war. After nearly 8 years, victory not only seems more distant than ever, failure seems inevitable unless we change course.

Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

Nick Clegg has today launched a new Liberal Democrat pledge to put service personnel and their welfare at the heart of our defence policy.

Nick said: “Many soldiers fighting on the front line are on salaries lower than those of trainee police and fire fighters. 13,000 members of the armed forces take home less than £17,000 each year. Under Labour, our lions are being paid peanuts.

Our servicemen are being sent to fight in treacherous conditions in Afghanistan while living close to the poverty line. It is time to stop short-changing our troops.

That is why if elected, the Liberal Democrats would ensure that no service personnel receive less basic pay than someone starting out in the Police or fire brigade.

If you believe our troops should receive better pay, then help us spread the word. Please make sure all your friends know about our new policy, especially those with family members serving in the Armed Forces.

To back the campaign and help spread the word, see my website: NickClegg.com/ArmedForcesPay

Nobody can put a price on the sacrifices our troops make on our behalf - but we can start rewarding them properly”

The Liberal Democrats have launched a new campaingn about public spending - you can find out all the details at www.NickClegg.com/InTheKnow

As Liberal Democrats, we’re firmly committed to new public spending in important areas - such as delivering our green new deal on jobs and housing, lowering infant class sizes and cutting student debt. These are all central to our vision of a better, more liberal Britain.

But if we want to get the most we possibly can from our public services and direct money where it is needed most, we must do more. Our national budget is going to be tight for years, if not decades. So we need to cut out all wasteful spending in order to protect vital frontline services.

Hardworking nurses and teachers tell me how frustrated they are by the money which is still wasted on needless paperwork, administration and computer systems that don’t work.

David Cameron and Gordon Brown are having a sterile debate about the size of the total Whitehall budget. But they’re asking the wrong question: we first need to find out if money is being spent on the right things.

Instead of politicians in Westminster lecturing about how this can be done, I want to ask the people who know most about how public services are run: public servants. The people who are best placed to tell us where money isn’t well spent are the teachers, nurses, social workers and other public servants who work so hard, day and night, to serve people.

We are ‘Asking the People in the Know.’

So if you work in the public sector - or have family, friends or colleagues who do - then please visit, and encourage them to visit, our new website to give us your ideas - so we can make sure that every penny of our money is well spent.

The local LIberal Democrats have recently been informed of the death of Sam Crilley. Sam was 89.

Sam, was a very active Liberal for many years in the Prestwich & Whitefield area, and we believe the Liberal Party candidate on a number of occasions for the then Middleton and Prestwich Parliamentary constituency.

Sam will be fondly remembered by Liberal activists in Prestwich.

The funeral is on Thu 6th Aug, from 11am at the Unitarian Church on the A56 in Altrincham “by the Loretto Convent”. http://www.altrinchamunitarians.org/

Tomorrow is polling day for the European Election and several key Borough by-elections.

European elections have traditionally been low-key and largely ignored by the press, this time they are mentioned in
every news bulletin, and the media have begun to notice that the Lib Dems do have unique selling points.

Sunday’s Observer leader says

This Thursday’s vote is being held in a uniquely febrile climate. It should be about Europe; it will be about the expenses scandal. On both counts, it is a moment to reward the principled consistency of the Liberal
Democrats.

And in yesterday’s Guardian

The case for supporting the Liberal Democrats is now very strong. People should remember, too, that on two other great crises - the debt-driven collapse of high finance and climate change - the Lib Dems led the way.”

Remember, due to the list system used in the European election, the difference between electing Helen Foster-Grime as our second Lib Dem MEP, or the BNP’s odious Nick Griffin may come down to just a handful of votes!

Nick Clegg has taken a strong stand on cleaning up Parliament and leading the call for a complete overhaul of our political system. Last week at Prime Minister’s Question Time he challenged Gordon Brown to reform our electoral systems. Now even Brown’s own ministers are echoing Nick’s call.

Nick is making the case to:
- Give people the right to sack MPs
- Stop all big party political donations
- Elect the House of Lords
- Make the voting system fair - so that governments can’t just get all that power and all that money with only a minority of you voting for them
- Put an end to self serving politics and put you back in charge
- But Nick can’t do it all on his own. He needs our help.

The Liberal Democrats have launched their manifesto for Europe: “Choose a different, better future”

Labour’s recession is hurting people badly.

- Unemployment is rising every day
- People are worried their businesses could go under
- Every week people are losing their homes
- Ministers are too busy fighting among themselves to govern properly

The Liberal Democrats will give people the help they need.

Read the rest of this entry.

Nominations have now closed for the elections for the European Parliament on 4 June 2009. This is the full statement of persons nominated.

Liberal Democrat list is headed up by our existing Member of the European Parliament Chris Davies MEP. Chris is a great friend to our area and has been to Prestwich on many occasions. Here’s his campaign website.

Meanwhile Prestwich residents are being encouraged by Bury Council to “vote early” or vote by post” with the following message:

Prestwich residents are being encouraged to vote early, or use a postal vote, in the forthcoming European elections.
Read the rest of this entry.

Thousands of people in Bury will be taken out of income tax altogether by new tax proposals launched by the Liberal Democrats. And thousands more will see their income tax bill slashed by £700 a year.

The plans were launched by Party Leader Nick Clegg on 20th April who said that they would boost family budgets battered by rising food, power and transport prices. The plans call for the personal tax allowance to be raised to £10,000

Vic D’Albert, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Bury South said, “Thousands of families on low income in Bury will benefit from this tax cut. They will be lifted out of income tax altogether.

“People earning over £10,000 will pay £700 less income tax a year, paid for by ending the loopholes and tax avoidance schemes used by the wealthy and big corporations.

Richard Baum, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Bury North added, “Ordinary people are struggling because of the recession. Now is the time to make a far reaching and permanent change to the tax system that benefits those on low and middle incomes. Liberal Democrats want to see more money left in the pockets of ordinary people rather than taken away by the Government.

“Here in Bury Liberal Democrats will be going into the general election committed to a lasting income tax cut.”

Prestwich Councillors Andrew Garner, Ann Garner and Tim Pickstone - Richard Baum was taking the picture…

A (very) early start this morning for some of your local Councillors as we went to help the Liberal Democrats in the Moston area of Manchester who have a local council by-election today. The Liberal Democrat candidate who is campaigning to take a seat from Labour is Tim Hartley.

In a small piece of history, I think this is the first every local by-election to be fought on a Maunday Thursday. The law recently changed to allow by-elections to take place today.

I’ve just come back from the Liberal Democrat’s Spring Conference, which was in Harrogate. As my day job involves working for a part of the Party, I don’t get to see as much of the debate and policy making as I might like, but here are some highlights of what happened.

Nick Clegg’s speech - “Think big, choose a better future”

(Watch the videos - here’s part 1, here’s part 2)
Liberal Democrats back plans for 20 hours of free childcare
Lib Dems call for real action to help the people of Gaza
Liberal Democrats back plans to cut primary class sizes to 15
Vince Cable’s Speech to the Conference
Lib Dems back plans to scrap tuition fees

The Liberal Democrats have published their Freedom Bill, detailing how the party plans to roll back the authoritarian laws passed by both Labour and Conservative governments which have undermined civil liberties.

Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords protest the restrictions on demonstrating outside Parliament during the passage of the Serious and Organised Crime Act.

The legislation is the first time a major political party has collated all of the laws which have undermined civil liberties into one Bill, so that they can be easily repealed. By axing expensive and ineffective measures that hinder and keep tabs on innocent people, the Bill will help switch efforts to catching the guilty instead.

The 20 measures contained in the draft legislation will:
- Abolish the veto in the Freedom of Information Act that allows ministers to keep information secret
- Scrap the expensive mandatory ID card scheme
- Remove all innocent people from the DNA database, except for those tried for a violent or sexual offence
- Stop councils and others snooping by restricting the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to serious and terrorist offences
- Regulate CCTV to protect privacy following a Royal Commission on the use of cameras

You can view the bill in detail, comment on the draft and sign up to back the campaign at http://freedom.libdems.org.uk

Inevitably the economic circumstances at the time of the next general election will play a large part in determining how, over what timescale, and at what cost, our commitment to giving every child the best chance in life will be delivered.

Nonetheless, in the midst of the most severe economic crisis for half a century, we need to demonstrate that ambitious policies for our children’s futures can be afforded. Further tax rises or borrowing are simply not credible sources of finance for current spending. Only with reallocation of funds from lower priority government spending can we be certain we can meet these costs.

Over the last 6 months, the Liberal Democrats have been carrying out a thorough and painstaking review of all central government spending. We have identified items of current expenditure that we believe are wasteful, wrong, unnecessary, or of low priority that in total would provide £20 billion to be reallocated to Liberal Democrat priorities. Those priorities will be spelled out in our manifesto.

We will release the full details of our spending review in the run up to the general election; the partial list in this paper, however, comprises the first part of that review. We are publishing this list in order to underline the importance that we attach to investing in the future of Britain’s children.

It will also serve to demonstrate that our purpose in identifying these savings is to reallocate funds to other priorities. Gordon Brown’s continued allegations that we would cut net spending overall by £20 billion are totally untrue.

Taken together, the cost of these proposals would amount to £6.6bn by year three of a Liberal Democrat Government (the point at which we would hope to bring in 20 hours free childcare for all children 18 months and over). The savings identified to meet potential costs on this scale would direct an additional £4.6bn into education spending from savings in other departments, with just over £2bn of current education departmental spending also redirected to Liberal Democrat education priorities. Full details of the proposed policies in these areas will be released in the coming weeks and debated at our Spring Conference in Harrogate in March.

Take a look at this page on the Liberal Democrat website.

PROPOSALS from the Liberal Democrats for big improvements to schools and teaching will see around £11 million of extra cash for schools in Bury to boost the education and life chances of thousands of children say local party members.

The plans were launched by Party Leader Nick Clegg and Shadow Secretary of State for Schools, David Laws MP. They call for raising standards in all local schools; closing the gap between children from rich and poor families and ending the era of Government meddling in education.

Speaking about the proposals to a meeting of members and residents, Councillor Tim Pickstone, who leads the Lib Dems in Bury said:

“There are a number of radical ideas to ensure all young people get the best start in life. The extra cash will make a real difference in our local schools.

“I am particularly pleased that funding is proposed to cut infant class sizes to private school levels of 15.

“We will also introduce a £2.5bn Pupil Premium, to ensure that extra funding goes to the pupils with the highest needs, whichever school they are in. And some of that extra money will pay for after school and Saturday classes, and extended school days.

“We will also get central government off the back of schools, teachers and pupils. The days of ministers in Whitehall stifling schools and interfering with everything that happens in the classroom must end.

“Schools here in Bury need to be freed to teach children rather than spend their time obeying ministerial orders and trying to achieve government targets.

“The schools proposals put forward by the Liberal Democrats will go a long way to ensuring that the many thousands of local children who go to local schools have at least as good a start in life as the small number who are educated privately.”

The proposals will be debated at the party’s spring conference in Harrogate in March.

A shocking dossier from the Liberal Democrats has revealed just some of the ways our taxes are being wasted on extravagant and incompetent projects.

Despite the hardship many local families and residents face, Labour found £130 million to refurbish the Ministry of Justice’s office, £29 million to build accommodation for asylum seekers which was never built, £7 million for chauffeur-driven cars for ministers in just one year - and £50,000 for a party to which only 20 guests were invited!

A massive £13 billion has also been spent on an NHS records system which doesn’t work.

How our money is wasted

* £13 billion on an NHS record system that is a complete failure
* £130 million on refurbishing Ministry of Justice offices
* £81 million on a Department of Transport economy drive that was supposed to save £57 million
* £29 million on accommodation for asylum seekers that was never built
* £265.8 million the amount the government spent on advertising, marketing and public relations in 2007/8, an increase of £197.2 million since 1997-98
* £200 million wasted over the past five years on IT projects that were never completed
* £7 million on chauffeur driven cars for ministers in one year
* £28.78 million in rent for unoccupied houses for soldiers and their families
* £330 million overspent by government departments on their premises
* £4.2 million by the Government’s Qualifications & Curriculum Authority on hotel rooms in an 18 month period
* £50,000 on a party to which only 20 guests were invited
* £2,000 each on image and public speaking training for Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Culture Secretary Andy Burnham

On his first anniversary as leader, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg will today set out plans to put Britain on a Green Road out of the Recession, creating jobs and leaving a legacy that will save energy, put money back into people’s pockets and fight climate change.

The plans will cost £12.5bn, which would be paid for by scrapping the proposed VAT cut. The vast majority of that money will be spent immediately, making a real impact on the economy and people’s lives right away.

Green Road out of the Recession proposals include:
· A five-year programme to insulate every school and hospital, with 20% completed in the first year
· Funding insulation and energy efficiency for a million homes, with a £1,000 subsidy for a million more
· Building 40,000 extra zero-carbon social houses
· Buying 700 new train carriages
· Reopening old railway lines and stations, opening new ones, electrifying the Great Western and Midland mainlines and beginning the Liverpool light rail network
· Installing energy and money saving smart meters in every home within five years

Monday night was the Annual General Meeting of Bury Liberal Democrats, and also our candidate selection for the Bury North Constituency for the next General Election. Members considered the success of the party at a local level in the last year, and elected new Officers for 2009.

In 2008 I’ve been chair of the Local Party, a great job, but one that I was very happy to pass on to our new chair for 2009 Nissa Finney. I’m sure Nissa and new team of officers will do an excellent job taking the local party forward in the coming year.

Bury Lib Dem’s new Chair Nissa Finney congratulating our new Parliamenary Candidate for Bury North Richard Baum

We also held the “hustings” to select a Parliamentary Candidate for Bury North Constituency. Local Councillor Richard Baum as the was unanimously voted in by members. Richard is 27 and a mental health services manager is a life-long Bury resident and has been a Councillor for St Mary’s ward in the Borough since May 2007. I’m sure he will be an excellent standard bearer for the Lib Dems in Bury North next time - you can read about what he says about his selection here.

I’ve just come back from nearly a week at the Liberal Democrat’s Party Conference in Bournemouth. This was Nick Clegg’s first major Autumn Conference as Leader, and delegates gave him a brilliant response. Here’s his main speech to conference:

Some important decisions were made by Conference, not least important vision and values paper “Make it Happen”. Other important policy decisions include our new Transport Policy and a response to the current mortgate and financial crisis. You can read more about the Conference proceedings here.

Outside of being a Councillor, my paid job is for the Party, so conference is a busy working period. This included meetings, running training sessions and organising fringe debates on issues such as Renewable Energy, Comunity Transport and fair votes for local government. Here I am adressing the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors.

Nick Clegg MP, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, has launched an exiting new vision for Britain, and is asking for your views. Nick says:

It’s time for a change in Britain.
Families are over-stretched. Things look bad for the economy. Schools and hospitals don’t seem to be improving despite all the extra money and hard work by staff. People don’t believe politicians care, or really listen.
I want to do things differently. I’ve always thought that if we want things to really change for the better, we’ve got to open things up. We need to make sure people get heard, and can make a difference to what happens.
I believe that Britain can be better. I want us all to have a fair society, where everyone gets real opportunities and chances in life. We can make that happen by taking power from government and special interests and giving it to people and communities.
You’re probably fed up with the way so many politicians sound the same these days. What you really need to know is what we believe, what we’ll actually do - and how we’ll pay for it.
That’s why I have launched “Make it Happen”, setting out our vision for Britain, which we will be debating at our autumn conference.
I’m asking you to take a look at our ideas. Tell me what you think – and if you’ve got ideas of your own, I really do want to hear about them.
It’s no use wishing things were different. We’ve got to make it happen.
If you join with me, we can.

Download a copy of the pamphlet here

Here’s an interview with Nick Clegg which appeared on the political website “Wardman Wire”:

Last night was the Annual General Meeting of the Liberal Democrat Group on Bury Council. As we’re now up to 9 councillors, it was the largest AGM ever! The Councillors agreed a range of appointments and nominations to committees, working groups and outside bodies which will be proposed to the Annual Meeting of the Council which is next Wednesday.

I had the honour of being re-elected as Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group in Bury, a position I’ve held for the last two years. Its a great privilege to be chosen by your fellow councillors to act as their Leader, and I’m looking forward to continuing the development of the Liberal Democrats in Bury in the coming years. Cllr Andrew Garner, one of our team of Sedgley ward councillors was re-elected as Deputy Group Leader.

Tim

Liberal Democrats now hold all 9 council seats in Prestwich!
Here’s our new team of Councillors in St Mary’s Ward - Donal O’Hanlon, Mary D’Albert and Richard Baum…… Labour MP Ivan Lewis sneaks past behind.

Lib Dem Councillors elected last night Mary D’Albert, Vic D’Albert and Ann Garner with some of their group colleagues Steve Wright, Wilf Davison and Donal O’Hanlon.

More photos here

With the local elections on 1 May 2008 only a month away, an increasing amount of my time is being spent “on the campaign trail” helping Liberal Democrats standing for election for the Council. Council meetings are now almost over until the next municipal year, which gives even more time for campaigning!

In Holyrood Ward, Vic D’Albert, who’s been our councillor for an increadable 17 years is standing for re-election, and there will be a full-slate of Liberal Democrat candidates across Bury.

As the Lib Dem’s Group Leader in Bury I’ll be helping wherever I can and last night was an 0pportunity to join Mary D’Albert who is campaigning hard to become our third councillor in the next door St Mary’s Ward. Mary has lived locally in Prestwich for 25 years and will make a first class councillor. In joined Mary and her team canvassing in St Mary’s ward, and it was excellent to receive such a brilliant resposnse from local people on the doorstep. More information on Liberal Democrat canididates across Bury will be available on the Bury Lib Dem’s website after nominations have closed on Friday.

Tim

Congratulations from the Lib Dem team in Bury to the new Leader of the Liberal Democrats - Nick Clegg MP.

Nick will make an excellent Party Leader, he has an excellent track record on standing up on issues that matter. We look forward to working with him.

Nick Clegg has set out his priorities in a message to Bury residents:

“I am greatly honoured to have been chosen by my fellow party members to be the new Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Throughout Bury, Liberal Democrats are already working hard to reach out to local people and listen to their concerns. In my leadership I will be taking that  spirit nationwide, moving beyond Party Politics and making liberalism connect with the millions of people who share our values.

Labour and the Conservatives have failed Britain’s families. I will lead my party to change politics, and change Britain, for the better. Only the Liberal Democrats are committed to giving the people of Bury a greater say in the decisions that affect our lives, by shifting power away from Westminster and back to local communities.

I will fight for a fair deal for Britain’s families, campaign tirelessly to cut crime and improve our NHS so it delivers the care people need.”

Nick Clegg is going to be a great leader. Labour and the Conservatives share so many policies, the time has come for a politician who will speak up for people and local communities.

Tim