Hustings Part Two

Well, as I said last night, we had a great hustings meeting in Staines last night. There was an excellent turnout, and a broad range of questions. We were asked about everything from Education, to Trident, Government support for Faith Groups, and Immigration. We were well tested on our respective parties policies, and also on issues that are traditionally left to individual MPs to make personal decisions on. The audience were keen to hold us to account, and talking to many people afterwards, they said it had been helpful for them to hear us live, and it would inform their voting intentions considerably. Facing a large audience is a good test of a prospective MPs mettle. It is amazing how quickly the microphone seems to reach you as you gather your thoughts (very quickly!) to give your answer. When a question comes out of left field, suddenly even the keenest of candidates looks at the mic as if it was on fire! We have another hustings event tomorrow night at Kempton Park, and it will be interesting to see how that goes now we have heard each others answers to a lot of questions!

Manifesto

Today Nick Clegg launched our manifesto. Inside you will find the only fully costed and detailed manifesto of the General Election. Lib Dems have put together a programme for a fairer Britain, with less tax for the less well of, paid for by the better off. It commits us to investment in smaller classes for children, and it spells out how we would reform politics from top to bottom. We have been honest with the British people about how we would tackle the crippling deficit Gordon Brown has handed us. We have set out those things we think are priorities, and those which are not and we cannot afford in these difficult times for the public finances, like the hugely expensive replacement for Trident. We want a fairer Britain, built on a sustainable economy, where the banks are kept in check, and we invest in green technology. We have optimism for the future, and have a vision of a better Britain. We will deliver our promises.

Labservatives

Lib Dems started a tongue in cheek campaign this week about the two old parties. Amalgamating the two, we have the Labservatives. As they have done a pretty good job of looking and sounding the same - tired and short of ideas - this is a fun way of raising a serious issue. For 65 years the government of our country has been handed from Labour to the Conservatives and back again like a game of pass the parcel. Red-blue, blue-red politics – and look what it has got us: corrupt politics, recession, inequality , time and again. They just take turns at making the same mistakes. It has to end. It’s the same story wherever you look: together David Cameron and Gordon Brown have blocked political reform, including our plan to allow people to sack corrupt MPs. The Labservatives compete to sound tough on crime instead of doing what works to actually catch criminals and stop them committing more crimes. And the Labservatives have made UK foreign policy subservient to the interests of the United States, from the illegal invasion of Iraq to the decision to waste £100bn on replacing, like for like, the cold war era Trident nuclear submarines. Only a vote for the Liberal Democrats will move us to a point where we can break up the old status quo and deliver fresh, exciting politics for a new century. To bring real change for the better vote Lib Dem!

Trident

The Government have produced a green paper in Parliament setting the scene for a defence review after the next election. Britain faces some big decisions about what our role is on the world stage in the future, and how we see our role of the armed forces in particular. The review looks like it will look at all aspects of our defence capability with one exception. Trident has been ringfenced, and there will be no review of our nuclear capability, despite the enormous amount of money that will be spent replacing Trident. If the Government is serious about reviewing our defence capability, it must look at the viability of funding the UK's nuclear deterrent. With tens of billions of pounds at stake, no serious review would be complete without an honest assessment of its viability.

It's a Question of Cuts

We've already heard a lot about cuts in spending in the aftermath of the deep recession we now seem to be tip-toeing out of. We've also heard about budgets that are protected, talk of investment, and priorities. What we need to see now is exactly what the priorities are and where the cuts will come. That is going to be key for people in the coming election. We have spoken already about making the tax system fairer, supporting early years education. We've pledged to cut big ticket expediture like the replacement to Trident, as well as reforming and shrinking Government. I think we will only finally see what each party will cut or support when the manifestos are published, although any party that tries to fudge it will come a cropper at the election.