It was great to be back in Swansea for the Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference. It’s a city that I am very familiar with as I spent a great part of my childhood growing up there. It’s a city where lots of my aunts, uncles and cousins live and that’s why I want the best for Swansea.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg told conference delegates that Swansea West was a target seat for us at this year’s General Election. Now I know that many Welsh voters have voted traditionally for one of the other main parties. So why should Welsh voters consider voting Lib Dem this time?
Labour has failed to create a society that we can call fair. Under years of Labour domination, the gap between the rich and poor has increased, our economy is in a mess and our politics has become rotten. Under the Labour government, Wales is struggling out of recession, jobs are lost and homes are repossessed. As Wales’ economy suffers more than any other part of the UK, child poverty is rising. This is not fair.
And we haven’t forgotten what the Tories did when they last had their hands on Wales. The Conservatives now want to cut everything, cut it big and cut it now. The impact of cutting this much would see crucial services in health and education suffer unnecessarily. This is not fair.
The core value defining Liberal Democrat priorities is fairness – using what little money is available in the pot to tackle inequalities that have grown under Labour. Only the Lib Dems can offer real change that works for Swansea and Wales.
We are offering a change in the tax system to make it fair. By introducing a tax on mansions worth more than £2m and closing loopholes for wealthy tax dodgers, nearly 10,000 Swansea residents will be brought out of paying income tax altogether and a further 45,000 workers will be £700 better off. We’ve balanced our books so that it’s easier for families to balance theirs at the end of the month.
Our next priority is to give our children a fair start in life and that is why the Lib Dems in Westminster will deliver more money to our education system. The extra funding we will provide will pay for more teachers, better discipline and catch-up classes so children get the individual attention they need. Children deserve a fair start.
For a fairer society, we also need economic reform. We will put an end to casino banking that caused the financial crisis by breaking up the banks, so you know your savings are safe. Our economic reforms will concentrate on building clean transport links, develop a green energy grid and ensure that jobs are sustainable for the future. These are changes that will get Wales working.
And last but not least, a major change that we have to deliver in 2010 is creating a fair, clean and local politics. This means getting rid of corrupt donations, reducing the number of MPs, giving the voters the right to sack their MP and creating a voting system where ‘safe seats’ are a thing of the past. For 2010, we must have a political system that works for the people, not the politicians.
The Liberal Democrats are treating people like grown-ups, while tired Labour and out-of-touch Tories are airbrushing posters and coming out with meaningless slogans. We know that the country faces one of the greatest crises in our public finances in generations. We, like you, know that difficult decisions must be taken. We are spelling out our priorities, spelling out the choices we would make, and spelling out how we would work for you, rather than living in denial about the dilemmas we face.
The party that will win the argument this year is the party which finds a way of marrying credibility and hope, restraint and generosity and discipline and compassion. The Liberal Democrats want to see an end to inequalities in society by offering fair tax plans, a fair start for our children, a fair and sustainable economy and fair, clean and local politics. Liberal Democrats will offer change that works for you, change that works for Swansea and change that works for Wales.
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