Ross Finnie MSP's speech to Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference
17 February 2007
Ross Finnie MSP
This morning you woke uplifted by the knowledge that there are only seventy five canvassing and leafleting days to go to the Scottish Parliament and Local Government elections. Thirty years ago, I was preparing for my first election as a candidate in Ward 20 of Inverclyde District Council. Just over thirty years ago the Scottish Liberal Party held its Annual Conference here in Aviemore in June after the Liberals had taken control of Inverclyde District Council and I had played my part by winning the seat I was to hold on to for twenty two years.
In his speech to the Conference thirty years ago Russell Johnston said this: “It is not that the challenges we face are less – in many respects they are significantly greater. The Agreement with the Government exposes us to a range of pressures which our previous political experience provides little practical guide.”
Thirty years on Russell’s prescient observation remains true. We do indeed face significant challenges. We are not in an “Agreement with the Government” instead we are in Coalition, we are in Government and that does expose us to even greater pressure than before.
But, fellow Liberal Democrats we are much better placed than we were thirty years ago both to withstand these pressures and to seize the opportunities presented by these challenges.
And we are also much better placed than any of the other major parties to respond to these challenges. Annabel Goldie’s Tories have written themselves off as a player in this election by declaring that they aim to be the principal party of opposition. A breathtaking statement of ambition that doesn’t sound like a party prepared to respond to any challenge.
The SNP’s press releases tell us that Alex Salmond is going to form a government. Apart from the fact that this seems to overlook the arithmetic of a parliament elected by proportional representation I don’t think the electorate will forget that Salmond walked away from the Scottish Parliament in 2001 and has shown little interest in it ever since. Potential First Ministers are made of rather sterner stuff – like the abilities and character of Nicol Stephen.
Tony Blair’s Labour Party has established a record of not coping with challenges From Iraq, through rendering the Home Office not fit for purpose to cash for honours New Labour is quite simply not coping.
The Party in Scotland
By contrast, we are a Party confident in ourselves. Confident, that the principles of Liberal Democracy are as relevant today as they were in the days of John Stuart Mill. Confident that we have stuck to these principles and, unlike any other party, have only changed our policies to meet the exigencies of a particular time, providing any such changes are consistent with our principles.
Confident, that we have developed into a cohesive force in the Scottish Parliament delivering on a range of manifesto commitments including: the abolition of tuition fees, free personal care for the elderly; and fair voting for local government elections. Confident, that having gone into coalition and into government, Liberal Democrat Ministers have demonstrated that they are as capable – if not more capable – than anyone else of holding the reins of power and giving the Party a credibility it has not enjoyed in living memory.
But there is no room for complacency. As a political party we are entitled to point to our record of achievements but we must also persuade the electorate that our Liberal Democrat principles and our Liberal Democrat policy platform are relevant to them and can meet their aspirations.
Our Leader, Nicol Stephen, will address Conference this afternoon and he will spell out the policy platform upon which he intends to lead the Party into the election and our programme for government. This morning, therefore, I will address the relevance of Liberal Democrat thinking to the principal challenges facing the voters.
Challenges
Climate Change
Climate Change is without doubt the biggest challenge facing the world. The profound injustice of climate change lies in the distribution of its impacts. It is the developed countries that are responsible for most human-generated greenhouse gas emissions but it is the poorest countries that are the most vulnerable to its effects.
The former American Vice President has challenged the orthodox thinking of many governments, not just the USA, with his stark portrayal of both the scale and the immediacy of the problem in the film of his book: “An Inconvenient Truth.” My sense in Scotland is that more and more people now accept Climate Change is a problem but are less certain as to the cause far less the solution.
As Liberal Democrats we should be clear that the problem of Climate Change is rooted in our individual and collective failure to live our lives sustainably. It is a fact that if Scotland’s current rate of consumption were to be repeated throughout the world we would need two planets to sustain that lifestyle. Self evidently that is not sustainable. And it is that unsustainable lifestyle that creates the imbalance between economic growth on the one hand and the conservation of our natural heritage and resources and the well-being of our people on the other,
Liberal Democrats should be equally clear as to where the responsibility lies. The preamble to our Party’s Constitution states: “We believe that each generation is responsible for the fate of our planet and, by safeguarding the balance of nature and the environment, for the long-term continuity of of life in all its forms.”
Scottish Liberal Democrats response is to set a target for Scotland to become a world leader in developing a low carbon economy, living within its environmental limits its resources and biodiversity. That is why, in Government, Liberal Democrats were instrumental in developing Scotland’s Sustainable Development Strategy: Choosing our Future and Scotland’s Climate Change Programme: Changing Our Ways. That is why Nicol Stephen has set the target of Scotland producing 100 per cent. of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050 and becoming the world leader in renewable power.
An over- centralised health service
The public now rates concerns about the health service higher than education which is a change from four years ago. The public understandably became concerned as the response by health board after health board to changing circumstances was to embark on a programme of centralisation. This trend was equally concerning to Liberal Democrats. The great Liberal William Beveridge set out the principles for the health service as a body that is responsive to the people it serves and is available on equal terms to all.
These principles were given fresh impetus yesterday afternoon when Conference debated the motion: “Better Health in our Communities” We reaffirmed our commitment to health promotion and illness prevention to effect a health service not a sickness service. We adopted a policy programme that set in train a step change in local health care provision principally through new and improved community hospitals and community health centres.
Liberal Democrats are committed to redesigning the NHS to take account of advances in treatments and medical care but our redesigned NHS will be responsive to the people it serves.
The flight from further and higher education
The Scottish economy is becoming increasingly dependent on a well educated workforce able to exploit the opportunities afforded by the bio-sciences and the re-engineering required to deliver a low-carbon economy to which we aspire. The challenge, however, is to arrest the decline in the number of post-graduate students a problem which has been highlighted recently and reported in this week’s press.
We have always believed that one of our essential liberties is freedom from ignorance so we have never had any problem as a Party in giving priority to education. In Government we have promoted policies to improve early years education, reduce class sizes and improve access to further and higher education by abolishing tuition fees and reinstating student grants.
But if we believe, as we do, that investing in the education of our people is the most important investment we cam make then we have to further. That is whu the Pre-Manifesto makes clear that Liberal Democrats steadfastly oppose the introduction of top-up fees in Scotland, Why for us the next step is to reduce the burden of student debt and ensure that fear of debt is not a barrier to education.
To arrest the flight from higher and further education Liberal Democrats believe the biggest support we can give students in Scotland is to continue to invest in higher education. A degree from a Scottish university must continue to offer excellent opportunities to exploit and harness the new technologies being developed in Scotland.
Crime rates and re-offending
Despite reductions in rates of serious crime there is a deep-seated concern in local communities about the overall rates of crime. There are also growing concerns about increasing levels of re-offending and the increase in the level of the prison population.
For Liberal Democrats the quest for freedom and justice can never end. A Liberal Democrat system of criminal justice requires the consistent application of the principles of fairness and equity to both victim and the accused. Where a court of law has found an accused person guilty, then the punishment must reflect the gravity of the offence in relation to the violation of the victim’s rights. But it does not end there. The system has to embody the principles of restorative justice and also measures to help those found guilty stop re-offending. For Liberal Democrats justice is not about dismantling the rule of law and committing every one found guilty to a lengthy prison sentence.
To morrow morning Jeremy Purvis, our Justice Spokesperson, will make a major presentation on Crime. Jeremy’s presentation will question the efficacy of short prison sentences under six moths when properly structured community service orders have been shown to be more effective in reducing levels of re-offending. Jeremy will also point up the disproportionate time spent by Prison Officers on the administration of short-term sentences which is at the expense of delivering on programmes of prisoner rehabilitation.
Liberal Democrats are clear that if we are going to reduce levels of criminal activity then not only do we have to tackle the social and economic factors contributing to deprivation and disadvantage we also have focus attention on those who have turned to crime and help them back into our communities.
Conclusion
In closing his speech at Aviemore some thirty years ago Russell Johnston, after reflecting on the challenges then facing the Party, set out the basis upon which we offered solutions: “Our approach, the Liberal Approach………..is the approach of reconciliation and compassion, of radicalism and reason,”
Because Liberal Democracy is centred on the rights and responsibilities of the individual we eschew solutions that herd our fellow citizens into simplistic groupings to be castigated and demonised. For example, we see our young people as the future not a class to be criminalised. We see our older people as individuals to be respected and enabled fully to participate in society As Liberal Democrats we engage with individuals and seek to reconcile their different aspirations. We recognise that too many of our fellow citizens are disadvantaged or discriminated against in some way and we approach their problems with compassion and tolerance.
Our policies on sustainable development, climate change, health, education and crime are radical and bold and they are also based on reasoned argument not dogma.
We are, indeed, a Party confident in ourselves but just as importantly we have confidence in the people of Scotland. We think Scotland has a bright future - and that is a Liberal Democrat future.
