Second day speeches from Conference

http://www.freedomcentral.org.uk/2010/02/wldconf-the-movies-part-two.html has speeches from President Ros Scott, Cardiff Central MP Jenny Willott and Montgomery MP-cum-airline-magnate, Lembit Öpik.

All worth watching, writes Frank Little, but Ros Scott's in particular nails what the federal party is about, as we enter general election campaigning. 

A warning from the English NHS

Figures released today by the Liberal Democrats have revealed that the NHS in England is facing a £63bn bill for PFI hospitals which are only worth £11bn. The figures also reveal that:

• The first payments for hospital PFIs began in 1999 and the NHS still owes £58bn on 106 PFI contracts over the next three decades
• The NHS will have to pay back £7.3bn in PFI payments over the next Parliament alone (2010-2015)
• The most expensive PFI contract was for Wythenshawe Hospital where the NHS will pay back 16 times the original capital value

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb, said: “These figures reveal the disastrous reality of Labour’s stewardship of the NHS.

“We’re entering into one of the most difficult financial periods in the NHS’s history and this Government’s legacy will be a mountain of debt.

“Despite the enormous amounts of money we owe for these hospitals, many of them will never end up in public ownership. Hospitals all over the country are mortgaged to the hilt and there are serious concerns that these repayments will lead to cuts in vital services.

“We need a new approach to public services in this country. By setting up an infrastructure bank the Liberal Democrats will ensure that key projects get access to the funding they need to revitalise our economy.”

There is a warning for councils and other statutory bodies in Wales which are being pressured into adopting public-private partnerships (PPP) which are merely Labour's version of PFI.

Electoral Reform Bill must give voters real choice – Howarth

The Liberal Democrats have tabled amendments to the Government’s proposals for a referendum on electoral reform that would:

· Offer voters a real choice between first-past-the-post and a truly proportional system (Single Transferable Vote), rather than AV

· Bring forward the date of the referendum to next May

· Close a loophole allowing the next Government to kill the proposals without an Act of Parliament

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Howarth said: “Voters deserve a real choice – between the discredited status quo and a system where every vote matters and there are no safe seats.

“The Alternative Vote system is a very small step in the right direction, but it is not proportional and it does not give voters enough power over the party and the person elected as MP.

“It is also unacceptable that Labour’s amendments would make it childishly easy for the next Government to kill a referendum without further legislation.

“By acting purely out of naked self-interest, the Conservative Party has long been a roadblock to electoral reform.

“It would be far too easy for them to abandon a referendum if they win an election, which is why the Liberal Democrats have taken steps to Tory-proof the Bill.”

Lack of exit checks is the biggest hole in the student visa system

Commenting on the announcement by Alan Johnson on the student visa system, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:

“The biggest hole in the student visa system is caused by the Tory and Labour abolition of exit checks, which means we do not know if someone has left once their visa runs out.

“We need to restore immediate control of our borders.”

Broadcast media bias

Question Time panels are not at all unbalanced, says A.BBC-Spokesman, according to the Love and Liberty blog.

Seriously, if you have a complaint about bias on BBC, fill in the form at www.bbc.co.uk/complaints.

For ITV, the complaints webpage says:
Tel. 0844 88 14150
(Calls cost 5p per minute from a BT landline. Calls from other
networks may be higher, and from mobiles will be considerably
more. The Viewer Services team are available Monday - Friday
8.00am to 7.00pm and Saturdays 10.00am to 7.00pm. They are closed
on Sundays, Bank holidays and Bank Holiday weekends).
You can also email us at: viewerservices@itv.com.
Alternatively, you can write to us at:
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For CHANNEL 4:
Channel 4 welcomes feedback from our viewers. If you are unhappy
with any aspect of Channel 4, you can use the online 'Contact Us'
form or you can call us on 0845 076 0191 (lo-call number)
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Non-elected state sucking up more tax money under Brown

Commenting on Government figures published on Friday showing that the cost of running quangos has risen by almost £10bn since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, to £46.5bn, Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet Office Minister, Jenny Willott said:

“Gordon Brown has taken Labour’s obsession with unelected and unaccountable quangos to a new extreme.

“This is an obscene amount of money to spend on bodies that lack transparency and effective democratic control.

“The Liberal Democrats are the only party truly committed to bringing in a better politics for less.

“As a start, we would scrap 90 quangos and cap the salaries of senior management. This alone would help save nearly £1.2bn a year in taxpayers’ money at a stroke.”

British Gas price cut no substitute for fair fuel bills all year round – Hughes

Commenting on British Gas’ decision to cut gas bills by an average of 7%, Liberal Democrat Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Simon Hughes said: 

“A price cut from one supplier in February is no substitute for fair fuel bills all the year round. 

“It is unfair that customers were forced to shiver through the recent cold snap.

“Energy companies have been taking advantage of their customers for too long. What we really need are fair fuel bills that are easy to understand.” 

2010 Spring Conference Vids

On Freedom Central:  http://www.freedomcentral.org.uk/2010/02/wldconf-the-movies.html

Welsh Liberal Democrat spring conference

On the opening day there will be speeches by Peter May, PPC for Swansea West, Roger Williams MP, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Kirsty Williams and the Federal Leader, Nick Clegg.

Subjects discussed will include The Future of Social Care, A Fair Deal for All Our Children, Fairer Taxes and Making Private Sector Housing Work.

There is a full programme of fringe events and exhibitions. For more details, see the Conference Guides on LibDem Today.

Expenses of Welsh MPs

Average expense payback of a Welsh Conservative MP - £2095 Average expense payback of a Welsh Labour MP - £2080 Average expense payback of a Plaid MP - £398.20 Expense payback of Wales's Independent MP - £110 Average expense payback of a Welsh Liberal Democrat MP - £38.50

Legg report on MPs' expenses available

Download it as a pdf or browse it from here.

Four main planks to 2010 election campaign

Party President Ros Scott reports the broad outlines of our general election campaign:

* Reform of the tax system to create a fairer base,
* introducing the pupil premium to give all children a fairer start in life,
* creating sustainable housing and jobs and
* political reform to bring in a fairer voting system, and the power for citizens to recall an MP.

It remains to be seen how the middle two subject areas, which are devolved in Wales, figure in Welsh candidates' campaigns.

Labour’s feed-in tariff plans too little too late

Liberal Democrat Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Simon Hughes said about today's Government announcement of details of its feed-in tariff scheme:

“This will disappoint anyone looking to do their bit to contribute towards our energy supply.

“Another opportunity has been squandered. While dozens of countries already support home energy generation, Labour’s plans are too little too late.

“The Government has given in to the nuclear lobby at the expense of community-led power generation.

“People who supply green energy should get a better deal if we want to cut energy bills, create green jobs and help cut emissions.”

Welsh Liberal Democrats have long supported stronger measures to encourage micro-generation and solar heating.

Government recklessly endangered lives of UK forces

Commenting on Sir Jock Stirrup’s evidence to the Iraq Inquiry, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:

“ This is yet more evidence that the Government’s pursuit of this disastrous war recklessly endangered the lives of our service men and women.

“The invasion of Iraq should never have gone ahead. But having done so, the least the Government could have done was ensure that our troops were properly equipped. Instead, they ignored the warnings of military commanders.

“Sir Jock Stirrup’s comments demonstrate that Labour irresponsibly overstretched our forces and endangered the mission in Afghanistan by trying to fight in Iraq at the same time.”

Liberal Democrats will fight for proportional representation

Commenting on BBC reports that the Government intends to put forward a referendum on the Alternative Vote for the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:

“If this is confirmed then it is a deathbed conversion to electoral reform from a party facing an historic defeat, which is why scepticism is warranted.

“The Alternative Vote is a small step in the right direction, but it is not a proportional system and it does not give voters real power over both the party and the person elected as MP.

“Only the Single Transferable Vote in multi-member seats would abolish MPs’ meal tickets for life, and we will fight to amend this proposal to give people a real choice for a more significant change.”

Frank Little, prospective candidate for Neath, added: "Blair went back on a promise to give the British people a choice of a new voting system. He ignored the recommendations in a report by Roy Jenkins, which he had commissioned. Now Brown is proposing a different, non-proportional, system. AV kept the unpopular Howard government in power in Australia for a term longer than it should have had. I note that current Neath Labour MP, Peter Hain, is a long-term fan of AV."