Kingfisher

In full: Oliver Ainsworth's speech to the Labour Conference

B.B.C. — Speaking at the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference today [Monday, the 3rd of October, 2016], Secretary of State for Health and Food Oliver Ainsworth, widely regarded as the leading figure in the Liberal Democrat party, will give the following speech:

When I gave my speech at last year's conference, we had just become a party of government, and I promised that we would have real power and authority within that government. Our record shows that my promise has been kept. Since the 2015 elections, our party has made a difference and that the Britain of 2016 embodies the values of its liberal tradition far better than at any other time under Labour's dominating shadow.

But I hear the voices of those who would call me a liar. Who would dismiss the Liberal Democrats as having become a faction of the Labour Party by our participation in their government; who would diminish our record and achievements; and who would suggest that, as a mere Health and Food Secretary, I have no real power to make a difference.

It is wrong to dismiss such voices, because behind every aspersion cast is a real and righteous passion for our liberal values and the change that they drive us to seek in this country. One year of our ministers sitting around the cabinet table has not been enough to quench the thirst in this country for real change to tackle the burning injustices in our society. We cannot dismiss that thirst as illegitimate or decry the critics in our party as mere naysayers. We must recognise the challenge and rise to the challenge they set us.

This party has kept its promise to make a difference in government and I refuse to disown its record. Acknowledging and listening to the voices that criticise us is how liberals have always made a difference in British politics, and so today I tell you: I hear you and I have listened. I will also answer you: we will do more.

I will not leave this stage and return to doing more of the same in government. When I come back next year, nobody will need to draw attention to the fact that we've made a difference, because my new promise to you all is that by next year our impact will be self-evident. The British people will feel the difference after another year of the Liberal Democrats in government.

Parliament returns in a week's time and I will be giving a speech to the House that will outline how I will keep that ambitious promise. I have listened to those who say that as Minister for Health and Food I can do nothing to bring about liberal change. I ask them to listen to me on the eighth of October.

But today, surrounded by my fellow Liberal Democrats, I intend to defend the liberal ideal itself; the ideal that must motivate everything our ministers do in whichever departments we control. This goes beyond ministerial portfolio and strikes to the heart of what our party stands for.

Because now that we are a party of government, it matters more than ever that we keep our values in sharp focus. We still face the fight to win elections and gain the confidence and consent of the British people for our work. But as a party of government we face an additional battle: we must stay true to our principles as we make the pragmatic and challenging decisions necessary in government, particularly in coalition. And we can only keep our values in focus if we have a real, concrete understanding of what they are.

I am not afraid to say that my stance is that the Labour Party has become bland and empty. Hollowed out by years of governing without principles or integrity, its ideals have been carried away on the wind.

The Prime Minister is an excellent politician, a strong colleague and a qualified statesman, and he knows that he has my respect. But while the Liberal Democrats will always forge pragmatic partnerships with other parties, coalition does not mean assimilation and it does not mean that we have to pretend to always see eye to eye with our partners.