Lib Dem leader Ed Davey gave his keynote speech to conference today! We’ve pulled some of the highlights for you – but if you want to read the full speech you can find it here.

Boris Johnson’s Conservative Government is steering us all into another terrible crisis.

Ed started on the supply chain crisis

“Boris Johnson’s Conservative Government is steering us all into another terrible crisis.

Shoppers greeted by empty shelves in the supermarket.

House building stopped for a lack of materials.

Pubs running dry.

Fears that there won’t even be enough toys or turkeys for Christmas.

It’s enough to make you need to go and lie down – but we’re even facing a shortage of mattresses!”

As Liberal Democrats, we believe in an equal, open, green society in which everybody has the chance to succeed. Whether giving power to local governments to lead the communities that they know best or fighting for a Britain that steps up to its international obligations, we want the UK to represent the people who live here – not just a small group of Westminster politicians and elites.

I’m proud that we affirmed these beliefs at conference today. As Liberal Democrats we are committed to:

• Liberty. Individuals have the right to make their own decisions as long as it causes no harm to others
• Equality. We cannot have true liberty without equality. This includes equality in education and access to public services, a welfare state safety net, equality before the law and opposition to all forms of discrimination
• Democracy. Citizens are empowered to make their voices heard and checks and balances exist for those in power.
• Community. We support a diverse range of organisations which encourage individuals to come together in pursuit of common goals and ideas.
• Internationalism. We want to promote a fairer, more tolerant and connected world through collaboration with other nations- including, ultimately in rejoining the EU- to guarantee peace and security. We believe this approach is the best way to tackle the climate change emergency, stand up to powerful multinational corporations and promote international prosperity.
• Environmentalism: Promoting a sustainable way of producing and consuming in society in harmony with nature.

These above principles are the fundamental beliefs for us as Liberal Democrats. You can read more at the link below:

Explore our values

These principles will create a fairer society and system of government which benefits every individual within it.

Our current constitution allows for too much of the power and decision making to take place in Westminster and Whitehall. This excludes entire regions of the UK especially in England from being able to make a contribution to decisions that affect them. 

Communities feel unable to control what happens in their local areas. This leads to a  dangerous feeling of powerlessness and alienation. 

The Conservative government talks of “levelling up” the UK yet consistently hordes all the power down in Westminster. It fails to disperse decision making throughout the country. 

Healthcare data matters. But so too does privacy.  The collection and sharing of population health data is vital in advancing medical treatments and improving our nation’s health. However, the public has a right to know exactly how their data is collected, stored, and shared. 

The Government has quite happily been collecting our healthcare data without paying much attention to privacy. It’s time that changed.

We should be able to trust our government to handle our information securely and with total transparency. 

The sickening treatmeant of the Uyghur people by the Chinese Government is genocide. 

And we cannot stand idly by while these gross violations of human rights are perpetrated. 

The Uyghur population are being rounded up and forced into internment camps.