Tag: Kirsty Williams

Below is the text of the speech made by Kirsty Williams, the Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Education, made at the party conference on 19 September 2016.

Conference, it’s great to be here today and to be a foot soldier in the Lib Dem fight-back.

And in Wales we’re fighting back, in government, on behalf of pupils and parents right across the country.

As Education Secretary in Wales, I’m still relatively new to Government.

Many of you here will have had the honour of leading your local councils.

Many drove devolution forward in government in Scotland and Wales previously.

And of course, many of our friends held some of the highest offices in the land during the coalition government.

Nick’s decided to call his memoir ‘Between the Extremes’. I’ve been taking some tips, and of course some of the warning signs.

But if he really wanted to experience the extremes, he should try the current Welsh Assembly.

UKIP leading Plaid and the Tories in a merry dance in opposition, pulling stunts such as the initial failure to elect the First Minister.

As the song goes, clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right….

Now, this is the first time I’ve spoken with you since the Assembly Elections.

While the result wasn’t one any of us would have wanted, I am immensely proud to have been part of a group that was, no doubt in my mind, pound for pound, the strongest and most effective in the Assembly.

I’ll be honest, being left on my own, as the sole Welsh Liberal Democrat, hurts.

But you know what makes it worse? The fact that when I look around the chamber, it is UKIP Assembly Members that replaced us.

Welsh Liberal Democrats out, UKIP in.

Never could you find two more opposing parties.

We see diversity and tolerance as a strength, not a weakness.

Farage sharing a platform with Trump says all you need to know about what they believe.

You know, in my first Education questions in the Assembly, all of the opposition parties had the chance to scrutinise my decisions.

Plaid’s spokesman stood up and asked his three questions. The Tory stood up and asked his.

UKIP?… Well he stood up… but no questions came.

Mark Reckless, you may remember him, well he let the opportunity pass by saying he had no questions this week.

Well, UKIP’s politics of intolerance, indolence and insularity will never be the answer.

Not this week, not this month, not ever.

Neil Hamilton, another blast from the past who decided to cross the border and try his luck in Wales, thought it okay to launch a sexist tirade in his maiden Assembly speech.

And when I say “crossed the border” – I mean that he crosses the border each and every day when he drives all the way from his Wiltshire home to Cardiff to take up his seat in the Assembly. Yes really!

(No wonder they supported our campaign to scrap the Severn Bridge tolls!)

Conference, I worry that the Brexit vote showed us that perhaps we progressives and liberals have rested on our laurels.

Our victories on feminism, gay rights, devolution, widening access to education, tolerance in society – they may be more fragile than we ever imagined.

We must keep making the case that these advancements are for the benefit of all.

A tolerant, more educated and liberal society is a better society for everyone.

That cause must be our motivation to get back out there, work hard, fight for our communities, and start to rebuild our party.

It can’t be done overnight, but in next year’s local elections, remember our values, then remembers theirs.

Conference, the local elections will we be our chance to start to rebuild, and we must take it.

Of course, following the election, I stepped down as leader after eight years – a role that filled me with immense pride.

But the time had come for someone else to lead to help rebuild and rejuvenate our party.

Mark Williams, who is a good friend, was always there when I needed support and advice. I will now repay that favour.

Mark, there is no-one I trust more to take this great party forward.

And of course the unexpected happened, I was offered the role of Cabinet Secretary for Education.

Conference, the decision whether to take the role wasn’t easy.

I’d spent the last decade holding the Labour Government in Wales to account. Lambasting their failings, nowhere more so than on education where Wales continues to struggle in international tables.

But there were two over-riding factors that swung the decision for me.

Firstly, I am in no doubt that in the eyes of the media, having just one AM was the equivalent of none.

We may have had a seat in the chamber, but we would be ignored – no media coverage, no FMQs, no nothing.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats silenced.

So, I took my agreement with the First Minister to a special conference. It was essential that members across Wales got the opportunity to debate and vote on delivering our manifesto.

And make no mistake, I am in government as a Welsh Liberal Democrat, guided by our values and commitments.

I’ve been fortunate to receive the support of friends, family and fellow members over the country in the last few months.

Everyone is clear that education has always been our number one priority.

It has to be: From it, stems everything we believe in.

It is our national mission that every child, no matter who they are or where they are from, has the opportunity to be the very best they can be.

I want parents dropping their kids off at the school gates to know that they are opening up the world of possibility to their child.

Every parent should have confidence that their son or daughter goes to a school that helps them grow as capable, healthy and well-rounded people.

And every parent should be able to trust the schools system to enhance their child’s opportunities, rather than hold them back.

Wales once led the way on education, parents once had that belief.

Conference, it’s my job to rebuild that belief. It’s our job to rebuild that belief. And that is what we will do.

Now, one policy that it seems the opposition is not happy with, is our plan to cut class sizes.

I’ll let the Tories and Plaid make the case to their constituents that large class sizes are a good thing. I wish them luck with that endeavor.

For teachers and parents, large class sizes are a major issue. The Welsh Liberal Democrats share that concern.

Our plan will be aimed at reducing the largest classes first, and in particular those that have a high proportion of children who qualify for free school meals.

Evidence time and time again shows that reduced class sizes can help close the attainment gap between the poorest pupils and their peers.

This policy will be linked to other reforms that will create space for teachers to teach and pupils to learn.

Our opponents are determined to paint this as a binary choice: either invest in class sizes or in teaching.

Let me be clear: they are not mutually exclusive.

Conference, the Welsh Liberal Democrats will invest in both.

Nothing proves more that we are the party of education than the fact that the Welsh Liberal Democrats prioritised education spending in budget negotiations in the previous Assembly term.

For five years, in negotiations with the Welsh Government, we consistently fought for more investment into our very own Welsh Pupil Premium, also known as the Pupil Deprivation Grant

In England, we dragged the Tories kicking and screaming to introduce this progressive policy.

In Wales, we did the same with Labour.

I will never grow tired of hearing of the homework clubs, the one-to-one tuition and the extra resources that children are getting because of us – because of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

Helping to deliver this from outside government was one of our proudest achievements.

That is why today I am announcing that it is my intention to double the Early Years Pupil Premium.

Concentrating extra resources on our youngest pupils.

Because it is our mission that every child deserves a fair start in life.

That is the benefit of a Welsh Liberal Democrat sitting around the cabinet table.

Conference, inside of government or outside of government – equal opportunity will always be our priority and it is what we will deliver.

Now, why is it that some terrible ideas simply never seem to go away?

Yes, I’m talking about grammar schools.

In England, the Tories are still banging this tired old drum, they do so in Wales too.

For them, dogma and doctrine rule the day.

As Education Secretary, evidence will guide my decisions.

And Grammar schools tick all the wrong boxes:

– Writes people off at the age of 11, lowering their aspirations – tick

– Gives the majority of pupils a second class deal – tick

– Excludes children from poorer backgrounds – tick

And to think Theresa May made this announcement under the banner of working for everyone.

Clearly irony is not dead.

Grammar schools are a policy based on myth, not evidence.

Proportionately, these selective schools have the lowest levels of children from poorer backgrounds.

Fewer than 3% of grammar school pupils are on free school meals, compared to 20% across England.

I won’t deny that there are big challenges in the Welsh education system. But all of our polices will be targeted to raise standards and address the enduring injustice of the attainment gap.

As Education Secretary, I am pursuing ‘made in Wales’ polices, shaped by the best from around the world.

In contrast, the Tories are intent on ignoring international evidence.

The OECD find that the best performing school systems do not segregate pupils.

Let me be clear conference: social mobility, opportunity and excellence in our schools will drive our agenda.

Mark my words, under no circumstance we will be seeing an expansion of grammar schools on my watch.

Under the Welsh Liberal Democrats, every child will have the opportunity to succeed. Every child.

In this new role, I also have responsibility for Higher Education.

Now, I have no interest in raking up old arguments from the past. The key is that we learn from mistakes.

That is why, ahead of the Assembly elections, I was up front and entirely clear with the nation that the Welsh Government tuition fees policy was unsustainable.

I was also clear that it was living costs, not fees, that are the barrier to poorer people enrolling at university.

Later this month, Sir Ian Diamond will be presenting his independent, cross-party review of higher education funding in Wales.

I have set out clear principles that I hope and expect the Diamond review to meet:

One: I want a progressive system that maintains the principle of universalism and ensures a fair and consistent approach across all levels of study

Two: I want a system that ensures shared investment between government and those who directly benefit.

Three: Student support should be portable for Welsh students anywhere in the UK.

And finally, this system must enhance accessibility, breaking down barriers that reduce social mobility.

Conference, not a single HE system in the UK meets these tests.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will change that.

Now, the Liberal Democrat Constitution states we believe in a society “in which no-one is enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity”.

In Wales, our party has been given the chance to put our principles into practice.

We believe in Freedom. Freedom of the individual, so everyone has the opportunity to be who they want to be and reach their full potential.

We believe in Fairness – for diversity, against intolerance – the voice for the voiceless.

And we believe in Community. Where we as individuals work together for the common good – a nation acting together to ensure that all benefit from an equal opportunity to reach the highest standards.

Education is not just a rehearsal.

It’s not simply the process of preparing our youngest people for the future workplace. It’s more than that.

It involves learners of all ages,

a united teaching profession committed to excellence,

world-leading universities and colleges forging the strongest bonds with international partners and communities at home.

No Minister can do this on their own.

No Government can do this on their own.

This is a national mission.

A National Mission that our party will help drive forward:

Reducing class sizes,

A progressive higher education system,

Raising standards in our schools,

An Academy of Leadership that develops teaching talent,

And yes, the Welsh Pupil Premium – tearing down barriers to opportunity.

I maybe the only Liberal Democrat sitting at that cabinet table – but I’m one with a growing membership behind her – motivated by the challenges and opportunities ahead of us.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats…. a party that is growing and making a difference to the lives of the people of Wales.

Be proud conference.

Thank you.

Below is the text of the speech made by the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams, to the Liberal Democrat Conference in Glasgow on 16th August 2013.

Conference,

In just over a year, the people of Scotland will come to a fork in the road.

As Liberal Democrats we must welcome the opportunity for the people of Scotland to have their voice heard in a referendum,

But also, as Liberal Democrats, we must campaign harder than ever before to persuade the people of Scotland to remain with us.

Our mantra of being stronger together in the European Union applies equally, if not more, for the union of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom.

And Conference, it is no surprise that Liberals have played such an important part in trying to create a federal Britain.

Gladstone, practically inventing the concept of home rule.

Lloyd George, championing home rule at the beginning of the last century.

Jo Grimond who called for a federal United Kingdom in his House of Commons maiden speech in 1950.

Liberals who have fought hard before us had the vision and the courage to call for greater autonomy for the people of these nations.

I would like to thank Sir Menzies Campbell for continuing that fight for home rule.

His commission, set up by Willie Rennie, seeks to put the United Kingdom on track to become a federal union.

Because we cannot allow the SNP to run the constitutional agenda of the UK.

It is up to us, Liberal Democrats, to steer that debate, and to bring it back from the extremes of separation towards a more balanced settlement.

A settlement that recognises the need for more autonomy across the UK

In Wales and Scotland  – yes

But also London, England, the regions.

On this most important of issues, people agree with us.

Only 9% of people in Wales want independence but they do want more powers

In Wales, the Welsh Liberal Democrats and I have been making a strong case for the devolution of fiscal and further powers for the National Assembly through the work of the Silk Commission.

It was hard work writing that commission into the coalition agreement in the first place

It was a struggle to get the Tories to make good on that agreement.

It will be harder still to get the Conservatives to implement its recommendations.

But I know that Nick Clegg, Danny Alexander and Jenny Randerson will push and push and push for the powers that Wales needs.

This isn’t power for its own sake.

Wales needs power over stamp duty to boost the housing industry.

Wales needs the power to vary income tax to ensure the Welsh Government takes responsibility for spending.

Wales needs borrowing powers to invest in infrastructure to stimulate the economy.

The Scots are not buying the idea of being separated either but they do want to have more say over their own affairs.

As Sir Menzies eloquently said in his commission,

“Liberal Democrats strive to ensure that individuals have the freedoms to control the circumstances of their lives for the benefit of themselves, their families and their community”.

“A federal framework with as much power as feasible exercised by the nations and regions”.

That is what our constitution says.

Because when the nations of the United Kingdom come together, we are stronger, it is a much fairer system.

Stronger and fairer because individuals and communities will have more say in the governance of their own lives.

Stronger and fairer because every part of the United Kingdom will have more responsibility over their own affairs.

Devolution and federalism, it’s not just a Scottish thing or a Welsh idea.

It is a key Liberal Democrat philosophy and a belief that we need to continue to fight for.

The Conservatives are conflicted.

Labour confused.

Nationalists just want separation.

Our view, the Liberal view for 100 years and more is the people’s view.

Now, while Willie and the Scottish Liberal Democrats are fighting the SNP government here in Scotland, the Welsh Liberal Democrats, on the other hand, are playing opposition to a weak and lacklustre Labour Government in Wales.

Labour, governing on their own, cannot be trusted to run a country.

Labour, in charge, by themselves, cannot run a decent health service that provides for those in need, or an education system that gets the best out of our pupils, or grow an economy that will give us those much needed jobs.

Ed Miliband has said that accident and emergency is the barometer of the NHS and that A&E waiting times hadn’t been met in England for the past two months.

According to Mr Miliband’s barometer “the NHS was in distress.”

I wonder what he says behind closed doors about the A&E waiting times in Wales – under the leadership of his colleague, Carwyn Jones, the most senior elected Labour politician in the UK, the First Minister of Wales, because those A&E targets have NEVER been met in Wales.

Last March, Mr. Miliband said that “We have a great deal to learn from the great things that Carwyn and his government are doing.”

Great things? Really?

If you need an ambulance urgently in Powys, the Welsh side of the border, there’s only a 50/50 chance that the ambulance will get to you within the target 8 minutes.

Are you waiting for an operation on the Welsh side of the border?

Good luck to you as you could be waiting more than 8 months for treatment while your neighbour just across the border waits 18 weeks.

Wales’ biggest hospital has been branded dangerous by the Royal College of Surgeons.

Senior medical staff are openly writing about lives being put at risk in our A&E departments.

We have cancer treatment targets that have not been met in five years, A&E targets that have never been met and ambulance response times that are by far the worst in the UK.

All this despite the huge efforts and commitment by NHS staff in Wales.

But don’t take my word for it.

Listen to senior Labour MP Ann Clwyd, who is conducting a review into the English NHS

Her verdict?

“Wales is behind England in every instance”

“Great things” Mr. Miliband?

What about education?

In Wrexham, a child on free school meals gets £450 under the Welsh pupil premium.

A child from a few miles across the border, in Chester, gets £1,300 towards their education.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats had to bring the Labour party kicking and screaming to fund the pupil premium in our budget deal. You would have thought that Labour would jump at the change of helping poorer students.

In the next budget round, my team and I are fighting to see that amount increased.

Because £1,300 per child compared to £450 per child. Well that’s simply not right.

Poorer Welsh children will fall even further behind their English counterparts.

So much for Labour’s commitment to social justice.

6 out of 22 local education authorities have been placed in special measures.

Over 65,000 children being taught in education authorities assessed as inadequate by the government’s own inspectors.

Great things, Mr. Miliband?

Or what about job creation and the economy?

On the Welsh side of the Severn Estuary, not a single brick laid and not a single job created in the Cardiff Enterprise Zone.

The Bristol enterprise zone on the other hand is employing hundreds of people since last April.

Unemployment in Wales is consistently higher than in England, especially amongst our young people.

There’s been a 35% increase in the number of apprenticeships offered in England since 2010.

In Wales, that number has fallen by a third and communities risk losing a generation of talented young people.

Welsh businesses complain

– of a muddled approach to small businesses.

– of a review of business rates sat gathering dust.

– of stifling bureaucracy and red tape.

But then the Welsh Labour Economy minister famously once said that she regretted capitalism.

Great things, Mr. Miliband?

For anyone who needs a reminder to see what Britain would look like under Labour, come to Wales.

We can show you what it’s like to have Labour in charge.

Miliband has tried to distance himself from the legacy of New Labour.

But in Wales we’ve never had new Labour, just 14 years of the same old Labour party.

So come and see for yourselves how Labour can’t be trusted to run the economy.

See for yourselves how Labour can’t handle public finances.

See for yourselves how our education system and health service struggles.

Labour has no vision for Wales.

Tom Jones may have famously sung about the Green Green Grass of Home,

But I can assure you.

The grass is not greener on Labour’s pastures.

Now if you think that Labour governing on their own is bad just what kind of country would we be living in if the Conservatives were let off the leash in Westminster?

When the Liberal Democrats were busy ensuring that the Queen’s Speech was full of new laws to strengthen our economy and ensure fairness in our society, Tory backbenchers were also busy conjuring up their own alternative legislation.

We had Steve Webb’s Pensions Bill ensuring that saving for retirement is simpler and fairer, while the True Blue squad wanted to decimate the overseas aid budget.

Ed Davey wants the Energy Bill to create as many as 250,000 jobs, creating that stronger, greener economy we all strive for.

The Tory climate change deniers want to abolish the Department of Energy and Climate Change altogether.

Liberal Democrats want to legislate to help families with the cost of childcare, supporting people who want to get back to work.

The Bone-Squad wanted to turn back the clocks and reintroduce national service for young people. And ban the burka, and abolish sexual harassment claims in the workplace, send all asylum seekers away, come out of the EU altogether, reintroduce capital punishment, and my favourite of all – a day celebrating Margaret Thatcher,

We may well laugh, but these people are serious.

And Peter Bone said those madcap ideas “could form the basis of a future Conservative manifesto.”

Well I don’t share his vision for Britain. I want my children to grow up in a country that is liberal, accepting of the fact that regardless of your sexuality, you should be able to marry the person you love.

And a country that is tolerant, recognising that diversity is a strength, not a threat,

And a country that is fair, where your future is determined by your abilities not your parent’s pay cheque.

The Liberal Democrat stamp was on that Queen’s Speech back in May.

Our Liberal Democrat team, Nick, Danny, Vince, Ed and the others, they’re all ensuring that a strong Liberal streak runs through the UK government’s policies.

Fighting to ensure that the coalition’s moral compass is pointing the right way.

A headline in the Daily Mail read……… Now, I know it’s not a promising start to a sentence in any speech but bear with me…

A headline in the Daily Mail last year read:

“I’d govern like a true Tory………… if it wasn’t for the Lib Dems.”

David Cameron’s own words.

He’s right.

If it wasn’t for the Lib Dems in government, regional pay would have been introduced, making Wales and our poor regions even poorer.

If it wasn’t for the Lib Dems in government, the police and the intelligence service would be allowed to read our emails, snooping into your affairs.

If it wasn’t for the Lib Dems in government, we would be on our way out of Europe, languishing on the side-lines without power and influence.

The Tory axe would have cut deeper into the welfare budget.

The super-rich would be hoarding more of their money, aided and abetted by Tory inheritance tax breaks.

And private companies would have taken over our schools and running them for a profit.

If it wasn’t for the Lib Dems, Britain would be a very different country now.

But with Liberal Democrats in government, we have a fairer tax system where millions of low and middle income workers see more of their hard earned money back in their pocket.

A policy that was on the front page of our manifesto.

In difficult times, these are the people who we should be helping.

Pushing the income tax threshold up and up is already having a huge impact on many people.

If you are on the minimum wage, the Liberal Democrat income tax policy means that you will have had your income tax bill halved.

In Wales, over 100,000 workers aren’t paying any income tax at all and over a million are seeing 600 pounds back in their pocket.

With Liberal Democrats in government, pensioners have seen the link between the basic state pension and earnings restored.

With Liberal Democrats in government, thousands of young people are being offered training as apprentices, ensuring them a good job with skills and a decent salary – and more importantly, a stake in our society.

But as much as I like seeing Nick stop the excesses of the Conservatives, we are not in government just to hold back the Tories.

We are in government to push forward our policies, our vision and our liberal agenda.

Liberal Democrats, we can be proud of what we are achieving in government.

We’ve stopped talking about how we want to make a difference.

In government, we are making a difference.

And I want us to continue turning party policy into the laws of this land after May 2015.

But conference, Nick, Paddy, Willie and I, we can boast, brag and blow our own trumpets about our achievements in government, about how we are actually creating a stronger economy and a fairer society

However, unless the people of Britain know what we’re doing and how hard we are working to deliver our policies on their behalf, we can forget about being in government in May 2015 and retreat back into opposition. On the side-lines.

The people of Wales and Scotland are used to coalitions.

Liberal Democrats have been in government twice in Scotland and once in Wales.

I know that the junior party in any coalition has to be able to show it has made a difference.

Not just on issues of concern to their core supporters, but on issues that matter the most to the rest of the voters in the country.

Welsh Liberal Democrats were proud of what we achieved in coalition, but when you have three other parties also campaigning in an election, also trying to catch the attention of the voters, your achievements can be lost in the political ether.

We weren’t rewarded in the ballot box for our successes in government because we didn’t concentrate on the issues that mattered the most to people.

So from now until 2015 we have to be more focused in what we say, our campaigning issues relevant to voters and the people in this hall and beyond, we must take ownership of that message and deliver it over and over and over again.

Jobs – A million plus new jobs and a million more on the way

The economy – Back from the brink of Labour’s disaster.

Fair taxes – £700 back in your pocket. The super rich paying more.

Pupil premium – enabling everyone to get on in life.

Liberal Democrats delivering.

Like all of you in this hall today, I am campaigner, with leaflet ink on my fingers and letter box scars on my hands.

Give me an evening, a village and a bundle of leaflets, and I will deliver and so will my team.

But we all need to deliver.

Like many of you in this hall today, my campaign is to get as many Liberal Democrat MPs back to Westminster as possible.

Because without Liberal Democrats in government, you know what will happen;

We’ll have a lacklustre, uninspiring, incompetent Labour Government, like in Wales, wreaking havoc on our public services.

Or an intolerant Conservative government, hell bent on protecting the very wealthy while trampling on everyone else.

With Liberal Democrats in government,

Britain is recovering, our economy, stronger

– our society, fairer

– our country, one where everyone can get on in life

Thank you.