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Tag: Sal Brinton

  • Sal Brinton – 2022 Speech on the Growth Plan (Baroness Brinton)

    Sal Brinton – 2022 Speech on the Growth Plan (Baroness Brinton)

    The speech made by Sal Brinton, Baroness Brinton, in the House of Lords on 10 October 2022.

    My Lords, I add my best wishes to the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Birmingham as he leaves your Lordships’ House. He has always been thoughtful, often provoked us and made us think about what he has said, and I will miss his bluntness in some of our debates over recent years—it has been vital for all of us to hear, and I thank him for it. I also welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Gohir, to her place in the House and very much look forward to working with her in future.

    “Growth, growth, growth” as an aim is not, as we have heard from many sides of your Lordships’ House this afternoon, in itself a bad thing. The problem is the growth plan, the mini-Budget and the reference by the Chancellor and the PM to trickle-down economics—whatever the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, says, they have made it plain that is the policy they are following. That has not been proven to have worked and, as we have heard from many others, it has not worked elsewhere. It will certainly not work within the two years that we need it to do so.

    Many of us have found the growth plan wanting and, most likely, unachievable. I shall focus in my brief contribution on the impact of the current situation, particularly in health and social care and how the plan does or does not address the growing crisis faced there. The OECD spend in the UK is 2.3 hospital beds per 100,000. In Germany, it is 12. The actual spend as a percentage of GDP is equally different. That, for many, explains why we have had problems in the NHS for years—not just since Covid but for much longer.

    Those delays are becoming unimaginable. A friend in A&E last week said that a fellow patient reported that she had been waiting to be seen in A&E longer than she had queued to see Her late Majesty’s lying-in-state. This is now commonplace. The Health Service Journal highlighted just last week that increases in inflation will force the NHS drastically to scale back services unless there is extra funding. It could have to find £20 billion in efficiency savings over the next three years because of the increased cost of goods and services that it purchases. Already, two out of three integrated care systems, only introduced by the Government on 1 July, have fallen off-track on their financial plans. Common pressures reported include the impact of inflation and Covid costs that were not funded this year.

    The mini-Budget recognises the vital role of the care sector, as does the Health Secretary’s plan for patients. However, there is no money, not least because the money from the levy has been removed. The crisis is there already. Staff cannot be recruited because they can get far more money in hospitality and retail.

    Far worse than that, however, are the energy costs that the sector faces. One small care home discovered that its energy costs would go up by 600% from October this year. A six-month extension of help from the Government for part of it is unlikely to keep that business going. Earlier, in Questions, noble Lords commented on the problems that disabled people are facing with energy costs. Many of them have high energy costs, with only £150 offered when their bills are considerably higher.

    The anti-growth coalition, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, referred, is a bizarre term. It reminds me of Humpty Dumpty, who said:

    “When I use a word … it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

    The PM’s definition of the anti-growth coalition now seems to include anybody, including people in her own party, who disagrees with her.

  • Sal Brinton – 2019 Speech at Liberal Democrat Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Sal Brinton, the President of the Liberal Democrats, at the party conference on 14 September 2019.

    Well, hello Conference and hasn’t everything changed since we last met in March!

    Wow! Just wow! We asked you to all go on the Stop Brexit march on 20 March to make it clear we are the strongest Remain party.

    You did that.

    It was my privilege to help lead thousands and thousands of Liberal Democrats along with Vince Cable at that march that had over a million people on the streets of London.

    We asked you to go out and give us the best results ever in the local elections.

    You did that.

    We made over 700 gains, and now control 18 councils. We’re still making gains in by elections too.

    We then said please go out and campaign for our best ever European Elections results, in a snap election, with very little time.

    You did that. 16 MEPs.

    Then we said (after all of that!), please go and help Jane Dodds and our Welsh colleagues in Brecon and Radnorshire.

    So you did that too!

    Jane Dodds MP has said she could not have won without all the help you provided.

    And over the last couple of months you have been pouring into Sheffield Hallam as well – Laura Gordon: we are with you and will do everything we can to ensure you can join Jane Dodds on those green benches soon.

    You see, I knew. I knew that your attitude and approach to life had changed. And all we needed to do was to get out there and make sure that people in our local communities felt the same.

    And they did.

    After the Euro elections, the press said this was a flash in the pan. They said that within weeks we’d plummet back in the polls.

    But now, their view has changed.

    Why?

    Because our poll rating has strengthened and solidified. Against all the pundits’ expectations. But they don’t know the reaction we were all getting on the doorsteps from people who have, for years, said “I would vote for you if I thought you could win”. Well, consistently 20% of voters believe we can and will win, and, more importantly believe that Jo Swinson can be our next Prime Minister.

    We must not forget those who kept the faith and kept us going. And I want, in my final speech as your President, to pay tribute especially to Tim Farron and Vince Cable, both of whom had a really tough time as Leader holding us together and rebuilding and preparing us for the success we have had this year. I thank them both for that selfless dedication when perhaps only we believed the Liberal Democrats had a future and the outside world just mocked and derided us.

    I also want to thank the many staff who worked against all the odds too. People assume that HQ is this large monolith filled with hundreds of people. Not true. Our few staff are brilliant. Not only doing the job they are paid to do, but also during elections, especially General Elections, redeployed into tasks that keep our successful campaign show on the road.

    And it is appropriate therefore for me to thank Nick Harvey, our Chief Executive, who has announced he is leaving us at the end of November. Nick, you have done an amazing job, especially in sorting out our key services, such as compliance, supervising the staff side of the new discipline process. Nick, your sage political common sense linking the day-to-day business of the party with the political actions of Lib Dems in parliaments, assemblies and local government.

    Thank you!

    I have had the privilege of being your President during the most extraordinary five years, which not one of us could have predicted in 2014.

    I don’t think that any President has faced two General Elections (so far!), one Referendum, three new Leaders, and two new Chief Execs.

    And on top of that, we’ve had major governance changes to make your Federal Board work strategically, and Federal Committees work more effectively.

    We’ve consulted and made changes to the Discipline System, which was the one thing you all made clear in 2014 we needed to tackle. That new system is now working, and there are only a few complaints started under the old system still to be resolved by the state and regional parties.

    Over these five years we’ve changed the way we campaign. Still out on the streets, but our social media presence has completely changed and – given the small resources compared to others – is outstanding. That is also true of the way we run elections now, much more digital.

    But above all, you, the members, still stand up for the party, and stand up against things that you disapprove of. My successor will discover that in your eyes, the President is responsible for absolutely everything that they don’t like or has gone wrong.

    This has included complaints to me, for example:

    To complain that staff haven’t replied to an email over a bank holiday weekend. AND I think my best though is the member who wrote to me to ask me to go and tell the Leader, they’re an idiot. And to remind me, which I never forget, that with senior positions of power and responsibility, liberals always remain suspicious of the establishment, including the President, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

    I have learned so much from you over the last five years, but of one thing I remain certain. The democratic way we exist and operate is the reason that we are united as a party. We can debate, argue, and vote, and whilst there are matters hard fought for, we respect our internal democracy.

    At our lowest moments after the 2015 election, I said to you, Conference, to hold the faith. That we would bounce back. That you needed to keep positive, no matter what happened.

    We stand at a cross roads of infinite possibilities:

    Defending liberalism from nationalist and populists
    Defending our country’s place in the European Union
    Defending our democracy as unscrupulous Prime Ministers try to subvert it
    But we are not the defeated party of those years.

    We have a strong and growing political presence in Westminster, in the EU and in local Government.

    A party that lives its liberal values by welcoming those made homeless in the current political whirlwind because they didn’t know they are liberals, but are loving coming home to us

    We have in Jo Swinson a Leader who has taken the UK political scene by storm.

    And we have, in our party, 120,000 people who believe we can, and will transform our country, whatever our opponents throw at us.

    This will be our year – took a long time to come.

    Thank you.

  • Sal Brinton – 2016 Speech to Liberal Democrat Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Sal Brinton, the President of the Liberal Democrats, to the 2016 party conference on 20 September 2016.

    Good morning, Conference. Here we are, constitutional amendments concluded – how will we all manage next week without the excitement?

    But seriously, I want to thank you for your involvement and responses to the challenge I put to you over a year ago to think how we could improve our Federal structures, and how we can work more effectively as a party. The thousands of suggestions and comment that you made to the Federal Executive have truly helped shape what came to Conference, and your contributions to the debates over the last four days has been genuinely helpful.

    The policy debates have been outstanding too, and I particularly want to thank the many people who spoke at Conference for the first time. In debate after debate, new members and first time speakers were called to the stage to give your views, and what effective contributions they were!

    As we wait to hear from Tim Farron later this morning, I have been very aware how during this conference we have been reflecting on our history, with some on Twitter even going as far back as the Whigs! Tim reminded us at the Rally that nearly one hundred years ago the Liberals lost touch with the base, the core voters, and forgot what we were there to do, and we spent years in the wilderness. And yet, many of our members worked tirelessly even though it was very tough going.

    Once again the press and media are bemused that we are in such good heart. I have taken a particular delight in telling them that it is because we are open, tolerant and united, unlike Labour, the Conservatives and UKIP!

    Diane James’s honeymoon period as new leader of UKIP was short lived. Within an hour of taking up her post on Friday, she had scrapped the speeches of her four opponents, and perhaps most fun of all, turned Neil Hamilton’s speech on Saturday into a coffee break.

    Yes, a coffee break.

    What’s more, he discovered this from a reporter from Newsnight who had a copy of the revised schedule before Neil Hamilton. UKIP’s purges aren’t even done behind the scenes.

    And then there is THAT photo of her and Nigel Farage that was all over the press and media. I know that Nigel Farage backed Diane James as his successor, but that photo is so revealing. She just didn’t want him that close. So UKIP score nul points for being neither open, tolerant nor united.

    And Labour? Well, here in Brighton and Hove, Momentum have taken over the local party, and are so public about their attempts to de-select him that *they* have been suspended. And it isn’t just here in Brighton – across the country, Jeremy Corbyn’s activists are taking over local parties and moving against anyone perceived as anti-Corbyn. Some MPs are threatening to sue those trying to deselect them.

    Pro-Corbynites hate dissent so much that anything that doesn’t come out of the Corbyn playbook is attacked in a vile and vicious way.

    Unpleasant politics when used against political opponents is distasteful.

    When used against people in your own party it is unforgivable. But that is what they are, unforgiving. Certainly not open, tolerant nor united.

    And watching all of this from her new home at No.10 Downing Street is Theresa May. Last week she yet again re-affirmed that Brexit means Brexit, even though it is now absolutely clear that neither she nor her 3 Brexit ministers have any idea of what it means….

    Does it mean remaining or leaving the Single Market –

    Theresa May or she may not.

    Does it mean keeping or curtailing free movement of people

    Theresa May or she may not.

    Does it mean continuing to invest in our universities to keep them the best in the world?

    Theresa May or she may not.

    Does it mean working with European countries to protect the environment and tackle climate change?

    Theresa May or she may not.

    The Tories have been good at papering over the cracks of their splits, but the resignation of David Cameron as an MP seems to have encouraged his wing of the party to speak out.

    Theresa May’s Conservative party record on police stop and search on BAME people, on immigration, and on the Snoopers Charter are not open, tolerant or United.

    And the Liberal Democrats?

    This Sunday, one paper’s editorial headline was ‘Lib Dems’ revival is a blow to sorry Labour’,

    and it then went on to say:

    ‘fair play to the Lib Dems.

    under Leader Tim Farron the party has risen from the ashes of electoral oblivion to reposition itself as the only effective opposition…

    The Lib Dems have not only capitalised on the fallout from the EU Referendum but also the disintegration of the Labour Party…

    They are speaking up for ordinary voters on issues that really matter, such as the NHS and education.’

    The Observer on Polly Toynbee’s day off?

    The Independent?

    No, this, my friends, is the Sunday Express!

    I’m delighted that Tim is at last getting the recognition that he deserves, and I suspect that phrase ‘the only effective opposition’ might appear in a few leaflets and tabloids over the next few months.

    We are the only major party that has not traded on fear, that challenges the racism, nationalism and populism that is sweeping the country at the moment. We’ve not just watched the appalling increase in hate crime, but we heard on Sunday in the combatting racism debate how our own friends and members have been attacked. That is why I still wear a safety pin – and I do get comments from people who say how reassuring it is to know that there are people who will call out any hate crime. Keep calling it out, every time YOU see it. You cannot know how powerful it is to intervene, politely but firmly, to support a victim of such behaviour.

    I want to finish by returning to my theme from last year – the future of the party. It’s wonderful that we have had 18,000 new members since the referendum and that we are doing so well in by elections and I want to ask you to do three things over the next few weeks, regardless of whether you are a new member, or an old lag, like myself to help propel the Lib Dems further in winning ways.

    Firstly, should Jeremy Corbyn be re-elected, I know that a number of Labour supporters and members will be feeling very lost.

    Befriend them.

    Let them know that we are still the party that is pro the EU, that whilst Labour are facing inward and fighting, we will be the party who holds the May Tory Government to account, on investment in the NHS, and on fighting against a growth of grammar schools. They may now want to support us, and even join us because they share our values.

    Secondly, I want to see new people coming forward to stand for elections in the party, whether local party elections, regional elections or federal elections.

    One of the very strong messages you told us in the governance review was that too few people stand for office in the party.

    So, do not assume it is someone else’s job! You want fresh faces in these roles – please stand!!

    This is especially important if you are from an under Represented group – women, BAME, disabled and LGBT+. Your party needs you!!

    Find out what the role entails and put yourself up for election. It’s that simple. And it’s your destiny!

    And finally, thirdly, help build on our by election successes.

    Go to help in Witney – we have one month to make our mark. Tonight the local party selects their candidate, but the first leaflets have already gone out. Much more help is needed, and parliamentary by elections are so much fun too. I promise you will enjoy it!

    And go and help in your nearest council by election – every extra pair of hands truly makes a big difference. I promise you’ll learn skills there that you can use in your patch.

    And last, but not least, try to stand a candidate in every election. The reception so different, so much more positive out there than even six months ago.

    We won Tupton, in North East Derbyshire, even though we didn’t stand a candidate in the previous election. Even if we won’t do as well every time, standing a candidate reminds the voters we are there fighting for them, and using ALDC’s brilliant toolkit ‘Pick a ward and win it’, you can build up you supporters network, campaign locally, and move on to victory.

    I am so proud to be your President.

    Proud that you have refused to allow the press and the media to write us off.

    Proud that you are in the front line of the revival of our party.

    Proud that you stand alongside Tim Farron in showing this country that there is one party, and one party only:-

    who will fight for the vulnerable and dispossessed,

    who will fight for our place in Europe and the world

    And who believes that Britain is and should be Open, Tolerant and United.