Charles kennedy - we had no alternative.

Article by David Laws MP, Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions Spokesman and MP for Yeovil.

For Liberal Democrats, the last few weeks have been bloody, brutal and unpleasant.

There is now a sense of enormous relief that Charles has put the interests of the Party first, combined with a determination to unite in the interests of all those who believe in a liberal Britain.

Many Lib Dem supporters will have thought that their MPs were going insane. But the truth is that Charles Kennedy did not lose the support of key colleagues because of a short-term drink problem. What was fatal was Charles’ inability to resolve this problem after many years, and “last chances”.

However, I want to say to Charles that although many of us lost confidence in his leadership, we have never lost our sincere affection and respect for him as a person. His parting speech on Saturday was delivered with great maturity and dignity. Charles knows that every single one of his colleagues wishes he well for the future.

Ultimately, this was a rebellion with real anguish in its heart, and not with a smile upon its face.

We now have to elect a new Leader. The Party now has many highly able potential leaders. But, in my view, the most impressive of these by far is Sir Menzies Campbell, and he will have my full support.

Menzies Campbell is the man that both other major parties fear, and in my judgement he is the candidate best able to deliver what the Party now most needs – unity of purpose and clarity on policy.

In Charles’ resignation speech, there were two important messages. The first is that we must now develop our liberal agenda based on our own values, and not on speculation about possible deals after the next General Election. As Paddy Ashdown said; “first the policies, then the votes, then the policies into power.”

The second piece of advice is that we must unite all of the strands of liberalism.

All Liberal Democrats are internationalists, environmentalists, and are committed to protecting individual liberties.

But there has been an unresolved debate over the synthesis of economic and social liberalism.

The Party must engage in that debate, and find a unity in clarity, and not in “fudge and mudge”.

The now famous “Orange Book”, which I co-authored, was an attempt to persuade the Party to value all of the strands of its liberalism – including the economic.

The book was unfairly caricatured as an attempt to turn the clock back to some dry old Gladstonian liberalism of the 19th century. It was never intended to be any such thing, as those who have actually read the book will discover.

But if the Orange Book served to polarise opinion in the Party, then I accept my responsibility to work hard to show others in the Party that I and my Orange Book colleagues are as committed to social liberalism, or social justice, as they are.

If I was not as committed to social liberalism, then I would be in the Conservative Party or pursuing my own financial interests in the City, not a Lib Dem MP.

So, let us take up Charles’ challenge, and let us measure our commitment to social justice not by how willing we are to wave the banner of high taxation, or by an unthinking determination to oppose every Government reform and tough choice, but by the quality of our own proposals to challenge injustice.

Let us work on a policy to tackle child poverty and to offer real life chances to children in our most deprived communities; think through how choice and competition can deliver better quality health services, accessible to all; develop proposals to free education from the dead hand of Whitehall; make our tax system fairer and our pensions system comprehensible and sustainable.

These challenges are even more vital, given that the solutions which we develop over the next few years may be implemented in Government in the near future.

For our Party, the last few weeks have been painful and bitter. But it is now time to comprehend the enormous challenges and opportunities facing the Party, and to move forward to secure a unity of purpose based not on fudge and compromise, but on clarity about our liberal values and our policy intent.ENDS.

Category: Constituency News