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| Turn to us in crisis, says Clegg | Turn to us in crisis, says Clegg |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg will claim the recession gives his party the chance to seize the initiative from Labour and the Conservatives. | Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg will claim the recession gives his party the chance to seize the initiative from Labour and the Conservatives. |
| In his closing speech to the party's spring conference in Harrogate, he will say Labour is "spent" and the Tories can "never be the party of change". | In his closing speech to the party's spring conference in Harrogate, he will say Labour is "spent" and the Tories can "never be the party of change". |
| And he will urge voters to look to the Lib Dems to steer them through. | And he will urge voters to look to the Lib Dems to steer them through. |
| The "one dim light" in a crisis is that it "opens the door to a genuinely new way of doing things," he will say. | The "one dim light" in a crisis is that it "opens the door to a genuinely new way of doing things," he will say. |
| Mr Clegg has used the two-day conference to paint Labour and the Tories as the joint architects of economic meltdown. | Mr Clegg has used the two-day conference to paint Labour and the Tories as the joint architects of economic meltdown. |
| And he portrayed his party as the one with a radically different solution to the country's economic woes. | And he portrayed his party as the one with a radically different solution to the country's economic woes. |
| VAT 'pinprick' | VAT 'pinprick' |
| Treasury spokesman Vince Cable mounted his most outspoken attack yet on "fat cat" salaries in the public as well as the private sector on Saturday, calling for full public disclosure of all packages over £194,000 - the prime minister's annual pay. | Treasury spokesman Vince Cable mounted his most outspoken attack yet on "fat cat" salaries in the public as well as the private sector on Saturday, calling for full public disclosure of all packages over £194,000 - the prime minister's annual pay. |
| And in his keynote address to the party faithful, Mr Clegg will set out Lib Dem plans to scrap the £12.5bn VAT cut, which he describes as a "pinprick", and invest the cash in green initiatives he claims will create thousands of jobs. | And in his keynote address to the party faithful, Mr Clegg will set out Lib Dem plans to scrap the £12.5bn VAT cut, which he describes as a "pinprick", and invest the cash in green initiatives he claims will create thousands of jobs. |
| We carry the torch of progress now, we exist to keep the flame of hope alive Nick Clegg, Lib Dem leader Clegg offers tea and sympathy | |
| The Lib Dems want to use the money to insulate schools and hospitals and install smart meters in every home, in a massive scheme which would also reduce the UK's carbon footprint. | The Lib Dems want to use the money to insulate schools and hospitals and install smart meters in every home, in a massive scheme which would also reduce the UK's carbon footprint. |
| They believe the move would create 95,000 jobs. | They believe the move would create 95,000 jobs. |
| Criticising Labour's response to the recession, Mr Clegg will say: "The government has borrowed £12.5bn to finance this year's pinprick VAT give-away. | Criticising Labour's response to the recession, Mr Clegg will say: "The government has borrowed £12.5bn to finance this year's pinprick VAT give-away. |
| "That's more than £350 every second of every minute of every hour. That money alone could have created nearly 100,000 new jobs, and laid the foundations, quite literally, for a new green economy." | "That's more than £350 every second of every minute of every hour. That money alone could have created nearly 100,000 new jobs, and laid the foundations, quite literally, for a new green economy." |
| 'Spent match' | 'Spent match' |
| He will go on to insist the "flame" of progress no longer burns for Labour, and that the Lib Dems are the only party capable of rebuilding the country. | He will go on to insist the "flame" of progress no longer burns for Labour, and that the Lib Dems are the only party capable of rebuilding the country. |
| "Labour is like a spent match - there's nothing left," he will say. | "Labour is like a spent match - there's nothing left," he will say. |
| "You remember how hopeful people felt in 1997, remember the promise of a better future? Don't you feel the disappointment? | "You remember how hopeful people felt in 1997, remember the promise of a better future? Don't you feel the disappointment? |
| "An economy in tatters, a country more unequal than before, an illegal war, our government implicated in torture and rendition, our environment poisoned, our privacy invaded, our freedom curtailed. | "An economy in tatters, a country more unequal than before, an illegal war, our government implicated in torture and rendition, our environment poisoned, our privacy invaded, our freedom curtailed. |
| "If you believe, like I do, in progress, if you feel let down by Labour, and see that the Conservatives will never be a party of change, turn to the Liberal Democrats. | "If you believe, like I do, in progress, if you feel let down by Labour, and see that the Conservatives will never be a party of change, turn to the Liberal Democrats. |
| "We carry the torch of progress now, we exist to keep the flame of hope alive." | "We carry the torch of progress now, we exist to keep the flame of hope alive." |
| The Liberal Democrats have been celebrating their party's 21st birthday this weekend. | The Liberal Democrats have been celebrating their party's 21st birthday this weekend. |
| They have also played host on Saturday to a guest speaker, Howard Dean, the former chairman of the Democratic National Convention, who ran for the Demoocratic nomination in 2004. | |
| Dr Dean told delegates he was "delighted" Barack Obama was US President, which had made the Democrats a "national party again". | Dr Dean told delegates he was "delighted" Barack Obama was US President, which had made the Democrats a "national party again". |
| He hailed Mr Obama's commitment to a more consensual foreign policy and the environment. | He hailed Mr Obama's commitment to a more consensual foreign policy and the environment. |
| He also spoke of the importance of "knocking on doors" and not just relying on the internet to mount political campaigns and raise money. | He also spoke of the importance of "knocking on doors" and not just relying on the internet to mount political campaigns and raise money. |
| And he urged Lib Dems to take a leaf out of Obama's book and to reach out to the under-25s who he said were turned off by conventional politics and, in particular, Britain's "opaque" Parliamentary system, which he said needed to be explained better. | And he urged Lib Dems to take a leaf out of Obama's book and to reach out to the under-25s who he said were turned off by conventional politics and, in particular, Britain's "opaque" Parliamentary system, which he said needed to be explained better. |