Liberal Democrats must display a radical, reforming zeal to help to give more power to people, not government – to communities, not bureaucracies.
Ming’s article was published in the Times on January 13, 2005
We live in a time of constant, restless change. Consolidation and caution will not be an adequate response, either for our country or for the Liberal Democrats.
Liberal Democracy cannot be a struggle between those who wish to modernise and those who do not. To be a Liberal Democrat is to be a moderniser. I believe that the central task of the Liberal Democrats today is to understand the forces that are likely to shape Britain in the years to come and act upon them.
First, there is a deepening sense of alienation, of powerlessness, among millions of individuals. Liberal Democrats must display a radical, reforming zeal to help to give more power to people, not government – to communities, not bureaucracies. Local politics must be reborn with new powers for communities to take decisions about their own public services. If that leads to greater innovation and experimentation in the way that public services are organised, all the better. I am determined that the Liberal Democrats should pioneer ways of making public services truly responsive and accountable to the public.
Secondly, the unsettling effects of economic globalisation are here to stay. Liberalism in this country was founded on opposition to protectionism. But governments can, and must, do what is within their means to help to prepare Britain for a globalised world dominated by new economic powers in Asia and elsewhere. That is why schools and skills must return to the top of our domestic agenda.
I am a passionate internationalist and always have been. Multilateral institutions and the rule of international law must be cherished as bulwarks in an uncertain and often dangerous world. Nationalism and ethnic conflict are on the rise. The Liberal Democrats have a unique role to play in arguing the renewed case for liberal internationalism.
Thirdly, British society is still disfigured by social inequality and deprivation which, despite government rhetoric, is shocking when compared with other European countries. I want the Liberal Democrats to review our tax policies to target the needs of the very poorest. We should use taxation not to penalise achievement but to maximise opportunity.
But taxation is not the only weapon against social deprivation. We must do more to spread opportunity and improve access to good quality public services. It is simply unacceptable that so many families are locked into poverty from one generation to the next.
Fourthly, the degradation of our environment is emerging as the greatest threat of our times. I am unimpressed by the sincerity of the conversion by David Cameron’s Conservatives to the cause of environmental sustainability. It will be one of my first priorities to take back the initiative on green politics.
I want to see a radical expansion of financial and other incentives to more accurately reflect the real cost of pollution and reward environmentally beneficial technologies.
British politics is changing. I believe that the Liberal Democrats can and must fight to win on the liberal centre ground of British politics. We must do so with renewed credibility, authority and unity.
