The speech by Jo Swinson to Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton yesterday was the one from a leading Lib Dem that I had been hoping to hear. It not only apologised for the things over which our ministers rolled over to the Conservatives too easily, it also highlighted the plight of the people who have suffered greater hardship since we left government, people who our MPs are working hard for against the odds. We can get too hung up on principles and political structures at the expense of their application in the real world. Jo brought those difficulties home, though she was strong on principles too.
See https://www.libdems.org.uk/jo_swinson_s_speech_to_conference for the video. The text is at https://www.libdems.org.uk/conference-autumn-18-jo-swinson-speech-in-full.
There was also an excellent debate on immigration. There were voices raised against the policy motion on the grounds that it was too pragmatic to the point of illiberality, but the fact that so many first- and second-generation immigrants came to the podium to support it, suggests that it is on the right track. Suzanne Fletcher, whose tireless work on behalf of refugees cannot be doubted, gave it a cautious welcome, but said that it was only a start. That is good enough for me.
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