New Leader - Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg's Leadership Acceptance Speech
The Beginning of Britain’s Liberal Future
 My
election as leader of this party marks a new beginning.
Today is about
two things: ambition, and change.
Renewed
ambition for the Liberal Democrats.
Renewed
ambition to reach out to the millions of people who share our values, but have
not yet voted for us.
It’s about
renewed ambition for Britain.
Because we
want to change politics, and change Britain.
I would like
to thank Chris for the energetic and committed way he has campaigned in this
leadership election.
We have been
rivals in this contest. From today, we are colleagues again. I look forward to
working closely with him for the good of liberalism in Britain.
I would also
like to thank Vince Cable for the magnificent way he has led the party in these
past two months.
There are few
men who have excelled as an economist, a comedian and a ballroom dancer.
Finally, I
would like to give my warmest thanks, on behalf of the whole party, to Ming
Campbell. He took over the Liberal Democrats at a difficult time, and provided
enormous stability and professionalism to the party. Without his work, building
on the extraordinary achievements of Charles Kennedy and Paddy Ashdown before
him, the party would not have the bright future which it now does.
I am a Liberal
by temperament, by instinct and by upbringing.
My own family
was marked, scattered and reunited by the tragic conflicts of the last century.
I was taught
from an early age that Britain was a place of tolerance and pluralism, with a
history steeped in democracy and the rule of law.
I believe that
liberalism is the thread that holds together everything this country stands for.
Pull out that thread and the fabric of the nation unravels.
We are a
people with a strong sense of fair play and social justice. An instinct to
protect the environment for future generations. We are suspicious of arbitrary
power, wary of government interference. We want to play an active, enlightened
role in the affairs of the world.
And we have
always put our faith in the power of ordinary men and women to change things for
the better.
So why is
Britain still not the liberal nation we want it to be?
Look around
us:
Our civil
liberties casually cast aside.
Gigantic,
faceless and incompetent Government bureaucracies.
Security and
opportunity in short supply, particularly in the poorest communities.
Families
struggling to meet each month’s bills. Struggling to balance the demands of
work, and the time for a real family life.
Above all, our
politics is broken.
Out of step
with people.
Out of step
with the modern world.
That is why I
have one sole ambition: to change Britain to make it the liberal country the
British people want it to be.
I want a new
politics: a people’s politics.
I want to live
in a country where rights, freedoms and privacy are not the playthings of
politicians, but safeguarded for everyone.
Where
political life is not a Westminster village freak show, but open, accessible,
and helpful in people’s everyday lives.
Where parents,
pupils and patients are in charge of our schools and hospitals.
Where fine
words on the environment are translated into real action.
Where social
mobility becomes a reality once again, so that no-one is condemned by the
circumstances of their birth.
Why have we
stopped imagining a better society?
Look at what
we’ve got.
The
Conservatives and New Labour have governed in the same way.
Top-down and
centralising
I refuse to
believe that the only alternative to a clapped out Labour Government is a
Conservative party which has no answers to the big issues - environmentalism
without substance, social justice without money, internationalism without
Europe.
The challenge
for my party is clear and simple: to define a liberal alternative to the
discredited politics of Big Government.
I want to open
up my party, open up Westminster, and open up politics for good.
To lead well,
a leader needs to listen.
That’s why I
will hold regular and public Town Hall Meetings.
That’s why I
want to open up the Liberal Democrats to give people who support us, but aren’t
members, a say on the big issues.
That’s why I
will spend at least one day every week listening and campaigning outside
Westminster.
That’s why I
will set up a network of real families, who have nothing to do with party
politics, in every region of this country to advise me on what they think should
be my priorities.
If you once
voted Lib Dem but think we’ve spent too much time focusing on ourselves.
If you once
voted Conservative but don’t know what they stand for any more.
If you once
voted Labour but feel let down after ten years of disappointment.
If you’ve
given up voting altogether, but still care about the world we live in:
Then a newly
united, energetic, optimistic Liberal Democrat party is there for you.
This is an
unprecedented time of opportunity for liberalism in Britain.
If we are to
grab this opportunity, my party will need to change.
We must start
acting like the growing national political movement that we are. More
professional. More united. More ambitious.
Liberalism is
the creed of our times.
The old
left-right politics has broken down. Labour and the Conservatives are mutating
into each other, united in defence of a system which has let the people down.
Instead, we
must start where people are, not where we think they should be.
In short, I
want the Liberal Democrats to be the future of politics.
Because
Liberal Democrats have the courage to imagine a better society.
To break the
stifling grip of the two-party system for good.
To bring in a
new politics.
Of politicians
who listen to people, not themselves.
No more
business as usual. No more government-knows-best.
I want today
to mark the beginning of real change in Britain. The beginning of Britain’s
liberal future.
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