Kennedy: I am not afraid of debate
Charles Kennedy has insisted he is “not afraid” of a general debate about Liberal Democrat policy.
Launching a consultation at the party conference in Blackpool today, the Lib Dem leader said the process of taking decisions would not be behind closed doors.
His comments come after two proposals put by the Lib Dem leadership – to part privatise Royal Mail and put a cap on the EU budget – were rejected by the rank and file members of the party.
Today Mr Kennedy said he wanted the Meeting the Challenge consultation to “spark fresh thinking and generate debate” about the future of the party.
There were “tough challenges” that the Lib Dems must meet, he said, such as how the party responds to climate change, poverty and inequality, global competition, and terrorism and security.
“And I’m not afraid of that, I’m inviting it. Because I want this process to be dynamic and creative. We have to be bold and willing to take risks,” he said.
“Because we cannot provide the real alternative to this discredited and fading Labour government if we keep our heads – collectively or individually – securely safe below the parapet.”
Another policy review is being carried out by the Tax Policy Commission, which was set up earlier this year to take a broad look at the Lib Dems’ tax commitments for the first time in more than a decade.
Yesterday Mr Kennedy refused to confirm whether the controversial 50p top rate of tax would survive the review, especially after his Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, argued that it was unpopular with the voters and should be scrapped.
But today he sought to reassure delegates that the current policy reviews were “not about writing a whole manifesto”, nor were they about “lurching to the left or right” or getting rid of the party’s basic principles.
“As Liberal Democrats, we find ourselves as the real alternative, and we have the opportunity to put before Britain a fresh and practical application of liberalism for Britain in the 21st century,” Mr Kennedy said.
“We’ve got to – as a force for good – re-dedicate ourselves to the same tasks that drove the liberal reformers of the early 20th century.”
Speaking afterwards, Lib Dem president Simon Hughes outlined his main priorities for the party – citizen control, devolution for England and cutting inequality.
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