Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Tim Farron’s speech to the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth
1.19pm BST
Farron’s speech - Snap Verdict: That was good - actually, very good indeed. Tim Farron is not always an assured TV performer, but he is a first-rate platform speaker and the highlights (the passage about refugees, at 12.50pm, and his peroration, at 12.58pm) were genuinely stirring. As a new leader he is relatively unknown, and he addressed this by making the speech much more autobiographical than is usual for a leader’s conference speech. (It helps that his background is quite modest; Nick Clegg could never turn upper middle class childhood and Westminster schooling into a version of “My struggle”.) The speech was relatively discursive, as Farron mixed the personal with the political, but that seemed to work. He defended the party’s record in government, but not obsessively, and without sounding as if he were complaining about the electorate. And he set out a distinctive position on some issues. Farron ran for the leadership as the leftish candidate, and there was speculation that Jeremy Corbyn’s victory in the Labour contest would crowd him out of this territory, but Farron set out a position on immigration which is distinctive from Labour’s and, with a rather clever twist to the national anthem story (see 12.55pm), he attacked Corbyn effectively over Europe.
Will this give the Lib Dems much of a bounce? Probably not. It will take far more than a single speech to restore the party’s fortunes. But it’s a start.
12.58pm BST
Farron is now on to his peroration.
Today, with four and a half years until the next general election, the Official opposition seems to have left the playing field.
Less than 5 months since the worst result for our party in 45 years the circumstances have contrived to make our party more relevant, more central, more essential than we have ever been.
12.56pm BST
Farron urges liberals from other parties to join the Lib Dems.
Maybe you are currently a Conservative – and you see your vote being used to punish working people on low incomes and to punish business by toying with exit from Europe?
Maybe you are currently in the SNP – and you see your vote being used to chase a second referendum while devolved services like the NHS are creaking at the seams.
12.55pm BST
Farron says when the EU referendum comes, the Lib Dems will be united in their determination to stay in the EU.
And he turns to Labour, for the first time in the speech.
There’s been a lot of nonsense written about Jeremy Corbyn’s patriotism following a service at St Paul’s a week ago.
Is it a threat to Britain if the leader of the Labour party doesn’t sing the national anthem? Not really.
12.53pm BST
Farron defines his liberalism.
A liberal is someone who looks for the best in people, not the worst. We believe everyone is of equal value and that people always achieve more together than they do when they are at each others’ throats.
From the mouths of too many politicians come words of division and separation, spite and displacement.
It’s all the fault of Brussels, or the English, or the Scots, or the immigrants, or the idle poor, or the idle rich or business people, or the young, or the old, or foreigners or anybody else…
12.50pm BST
Farron goes on:
You know after the Second World War, Britain offered homes to several thousand children who had survived the death camps but whose parents had been murdered in the Holocaust.
Only 700 children came.
I realise how much richer – culturally, socially, economically – our society is today, because of our generosity then.
What a lesson in seeing the best in people and not the worst.
12.47pm BST
And Farron turns on the government for its response to the crisis.
And what we’ve had from David Cameron is a careful calibration of what it will take to manage that story, the minimum effort for the maximum headlines.
And a policy which will not directly help a single one of the hundreds of thousands currently on the move across Europe.
12.45pm BST
Fallon turns to the refugee crisis, and recalls his visit to Calais in the summer.
I met with people and heard their stories of harrowing risks, dangers fled and desperation for their children.
I have to tell you, not a single one of them mentioned coming to Britain to draw benefits.
12.44pm BST
Farron is back to the biographical spine running through the speech, and talks about becoming an MP.
But you know, I have never felt so common as the day I entered the House of Commons.
I have never met so many well-spoken, expensively educated people. It doesn’t make them bad people. But it does make me feel like an outsider.
Right from our foundation, we have identified with the needs and interests of those that do not hold power, who are excluded from privilege, the underdogs, the dispossessed – the poor, the migrant, the refugee - who simply want the chance to prove themselves on a level playing field.
Liberalism’s roots are buried deep in anti-establishment politics, opposing privilege.
12.42pm BST
Farron says green industries will be at the heart of the new economy.
But what is the government doing?
Dismantling at breathtaking speed every policy Liberal Democrat ministers put in place to support green industries.
12.41pm BST
Farron says the Lib Dems’ commitment to clearing the deficit by 2017-18 is right.
Not ending the deficit now means leaving the next generation to clear up our mess, and that’s simply unfair. By ignoring economic realities, Britain would be choosing more austerity, not less.
12.39pm BST
Farron says the Lib Dems must be on the side of business.
We should have the best rail links, commit to being in the EU, and make superfast broadband universal, he says.
So when I say we want an ambitious, active government, prepared to invest in skills, homes and infrastructure, to free individuals to be the very best they can be, it is because I am a liberal, and to be a liberal is to support those with enterprise.
12.37pm BST
Farron says people in Westminster and out of touch with people in the rest of the country.
All too often the people of Westminster live in their own little Westminster echo chamber.
They’re not bad people, but they see the world only through Westminster eyes.
My approach – our approach - has always been, and will always be, different.
It is to be immersed in our communities, to be part of them, so that we can speak for them.
12.35pm BST
Farron is back to talking about his background. He went to university in Newcastle, got a job at Lancaster University, became an activist, and then Lib Dem candidate for Westmorland and Lonsdale, a seat the party had not won since 1906.
I might be biased, but it’s a blessed place to live, to raise a family, to run up the fells. To feel miniscule against the open skies, the vast lakes, the towering mountains.
And who needs focus groups when you can stand in Kendal market and find out exactly what people think… even if you don’t ask them.
12.34pm BST
Farron says the Lib Dems want the government to build 300,000 homes a year.
We will give councils the freedom and power to borrow so they can start building again.
We will create 10 new garden cities with the infrastructure they need to thrive.
12.32pm BST
Farron says the Lib Dems must make housing a major campaigning issue.
People often talk about moving house being one of the most stressful experiences in life. But for millions of British people, without a stable or affordable home, that stress, that instability, that uncertainty is a debilitating reality, every single day.
And I will not accept it. We will not tolerate it, so together we will fix it.
12.31pm BST
Farron says that when he was 14 he saw the film Cathy Come Home, about homelessness. It had a great effect on him.
Cathy come home lit a spark in me – it made me angry, it energised me, it made me want to get up and get involved. And so I did, and I haven’t stopped.
Access to affordable housing affects us all because it is the entry ticket to society: to security and stability, to work, health and community.
Because without secure, affordable and stable housing how can you be sure that you can send your kids to the same school one term after the next?
12.30pm BST
Farron is speaking about what he learnt from his upbringing.
All around me where I grew up in Lancashire I saw people who worked dead hard just like my parents - if they had work.
And otherwise they worked dead hard just to get work.
12.29pm BST
Farron is talking about his family background.
His parents split up. He was brought up by his mum. They were on the breadline.
Mostly I saw how hard my parents had to work. My Dad was full-time in the building trade, and he made ends meet by DJing on Friday and Saturday night.
I have inherited all of his passion for music… and none of his talent.
12.27pm BST
Farron says the Lib Dems did not lose because of their values.
We didn’t lose the election because our policies weren’t good enough…. or because our manifesto wasn’t long enough.
We lost because people didn’t know who we were, what our values were.
12.26pm BST
Farron says he wants the Lib Dems back in power “at every level throughout Britain”.
And we will start with next year’s elections for the Scottish Parliament, for the National Assembly in Wales, for the London Assembly, and for local government across the country.
If others wish to abandon serious politics, serious economics, that’s their lookout.
12.25pm BST
Farron gets another music reference in.
You know, if ever you doubted the effectiveness of the Liberal Democrats in Government just look at what’s happening without us
In the words of Joni Mitchell
12.24pm BST
Farron lists some of the Lib Dems’ achievements in government, such as the increase in the income tax threshold, children not being locked up in immigration centres, the pupil premium, more free school meals and same sex marriage.
(The last one is a tricky one for Farron, because he did not back the legislation.)
12.23pm BST
Farron says it was tough being in the leadership contest with his friend, Norman Lamb.
During the campaign they spoke to thousands of members.
You know, there are those that would like me to take this opportunity to distance myself from the past five years, to say it was all some dreadful mistake, to say: “I disagree with Nick.”
But I don’t… so I won’t.
12.20pm BST
Farron recalls Nick Clegg’s speech on the day he resigned.
I can honestly say that no political speech has ever moved or motivated me more than Nick’s words that bleak morning.
I quoted it on the day I won the leadership election and I make no apology for quoting it again this afternoon.
12.19pm BST
Farron says the election result was “utterly devastating”.
And he pays tribute to Charles Kennedy.
All of that pales in comparison to the much greater tragedy just a few weeks later. The loss of Charles Kennedy. Charles’s death has robbed us of the sharpest mind, the wittiest tongue and the nicest bloke.
The 23 year old who came from 4th place to gain Ross Cromarty and Skye, that same Charles Kennedy who inspired so many who had doubts to support the merger of Social Democrats and Liberals.
12.18pm BST
Farron says one of his old friends from the band suggested they reform to enter X Factor.
I said, one: we’re 45, two: I’m a bit busy, 3: we’re still rubbish.
12.17pm BST
Farron has arrived on stage.
He starts by talking about joining the Lib Dems.
When I was growing up my school didn’t have a sixth form. I guess that’s because most of us didn’t do A levels. So I went to a separate sixth form college - Runshaw in Leyland - and, in my first week, I joined the Liberal Party.
I’ve got a worse confession…On a Saturday night, I watch X factor…with the kids. It’s a terrible programme, but strangely compelling.
It is a desperately guilty pleasure - I have to cleanse myself by listening to Radio 6 for 2 solid hours afterwards.
12.13pm BST
Members getting shown video of Farron campaigning. Message is the new leader is street fighter #ldconf
12.11pm BST
Tim Farron is about to start is speech. First, in the conference hall, they are showing a video about him.
12.05pm BST
Now Wrigglesworth is demanding money with menaces.
Lib Dem treasurer jokes: we'll give you the Ashcroft treatment if you don't hand over the loot #ldconf
12.04pm BST
Here’s Steve Bell on Tim Farron.
Farron #ldconf speech soon. Here he is as balloon in today's gloriously demented Steve Bell http://t.co/3nu6MHNltj pic.twitter.com/QIU0FaTE9t
12.02pm BST
We have just been request to leave the @LibDems a legacy in our wills, but also not to die just yet! #ldconf
12.00pm BST
Lord Wrigglesworth, the Lib Dem treasurer, is now on stage doing a fundraising appeal before Tim Farron speeches.
If you are watching on the BBC Parliament channel and you can’t hear anything, that is because they won’t broadcast a political fundraising speech.
11.55am BST
Lib Dem leader @timfarron arrives to deliver #libdemconf speech with media, supporters and anti-nuclear protester pic.twitter.com/5vM4brObFa
11.54am BST
Tim Farron tells me he's relaxed: 'it's just another speech' as he walks into conference for his final address to members here. #libdemconf
Farron says he's watched "50 odd leaders' speeches" in his time. A bit cruel to describe his predecessors as "odd"
11.52am BST
Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Lib Dem leader, has been talking about Tim Farron on the Daily Politics.
"He's a man of extraordinary energy." Menzies Campbell on what @timfarron has that will take Lib Dems back to sunlit uplands. #bbcdp
Ming recalls Ashdown's HK passport campaign: "Farron needs something of that kind, perhaps the issue of refugees will be that issue" #bbcdp
11.50am BST
At the Lib Dem conference Sal Brinton, the party president, is handing out party awards.
Tim Farron is due to start speaking soon.
Farron arrives surrounded by Liberal party high viz orange - pic.twitter.com/zKeBPdfJjf
11.27am BST
A party conference is one of the rare moments in the year when ordinary members get to play a visible role in a high-profile party event. A lot of assumptions are made about who members are, but facts are in relatively short supply. Thankfully, though, at a Lib Dem fringe event last night, two academics presented some research into shedding some light on this area.
Professor Tim Bale from Queen Mary’s University of London and Professor Paul Webb from Sussex University carried out a survey in May this year of almost 6,000 party members from the six main parties, as part of a research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Here are some of the key findings.
10.18am BST
The Daily Mail has another four and a half pages today from Lord Ashcroft’s biography of David Cameron. In news terms, it is starting to get a bit thin - one of the spreads is about Cameron being posh, and another is about colleagues thinking he does not believe in much - but the material is very readable and there are some interesting revelations. Here are five of them.
1 - Boris Johnson secured more than £90m for policing in London by threatening to disrupt the Conservative conference if he did not get the money, the book claims.
In 2011, with the economic recovery yet to take root, the Chancellor was desperate to have a ‘quiet conference’ with ‘nothing unexpected’.
He rang Mr Johnson to instruct him to behave, noting that in 2009 the Mayor had overshadowed conference by writing a newspaper column, published on the day of Mr Osborne’s own speech, demanding a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
According to a well-placed source, she was certainly unimpressed by the title of Cameron’s first manifesto: ‘Invitation to join the Government of Britain’.
‘What is this? What is this?’ she spluttered on being shown a copy. ‘Invitation to join the Government of Britain?
Thatcher’s friends confirm that she never did warm to David Cameron.
‘She thought he was shallow, really. She’d say: “If you’re leader, you’ve got to believe in something,” ’ says one of her former confidants.
9.49am BST
George Osborne, the chancellor, is still in China. As the Press Association reports, he has announced that Britain is giving £3m to a Premier League scheme to train a new generation of football stars in the country. Osborne said the funding, which will pay to train 5,000 coaches in the country, would “significantly increase” Chinese awareness of English football.
9.29am BST
Jon Cruddas, the Labour MP who was in charge of policy under Ed Miliband, gave a speech on the state of the Labour party last night. It was remarkably blunt and challenging, and flatly contradicted Jeremy Corbyn’s ideas on a number of issue. Here’s an extract, but do read the whole thing.
Labour is now overwhelmingly a party of the socially liberal and progressively minded. They express Labour values that tend to be universalist principles such as equality, sustainability and social justice.
The party is losing connection with two thirds of the electorate who are either pragmatic in their voting habits or who are social conservatives and who value work, family, and their country. The idea that Labour can recover its lost voters by winning non-voters has no grounding in English political realities. To win Labour has to take them from the Conservatives.
9.21am BST
It was Lib Dem Glee Club last night. Here’s a flavour of it.
Alastair Carmichael leads #ldconf in song... Glee Club goes crazy pic.twitter.com/uqFckm8KDl
9.05am BST
It would be wrong to say that the Lib Dems have been shunted into total irrelevance by their catastrophic performance in the general election, but they are uncomfortably close. With just eight MPs, they have become almost invisible in parliament. And their annual conference, which has already been running for four days, has not exactly gripped the attention of the nation.
But today the party has its best chance to make its case since Nick Clegg resigned as leader on the Friday morning after polling day. That’s because Tim Farron, the new leader, is making his main speech to the conference. Farron won the leadership partly because he’s a dynamic orator, and this will be the biggest speech so far of his career.
Tim Farron will signal that he is prepared to go back into coalition with the Tories as he mounts a firm defence of Nick Clegg’s record in government, in his first party conference address as leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Farron will pitch himself in the political centre in the wake of Labour’s move to the left under Jeremy Corbyn. Despite the party losing all but eight of its MPs at the general election and dropping in the polls since then, Farron will declare himself proud of what the party did in government and express his determination to return there.
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