Liberal Democrats Spring Conference: Nick Clegg speech

Liberal Democrats Spring Conference: Nick Clegg speech; Nick Clegg MP speech SOT - Once the banks are lending again. We can turn our attention not just to protecting jobs, but to creating new ones. In our first year in office, we will use the money from that banking levy. And the money from reforming tax credits. To create as many as 100,000 jobs in green industries. Kick-starting the economy on a new, sustainable footing. - I was standing in a shipyard on the Tyne just a few weeks ago. It was deserted. And I thought back to the days gone by when it would have been humming with activity. It’s heartbreaking to think of that decline. And the devastating impact it had on whole communities. - But it is inspiring to imagine these old shipyards. Once the pride of Britain. Coming back to life as a hub for building the vast new turbines needed for offshore wind and tidal energy. Helping to power Britain and Europe with clean, safe energy for all. - Britain used to lead the world. We built ships. We designed railways. We laid the first telegraph cables across the oceans. This is the nation of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Of Isaac Newton, who made modern science possible. Of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the greatest civil engineer in history. - We have to harness that inventive spirit once again. We have been blinded for too long by the glitz of the financial services sector. Blinded to the real, solid virtue of making things. It has to change. Under the Liberal Democrats, it will change. No longer just betting on things. We will start Britain building things again. That is change that works for you. - But there’s something standing in the way of change. Our political system. All the pomp and ceremony of our Parliament. All the adorably daft rituals. Have been camouflage for corruption. - It is just plain wrong that a government elected by the votes of just 22 per cent of people can rule however it likes. It is just plain w...