Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, was an awesome presence in Morpeth on Thursday afternoon (20th March).

9.12.21pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 30th Mar 2008

Nick Clegg launces the Lib Dem election campaign for the new Nothumberland Council

In the North East to launch the Party's Election Campaign Nick made his first ever visit to Morpeth to help launch the Northumberland Liberal Democrats Manifesto for the forthcoming Northumberland Unitary elections on Thursday 1st May 2008. After posing for photographs with candidates at County Hall Nick went on to Morpeth Cottage Hospital where he met Jim MacKay, Chief Executive of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust, Steve Russell, Director of Emergency Care (who is heading up the Review) & other staff from the hospital. After being briefed on the extensive Review plans for the hospital, Nick spent time talking to patients and their relatives. He also saw the palliative care beds which are funded by Macmillan, and which are so highly valued by local people.

Nick heard that local Liberal Democrat councillors had played a key part in promoting effective consultation on the review. This has resulted in the NHS Trust, Castle Morpeth Borough Council and local MPs having an agreed approach to providing new and improved out-patient and diagnostic services in the centre of Morpeth, whilst the regional stroke rehabilitation facilities will relocate to Wansbeck General Hospital. During the visit Nick gave an interview to BBC TV which was broadcast on "Look North" on Thursday evening.

Nick Clegg listening to local views

Later at Morpeth Town Hall Nick gave a press briefing to the Morpeth Herald & met with each of the Liberal Democrat candidates. He then spent an hour hosting a meeting and answering questions from an audience which was a mixture of local Liberal Democrats and the general public. It was particularly pleasing to see quite a number of young people in the audience, and their willingness to ask questions. Nick was asked questions about Europe and the Treaty of Lisbon, where the official Liberal Democrat line was to abstain on a recent House of Commons vote, but 15 MPs voted for a referendum. He argued that the Treaty was not the major constitutional issue that some claimed, and listed many issues which are totally unaffected by the treaty. He believed that it was a Tory stunt, and that it was the Tories who had written the original Maastricht Treaty in the 1990's about which they are now complaining. Liberal Democrats want a referendum on our membership of Europe, when he, and the party, would campaign strongly that we should remain in Europe.

Nick Clegg holds an open Q&A session in a packed Morpeth Town Hall

He agreed with a questioner about the poor state of the country's Mental Health services, particularly the length of the waiting period for initial consultation, and that the emphasis on meeting targets rather than addressing patient need was harming the NHS generally. He advocated that the NHS should be much more patient-centred, with patients having the ability to seek alternative services if they couldn't get them locally, within a reasonable timescale. He reminded his audience that the Party had introduced free personal care for older people in Scotland & that we were committed to a similar approach through the United Kingdom.

He was a little bit surprised by a nine year old asking him what the Party would do for children, particularly when the boy said he did not find the work at school hard enough or much fun. Nick promised that the Party was committed to freeing schools from unnecessary centralisation, allowing schools to make their own decisions and giving all children the same educational opportunities. He also promised to stop selling off school playing fields. He said that academies had their place, but not where they were controlled by minorities. They had to be accountable to local people and strict regulations should be in place from the beginning. Again he reminded the audience that it was Liberal Democrat influence in Scotland that had led to the abolition of student fees, and this was policy for the Party throughout the country.

Nick Clegg answering questions at Morpeth Town Hall

He reiterated a long held Liberal Democrat belief that devolved local democracy was at the heart of our policy, and that this included making the NHS accountable to local people, rather than through unelected quangos. He received enthusiastic applause for his support for the Gurkas to be allowed to continue living in this country having fought for our freedom for so long. In his election material he had promised to establish a Military Commission to look at the support needs of the country's Armed Forces. He had honoured that pledge and Ming Campbell now chairs that Commission.

He made it clear he was opposed to compulsory ID cards as they would come at vast expense and would make the UK system the most stringent in the Western world. There is no evidence it would improve security and recent security data breaches only served to emphasise the dangers of holding data on individuals in large data banks. He referred to the 3000 additional laws brought in by the Labour Government and pledged that a future Liberal Democrat Government would work hard to protect and preserve people's liberty. He felt there was an urgent need to rethink the current prison system and quoted alarming figures for re-offending rates amongst short term prisoners. Community sentences could be far more effective if properly resourced.

Finally Nick Clegg made it abundantly clear that he would not make any pre-election commitment on coalitions, even though it had been suggested the Liberal Democrats could be in a position of power in a "hung Parliament". He said the onus would be on the party with the most MPs to try to form a government, but Nick emphasised that he and the party would be foolish if they ignored an opportunity to change the way politics is done in this country. That would be very different to being a "bolt-on" to another party with more seats.

He made it clear he was opposed to compulsory ID cards as there was no evidence it would improve security and recent security data breaches only served to emphasise the dangers of holding data on individuals in large data banks. He referred to the 3000 additional laws brought in by the Labour Government and pledged that a future Liberal Democrat Government would work hard to protect and preserve people's liberty.