but most intense pressures. but with such long waiting lists, so many staff vacancies, and in so many staff vacancies, and in so many staff vacancies, and in so many hospitals literally crumbling, the nhs simply isn't working the way it used to or the way it should. we need to transform the way we do health and care in this country. and our mps have already taken the lead on that in this new parliament. there is a reason wes streeting calls us his 72 new pen pals. because from the second each one of our mps entered parliament, they were on the case. speaking up for all those people who have watched their loved ones waiting hours in pain and distress for an ambulance to arrive. and patients we weeks just to see their gp while their illness got worse and worse. parents searching in vain for an

worse. parents searching in vainforan nhs worse. parents searching in vain for an nhs dentist for their kids. and cancer patients waiting months or even years to start treatment. the conservative party left office with almost 6.5 million people languishing on hospital waiting lists. , that is one in every nine people in england. a single astonishing statistic that encapsulates an appalling legacy of failure from the last conservative government. and a disaster for our society and our economy. just imagine. just imagine how much better it thinks would be now if those 6.5 million people had already had the operational treatment they need and been able to get on with their lives. just imagine how many people would now be back at work, earning a decent living and boosting our

economy. just imagine how much pain, stress and anxiety families would have been saved from, and how much more free they would feel as a result. that is, after all, why the nhs is so important to us as liberals and why we remain the biggest champions for our nhs. now, we know that fixing the nhs will not be easy. the conservative government broke it so badly over so many years that it will take a lot of work to put it back together. but we also know that it must be done, and we know it can be done. we can offer people hope on

health, starting with a whole new focus on community services, helping people to get care more quickly and more locally with more gps, more nhs dentists and more community pharmacists. so if your people end up in hospital in the first place. now, of course that will need more up front investment and we know that terrible state of the public finances, thanks to the conservatives shocking mismanagement. but there can be no doubt about the scale of the challenge ahead. yet that makes it even more important to make the investment we propose in a front line nhs services, not less, because if you invest wisely, if you make sure people can get the care they need when and where they needed if you bring it down waiting lists and get people back to work, if you help people to stay healthy for longer... not only will you dramatically improve people's lives, but you will actually

save taxpayer's money in the future. and give the economy to boost it needs. the problem is, the treasury isn't wired to think this way. instead, we have that short term and negative thinking that leads governments to postpone hospital repairs and cancel new buildings. short term thinking to save a bit of money now, even though you know it will only cost a lot more in the future. practically every year i can remember governments have ended up announcing hundreds of millions of pounds of emergency funding to help the nhs through another winter crisis. to paper over the cracks. what if instead of stumbling from crisis to crisis, instead of throwing more and more money as just plugging the gaps, what if we invested now to make the nhs winter proof? the government

could and should make this year the last winter crisis in our nhs! soi so i urge labour, do not make the same mistakes the conservative party did. be more positive, act now, show the ambition and urgency this moment demands and save our nhs for good! up cheering and applause but transforming our nhs is just one part of tackling to the health and care crisis. the

other part. — the health and care crisis. the other part. as _ the health and care crisis. the other part, as we _ the health and care crisis. the other part, as we all- the health and care crisis. the other part, as we all know, is care. and we know we will not save the nhs if we don't sort out care. save the nhs if we don't sort out care-— out care. now, as you know, care has— out care. now, as you know, care has always _ out care. now, as you know, care has always been - out care. now, as you know, care has always been a - out care. now, as you know, care has always been a big . out care. now, as you know, i care has always been a big part of my life and we have talked about it before, haven't we? first, my life as a young carer looking after my mum as a teenager. giving her morphine to help ease the pain of her bone cancer. helping her to give herself electric shocks when the pain got really bad. getting incredibly close to mum over her three years battling her cancer, and then dealing with the enormous hole when she finally left. and then caring for my wonderful nana, my grandmother, who had taken such good care of me after mum and dad had both died. and now emily and i, caring for our wonderful, smiley 16—year—old son, john. with his challenges, from his severe disabilities.

we saw in that video just a little glimpse of the joyjohn brings to our lives, the fun we have together. even at 5:30am when he shouts daddy to wake me up, it is a blessing. given he was nine years old when he was first able to say daddy. but alongside the fun and the blessings, i have to tell you, caring for your family can be tough. just dealing with whatever comes each day, making plans that too often fall through. as millions of people across our country know, carer's life is often exhausting. each time i speak about my story, i am humbled by the number of people who get in touch to say, that is my story too. but i confess i was not

prepared for so many incredible, heartfelt responses to that election broadcast. people of all walks of life, all political parties and none. like the couple whose addled son had similar care needs to john. they kindly reached out to say that they know how it feels, especially the where you have about what is going to happen after you are gone. . just like emily and i worry aboutjohn, no one will ever hold him the way that we hold him. no one will ever love him the way that we love him. i guess it is an anxiety for all parents, what happens when you are gone. but it is so intense when your child will be vulnerable all of their life. and then there are the young carers who have contacted me, like 15—year—old joseph who has been looking after his mum who has ms since he was five. joseph told me caring for his

mum is the toughest but most rewarding feeling. he told me that he has never really had his opportunity to be heard. he says not to get the sympathy card, but to make people feel less alone. because i know so truly how that feels. joseph wrote to me, i wanted you to know that people like yourself are everywhere, quiet and silenced, but we are still here. that is why i have been telling my story. forjoseph, for those parents, for the millions of tears whose voices have been quiet and silenced. because care and carriers must not be forgotten and ignored any longer. friends, politics has lost its way when it forgets so many people. when all it does is try to divide

us, look for the worst in people. i want us to be different. forthe people. i want us to be different. for the way that we do politics to reflect the true nature of the british people, the true nature of our great united kingdom, a caring nation. it is like emily said so powerfully during the election, what you have got to haveis election, what you have got to have is a caring community, a caring society, that is our best hope for the future. and, friends, if the liberal democrats do not offer that hope, if we don't speak up for a care in parliament, no one else will. of course, everyone knows that conservatives don't care. but did you know carriers were not mentioned once in labour's election manifesto? and carriers weren't mentioned once in the king's speech,

either. but carriers did feature in keir starmer�*s first prime minister's questions, because i made sure they would. cheering and applause i told the prime minister about andrea, carer in my constituency who has been hit with the bill from the department for work and pensions for more than eaooo. andrea isjust one pensions for more than eaooo. andrea is just one of tens of thousands of carriers who were caught up in the cares allowance repayment scandal under the conservative government. i urge keir starmer to sort it out and i repeat that call today. prime minister, if you are willing to find a solution, i am ready and

willing to work with you and get it done for carers. this, friends, is where all our 72 mp5 this, friends, is where all our 72 mps will play in this parliament. using our strengths, is not only once again the third party in the house of commons, but also the largest third party in a century. to be the responsible opposition to this government. and to speak up for people in our communities, taken for granted and ignored by the others. telling ministers directly about the problems real people are facing, raising theissues real people are facing, raising the issues that would otherwise go unnoticed in the government's blind spots.

holding labour to account for it that promises they made to clear up the conservative�*s mess. championing practical and hopeful solutions for a better future. notjust on health and care, but the cost of living, sewage, nature, and the climate. the crisis in our justice system, prisons bursting at the seams, criminals walking free, victims denied justice. and the pressing need to fix our broken relationship with europe. to get a better deal for britain and put us on the road back to the single market, including, yes, a youth mobility scheme to boost

british businesses and give our young people the freedom to travel and work across europe. from growing our economy into fixing our nhs, to reforming our politics, we will urge the government to act faster and be much bolder. because the challenges we face cannot be solved by burying our heads in the sand and pretending they don't exist, like the conservatives do. but nor can they be solved with a pessimism and defeatism we are hearing from labour. they will be solved at the way britain has always done in the past, by rising to our challenges with guts, determination and hope.

so we will cut through the government doom and gloom with our ambition for our country. we will scrutinise their plans carefully, and strive to improve them, and we will oppose them if we think they have got it wrong. like their decision to strip the winter fuel payment from millions of struggling pensioners, just when energy bills are set to rise again this winter. but where it ministers act in the national interest to solve such problems and improve people's lives, we will support them. back when i was first elected in 1997, patty ashdown adapted the serenity prayer for a better, the serenity prayerfor a better, more the serenity prayer for a better, more constructive approach to opposition. patty's serenity prayer went like this... mate we have the power to oppose what we must oppose,

courage to support what we must support, and the wisdom to know the difference. conference,... conference, wouldn't we all have loved patty to be here today for this moment? applause so i wanted to make the same invocation for us today. for thatis invocation for us today. for that is the power, the courage and the wisdom that we will needin and the wisdom that we will need in the years ahead. because it will fall to us to be the responsible opposition that any government needs. an essential role in our democracy. and a role that today's conservative party simply cannot fulfil. they show

themselves to be totally unfit to govern our country, and the british people rightly booted them out. and the conservatives... and the conservatives... and the conservatives are already showing they are unfit for opposition as well. it is hardly surprising, i suppose. expecting that lot to hold the government to account on the nhs or the economy? that would be like putting a bull in charge of repairing the china shop. imean, who i mean, who would leave thejob of upholding ethical standards and government to the gang who put borisjohnson in number ten? and when the country needs in opposition to scrutinise next month's budget, it is not

a job for the tory geniuses who cheered liz truss�*s, is it? just look at the quarter it heading to birmingham in a fortnight to audition for the job of conservative leader. they really are scraping the bottom of the barrel with these new tv reality shows, aren't they? i hear they are planning to call it strictly come pandering. or maybe, the great british blame off. or it may pointless. —— or maybejust pointless. —— or maybejust pointless. isn't it funny how after years of sitting around the cabinet table, these for it

suddenly think they have the solution to our country's big challenges? if only they thought of those answers just a few months sooner. conference, the truth is this. in government, these four conservatives did not care about real people's everyday problems. and it is clear none of them care about you now. the modern conservative party is so out of touch with so many of their former voters so far removed from the real lives of ordinary people that it no longer in merits a place at the top table of our politics. we can't let them back after all of the damage they have done to our great country. we cannot let them off the hook, after the chaos and misery they

have caused. friends, ourjob is to consign at the conservative party to the history books. to be fair, we made a pretty good start injuly. winning an incredible 60 seats from them. including in places that had elected only conservative mps for generations. we said, didn't we, we would bring the blue wall tumbling down, and we did. we did it. by speaking to millions of lifelong conservative voters who felt let down, and taken for granted by today's conservative party. voters who believed in the fundamental british values of fairness, decency, freedom, and respect for the rule of law.

and who no longer see those values reflected in the party of borisjohnson and liz truss. but who find those values strong in the liberal democrats. so, friends, on the 4th ofjuly, we made a great start. but now let's go further. let's finish the job! and what a great chance we have next may at county council elections in places like devon, surrey, places with conservative councils that have let people down for far too long. and places where we did rather well injuly, and where we could do even better next time. just never forget, our

recovery has been built through your hard work, listening to and serving local people, proper community politics. and our future success will be built at the exact same way. not just built at the exact same way. notjust against the conservatives next may, but across the country in the years to come, including in the big cities. like liverpool, sheffield, newcastle, where we have such a proud history and such a bright future. like hull where we won back control two years ago and where my cross and his team are showing the way already. cities that have thrived under liberal democrat run councils in the past and will do again. because not only has our strength in

parliament never been as great as it is now, but i believe our role in british politics, the liberal democrat's purpose in british politics, has never been clearer than it is today. notjust been clearer than it is today. not just to been clearer than it is today. notjust to vanquish what is left of the conservative party, notjust left of the conservative party, not just to take left of the conservative party, notjust to take their remaining seats and notjust to be the careful scrutiny years of labour's actions. but after what we saw on our streets this summer, i have never been more certain of a need for apartheid with our principles and our values, front and centre of the political debate. conference, the killing of

elsie, alice and bb at their taylor swift dance class and southport was a horrifying crime and a heartbreaking tragedy. i know we are all still thinking of their families and friends, as they grieve such a cruel loss. and let's not forget, that being the response of the vast majority of the british people, people of all backgrounds, and southport and across the uk, who came together with love and compassion to support each other and to mourn the deaths of those three little girls. because, we are a caring nation. and that should have been all that needed to be said. but we know what happened next. a small minority of thugs

resorted to appalling racism and violence, egged on by notorious hate preachers and dangerous conspiracy theorists. they targeted mosques, advice centres, asylum—seekers and police officers. so, let us be clear. these were not protests. these were lawless riots. riots where police officers were injured and abused as they bravely tried to keep our communities safe. so, it is absolutely right that anyone involved in those riots now faces the full force of the law. and let me say to all of

you, from muslim and ethnic minority communities, who watched in fear as those awful scenes unfolded. who are forced to ask whether it was safe to step out onto your own streets, to go into your own city centres, or to pray at your own mosques. we stand with you. you should always feel safe, and we will work with you to tackle the appalling scourge of its xenophobia and racism. —— appalling scourge of islamophobia and racism. but even amidst this awful, awful

scenes, once again we saw the true nature of the british people. not the racist, criminal minority, but the far larger numbers of all races, religions and non—religions, who stood peacefully in solidarity against the violence, against hate. people who condemned the riots and came at the next morning, picked up beanbags and brooms and cleared up their communities. you are the true patriots in our country, decent, kind, united. conference, we will never stop applauding our patriots in our

country. conference, these are the values are politics needs now more than ever. to resist the rise of extremists, not just at home but around the world, too. with vladimir putin waging his brutal war in ukraine, with a terrible humanitarian catastrophe in gaza, hamas�*s atrocities on october the 7th, hostages still held captive, the continuing illegal occupations under of regional escalation, with the looming spectre of a second trump residency. how i hope and pray to see kamala harris defeat him this november.

neglect respect for the rule of law. the values that have always been at the heart of our party. our party believes that basic rights and dignity are the birthright of every individual. our party celebrates britain's diversity as a great strength. our party knows that our country thrives when it is open and outward —looking. when it stands tall as a force for good in the world instead of

shrinking from it and turning inwards. crucially, our party stays focused on tackling the real problems in people's lives. from health and care to crime and the cost of living. instead of looking for scapegoats or conspiracy theories as a short cut to electoral success. our values are the antidote to the populism and extremism that threatens our communities, threatens our communities, threatens the traditions we cherish and threatens the british way of life. you, are the antidote to hate and division. a strong, proud and confident liberal democrat party fighting for our values every day.

working hard in our