The Liberal Democrats Spring Conference: Ashdown calls for action to end 'fatalism'

PADDY ASHDOWN, the Liberal Democrat leader, yesterday called on his party to breathe life back into British democracy before it was too late as he painted a picture of a country beset by an 'unhealthy fatalism'.

In a scathing attack on the Government at the party's spring conference he said a 'cancer' was growing at the heart of politics. Pluralism was being destroyed and opportunities for corruption increased by the appointment of Tory placemen to national quangos, school boards and hospital trusts.

'This country of ours is fast taking on all the attributes of a one-party state. A central government that's out of touch, a self-perpetuating system of jobs for the boys and a political nomenclature that's fast replacing our democracy.'

With party members jubilant after their gains in the county council elections and at Newbury, Mr Ashdown said their task was to keep up the momentum as a vehicle for change. 'The floodtide is running with us. We must have the courage to take it.'

He said that to deliver change they would have to take risks. Taking two himself, he proposed tax increases 'borne fairly by all' to reduce the budget deficit and more private sector involvement in education.

The Liberal Democrats have promised to give every child an entitlement to pre-school learning and every parent a choice about where that learning should take place.

'But our party can't duck the issue of how we would achieve it. We should be looking at Early Learning Vouchers as a means of entitlement and choice,' he said.

Vouchers would give parents power to choose between council playschools, voluntary playgroups, private company provision or other private schemes.

Mr Ashdown remains opposed to extending the voucher scheme into the compulsory education years, a controversial idea of right-wing educationalists, in which vouchers could be used to pay for state education or topped up for private schooling.

But he said they had to think creatively and consider whether it made sense to 'shun' the independent sector. One possibility was a requirement for private schools to open facilities to the public and provide places for gifted children in exchange for charitable tax status.

Hailing the party's triumph at Newbury on 6 May, Mr Ashdown said the political map had changed, but unhappily the government's attitude had stayed the same. John Major had not changed failed policies, 'he's just shifted failed politicians'.

The Government was dragged down by deficits in trade, in its budget, and above all in its political and economic credibility. Accountability was losing all meaning after 14 Tory years.

But the more the Tories lost votes, the more they bypassed democracy by putting their placemen on to quangos. Quangos were now spending a fifth of all public money. There were 1,400 of them, a third of whose board members - 44,000 people - were appointed by ministers.