Charles Kennedy: On the brink of change

From a speech by the Liberal Democrat leader to the Centre for Reform, in Westminster

I believe that we are on the brink of a new and profound sea change. There used to be vast ideological fault lines between the parties: private against public; bosses against workers; the defenders of the rich against the champions of the poor. But times have changed. The Berlin Wall has long since gone. Socialism is now discredited – and so is the aggressive free-market approach of Thatcherism.

These days the divisions between Labour and the Conservatives are much less obvious than the beliefs they hold in common. Both want power exercised by a strong central government. Both distrust decentralism and pluralism. Both are illiberal towards criminal justice, immigration and asylum. Both cite security as an excuse for authoritarianism. Both are lukewarm towards the European Union. Both drag their feet over fair votes.

It is a core belief for Liberal Democrats that all groups have a right to live their lives as they choose. Sadly, Jack Straw and David Blunkett have largely adopted the approach to these issues of their Conservative predecessors. That is why we say that in the 21st century the real division in politics is no longer between the left and right. It is between the liberal and the illiberal.