Norman Lamb Goes to Church

Norman LambSt Stephen's NW3So much vitriol is thrown at Liberal Democrats in government by the opposition Labour Party that it was appropriate and helpful to have the LibDem Social Care Minister in the Department of Health, Norman Lamb, as guest speaker at Camden Liberal Democrats’ fundraising reception this evening at the magnificently restored (deconsecrated) St Stephen’s Church in Hampstead, to remind us that the LibDems are the caring side to the Coalition. The Norfolk MP is so transparently decent and honest — in contrast to the caricature of MPs in the tabloid Press — and he has picked up Paul Burstow’s mantel and worn it effectively, homing in particularly on care for the elderly — a hugely growing issue in Britain as elsewhere in the “developed” world — and mental health, the Cinderella of the NHS. Norman batted away the suggestion from one questioner that the NHS is under threat (by privatisation, if one believes Labour propaganda), despite the fact that Tony Blair’s government instigated many of the current reforms;  the Coalition government wants to see the NHS function well. In a short warm-up speech, I noted that tomorrow, 23 October, is a significant date for LibDem activists in Camden and across London, as seven months hence will be the day when  it is too late to say “I may lose”, in local or European elections, as the polling booths will have closed at 10pm the previous evening. It is essential that in the interim LibDems campaign not only to hold what they have got (in London boroughs and the European Parliament) but also to champion the European ideal. The electorate in the UK knows that the Liberal Democrats are the only major party in Britain that “gets” Europe; it’s our USP, and we should not try to hide that European light under a bushel. Mercifully, Nick Clegg is the first party leader who has dared to proclaim the European love that dare not speak its name: i.e., the EU is good for Britain, and Britain is good for the EU. To leave would be, in Nick’s words, a disaster. Of course, the EU needs reform, but you reform from inside, not from throwing stones from outside — UKIP and Tory Euro-sceptics please note.

Link:  http://www.camdenlibdems.org.uk