By Richard Johnstone in Glasgow | 18 September 2013
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has told delegates at the Liberal Democrat conference today that the country’s economy is ‘growing stronger by the day’.
In his keynote address to the party’s annual conference, Clegg said that the ‘strong, successful’ coalition government had taken action to fix the economy.
Clegg insisted the recovery ‘wouldn’t be happening’ without the LibDems in government.
‘We have made sure the deficit is being cut at the right pace. We were the ones who said you don’t just get growth by cutting red tape, government also needs to invest in things: infrastructure, apprenticeships, regional growth.’
Clegg said the coaltion’s achievements also include a cap on individual adult social care costs, the increase to the personal tax-free allowance and the introduction of the pupil premium.
These achievements would be at risk if either the Conservative or Labour parties formed a majority after the next general election, he added.
‘The country is finally emerging from the biggest economic crisis in living memory. The absolute worst thing to do would be to give the keys to Number 10 to a single party government – Labour or the Conservatives.
‘All of the sacrifices made by the British people – the pay freezes, the spending cuts, the lost jobs, the daily grind of austerity – all of that would be for nothing. Labour would wreck the recovery. The Conservatives would give us the wrong kind of recovery. Only the Liberal Democrats can finish the job and finish it in a way that is fair.’
Clegg also announced that the government is going to provide free school meals for all children in infant schools in England. From next September, every child in reception, year 1 and year 2 will receive a lunch every day, which he said would save families more than £400 per year, per child.
Clegg said this would be a ‘first step’ towards the LibDems’ ambition to provide free school meals for all primary school children.
