Tim Farron’s speech to this year’s autumn conference was rather muted compared to his effort in Birmingham last year. The Liberal Democrat president did take the opportunity to attack both Labour and the Tories, of course, because that is his job, but he did not talk about Conservatives speaking ‘drivel’, or about divorces.
He described Labour’s record in government as ’13 years of a Labour government: what a mandate, what a disappointment’, and delivered the obligatory Liberal Democrat attack on the banks.
But other than praising Nick Clegg for preventing a majority Conservative government in the 2010 election, his overt criticism of the Tories was limited to a list of what the Lib Dems had achieved (including blocking the reintroduction of a two-tier exam system) and an attack on climate change sceptics. He quoted the campaign slogan ‘vote blue, go green’, adding, ‘so, Dave, how’s that going?’ He joked that from hugging huskies, the Prime Minister had gone to sending Zac Goldsmith straight to voicemail.
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