How quickly they forget. In Blackpool Labour delegates chose to forget the 18 years of Thatcher and all the damage done to Britain by the Tories. Instead they marvelled over how the first-past-the-post electoral system had given them a majority of 179.

They wanted to forget that they ever put electoral reform in their manifesto.

Eighteen months ago people voted for a change in politics, a change from sleaze, a change from sly words re-writing election commitments, and a change to open and honest government. The Liberal Democrats remain committed to a Bill of Rights, an effective Freedom of Information Act, and an electoral system in which all votes have equal weight.

There is no danger of Liberal Democrats in York losing faith in Paddy Ashdown and his attempts to co-operate with Labour on constitutional reform. The real danger is that Labour can't be trusted to modernise Britain.

Andrew Waller

Parliamentary Spokesman City of York Liberal Democrat

Carnot Street

York

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