“Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence. Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear”.  So said Gladstone and it still seems as good a summary as one could hope to find of the essence of Liberalism.

As for a slogan, ‘Power to the People’ neatly summarizes my political philosophy which is that people should be trusted and given control of their own destiny wherever possible and hence that Government should be as small as possible and political and economic power should be devolved as far as possible.  At the same time I believe that Government can be a powerful force for good; in the complex modern World it is needed more than ever to maintain a level playing field and keep opportunity open to all.