We spoke to the Liberal Democrats Deputy Leader, Daisy Cooper, in Brighton.
Cathy Newman: Labour are apparently considering processing asylum claimants offshore as Italy are doing. Is that something you’d support?
Daisy Cooper: We Liberal Democrats have said for a very long time that not only do we have to increase security, what we really need to do is reopen those safe and legal routes which the Conservatives closed down. And only by reopening those safe and legal routes, which includes processing people before they even apply to come here so they can do so without crossing the Channel, that would be a really good step forward.
Cathy Newman: There’s been another step forward, something you’ve always opposed, which is digital ID cards, something recommended by the former prime minister Tony Blair. Labour’s sort of resisting it. Is that something you’d consider?
Daisy Cooper: I don’t think we need to have digital ID cards. What we need is an asylum system that actually works. We know the Conservatives brought the asylum system to its knees with an enormous backlog and lots of vulnerable people left in a situation where they can’t claim asylum here and they can’t be moved abroad either. What we really need is to be opening up these safe and legal routes so people who can claim asylum can do so without having to make that terrible journey across the Channel.
Cathy Newman: Of course, a lot of that depends on better relations with the European Union, which is something that Keir Starmer has tried to sort of reboot. There was a point of difference there between you and Labour, isn’t there, because you’ve committed in your manifesto to rejoining the EU single market and eventually rejoining the EU itself. But it’s something you’ve been so sort of muted on as a party, isn’t it? Do you now, with your record 72 MPs, have the confidence to shout more loudly about the benefits of the UK rejoining the EU?
Daisy Cooper: We have been very clear for months and for years that we think Brexit has been a disaster. It’s wrapped up our small businesses in red tape. Farmers have been undercut by these disastrous trade deals from abroad. And so, of course we want to rebuild our relationship with Europe. I do think that the government is giving out the right mood music. It’s really hard to overestimate the damage that the Conservatives did to our relationship with the EU. So I welcome the mood music. But we Liberal Democrats are going to hold Labour’s feet to the fire and we want to start by asking them to really consider a youth mobility scheme because that’s one of the very first things the government could do straightaway, which would set us on that path to rebuilding that relationship with Europe.
Cathy Newman: Holding Labour’s feet to the fire, you say. Does that include, on the future of the NHS, where they’re saying Keir Starmer is saying ‘no more cash without reform’. You want cash now. So does that mean if you don’t get cash for the NHS in the budget, you’ll vote against the budget?
Daisy Cooper: We will see what Labour brings forward in the budget and we look forward to seeing those details. But we have been clear we want to see reform and investment and we think that during a cost of living crisis it’s the wrong thing to do to ask ordinary folk to pay higher taxes. But we do think that the big banks, the big oil and gas companies, the big tech companies, they could be paying a little bit more to help our NHS and care services get back on their feet.
Cathy Newman: So higher taxes for better public services. That’s the new Lib Dem message, is it?
Daisy Cooper: Liberal Democrats said throughout the general election that we will not tax struggling families during a cost of living crisis, but we will look to reverse the tax cuts the Conservatives gave to the big banks. We will look to increasing the digital tax on the big tech giants. We will look to a windfall tax.
Cathy Newman: Capital gains tax?
Daisy Cooper: We would look to close the loophole in the capital gains tax, which would mean that the richest 1 per cent of people in the country will pay a little bit more to get our health and care back on their feet.
Cathy Newman: But just to push you on the budget, if you don’t get more money for the NHS in the budget, you’d vote against it, would you?
Daisy Cooper: We’re not committing at this stage to any kind of voting decision until we see the details of what the Labour government will bring forward. But we are very clear here at our conference what we want to see. We want to see a budget for the NHS and social care. We want to see a budget that will save our NHS and social care and that requires reform and investment.
Cathy Newman: And just briefly, you know, you all need to entertain people during the election campaign, bungee jumping and jet skiing and so on. Do you think Keir Starmer, with his very downbeat message, is talking the country down?
Daisy Cooper: I think it’s entirely up to the prime minister to decide how he wants to run his new government.
Cathy Newman: You don’t want to see him bungee jumping?
Daisy Cooper: He can decide whether he wants to do the bungee jump or not. Certainly I’m not going to do one, I can tell you that. What I would say is I think many people voted for the Liberal Democrats, we got our best result ever, because we showed that we’re very serious about our politics, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.
