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I've just returned from the Lib Dem Party Conference where I witnessed a strange mix of emotions. Excitement and delight at the developments which have placed them in Government and, thanks to their leader, punched well above their weight in terms of policy and influence. Yet many councillors seemed deeply uneasy at the reality of savage public service cuts and the effect they will have on poorer people.
As one outspoken councillor put it at a policy roundtable about young people I attended - ''We're cutting the deficit now so that future generations won't have to suffer our mess, but future generations are already suffering because cutting the deficit means cutting support services.'' In the refreshing conspiracy light Lib Dem style, these fears were all freely voiced to the DPM and seem to be taken in good part - Nick Clegg even turned up to a fringe where one of the main speakers had been asking him awkward questions during his opening speech. These are however, very real fears and let's hope they are taken note of too.
On a lighter note, the latest deficit reduction analogy - a cabbie in Liverpool to Nick Clegg's mate: ''If someone is sick in the back of my cab, I don't blame it on the woman with the mop and bucket who clears it up.''
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