How Scottish Lib Dems helped me win at Westminster - Jo

9.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 21st Sep 2005

Jo Swinson addressing Liberal Democrat Conference

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have celebrated the success of the party in Scotland with a presentation at this year's Party Conference in Blackpool. Jo Swinson MP gave an address to the conference hall explaining how success in Scotland helped her win a seat at Westminster.

She said,

"During my election campaign, I was able to point to the tangible record of the Liberal Democrats in government in Scotland as hard evidence of the party's ability to govern. I lost count of the times where I used our success stories in Holyrood to persuade people to vote for me in the general election. A key message of my campaigning has been the clear difference that has been made by having the Lib Dems in government in Scotland."

Jo praised the achievements that have been made by the Liberal Democrats during their time in Holyrood, including free personal care for the elderly, the scrapping of tuition fees, the party's environmental policies and investment in public transport.

She also explained that her seat in East Dunbartonshire was made all the more winnable when the Liberal Democrats took control of East Dunbartonshire Council in 2003.

Jo gave credit to the success of colleague Danny Alexander, who was also newly elected to the House of Commons in May, and paid tribute to ex-Scottish Leader Jim Wallace. To end her speech, she introduced Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen, who went on to talk about the challenges that lie ahead for the Scottish Liberal Democrats