When is it ok to scream and swear at a 14 year old? #ldconf

Apparently, according to protesters in Sheffield, when they are heading into Liberal Democrat conference.

Alex White, the star of last week's Scottish Conference, is attending her first federal Conference. She's 14 years old. She's had to endure what she called "vile abuse" as she's gone back and forth from the Sheffield City Hall. She said people were screaming and swearing at her. 

It's fine to make your point, protesters, but there are limits. I've heard from other friends there that people are being spat at and called names. 

Most of these people attending Conference aren't government ministers. They're nurses, teachers, mothers, fathers, students, charity workers, just ordinary folk. And the good thing about our party is that ordinary folk get to have a say in our policy. They didn't need a protest outside this morning to know that it was the right thing to oppose the scarier elements of the Coalition's NHS reforms. Even with no protesters, they would still have voted to restore the mobility element to DLA.

Most Liberal Democrats, up to and including our Cabinet Ministers, will have some sympathy with what people were protesting about. And they have a perfect right to make their views known.

It's much more effective, though, to actually talk to people in a non threatening way. It's just wrong, though, to spit and shout and intimidate.

My husband told me about something that happened 27 years ago during the miners' strike. He saw a mother point out a police officer to her very small child, and tell them that he was a "baddie". I don't always think that the Police behave sensibly in these situations, but to dismiss them all as "baddies"? It isn't helpful.

One of the reasons I really can't abide much of the labour movement is that they are so intolerant, intransigent and intimidating to those who don't share every element of their beliefs. Part of why I'm a liberal is because of the treatment meted out to those who chose to go back to work during the miners' strike. I think it's up to people to make their own minds up about these things and their decisions should be respected. We're starting to see the same sort of nastiness being reborn today.  

Another story my husband told me a long time ago was a story of this very old man who died in the early 80s in a small mining village. And nobody went to his funeral. Because he'd worked through a strike. The General Strike. Of 1926. Ok, so you don't agree with that, but does it deserve 6 decades of isolation? Really?

In Sheffield today, the abuse meted out to young Alex has, to her credit, not put her up nor down. In fact, she's been working her oratorical magic again, as Chris Mills tweeted.  And winning Jennie Rigg's approval, who said her speech was "awesome, passionate and persuasive" is a special thing indeed.

I understand that people are angry, but there are limits of acceptable behaviour. I was angry about the Iraq war, but I never spat at or abused anybody. Sure, if I'd had the chance to meet Tony Blair, he'd have had the sharp end of my tongue, but I wouldn't have harmed him. I think people destroy their case when they resort to nasty and abusive behaviour. 

Nick Clegg and his big mouth!

I have so much to tell you from Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference that I hardly know where to start. Maybe this little anecdote will be an amuse bouche for what's to come.

You might remember last October, when they let me loose on Lib Dem Voice, I had a chat with Alexandra White, who, at just 14, had wowed the Conference with a passionate speech on education. Well, she did it again yesterday morning in the debate on sentencing for drugs offences. Unfortunately, I didn't see her speech as I had to be somewhere else at the time, but I'm told it was extremely moving and people were talking about it all day. One sign of a good public speaker is the ability to speak with feeling and clarity without notes, but that's not something you can do at 14 - unless you are Alex, of course. I asked her for a copy of her speech and she said she didn't have one as she'd just made it up as she went along. This girl is definitely one to watch for the future.

Anyway, yesterday Deputy Prime Minister and UK Party Leader Nick Clegg was up to lend his support to the Scottish Election Campaign (and more detail about his speech later). After he spoke, he was chatting away to Scottish Party Convener Craig Harrow who told him that they were giving out the annual award for best speech to a 14 year old called Alexandra who had spoken about drugs. What he didn't tell Nick was that this was top secret and was intended to be a surprise to her when it was announced at the end of the day.

That was ok, though - he'd already met her and was unlikely to do so again, at least yesterday. You know what's coming, though, don't you? Alex ended up taking a photo of a friend of hers with Nick. He put two and two together and said, with characteristic enthusiasm, "Oh, you're the Alexandra who's getting the prize for the best speech. Well done."

In Alex's own words "My jaw just hit the floor".

I asked her later on whether she would have preferred it if it had been a complete surprise and her reply was that finding out by accident from the Deputy Prime Minister made it extra special, and gave her a story to tell for the rest of her life.

Alex's prize was the Russell Johnston Trophy, a silver sporran flask, which was first presented to Sybil Alexander in 1990. Previous winners include Alistair Carmichael, Tavish Scott, Jim Wallace, Edinburgh Council leader Jenny Dawe and Ross Finnie. Alex is in some very good company. Her name will be engraved on the plaque which accompanies the flask, ensuring her of a place in the history of the party.

Here is Alex, with the trophy itself.

Alex can be very proud of herself for the impact she's had on the Party so far. What yesterday's award shows is that the Party is proud of her too.