THE PLEDGE If the nation entrusts the Liberal Party at the next General Election with the responsibilities of Government, we are ready with schemes of work which we can put immediately into operation, work of a kind which is not merely useful in itself but essential to the well-being of the nation. The work put in hand will reduce the terrible figures of the workless in the course of a single year to normal proportions, and will, when completed, enrich the nation and equip it for competing successfully with all its rivals in the business of the world. These Plans will not add one penny to national or local taxation. It will require a great and sustained effort to redeem this pledge, but some of us sitting at this table have succeeded in putting through even greater and more difficult tasks in the interests of the nation. Extract from Mr. Lloyd George's address to Liberal Candidates on 1st March, 1929. WE CAN CONQUER UNEMPLOYMENT THE word written to-day on the hearts of British people, and graven on their minds is Unemployment. For eight years, more than a million British workers, able and eager to work, have been denied the opportunity. At the end of 1928 the total reached a million and a half; a quarter of a million more than a year before. These workers with their dependents, represent four or five million souls. They are a very nation, denied the opportunity to earn their daily bread, condemned to hardship, to wearing anxiety and often to physical and mental demoralisation. What a tragedy of human suffering; what a waste of fine resources; what a bankruptcy of statesmanship! This is by far the biggest single issue before the country. All parties will claim to have a solution, It is the task of the electors to decide which solution is the most likely to achieve success. In making a decision, they must consider not only the superficial attractiveness of the various proposals, but the extent to which they are based on sound reasoning and patient enquiry, and will be backed by driving power and by experience. This is a brief outline of the proposals of the Liberal Party. They have been developed as the result of enquiries of the most exhaustive character, lasting over years; indeed, even political opponents have paid tribute to the thoroughness and the ability put into the work of investigation. It was with these moving and inspiring words that Lloyd George introduced his book "We Can Conquer Unemployment" published in 1929. It bears reading again today, not only because "THE word written to-day on the hearts of British people, and graven on their minds is Unemployment. " is equally true in 2009, but also for its detail, its thoroughness, its accountability for each and every project right down to the last shilling and penny. Click now to download  Unemployment 1929-2009

Once again as we face unemployment, recession and a slow uphill climb, we need a similar aggressive, detailed plan, workable both in time and in accountability. Britain Can STILL Conquer Unemployment Recession? Unemployment? Doom and Gloom? Yes indeed. But our present downturn also offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in a future of productive industry, affordable housing, cost-effective public transport, rejuvenation of urban and rural environment. We should seize this golden, yes, golden opportunity to improve our productivity and our infrastructure. 1.    Analysis         Problem – Result – Solution 2.    Strategy         Development Banking – Regional Planning around Core Cities 3.    Investment         Transport – Housing – Community – Industry A nation's banking system is a vital – the most vital part of its infrastructure. Yet we dispose of sewage more efficiently. Let the "financial sector" of investment funds, voluntarily subscribed by individual investors, do their own thing and sink or swim accordingly. But for serious banking, both day-to-day needs and the more important longterm investment needs of trade and industry, large and small, we need proper, serious banking serving and supporting its clients through a longterm commitment. This is best done on a regional basis. Autonomous regions each based around a core city, each with its own development bank, can maximize their own resources and functionality, each making its own individual contribution to a productive and prospering nation. Whether it will be done or not is anybody's guess. But it can be done, of that let there be no doubt. Click now to download  Unemployment 1929-2009