Nick Clegg's New Year message

12.01.00pm GMT Wed 2nd Jan 2008

Nick Clegg looks forward to 2008

"Under my leadership, we will campaign for opportunity for everyone, with people, families, and communities in control of their destinies.

"So we will campaign for flexible working, shared parental leave, and flexible benefits for all families. We will campaign for sensible restrictions on advertising aimed at toddlers - my own children remember the adverts far more clearly than any of the programmes they watch. We have lost the virtue of cherishing innocence, as childhood becomes ever shorter.

"Protecting very young children from unwanted commercial intrusion into their lives is part of the same instinct that seeks to protect adults from unwanted state intrusion into theirs.

"So we should campaign tirelessly to stop the expensive, invasive and unnecessary Identity Cards scheme in its tracks.

"The child benefit and learner drivers' data loss scandals mean there is a looming crisis of public confidence in the government's capacity to look after their personal information. So let 2008 be the year we bring down the Identity Cards scheme."