Video: Lord Ashdown says Archbishop of Canterbury "should be listened to" on benefits Speaking at the party's spring conference in Brighton, Lord Ashdown also went on to say that finding ways of tackling the financial crisis was crucial. In the end we to balance on the one hand the need to tackle this huge deficit, which will make the poor even poorer if we don't do it. On the other hand the needs of fairness - that's what Lib Dems are trying to do.