1. A fair, prosperous and innovative economy that promotes opportunity and wellbeing. Everyone deserves the chance to get on in life and see their hard work and aspiration properly rewarded. Businesses and entrepreneurs should be supported to create worthwhile jobs in every part of the UK. But the Conservatives’ botched deal with Europe has damaged trade and prosperity and is acting as a permanent brake on the economy. Liberal Democrats are the champions of small businesses – the engines of our economy and the beating heart of local communities. We put people first, with a focus on education, training and flexible working. We believe in harnessing the benefits of new technology and innovations for everyone. And we understand that to grow the UK’s economy we must fix the broken relationship with Europe. We will invest in renewable power and home insulation to drive a strong economic recovery, bring down energy bills and create clean, secure, well-paid new jobs. 2. Fair access to good public services and a strong social safety net. Every child deserves the best possible start in life. Everyone should receive the care they need when they are ill or frail, and a helping hand when they fall on tough times. Liberal Democrats believe that an active state is essential to empower people and provide the support they need. That means a government which helps struggling families and pensioners when they face a cost-of-living crisis, rather than one which plunges them into poverty. We understand that education is the key to opportunity and the best possible investment in our country’s future. We cherish the NHS, a Liberal invention and one of the UK’s proudest achievements. We will give everyone a new right to see their GP within seven days, or 24 hours if it’s urgent, with the extra doctors needed to make it happen. 3. A flourishing environment, with fair access to nature for all. Everyone should be able to enjoy the benefits of our wonderful natural environment, and our children should inherit the future they deserve. The climate and nature emergencies are the most pressing threats to prosperity facing the UK and the world. We must act now: investing in green technologies and skills training, cutting air and water pollution, and taking a new approach to farming and the countryside. The UK can lead the world with innovation and ingenuity, while boosting the economy and enhancing everyone’s quality of life. We will hold big companies to account by giving them a duty to protect the environment, including banning water companies from dumping raw sewage into rivers, lakes and coastal areas. 4. A strong United Kingdom and a fair international order. Liberal Democrats are proud internationalists. We believe that our country and our people thrive when we are open and outward-looking. The UK can be an incredible force for good when it stands tall on the world stage, championing the values of equality, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Both the Covid pandemic and Vladimir Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine show that events beyond Britain’s borders inevitably become our concern. We are passionate about close British-European cooperation, which benefits us and our allies. While we support a longer-term objective of EU membership, we recognise that the Conservatives have damaged trust in the UK so badly that there is a lot of work to do before that is possible. We have therefore set out a comprehensive step-by-step plan to rebuild our ties of trade, trust and friendship with our nearest neighbours – ties that can only be built back gradually over time. We will immediately fix our broken relationship with Europe, forge a new partnership built on cooperation, not confrontation, and move to conclude a new comprehensive agreement which removes as many barriers to trade as possible. 5. A truly fair democracy, where everyone’s rights are respected and individuals and communities are empowered. Every person matters. Every life is precious. Liberal Democrats believe that basic rights and dignity are the birthright of every individual, to be respected, cherished and enhanced. We want to shift more power out of the centre in Whitehall, so local decisions are made by and for the people and communities they affect. We want to break up concentrations of power, and put real power in everyone’s hands. For a hundred years, Liberals and Liberal Democrats have been fighting for fair votes, to give everyone equal power in our democracy and hold all Members of Parliament properly to account. Our goal is to transform the nature of British politics itself to make it more relevant, engaging and responsive to people’s needs and dreams. We will introduce proportional representation for electing MPs, and local councillors in England.
1. A fair, prosperous and innovative economy that promotes opportunity and wellbeing. I'll steer clear of other party bashing. nothign really of substance here, all want;s not really ways of delivering. 2. Fair access to good public services and a strong social safety net. Again little substance. Focussing on a reasonable turaround for GP appointments is I think an important call. We need to stop the 8:30 am telephone dash. 3. A flourishing environment, with fair access to nature for all. Banning Sewage dumping is fair enough. We need to make comapnies invest so they don;t have to rather than pay dividends and bonuses. 4. A strong United Kingdom and a fair international order. Fixing the broken relationship with europe is something we all want. Unfrtunately it may not be possible without ceeeding too much. 5. A truly fair democracy, where everyone’s rights are respected and individuals and communities are empowered. I'm all for PR, but mindfull that we need a good system which doesn't break the local representation links or tie up parilament in indecision. I awati a workable system proposal with interest.
Lib Dem policy is quite difficult to keep up with. They often appear to have one policy in one constituency, a different policy in another. They do tend to say whatever they feel at the time will win them a seat. That said, they do seem less nutty about Europe and if they promised a new referendum I might be tempted by them.
These are their headline pledges, there's a very detailed manifesto underpinning it with multiple bullet points under 19 different headings covering all aspects of government. Now, you might think their policies are unworkable or not fully costed but it seems a bit daft to attack just the headline pledges as "lacking substance".
I will read further, before I decide on my vote. Just my initial quick free take on the pledges, for all the top parties when I had a spare 10 mins.
Regarding Europe: We have set out a four-stage roadmap to rebuild the relationship: with initial unilateral steps to mitigate the damage of the deal followed by confidence-building measures such as joining Erasmus Plus. Then, we will deepen the trading relationship with measures like a veterinary agreement. Finally, once the ties of trust have been restored, we would aim to place the UK-EU relationship on a more formal and stable footing by seeking to join the Single Market. All these measures will help to restore the British economy and the prosperity and opportunities of its citizens, and are also essential steps on the road to EU membership, which remains our longer-term objective. Out of all the main parties, this is the most pro EU, despite the majority of the country now thinking leave was a mistake. It's unbelievably cautious and right at the bottom of their pledges. But I think is one of the most important things. I don't want a government scared to take obvious steps to grow the economy and better the country which all the other parties are. I'll celebrate a labour landslide but I'm in a safe seat so probably going to vote lib dems
My ideal outcome would be a hung parliament with a LibLab pact. If it happens then I would hope that the Lib Dems would find enough cojones to demand PR and a plan, such as described, to rejoin the EU. I think Labour might resist the first demand but I think they would be quite happy to be "forced" into a plan to rejoin the EU over a reasonable time scale.
Cannot possibly work to be taken back into the EU on the wish of a minority party. The best it could ask for is a fresh vote. I’m hoping for a big majority. I can’t see any other way to unravel the mess and importantly, send a message to the ERG/Truss/Bruges Group/Daily Express etc wreckers that their time is well and truly up.
Well don't have a referendum. Just join the CU and SM as a matter of trade policy. Just do it. The benefits to the economy will become apparent, and then the objection will be "we don't have any say on the rules that make our country better off". So then you have a referendum on "do you want a say in the rules that make our country better off?"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqeevzldj0jo Manifesto is out Free personal care in England More GPs and faster cancer treatment Increase public spending Scrap the Rwanda scheme Reach net zero by 2045 Scrap two-child limit and reform Carer’s Allowance Universal Credit and Carer's Allowance both apply across the UK. Triple the early years pupil premium Speed up the courts process Recognise non-binary identities and ban conversion therapy Give 16-year-olds the vote and bring in proportional representation Rejoin the Single Market
Free personal care in England Agree More GPs and faster cancer treatment Agree but need detail. Non ememrgency NHS needs to function 7 days a week not knock off at lunchtime on a Friday like it does at the moment. Structural change & modernisation is needed. simply chucking staff and money at it is not a long term solution. Increase public spending No. Sorry. You don't set how much you want to spend, you set out what you want to do and then work out a way of funding it. We are currently taking more tax then we have for a long time. At some point we need to reign it in Tacklinf avoidance is obviously a a decent idea but as successive governments have shown it's not easy. We neeed a new tax system which is simpler to implement and harder to evade/avoid. Simply levying more taxes at those who are assumed to be wealthy will not work. Scrap the Rwanda scheme Yes. We need to invest in the claims process and possiblty set-up facilities in the countries deemed unsafe so peolple can claim without having to mae the journey. Reach net zero by 2045 Yes. but not at all costs. If no one else does we are ****ed anyway. The UK has done more than most, we need to make sure others pull their weight. Scrap two-child limit and reform Carer’s Allowance No. Having children should be a choice. You should be responsible for bringin them up, not the state. Carers allowance shouldn't be needed if care is funded correctly Triple the early years pupil premium Maybe don't know enough about it. I do feel there is not enough investment in vocational education and too many peopel go to "University" for degrees that are not worth the scroll they are written on. Speed up the courts process. Another system which would benefit from 7 days a week maybe Recognise non-binary identities and ban conversion therapy Not sure why geneder needs to be officially recognised to be honest. Treat a person as a person. Give 16-year-olds the vote and bring in proportional representation No, not without other caveats. There should be one age at which a person becomes an adult. At that age they should be allowed to vote drink, join the army, drive and do anything else that an adult can as well as be criminally responsible. Rejoin the Single Market Trade with the EU needs to be addressed. Rejoing the single market may not be the option or even possible. We need to conform to their standards to sell to them. They need to get their head out their arse and stop trying to punish us for leaving as it punishes them also. I was speaking to a QP in medicine over the weekend. We check the stuff, it's shipeed then they do the same checks. Before brexit the EU was happy with our checks if we did them to their specs. Why can they not be happy with our checks now if we still do them to their specs? Overall I think im 50/50 on the Lib Dem stuff. A bit too spendy maybe.
One problem now for the Lib Dem’s when putting forward a programme for government is that they do have a record to defend, following the coalition government. A more recent record than Labour. It was the Lib Dem’s who triggered Cameron’s referendum fever with the referendum that they wanted on voting reform. Which led to the Brexit referendum after Cameron got his majority in 2015. The ultra hard line taken by Danny Alexander to public spending is a more significant factor in the decline of public services, than the energy crisis created by the Ukraine war. Particularly his hardline and freeze on salaries for NHS workers and Teachers. Then of course it was his policy on pensions that saw hundreds of senior doctors retire early. Plus the increase in VAT to 20%. The most damaging was the u turn on university tuition fees. A policy that engaged younger voters and aimed specifically to challenge labour.That promise made effectively by Clegg throughout the 2010 campaign lasted as long as David Laws who resigned after being engulfed in an expenses scandal. On the other hand, no one expects the Lib Dem’s to have a sniff of governing this time, so the manifesto is really a Trojan horse of ideas to place in the minds of voters and a future government.
Good points. In seats that were traditionally safe Tory, like meister manor a reasonable manifesto may be enough to swipe the seat but yes they're not likely to get power. got a feeling it might well be a three party chase for runner up between them reform and the tories.
No way will Reform get anywhere near that number of seats, although they might get a decent % of the vote.
I do think the Conservative Party will have the second highest number of seats. The SNP will lose seats. The Lib Dem’s are unlikely to gain more seats than the Tories. Ironically the thought of a Labour landslide works against them and weakens the need for tactical voting, (labour supporters voting Lib Dem), to oust the Conservatives. I doubt reform will gain three seats, maybe none at all, but probably one with Farage in Clayton. what might happen is that the rump of hard right surviving MPs could resign and join Farage to form a New Tory grouping. Especially if the new Conservative leader is not sympathetic to them. If, that happened to the point that the remaining Conservative MPs were fewer in number than the Lib Dem’s. Then of course Ed Davey becomes leader if the opposition, and his manifesto becomes the base from which a Labour Government is challenged.
It shocked me when I found this out because I had stupidly been against the Tories for being very right wing. Note to self - check the facts.
This is one reform I would however bring in. If you switch alegiance it should trigger a by election. Bridlington-on-sea
Clearly, since the Tories lurching to the right over the past 9 years has destroyed the country, the only option is to see it through and go even righter.
You jest but Nigel who would takeover the Tories’ closest Conservative ally is Liz Truss. Some people genuinely have looked at the last 14 years and concluded more please, but this time no Mr Nice Guy!
This makes little sense - if you want to oust the Conservatives then surely you want to oust the Conservatives. What kind of voter will think - "I really dislike what the Conservatives have done and want them gone, but considering they're likely to lose anyway I won't bother to vote Lib Dem in my constituency and instead will just let it stay a Conservative seat - even though I really dislike them and want them gone"?! If you want them gone from the country, then surely you'd want them gone from your constituency as well?! And in a lot of more southern constituencies Labour would never win and the only vote which would out the Conservatives will be Lib Dem.
Fortunately a lot of them are also past their sell-by date and will not be voting in 5-10 years time.
And some of the others will just rage **** themselves to death if we have more years of net migration rises
Ed Davey is trying to play the buffoon too much, every time you see him he's chucking himself to the floor/in water.
