Liberal Democrat Policies
Make it Work
Click here to find the Liberal Democrat "Make it Happen" polity document, summarised below. This document summarises Lib Dem policy, and clearly sets out out goal for Britain.
The Economy
- Liberal Democrats will strengthen the economy by making the Bank of England take house prices into account when setting interest rates and regulating banks properly.
- We will introduce independent auditing of spending rules, to ensure the safety of the future economy.
- When taxes get cut, we will cut them first from the bottom so that middle and low earners have a fairer deal. We believe in fair, reasonable taxation.
- If, in a given year, there is a tax surplus, we won't just spend it, we'll tax less in subsequent years.
- The Liberal Democrats believe in low overall taxation, and de-centralisation. We will look for ways to decrease the overall tax burden.
- We’ll increase the state pension in line with earnings and give women pensioners a fair deal.
- We’ll simplify benefits to make it easier for everyone to get out to work, and change the system to ensure that ordinary people get a fairer deal. Labour have given us a bizarre system whereby we are taxed highly, and then money returned to us via a complex system of benefits. The Liberal Democrats believe in not taxing in the first place.
- We’ll be tough on tax avoidance.
- We’ll help ordinary families struggling to pay for gas and electricity by forcing energy companies to invest windfall profits to cut bills so everyone can afford to stay warm this winter.
- We’ll help families facing repossession by forcing banks to offer financial help and advice first.
- And we’ll replace the unfair council tax.
- We will be frank about how we pay for this - by closing the loopholes that favour the rich, diverting unnecessary Government spending, and by taxing pollution.
Health
- The Liberal Democrats believe that the right to healthcare free at the point of use is a fundamental right. On this basis, we will change the NHS so that, if they can't give you an operation in time, the Goverment will reimburse you the cost of going private.
- There’ll be guaranteed care for elderly people too, so we can all afford to be looked after in our old age without having to sell the family home.
- The massive centralisation of power under Labour will be gone under the Lib Dems. We will put doctors, nurses and local councils back in control of local hospitals.
- People with long term conditions will be able to make their own decisions about treatment.
- As part of the Lib Dem's overall decentralisation policies, local people will be able to take charge of local health services in England, standing for election in their own community.Furthermore, money will be raised locally, so communities don’t have to do what ministers tell them and can have the health system they choose for themselves.
Environment
- People who do their bit should be rewarded. So Liberal Democrats will cut income tax and make polluters pay instead.
- We’ll invest in proper public transport, taxing lorries and domestic flights to invest in a high speed railway network.
- We’ll switch away from petrol taxes and vehicle excise duty and charge for using busy roads instead. That way we can encourage people who can use public transport to switch out of their cars – and still be fair to those in rural areas who can’t.
- The Liberal Democrats will ensure that anyone who generates their own electricity through solar panels or other means will have the oppertunity to sell back any surplus they make at a fair price.
Education
- We’ll make sure even the poorest children get good nursery education so they’re ready for primary school.
- We’ll support all families in getting good childcare, so parents can get out to work without worrying.
- To make things fair for everyone, we’ll fund our schools in a new way, with money attached directly to the individual pupil. There’ll be extra cash for children who need more help, so schools can pay for smaller class sizes, after-school lessons, or one-to one tuition.
- It's important that we regognise both the needs and responsibilities of families and children who do not speak English. To help everyone, we will have children who cannot speak English well, if at all, given special classes to improve their spoken and written language skills.
- We’ll free schools from government interference so teachers can listen to what parents and pupils want instead of doing what ministers tell them.
- There’ll be no more pointless targets and fewer stressful national tests, so schools can focus on what their pupils need.
- And we’ll make university and college affordable for everyone, too. We’ll make sure every child gets a decent start in life no matter what their background.
Foreign Affairs
- It’s time to base our foreign policy on our values - our belief in fairness, the value of human life, and the importance of democracy and civil rights.
- We’ll lead international efforts on disarmament to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
- We’ll help the poorest countries in the world with aid, debt relief and trade.
- We’ll give our armed forces the equipment they need to be effective peacekeepers - and more - wherever they are needed.
- We’ll commit to always investigate corruption allegations.
- And we’ll make Britain a world leader in the fight against climate change.
- We can achieve all those things more effectively as a fully committed member of the European Union. But we’ll never be at the heart of Europe if we don’t win the arguments at home. That’s why we’ve been arguing for a referendum on whether Britain stays in or leaves the EU.
- Only the Liberal Democrats can make it happen because we’re the only party confident enough to put the pro-European case to the British people.
Civil Liberties
- Liberal Democrats will put each of us back in charge of our own privacy.
- We’ll stop fingerprinting children at school.
- We’ll stop identity cards and use the money to pay for more police to actually cut crime. We’ll rewrite our data protection rules to make them stronger.
- We’ll stop holding innocent people’s DNA on file.
- We’ll stop passing pointless new laws and repeal old, useless ones.
- And we’ll introduce a Freedom Law to set people free again from intrusive, nanny state government.
Your Say
- We’ve got to stop big donors from bankrolling the big parties to get their way with our country. No one should be able to buy influence over our elected Parliament, so we’ll put a cap of £25,000 on donations.
- There are too many national politicians, and they cost too much, so we’ll shrink Parliament by 150 MPs.
- We’ll introduce tough new rules so that MPs’ expenses are independently audited and receipts are required for every penny.
- And we need a political system that gives every voter real power. Devolution to Scotland and Wales did not go far enough – the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly should get more powers.
- We need to take control away from central government, where bureaucrats and ministers are in charge, and give it to local government, people and communities.
- By making government smaller at the centre, we can make sure that more of the money that’s spent in your area is raised locally too.
- That way you get a real choice over what happens.
- Liberal Democrats will give people a fair voting system where every person’s voice counts. It’ll put power into individuals’ hands to choose people who truly represent them. And it’ll force politicians to listen to ordinary people all the time – not just when there’s an election on.
Community
- Liberal Democrats will restore people’s trust in our immigration system. We’ll have proper border checks so we know who’s coming into the country, and who is leaving.
- And we’ll help newcomers to learn English and become part of the community. It’s time to put communities back together, helping both the indigenous population and the newcomers.
- We’ll make it possible for local people to work together to run local services, fight crime, and take charge of the future of their neighbourhood. That’s how to deliver what people actually want.
- We’ll stop interfering from central government and help communities protect local services like post offices and small shops.Local decisions should be made by locak councils, not centralised Government.
- Strong communities need good homes. But too many are empty because things have gone wrong for the housing market. They need to be made available for families to rent.
- And we need to plan for the future. We’ll make sure we build enough homes – for people to rent as well as to buy – so everyone has a decent place to live.
- We can rebuild a sense of community in Britain that includes everyone, no matter their background.
Crime
- With better policing, we will deter crime by catching more criminals.
- We’ll make things change in the police force: putting thousands more officers into the community and giving local people control over what they do to fight crime.
- We’ll cut red tape and Whitehall targets, and ensure that crime detection everywhere improves to the standards of the best police forces.
- People who commit anti-social crimes should have to face up to what they’ve done, apologise, and make amends to their victims and the community.
- In our justice system, victims and communities need a voice. New community justice panels should be set up in every town and city.
- Local people, charities, and community networks can best turn people away from crime. Liberal Democrat councils across England are making a difference where the others have failed. Our crime prevention efforts have cut crime from Liverpool to Watford, from Somerset to Islington.
- And Liberal Democrats will transform prisons so they work. We’ll get drugs out of prison by putting addicts into treatment. We’ll make education and training compulsory for prisoners, and they’ll work to pay money into a victim compensation fund.