TSR General Election - Vote here!

Pictures of the Lib Dems holding that pledge still make me laugh every time.

Our party stands for faireness xXedixXx,We believe in a fair welfare and benefits system,other governments have let the welfare and benefits system get in the mess its now in.If we get elected we promise to reform the welfare and benefits system making it so only the genuine claiments who deserve benefits and welfare receive it and those who are frauding the system will be penalised

I'm not a socialist but meh. Basically, all taxation - by nature - is an invasion of personal freedom. This is true of other aspects of government such as criminal law and the police force. Total personal 'freedom' would involve no constraints being placed on individuals, as by most definitions freedom is the absence of constraint. This system would be anarchic - no party here is advocating that.

To accept the validity of government you have to accept a more complex definition of personal freedom - the state, though it invades individual liberty, also enables people to live better lives with ultimately more liberty. Violating one millionaire's personal freedom not to pay tax would allow the state to provide many more people with greater freedoms - i.e. the NHS provides greater public health which increases everyone's personal freedom by increasing the quality of their lives.

I think that the state exists to balance freedoms, and by doing that maximise them. Having a society with no taxation would increase the liberty afforded to a few, but decrease that allocated to everyone else. We all benefit from fair taxation - everyone should pay an amount of the same relative value to their personal finances.

That's easy to say though isn't it?

@Lib Dems

I like your policies a lot but I feel your policy on trident to be a poison pill.


I sleep easier at night because of trident.

That's easy to say though isn't it?

Labour have not mentioned Welfare Reform.

Trident is outdated, costs a fortune at a time when our Armed Forces are being reduced and have not got proper equipment.

@Labour


I think you have my favourite manifesto. What is your policy on trident/defence and do you believe your party is competent to govern after the previous term?

The Lib Dems haven't said much about it, all it totals to is "we'll reform it".

Also, do children really need to have an advocate for them? There's already people appointed to look after the best interests of the child.

I think davidmarsh01, that the welfare and benefits system in this country needs to be reformed.The liberal democrat party believes in this and we also think that
only those individuals who have a genuine disability/medical condition or entitlement to benefits will be given help and support.Any claiments who are found to not be entitled to benefits will be penalised.

WT has expalined.

JP wants to place all the decision making in the hands of experts alone, Pediatrician's, Educational Psychologists etc. Excluding the Child and Parents.

I've replied to WT.

If that's what you're saying about him then fair enough. It's not my job to defend him, I'm just asking you to explain what you think. Why do you think a child needs an advocate when there are already people appointed to look after the best interests of the child?

If you mean Social Worker's then some of them don't do their job properly.

I certainly don't mean social workers

I'm not an expert on the English legal system, but in Scotland there's someone called a "curator ad letum"(who is a solicitor) who can be appointed by the court to look after the best interests of the child. There's also reports that can be commissioned by the court, where a solicitor on the reporters list can be appointed. The solicitor would then try and form an unbiased opinion of the case, interviewing all sides and anyone they feel to be suitably involved in the case to produce a report recommending what he thinks the court should do. Is this the sort of system you're after? As I said, I'm not an expert on English law, but this definitely already happens in Scotland, and may do in England. Have you researched it?

A load of old crap then, basically? Excellent.

Why not give people back more of their money and let them decide how it should be spent? That way it might actually reflect market demands rather than just what the government wants the market to demand because it's politically expedient?

I'm not an expert either.

CAFCASS is the organization in England, they only represent children whilst the case is in the Courts. http://www.cafcass.gov.uk/about_cafcass.aspx

This is about reporting Child Abuse and representing them until the case is in Court where CAFCASS takes over. And regarding SEN and decision making, there should be one speaking on behalf of the child.