The Liberal Democrat 2015 manifesto came out this week but what does it all mean? One of our TSR community and political ambassador, Aj12, has broken down the manifesto into bitesized chunks:
What do the Lib Dems say about...
Education
- Protect the education budget for schools and colleges
- Ensure the national curriculum is taught by qualified teachers
Health
- Deliver £8 billion for the NHS
- £500 million for mental health services
- Crack down on bad care and bring in better pay and conditions for medical staff
- Focus on mental health
Economy
- Balance the books by 2018
- Permit borrowing to invest in infrastructure
- Bring in a new tax on the banking sector
Environment
- Plant a tree for every child born
- Bring in a nature law to protect wildlife and green spaces
- Complete a coastal path around the UK
Tax
- Raise the tax free allowance to at least £12,500
- Introduce a property tax on all houses worth over £2 million
- Bring in an extra £6 billion through a clampdown on tax avoidance
EU
- Stay in the EU and aim to reform it
- Scrap online barriers to boost trade
- Cut waste by reviewing and abolishing unneeded EU institution
Defence and Foreign
- End 24/7 Trident patrols and procure fewer submarines
- Deny arms sales to countries with human rights abuses
- Commit to 0.7% of GDP on foreign aid
Welfare
- Raise the minimum wage
- Invest in back to work care for those who need it
- Expand shared parental leave
- Bring in the universal credit
Immigration
- Make borders more secure through exit checks
- Ensure all immigrants integrate in British society and speak English.
- End indefinite detention for immigrants
- Ensure migrants are here to work not to claim benefits
