The Liberal Democrats became the first party to release their manifesto with more to come this week. A manifesto is document that outlines their policy and key pledges if they were to win the next election.
Check out the key points here:
Free personal care in England
- The Liberal Democrats plan to introduce free personal care in England, similar to the system that operates in Scotland where people needing help with daily tasks do not have to pay. It is currently means-tested in England, with only the poorest receiving help.
More GPs and faster cancer treatment
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The Liberal Democrats have promised 8,000 more GPs in England - but the detail here is important. Will these be fully trained GPs, or doctors working in surgeries? The latter are qualified doctors but still in training to do general practice - their number is already increasing, and that has been highlighted by the Conservatives.
The number of fully trained GPs in England has fallen in recent years and it takes up to 10 years from the start of medical school to fully qualify for general practice.
A key cancer target is for most patients to begin treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral - specifically 85% within that time. But that has been repeatedly missed in England. The Lib Dems say they want to give all urgently referred patients the 62-day guarantee. Given the scale of the backlog, this will be a huge challenge and it’s not clear what timeframe the party have set to make good on their pledge. -
Increase public spending
The Liberal Democrats say they would spend almost £27bn more a year by 2029. They say they would raise levies on banks, which would net an extra £4bn. They also hope to raise more than £5bn from reforming capital gains tax, but revenue there depends on the behaviour of a few tens of thousands of the most wealthy. A new aviation duty would penalise frequent fliers more heavily, but details aren’t finalised.
They think they could raise £7bn through cracking down on tax avoidance through investing £1bn in HMRC. They also say they’ll keep the freeze on the thresholds at which different rates of taxes on income apply. Current plans have those frozen until 2028. -
Scrap Rwanda scheme
The tone of the Lib Dem manifesto on immigration is more sympathetic and positive than much of the debate on the topic during the campaign. It refers to the UK’s “proud history of welcoming newcomers” and proposes a system that “treats everyone with respect”. There is no mention of reducing immigration numbers, in what is an appeal to the significant proportion of the population who believe migrants benefit the country.
The party would abolish the current salary threshold for migrant workers in favour of what it calls a “merit-based” system. They would also end the recently introduced ban on foreign care workers bringing dependents to the UK and reverse the increase in income thresholds for family visas. The party says it would scrap the Rwanda scheme, and “provide safe and legal routes” for asylum seekers. -
Reach net zero by 2045
The Lib Dems have retained their ambitious net zero target, 2045 rather than the 2050 target the Conservatives and Labour say they’ll work towards.
They say they will accelerate the deployment of solar and wind power so 90% of power will be generated by renewables by 2030 if they are in charge.
Among other policies, the party says there’ll be free insulation and heat pumps for those on low incomes, a “rooftop solar revolution” with more incentives for householders to put in solar panels and a new Net Zero Delivery Authority to coordinate climate action - but there are no estimates of costs for these policies.
**Here are just five key policies, check out the rest of their manifesto here: For a Fair Deal - Liberal Democrats Manifesto 2024 - Liberal Democrats (libdems.org.uk) **
Other political parties are expected to follow with their manifestos this week