Liberal Democrat Women's manifesto

You can also read the main manifesto in easy read, clear print, plain text or Braille versions, or listen to it on an audio recording.

Justice for public sector workers

Independent think-tank gives LibDem manifesto highest rating

In its analysis of the parties spending plans, the Institute for Fiscal Studies reported that the Liberal Democrats are the most transparent.

It also said that the Conservatives give a "misleading impression" while Labour give "disappointingly little" information on borrowing and do not provide enough funding for the NHS.

The report states that the Liberal Democrats have been more transparent than the other parties about their overall fiscal plans for the next parliament, in particular setting these out in some detail up to 2017–18.

It also highlights how we would cut borrowing more quickly than Labour and keep our economy strong for the future.

From IFS comparison of post-austerity plans: http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/7725

The report also notes how we will invest in public services and that under the Liberal Democrats, departmental spending would be £13.2 billion (or 3.6 per cent) higher in real terms in 2019–20 than it was in 2014–15.

Responding to the report David Laws said:

"The IFS could not be clearer - when it comes to the economy the Liberal Democrats are the most transparent and are the party that will end austerity the earliest.

“By contrast, the IFS lift the lid on Tory plans to cut public spending to the bone and accuse them of burying details of their the plans to shrink the state.

“They also shine a light on the sheer scale of Labour’s deficit denial, which includes yet unspecified levels of borrowing, despite starving the NHS of the cash it needs.

“It's now official. Only the Liberal Democrats can be trusted to build a stronger economy and fairer society, and create opportunity for all.”

Labour can't be trusted on the economy

LibDems would help all would-be house owners

Rent to Own will help all renters. Right to Buy has no particular effect on Wales and is a flawed policy anyway.

Liberal Democrats Five Green Laws

New graduates better off under LibDems

Let's stay on the road

Christian Aid endorses Liberal Democrat manifesto

The Liberal Democrat manifesto offers a vision of a fair and sustainable future for all, including the world’s poorest people, says Christian Aid.

Don't let them get away with it

Thinking of voting Labour?

Four reasons to think again.

Liberal Democrat manifesto welcomed by advocates

The Bar Council's response to the Liberal Democrat manifesto:

"Neither main party will protect the Ministry of Justice budget, but judging from today's manifesto pledges from the Liberal Democrats, it looks like politicians are finally addressing the legal profession's concerns about access to justice," Alistair MacDonald QC, Chairman of the Bar, said yesterday.

"In a week of manifesto launches, today feels like it is third time lucky. "Promises were long over-due on reversing the hike in up-front court fees, reviewing tribunal fees, ensuring legal aid is available to those who need it and re-introducing legal aid for judicial review. But today they were delivered.

"The commitment to maintaining a viable, competitive and diverse market of legal aid providers is also one we can fully support.

"The legal sector has campaigned hard, this year in particular, to protect legal professional privilege from heavy-handed surveillance laws. Today we can see that has paid off as the Liberal Democrats have promised that judicial authorisation will be needed to eavesdrop on privileged communications, a safeguard the Bar Council has been demanding for some time. They also propose to introduce a Digital Bill of Rights and to deliver a 'complete overhaul' of surveillance powers in 2016.

"Provided opportunities for clients to be represented and heard in court remain, we support proposals such as promoting mediation and alternative dispute resolution, investment in IT and the development of online justice.

"We also look forward to hearing more about the Liberal Democrat strategy to fill the legal advice gap created by the LASPO cuts on areas including personal debt and social welfare.

"The Bar Council is keen to work with the new Government, whatever its complexion, on all these policy areas. At least some of the concerns voiced by the profession are being heard."

Welsh Liberal Democrat General Election manifestos online

Look left, look right, cross Liberal Democrat

We will borrow less than Labour, cut less than the Tories

The Conservatives' astonishing claim to freeze rail fares

In government the Conservatives repeatedly argued for raising rail fares by well above inflation. Liberal Democrats had to fight to keep rises to a minimum.

It is astonishing that the Conservatives now claim they would freeze rail fares.

They have shown no willingness to do so in the last five years and it is difficult to see why anyone should now believe they would do so.

Liberal Democrats in government have fought to keep rises lower than demands made by the Conservatives. 

Liberal Democrats first to commit to saving the NHS

http://www.welshlibdems.wales/lib_dems_remain_the_only_party_to_make_credible_commitment_to_nhs_funding

Digital rights

Frank Little writes:

One of the key issues on which the Liberal Democrats differ from the Labour Party, the increasingly authoritarian Scottish Nationalist Party and, sadly after such a good start, the Conservatives, is that of the rights of the citizen.

Yesterday, the Liberal Democrats outlined a Digital Rights Bill which we want to introduce in the next parliament.The Bill would introduce:

• Prison sentences for companies conducting large-scale data theft and illegally selling on personal data;
• Beefed up powers for the Information Commissioner to fine and enforce disciplinary action on government bodies if they breach data protection laws;
• Legal rights to compensation for consumers when companies make people sign up online to deliberately misleading and illegible terms & conditions;
• Code of Practice for online services who would by law have to correct information about members of the public where it is inaccurate or defamatory
• Enshrining in law the responsibility of government to defend the free press, including the rights of journalists and citizen journalists to express their views freely online;
• Prevent government from watering down cyber-security and encryption measures used by British business.

Read more here.

Spin-driven policies

Liberal Democrat Green Transport Policy

Why Liberal Democrat women in parliament are vital

Liberal Democrats are fielding a record number of women in winnable seats and in seats which we held in the last parliament. Liberal Democrat Women are emphasising the party's key achievements and policies which are female-friendly:

1. Our commitment to ending the gender pay gap.
2. Shared parental leave, so mothers and fathers can work out what's best for their child.
3. Significantly improving mental health, with supports which mirrors that received for physical health.
4. Raising the tax allowance to £10,600. Which has meant a tax cut of £825 for 27 million working people and taken over 3 million out of paying tax altogether. A great Lib Dem policy particularly for women and young people who are most likely to be in part-time work as they can now keep more of the money they earn.
5. There are two million new apprenticeships because of the Lib Dems in Government.

Credit where credit is due

Preview of manifesto themes

Liberal Democrat council by-election success

Thanks to the Tandridge District Council web-site for the following:

Election Date: 1/4/2015

Election Type: District Council

Electorate: 2991

Whyteleafe

Result: David Lee, Liberal Democrats - Elected (393 votes)
(Gain)
Turnout: 26.4%

Candidate	Party	Number of votes
	Spoilt	5
Martin Ferguson	United Kingdom Independence Party	119
David Lee	Liberal Democrats	393
Peter Sweeney	Conservative Party	274

David Lee will be the Liberal Democrat candidate for the East Surrey constituency, of which Whyteleafe is part. David was the challenger to Conservative Sam Gyimah in 2010, 9,000 votes ahead of Labour in third place.



Congratulations also to Sam Bennett, chair of IR Cymru/Welsh Liberal Democrat Youth, on winning last Thursday's by-election in St Mary's ward on Brecon Town Council. (Figures not yet to hand.) The result bodes well for Roger Williams, looking to retain the Brecon & Radnorshire seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Trust Liberal Democrats on civil rights

Trust a progressive party of government

Liberal Democrat economic plan for next parliament

http://www.libdems.org.uk/danny-alexander-sets-out-an-alternative-economic-plan-for-britain

Labour exploits child abuse victim in misleading poster

Guido Fawkes quotes a leading paediatric surgeon on the subject of Labour's contentious broken-bone NHS poster:

“There are absolutely clear two episodes of violence and possibly the bone bruise is a third… I have run it past a couple of paediatric colleagues are they both recognised this to be very likely non-accidental injury.”

The poster is misleading because Labour has not committed to the £8bn which health professionals state is needed to save the NHS in England. The Liberal Democrats are the only party to have made this commitment. (Increases in the NHS budget in England will be passed on proportionately to Wales under the funding formula. It is up to the Welsh government to decide how that extra money is spent.)

LibDems bring Tories on board in gender pay gap issue

Jo Swinson* on Liberal Democrat Voice reports:

In the final days of this Government Lib Dems are still delivering our agenda against the odds, and against Conservative obstruction.

Under the coalition government the gender pay gap had fallen to its lowest level, at just under 20% – but this is still 19.1% too high. Despite our high levels of women’s employment the UK has the 8th highest gender pay gap in the EU.

Not only is the gender pay gap socially wrong in modern society, but economically it’s nonsensical not to reward our most talented female employees properly. We should value the contribution of women and men in the workplace equally, so our goal has to be eliminating the pay gap completely.

As a Business Minister and Minister for Women, I have worked very hard to persuade my Coalition colleagues of the virtues of tough action to tackle this long-term inequality. Their traditional resistance makes it all the more remarkable that Nick Clegg has, in the last few weeks of our term, secured a government amendment that guarantees all large businesses will have to publish the difference between average pay for their male and female staff. So today (Tuesday) I will proudly vote for our party’s manifesto commitment – for large companies to publish the difference in average pay between male and female employees – to become law.

This is a significant win for women, and a political win for Liberal Democrats in Government. Amendments to the Small Business Bill, [approved in the House of Commons yesterday (Tuesday),] will fast-track our manifesto plans for gender pay transparency within the next 12 months. This will mean large companies – over 250 employees – will be legally required to publish the average pay of their male and female staff. It is our intention to create pressure from staff and customers to account for and close any pay gap that exists between men and women in large businesses. Women will know whether they are being properly rewarded for their endeavours: a situation that is good for competitive businesses and good for the economy.

As readers of Lib Dem Voice will know, we have argued for mandatory pay transparency since before the coalition was formed. We were the first major political party to commit to enforcing gender pay transparency by law. Labour might try to claim now that they would have done this in 2010 but actually their proposal was for voluntary publication for four years. This was something our champion for women, Lynne Featherstone objected to at the time – arguing against Labour’s delay that “pay audits are necessary and must be mandatory. We cannot wait another four years… voluntary pay audits are like waiting for Godot.”

In the wake of entrenched Conservative opposition, and in the context of Labour’s commitments while in government, we had to agree to try a voluntary approach first.  We did so only on the condition that the decision would remain under review, and if this approach did not lead to more companies publishing the difference in pay between men and women, mandatory reporting would be introduced for large companies. During our time in government just five companies have chosen to publish their gender pay gap voluntarily.  While I take my hat off to those who do – this is just not good enough.

Of course, the gender pay gap is not exactly an issue that the Conservative Party gets out of bed for. They were content to kick this issue into the long grass time and time again. Nick and I have made increasingly urgent appeals to our Conservative colleagues to address this. Which is why, today I am proud that we will go further than I expected. By securing a government amendment, Nick Clegg has successfully ensured that ministers on the government payroll will vote in favour of gender pay transparency, despite the Conservatives’ consistent efforts to block the proposals over the life of the coalition.

I could speculate about why the Tories have caved just weeks before the election – maybe the International Women’s Day celebrations caught the PM in a jovial mood? Or perhaps he feared that history (or the voters) would judge him for being on the wrong side of this argument.  It may be that with some help from the Liberal Democrats, he simply read the political runes and didn’t want to countenance any risk to the successful passage of the Small Business Bill as the firm deadline of Parliament’s dissolution approached. Liberal Democrats can be proud that we have been the drivers of reforms to modernise the workplace to give women a fairer chance to get to the top of the career ladder. By extending flexible working to all employees, introducing Shared Parental Leave and revolutionising childcare, we are ensuring that there is greater equality at home and at work.

We can also be proud that – thanks to our term of stability in government – there are more women in work than ever before and women’s gross weekly earnings have increased between 2013 and 2014. Additionally we have banned pay secrecy clauses and introduced mandatory pay audits for companies that lose equal pay claims. The Government is also committed to tackling occupational segregation, and the outdated view that certain jobs are for “men-only”. Only 13% of engineers in this country are women – substantially lower than other European countries like Latvia, Sweden and Bulgaria. Through initiatives like “Your Life” we are encouraging young girls to get into STEM-related careers.

We have achieved a lot, but there is still much more to do. Equal pay and better gender representation in business is good for the economy as well as helping to create a fairer society. So any future coalition that contains Liberal Democrats will ensure this remains front and centre of our efforts in government.

* Jo Swinson is the Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire and is a Minister in hte Department Business, Innovation and Skills and Equalities Minister

Minimum-wage dodgers named and shamed

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has issued another list of those employers, including some High Street brands, who have illegally paid some staff less than the minimum wage. This latest round brings the total number of companies named and shamed under the new regime to 210 employers, with total arrears of over £635,000 and total penalties of over £248,000.

Business Minister, Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson said:

There’s no excuse for companies that don’t pay staff the wages they’re entitled to – whether by wilfully breaking the law, or making irresponsible mistakes.

The government is protecting workers by cracking down on employers who ignore minimum wage rules. In addition to naming and shaming, we’ve increased the penalty fines and boosted the resources available to investigate non-compliance.

Seven-year record rise in minimum wage

Wales Online reports:

The national minimum wage will go up by 20p an hour from October.

It will be the biggest real-terms rise in seven years with 1.4 million low paid workers set to benefit from the 3% hike while rates for younger workers and apprentices will also go up.

The rates were recommended by the Low Pay Commission.

[Liberal Democrat] Business Secretary Vince Cable is planning to launch a national minimum wage accelerator - an online tool which will make it easier to compare rates of pay across regions, sectors and occupations.

It will take data from the annual survey of hours and earnings and display information about pay so that people are able to compare wages with others in their sector and region.

Mr Cable hopes that by having the facts, people will be empowered to discuss pay with their employers and businesses will be encouraged to consider whether they can increase rates.

The Government is also launching a consultation with businesses on the future minimum wage for apprentices.

It is predicted that inflation as measured by CPI will fall below 1% this year. The headline increases are in line with the recommendations from the Low Pay Commission, but for apprentices the coalition government went further. The recommendation was for a mere 7p increase rather than the 57p increase which will actually be introduced.

More from Liverpool federal conference

Freedom of expression:
http://youtu.be/o9rM6BKAGss

The Leader's speech:
http://www.libdems.org.uk/nick-clegg-speech-to-spring-conference-2015

Speeches from Liberal Democrat federal conference

Vince Cable: http://www.libdemvoice.org/in-full-vince-cables-speech-to-liberal-democrat-conference-has-the-coalition-been-worth-it-44999.html

Jo Swinson: http://www.libdemvoice.org/jo-swinson-saddles-up-her-feminist-high-horse-45002.html

Danny Alexander: http://www.libdemvoice.org/in-full-danny-alexanders-speech-to-conference-45006.html

Watch the Welsh Open Doors video

A blow for equal earnings

An amendment to the Small Business Bill being debated in the House of Lords next week would change the law to force firms with more than 250 staff to declare how much they pay men and women.

Jenny Willott, Lib Dem MP for Cardiff Central, said: “Real equality means fair pay. Women on average are paid 20% less than men, and are less likely to be in a leadership role. That frankly isn’t good enough.

“I have been pushing within Government to see this change – companies need to be held to account for how much they pay their male and female employees. I’m delighted that this will now be brought in and I hope it will make a real difference to the gap in pay between men and women.

“Let us be in no doubt, this wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the Liberal Democrats. The Tories have resisted these changes, but we have won the argument.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “We can’t wait and we can’t dither. We need to sort this out now. Jo Swinson, Jenny Willott and I have pushed for this to happen within government for a long time. Finally, we are now in a position for the government to vote through our party’s manifesto commitment for large companies to publish the difference in average pay between male and female employees.”

Things LibDems have stopped Tories doing

• Inheritance tax cuts for millionaires 
• Scrapping help with housing costs for young people
• Weakening arrest warrants for people who have fled overseas
• Firing workers at will, without any reasons given
• Regional pay penalising public sector workers outside London and the South East 
• The Snoopers’ Charter
• Ditching the Human Rights Act
• Weakening the protections in the Equalities Act
• Renewing Trident in this Parliament
• Cutting investment in green energy
• Nation-wide immigration checks on all new tenants and lodgers

Thanks to Mark Pack. His full list (including England-only measures) is here.

Debates

Nick Clegg will step in to the head-to-head debate with Ed Miliband to defend the Government’s record if David Cameron will not. By proposing to hold the debate before the Tory manifesto is published, the public will not be able to see David Cameron grilled on his plans for Britain. Liberal Democrats are not afraid to debate our record or our manifesto. We are proud that we have helped rescue the British economy and ensured the recovery has been done fairly. Nick Clegg is passionate about anchoring these debates into the democratic process. If this means taking part in a “seven-sided 90 minute bite size squabble fest”, so be it. It is not right for one party and one man to hold the debates to ransom. They are a right of the British people. Why should the Conservatives hold a veto over our democratic process? Liberal Democrat General Election Chair Paddy Ashdown said on the Today programme: “I'm told that Downing Street is now depending on the Liberal Democrats to say no. Well, I've got bad news for them. We're not going to. "I hope the broadcasters stand firm but I need to be very clear that even if it is done in the fashion that the Prime Minister demands - and why on earth should he be able to veto the democratic debate? - we will still be there. “If it is the case that there's a two-headed debate and Mr Miliband turns up and the Prime Minister will not defend the record of the Government, then Nick Clegg will be very happy to. “What he is proposing is not just a ludicrous, seven-sided, bite-sized squabble fest but actually he is proposing it takes place before the Conservative manifesto is published. “If Mr Cameron hasn't got the guts to stand up and defend this government's record then Nick Clegg will do so."

Drugs reform

The Deputy Prime Minister confirmed today that the Liberal Democrat manifesto will contain the most far-reaching drug reform policies ever put forward by a major political party.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg made the commitment at an event alongside entrepreneur Richard Branson, a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

The manifesto will include commitments to:

• Adopt the approach used in Portugal, where those arrested for possession of drugs for personal use are diverted into treatment, education or civil penalties that do not attract a criminal record.

• Legislate to end the use of imprisonment for possession of drugs for personal use, diverting resources towards tackling organised drug crime instead, as a first step towards reforming the system.

• Continue to apply severe penalties to those who manufacture, import or deal in illegal drugs, and clamp down on those who produce and sell unregulated chemical highs.

• Establish a review to assess the effectiveness of the cannabis legalisation experiments in the United States and Uruguay, in relation to public health and criminal activity.

• Legislate to make the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs independent in setting the classification of drugs, while remaining accountable to Parliament and the wider public.

• Enable doctors to prescribe cannabis for medicinal use.

• Put the Department of Health rather than the Home Office in charge of drug policy.

Nick Clegg said:

 “If you’re anti-drugs, as I am, then you have a responsibility to look at the evidence of what actually works to reduce drug harm."At the moment, the level of harm to individuals and communities – here and around the world – is still unacceptably high. We need to get a grip on this problem. So, if you’re anti-drugs, you should be pro-reform.

“What we now need is brave political leadership to openly acknowledge that new ways of controlling illegal drug markets and discouraging use are required.

“So, my challenge today for politicians, the press and the public is to accept the overwhelming evidence that things are not working, that politicians are letting down the victims of the drugs trade by failing to engage with the evidence.

“Talking tough while acting weak may be tempting, but it no longer fools anyone.  It is time to commit to a radically smarter approach to tackle this problem head-on.”

Danger from metal thefts reduced by LibDems in coalition

Local Lib Dems have welcomed the news that scrap metal thefts have fallen by a third in the past year – combatting unscrupulous thieves targeting churches, desecrating war memorials and causing disruption by stealing electric cables and metal from railway lines.

Latest figures show there were 40,680 metal thefts in England and Wales in 2013/14 – down from 59,788 in the previous 12 months.

The decline in metal thefts – which cost the economy around £770 million a year – follows the new Scrap Metal Dealers Act which came into force in October 2013 alongside a range of other measures to tackle the crime. Liberal Democrat MPs and Lib Dem ministers in Government called for these tough measures to become law, as did the Local Government Association.

Under the law, every scrap metal dealer had to obtain a licence from their local council to trade. Town halls have been able to refuse or revoke licences, have new powers of entry and inspection and the ability to shut down rogue dealers.

It is also now illegal for anyone to buy or sell scrap metal with cash while traders have to keep records of names and addresses of scrap metal suppliers. This is increasing traceability for all transactions and making it more difficult for thieves to sell stolen metal to scrapyards.

Councils across the country have been assisting the police to prosecute unlicensed traders and shut down scrap metal businesses that break the law.

Other figures include:

Infrastructure-related metal thefts – including from railway lines, church roofs and machinery – dropped by 41 per cent in the past year;

The number of metal theft offences recorded each month more than halved from 6,609 in April 2012 to under 3,000 in March 2014.

Frank Little, secretary of Neath Liberal Democrats, said: “When I was a councillor, I saw at first hand the danger caused to sheltered housing by the theft of gas pipework.

“The scourge of metal theft costs the country hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

“It sees trains disrupted, precious memorials desecrated, church and library roofs vandalised, children’s playground equipment targeted and road signs stolen.

“Such a significant drop in metal thefts is excellent news for communities who have suffered from the chaos, disruption and heartache caused by unscrupulous metal thieves.

“Lib Dems had been calling for years for new laws to help regulate the scrap metal industry in order to make it more difficult for thieves and it is great to see that we made this happen in Government.

“However, there is still much to do. The Local Government Association is urging the Government to continue investing in council and police efforts to co-ordinate enforcement action and gather intelligence to target and disrupt criminal networks and keep up the pressure on metal thieves. Local Liberal Democrats will be asking Neath Port Talbot county borough council what further work they are planning to do to enforce this law”.

NB The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 replaced the 1964 Scrap Metal Dealers Act and was passed in Parliament in February 2013

What the hell have the LibDems done in coalition?

http://whatthehellhavethelibdemsdone.com

A taste of the Welsh Liberal Democrat manifesto for May

We’ll deliver a stronger Wales, with more powers, home rule and fair funding.

We’ve already ensured that the Pupil Premium, which delivers extra money to help disadvantaged kids in school, has been implemented in Wales and we’ll deliver continued investment. On health the priority is more resources and safe staffing levels, consistent with Kirsty Williams’ Assembly Bill to put staffing levels on a statutory footing.

Labour woos rich friends with tuition fee policy

Councillor Iain Roberts, Deputy Leader on Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council writes:

The Coalition’s Tuition Fees policy cut the cost of university for poorer graduates (but increased it substantially for the wealthiest) and has seen not only record numbers going to university, but also the highest ever number of young people from poorer backgrounds signing up. And yes, not the Lib Dems finest hour with the pledge and all that – no doubt commentators below the line will find new and interesting things to say on that topic that no-one’s thought of in the last four-and-a-bit years.

But let’s take a look at what Labour’s proposals would actually mean. First, as university vice-chancellors have been quick to point out, it would create a funding black hole – they claim £10 billion over five years.

Second, the people who would benefit are rich graduates. The new fees system is a graduate tax in all but name. It is designed so lower-paid graduates never pay back anything like the full amount. The lowest paid won’t repay a penny and the bottom third pay back less than under the old Labour scheme. Cutting fees from £9,000 to £6,000 would make no difference to them at all – they were never going to repay even half the full amount, and they’ld carry on paying the same.

The people who would benefit are the wealthiest graduates – and the richer you are, the more you would save. If you graduate and become a high-paid banker who would have repaid the full loan plus interest, you get a nice big tax cut from Mr Miliband.

And who would pay for this tax cut for the rich? Labour has two choices. They could increase tax to cover it – making us all dip into our pockets. Or they could cut services – perhaps making further cuts to welfare to help those wealthy bankers. Labour has already promised to be “tougher than the Tories” on cutting the benefits bill.

Labour’s Tuition Fees proposal is a poorly thought-out, unfunded , headline-grabbing policy that would result in a tax-cut for wealthy graduates with either tax rises or cuts in services for the poor.

You talk, we'll listen

Broadcasters' proposal disadvantages Liberal Democrats

Caron Lindsay explains why the scheme adopted by BBC, Sky, ITV and Channel 4 for televised party leader debates during the general election campaign favours the other parties.

Nick Clegg will have approximately 18 minutes (over two debates)  to defend a record of 5 years in government, while Cameron will have an hour more. That’s simply not fair to either the Liberal Democrats or the public.

Can you imagine how tortuous it is going to be to watch Cameron and Miliband debate on their own for 2 hours? For a clue, watch Prime Minister’s Questions. I can’t imagine either of them rising to the occasion. Cameron was very poor in 2010 and Miliband is really not suited to that kind of environment. Giving them the stage to themselves, though, allows them to set the agenda. Cameron will likely spend half the time passing off our policies as his own and the other half telling the country we’re an untamed bunch of hippies who are soft on Europe and terrorists. Miliband will be trying to equate us with the Tories and nobody will be there to make our case.

Urgent call from LD4SOS

Lib Dem MPs have reacted quickly and well to an appalling Home Office
decision to make all asylum seekers, wherever they live in the UK, who
have been refused leave to remain and are appealing, to have to travel to
Liverpool to submit fresh evidence. The detail is in this pdf.

Please write to your MP (Hywel Francis for Aberavon or Peter Hain for Neath) to sign the EDM below, and ask organisations that you know of who will be concerned of to write to their MP and circulate.

LD4SOS have worked hard this week and there is now an Early Day Motion,
tabled by Julian Huppert MP and already signed by MPs of all parties,
urging the Home office to change the rules on submitting new evidence in
asylum cases.  The Early Day Motion is set out in:
http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2014-15/714

Sarah Teather MP has put down a parliamentary question as follows :
“To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons
her Department decided that further submissions on asylum and human rights
cases must be made in person in Liverpool; with which bodies her
Department consulted before making this decision; and what assistance her
Department will provide to help individuals travel to Liverpool to make
such submissions.”

There is an article in this morning’s Independent here :
http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/asylum-seekers-set-to-be-forced-to-tr
avel-hundreds-of-miles-to-submit-documents-to-home-office-9993667.html

LD4SOS have written two articles here :
http://www.ld4sos.org.uk/archives/349
http://www.ld4sos.org.uk/archives/351

Welsh LibDems aim to boost Welsh NHS

Wales could be the first UK country to ensure 'enough nurses'.

Kirsty Williams, the Welsh Liberal Democrat leader, is to present her 'More Nurses' Bill to the Health and Social Care Committee today.

She said: "Safe nursing levels are a bedrock for effective care. Nurses provide round the clock care for patients, and work in every kind of healthcare setting. Quite simply, nurse staffing levels are too important to be left to 'guidance'.

"Making safe nursing levels a statutory responsibility will provide a legislative basis for patients and staff to challenge poor levels of nurse staffing."

Happy New Year!

Aberavon and Neath Liberal Democrats wish all our readers a happy and prosperous 2015.

As the national membership increases and we continue to make progress in council by-elections, we as a party can look forward to a better outcome in the big elections to come than the BBC and some elements of the print media are predicting.

Liberal Democrat position on devolution in England

In the wake of the Scottish Referendum result and the Smith Commission process it is right that Government and all political parties should consider the implications for England, and indeed the rest of the United Kingdom.

The Liberal Democrats believe it is now time to set out a reform programme to devolve more powers within England and to address the so called “West Lothian Question.”

Aberavon and Neath Liberal Democrats congratulate the parties in Wales in agreeing on a way forward for devolution in Wales and deprecate the position of the Labour Party in Westminster in not contributing to the Command Paper launched in the Commons today.

The Liberal Democrat party has from its inception been a federal organisation and thus has long experience in its own deliberations in discriminating between regional, national and state interests. The party's contribution to the government's Command Paper may be read at https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/libdems/pages/7092/attachments/original/1418725024/LD_England_Command_Paper.pdf.

Welsh NHS absenteeism rising

Sickness absence levels are on the rise in the Welsh NHS, according to latest statistics, reports WalesOnline.

The Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust fared the worst after 7.8% of contracted hours were lost due to staff absences

Welsh Liberal Democrats leader Kirsty Williams has called for the Welsh Government to do more to support “overworked” NHS staff.

She said: “Paramedics do incredibly stressful work around the clock and sickness levels have been high for a long time.

“I can only imagine how demoralising it must be to be doing such an important job but not getting the appropriate support from the Welsh Government.

“Our ambulance service is hugely overstretched and staff are not given the resources they need to serve the people of Wales.

“When I’m talking to nurses, the same issues keep coming up – they feel stressed and over-worked.

“That’s why so many of them are backing my plan for more nurses on our wards, to provide safe nurse staffing levels and reduce dependency on agency nurses as well as increasing staff morale.”

Candidate for Aberavon

Aberavon Liberal Democrats have re-selected Helen Ceri Clarke, who stood for the party in the Welsh
General Election, as their candidate for the Westminster election in May 2015.

Neath candidate chosen

Neath Liberal Democrats have selected Clare Bentley as their prospective candidate for the UK general election in May 2015. Clare is an administrator, who will shortly be moving from Swansea to Coed Darcy.

Peter Black slams Labour housing record

Wales Online reports that more than 2,000 people in Wales have been on a housing waiting list for more than a decade. Nearly 9,000 people have been waiting for more than five years, the figures suggest

Peter Black, Liberal Democrat AM for South Wales West  and the party's housing spokesman, responds:

“These figures are a stark reminder just how bad the housing shortage is here in Wales. Fifteen years of Welsh Labour in Government has led to literally thousands of people waiting over a decade for a home. It is simply unacceptable that so many people here in Wales have had to put their life on hold until a home is available to them.

“Due to major failings with our NHS and our schools, it often goes unnoticed quite how badly Labour has let people down with regards to housing. Over a decade of inaction has led to an acute housing shortage.

“For too long the Welsh Labour Government has taken a haphazard approach to housing targets. The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe the Government’s Housing Act should have included a statutory duty for Government Ministers to set termly targets for the supply of new affordable homes.

“After each Assembly election, a new target must be set, with a duty to review it and report back annually. This issue is so important that these targets should be enshrined in law.

“Many of us are aware of derelict and empty homes in or near our neighbourhood. Not only are they a blight on our communities, but they also, frankly, are a waste of living space. It’s time the Welsh Government developed an empty homes strategy so we can finally put these buildings back into use.”

Other People's Money

A Freedom Of Information response reveals that the Welsh Government paid London-based engineering consultancy Arup more than £6.3m from 2010-2011 to advise on the controversial project to divert the M4 round Newport through a SSSI.

Eluned Parrott, the Welsh Liberal Democrat transport spokeswoman said the “billion pound mistake” would see Welsh finances “tied up for a generation”.

“It looks increasingly likely that these plans are doomed, so it's time for the Welsh Government to stop wasting public money on it,” she said.

“It’s particularly insulting for taxpayers that not only has £6m already been spent drawing up plans for this road since 2011, but to add insult to injury, the Welsh Labour Government has evasively refused to publish the full conclusions of this expensive, yet flawed, consultation.

“In budget negotiations, the Welsh Lib Dems agreed that no construction of the M4 relief road will start before the next Assembly elections, and that no construction contract would be awarded.

“The deal means that no irreversible decisions on the M4 can be taken before then, but given the number and cost of the hurdles that need to be overcome, and the enormous environmental damage it would do, surely the best idea would be to shelve it, permanently, now.”

Labour government resists calls for NHS investigation

The first minister has dismissed calls for an inquiry into the running of the NHS in Wales.

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams repeated her call for an all-party commission, saying: "Labour's-running of the NHS in Wales is nothing short of a national scandal."

She went on:  "it is the Labour-led Welsh Government’s fault that waiting times are increasing and they are not caused by devolution.

She said: “Nurses in Wales have more patients to care for than any other part of the UK. That is why the Welsh Liberal Democrats are campaigning to introduce safe staff nursing levels on our wards to ensure safe and compassionate care in all hospitals. NHS staff work tirelessly, but like patients, they are being failed by the Welsh Labour Government.”

Welsh NHS waiting list

New figures reveal that nearly 1,400 patients waited more than a year for hospital treatment and that nine of them have been waiting for more than two years.

Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: “These figures are nothing short of a national disgrace. It is completely unacceptable that nearly 1,400 people are being forced to wait over a year for treatment.

“Month after month we see the Welsh Government’s 36 week target missed. However these figures show the problem is even worse than that. My concern is that the Welsh Labour Government seems entirely clueless on how to turn things around. Waiting lists are piling up and I see little sign of the situation improving.”

The Liberal Democrats have urged the Welsh Government to establish a commission to secure a historic and long-term plan for health and social care in Wales.

Kirsty Williams added: “A commission with cross-party, professional and patient representatives would be able to work together and deal with the strategic problems facing our NHS in Wales. By involving doctors, nurses and patients from the outset, we would ensure that the experiences of those using our frontline health services feed into the efforts to reform our NHS.

“Whether it is inadequate cancer care, poor ambulance response times or dire A&E waiting times, the Welsh Labour Government is failing to provide the health service that patients in Wales deserve.”

Liberal Democrat social housing benefits policy

Liberal Democrat Party Headquarters has issued the following Q&A, following Andrew George MP's success in the House of Commons yesterday. His "Affordable Homes Bill" has cleared the major hurdle of a Second Reading, which means it can go on to detailed consideration in committee. Among other things, the Bill would practically abolish the iniquities of the coalition's Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy, the so-called Bedroom Tax. Mr George's Private Members Bill has the support of the Labour Opposition as well as the parliamentary Liberal Party.

Why are you doing this now?

We have been monitoring the introduction of the policy carefully. The results of the interim evaluation have now been published and they show some concerning findings such as that 57% of claimants reported cutting back on household essentials. We have protected the vulnerable so far but we now want to reform the policy to protect those people for the long term.

Why haven’t you implemented these changes in government?

We have protected vulnerable groups by providing hard cash for hard cases – £180m in Discretionary Housing Payments last year – not all of which has been spent by councils. We have been monitoring the introduction of the policy carefully and have recently received the interim results of the initial evaluation of the policy. These show that the policy has had an impact on disabled people who need a spare bedroom and we want to ensure that these people are exempted. We also want to ensure that those who have tried to downsize but have not been able to are not penalised. We will make the case to our coalition partners that the policy needs to be reformed.

The Tories don’t agree with you do they?


We will continue to make the case to our coalition partners that the policy needs to be reformed. If we do not reach agreement in this parliament we will commit to these reforms in our manifesto.

What about other groups who are affected (e.g. parents who don’t live with their children but have them to visit regularly)

There would still be a (more limited) pot of Discretionary Housing Payments available for hard cash to cover hard cases. It is already the case, however, that private sector tenants have to pay for a spare bedroom in this circumstance.

Not all disabled people will be covered by your policy?

We are exempting those disabled people who need a spare bedroom or those who live in specially adapted properties. Not all disabled people will need a spare bedroom. We will consult on the detailed guidance.

What about all the other housing benefit reforms? This change doesn’t go far enough.

Between 2000 and 2010 expenditure on Housing Benefit grew by around 50% in real terms. This is clearly unsustainable, particularly at a time when we need to reduce the deficit and build a stronger economy. That is why we have made reforms to the housing benefit system, but it is also why we are working to build more affordable homes. There are also still Discretionary Housing Payments available for vulnerable people.

You are penalising housing associations who can’t build more houses. That isn’t fair, and will mean that they have less funding to build more houses in future.

We recognise it is not fair for people to have a reduction in their housing benefit if they have tried to downsize but have not been offered an alternative property. We believe there needs to be a small incentive on housing associations and local authorities to offer people reasonable alternative accommodation, including encourage people to downsize in order to free up homes for those on housing waiting lists or those living in overcrowded accommodation. This will also be an incentive to look at ways some local authorities have tackled the problem. This includes opportunities to convert larger properties or to encourage house swaps or ‘rent a room’ schemes, which help to prevent homelessness, and encourage people to think about options for getting extra income.

Fair funding for Wales

After many years, Welsh Liberal Democrats have now convinced the federal party (currently in coalition with the Conservatives in Westminster) that the unfairness of the Barnett formula (named after a Labour Treasury minister), under which funding for Wales and Scotland is calculated, should be addressed.

Party leader Kirsty Williams writes:

 
I am pleased to announce today that we have secured our party’s commitment to overhaul the unfair funding system for Wales.  

Going into the General Election, we will pledge that Wales will have fairer funding for the next parliament, which could mean hundreds of millions of pounds extra coming into Wales. 

As we all know, under successive Labour and Tory Governments,  Wales has been underfunded for years.  The last major piece of work on this, the Holtham report, concluded that Wales was losing £300m a year.  That simply is not fair. 
Not only do we recognise that Wales is underfunded, but unlike the Tories, Labour and Plaid, we will actually do something about it. 

This announcement is about Wales getting a fairer deal and we believe this is the quickest and easiest way forward for that to happen.

In Government, we have a proud record of delivery for Wales and we are now the only party that has made a firm commitment to more funding for Wales. 

Once again, the Liberal Democrats are showing that we are the only party in Westminster that will make a positive difference for the people of Wales.

A firm but fair immigration system

Clegg: I’m a believer in the benefits of well-managed immigration.

In a speech today, Nick Clegg set out the policy he expects the party to adopt at Federal Conference in Glasgow in October. A transcript of the speech is here.