The Liberal Democrats achieved one of their main objectives in the budget which was to help the less well off. As a result the Government has raised the tax threshold and cut taxes for low and middle earners of which there are an estimated 20 million people. It is likely they may have had no one to press their cause without the Lib Dems in Government.

They were right to join the Government in the Coalition. It can only be positive that the Lib Dems are part of the coalition helping to introduce a more liberal prospective on policies which can be tough on anyone other than the wealthy. It is best to be part of the Government being able to tweak their proposals from the inside than being on the outside and having no power to do so, just being dismissed as the third party.

It is much easier to have a positive effect on Government policies if you are working inside it, than if you are left outside in the cold and can easily be ignored. Business Secretary Vince Cable is one of the few members of the coalition Government who has repeatedly attacked city big bonuses which are long overdue for reform. The city must take its share of the blame for landing the economy in its present mess. However individuals are not really to blame. They took bonuses when they were awarded them but the were handed out for the wrong reasons. City workers got bonuses which were calculated on the volume of business they carried out regardless of the merit of the business. There were no safeguards to ensure that the business they were being rewarded for was in fact boosting the economy. The didn’t have to look further than just getting people to sign on the bottom line so even if the business turned sour they had successfully worked towards their bonus. In the end they had done so many ‘bad’ deals, detrimental to the economy that we all suffered. As Vince Cable put it: “A bad message was sent: that unrestrained greed is acceptable.” The whole system of getting bonuses should be reformed, as the incentive was to do business regardless of the consequences.  No one wants to be in this present economic crisis again.

It is the Lib Dems whose main objective is to fight for those who work long hours for a modest wage rather than the rich and super wealthy. It is the Lib Dems who work hard for people who cannot afford to enjoy a luxury lifestyle thanks to inherited family wealth. Vince Cable is willing to stick his neck out and attack big bonuses. He is a man that understands the vast majority people who have to work hard to keep their head above water. He is still calling for “tighter control on bank pay and bonuses,” and being a determined grafter he hasn’t given up on it yet, he is still working towards it.

The Lib Dems are putting clinicians in the NHS driving seat as it is doctors and nurses who know what patients need therefore it is only right that they decide what treatment patients get, where and when. GPs, nurses and clinicians will arrange the services patients need, rather than managers who are not medically trained and are better at running businesses. Medically trained staff will decide what is needed medically in a local area, and local councils will in future be given a new role to help organize and set up the health services in a community.

Patients who suffer from long term conditions, like diabetes, don’t want to spend their life in and out of hospital, so the Lib Dems are making it easier for the NHS and local councils to work together to make sure the best patient care is provided conveniently and even perhaps in patients’ own home if that’s possible without compromising patient safety. They are committed to making sure waiting times are kept low, while at the clinical standards rise.

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Lisa Armitage is a freelance writer who covers business topics relevant to small businesses across the land including finding deals on shop insurance the fight against big city bonuses which damage everyone and benefit very few.

Thanks to Mark Pack for the Infographic, originally published here.

Are two Eds better than one? I’m not sure – but the two Eds said something very interesting over the weekend: apparently they don’t have a ‘Plan B’ for the economy after all.

You’ll have heard Simon Hughes and I over the weekend rightly calling on the two Eds to apologise. We want them to apologise to the British public for deceiving them for 18 months. However, there is one apology we didn’t call for publicly, but which they still should make – that’s an apology to you.

Last May across the country, from Lancaster to Sheffield and Manchester to Newcastle, many of you lost your council seats to undeserving Labour candidates who were fighting their elections on a false platform with dishonest messages. They stood on a platform that the Eds now admit was wrong. Shame on them – but I’m proud of you.

In addition, Nick Clegg deserves an apology. Nick has been berated and abused by the Labour leadership for having the guts to stand up and work as part of the Coalition in the best interest of the country. Now Labour have admitted that their attacks were inaccurate – but there’s no hint of apology. They have gone from being in the wrong place, to all over the place.

That leaves the Liberal Democrats as the only political party with the backbone to tackle the country’s problems, but with the heart to do everything to ensure that fairness, compassion and justice are written through everything we do.

As this article from The Times recognises, the Liberal Democrats are a progressive force in Government. We are the Party delivering tax cuts for working people, we are the party investing in the poorest school pupils, we are the party delivering the largest ever state pension rise and importantly, we are the party prepared to take the tough decisions needed to get this country back on track.

So don’t hold your breath waiting for an apology from Labour – but rest assured you are most definitely owed one!

I have written more about this on Lib Dem Voice, and you can see my full article here.

Best wishes,

Tim Farron
President of the Liberal Democrats

A labour supporter said about the LibDems:
“why would we want to be in a Coalition with a party who have been more than happy to ditch their principles just to get cabinet jobs.”

I’ll tell you why … its because you are simply wrong my friend.

The libdems went into coalition to implement libdem policy, and in this parliament they are implementing over 75% of their manifesto commitments (according to the BBC and University College London).

Taking millions of low earners out of income tax, and ensuring that all workers pay £700 less tax on the first £10,000 they earn.

Making sure that kids in school who need extra help can actually get it from the £2.5 billion in the pupil premium.

Ensuring that EVERY 18-24 year old can learn or earn with the Youth Contract starting this April.

Creating hundreds of thousands of apprenticeship places for the 55% of our 16-18 year olds that don’t go on to further education.

Creating the Green Investment Bank to create sustainable jobs for those youngsters when they finish their apprenticeships.

Triple locking pensions for the elderly to put an end to 75p increases that labour gave our elderly. It gave pensioners an extra £4.50 last year and another £5.50 this April.

Implementing a new team at HMRC to stop tax avoidance and evasion by the 350,000 wealthiest people in the nation…. not just the 5,000 that labour focussed on.

Clamping down on big business to make sure they pay taxes due in the UK… not letting them off £25 billion like Labour did with Goldman Sachs and Vodafone etc.

Breaking up the banks to ensure that if they want to gambling at the investment bank casino, they do it with their own money and not the taxpayers.

I could go on, but you get the point.

Have we done everything we wanted? No, of course not, we don’t have a majority government, we came third in GE2010 and have just 8.7% of seats in parliament.

Have we been able to stop the Tories doing everything we don’t like? No, we havnt, we are outnumbered 5 Tories to each LibDem in the coalition.

Have we influenced positive policies far beyond our expected ability? Definitely.

Have LibDem policies influenced the economy? Darn tootin they have.

Was borrowing lower last year than in 2010? Yes it was.

Have we been in recession in the last 20 months? No, we havnt. We have had consecutive growth figures every quarter.

In 2011 was the tax collected a record breaking year? Yes, it was.

When interest rates are going up around the world, ours has come down from the 4%+ that Labour left to just over 2% today, one of the lowest of all our peers.

Do we still have our triple A credit rating when those around us are losing theirs? Yes we do.

Labour say its not working, but with times around the world far worse now than during Labours governance, we are keeping our heads above water….. labour took us into two consecutive periods of recession in better times than this.

Is everything rosy? No, of course not, but are the libdems punching above their weight? Oh yeah baby, they sure are.”

This is worrying. If young people are out of work, the consequences of that will be felt for decades afterwards. We need to ensure that the young people of today do not have a false start and help us build the new economy of the future.

That’s why Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg has unveiled the Youth Contract, worth £1bn. Starting next April, the Youth Contract will provide at least 410,000 new work places over the next three years for 18 to 24-year olds to help them into work, including 160,000 wage subsidies and 250,000 new work experience placements.

They will also receive extra support from the JobCentre Plus after they have been on JSA for 3 months. This will range from help with CV and applications to a careers interview from the National Careers Service.

Not only that, but the Coalition Government is also making 20,000 more incentive payments available to encourage employers to take on young apprentices.

Lastly, it will also help those most in need of support, those 16 and 17-year olds who are persistently not in employment, education or training (NEETs). This new £50m programme will focus on the most disengaged of the 26,000 in the North West of England to get them learning, on an apprenticeship or in a job with training.

As a Liberal Democrat, I’m proud that while we’re clearing up the economic mess that Labour left behind, the Coalition Government is ensuring that our children do not bear the consequences of Labour’s mistakes. This is the right thing to do to prevent another lost generation.