Believable... Achievable... The REAL Alternative

Voting Lib Dem is voting for distinctive policies that work. The higher the Lib Dem vote, the stronger the message to the old parties that these are the policies you want.

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Scrap the Council Tax

The Tories invented it, Labour pushed it higher and higher, and given the chance the Lib Dems will scrap it. The Local Income Tax that the Lib Dems would put in its place is fair, honest, it works in other countries and it will work here. Vote Lib Dem and it will happen! Around 70% of households would be better off with a Local Income Tax than under the unfair Council Tax. Find out how much you could save here: http://www.axe-the-tax.org.uk

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Hold the Government to account

The Lib Dems will give you the protection of a written constitution. It will guarantee your freedoms and for the first time clearly define the powers held Prime Minister, the Government and Parliament. It will also ensure the Government is accountable to you. This would make our country far more democratic. After all, politicians should not be there to rule over us, but to serve us.

more details on better government.

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Put patients first

The Lib Dems would end the Government's obsession with targets in the NHS, leaving our doctors and nurses free to focus on patients needs. They would tackle the hidden waiting lists where patients who are sometimes seriously ill wait months for a diagnosis before they are put on an official waiting list for treatment. They would scrap eye and dental checks, end prescription charges for long-term ilnesses and bring in free longterm care for the elderley. And it's all fully costed!

more details on putting patients first.

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Make every vote count

The Lib Dems are committed to changing the voting system so that every vote counts. They would do so only with the support of the British people in a referendum. The two old parties oppose a genuine democracy that fairly represents the votes cast, preferring to keep an unfair system that protects them and devalues your vote. The changes would force politicians to cooperate with each other more and end the damaging 'yah-boo' political culture that turns ordinary off politics. The more votes the Lib Dems get this time, the stronger their arguement for change will be. They would also let you elect most of the members of the House of Lords and allow 16 year olds to vote.

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Honest taxes

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Protect civil liberties

The Lib Dems have been a vital safeguard against the Government's slicing away of our civil liberties during the last parliament. They have limited many of the repressive measures that would have curtailed our human rights and civil liberties. They will strengthen our protection against Government's that want to strip away our liberties with a comprehensive Equality Act and a Bill of Rights.

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International leadership on climate change and the environment

The Lib Dems have a green backbone throughout all their policy. The biggest challenge is climate change. They would provide investment to introduce an achievable strategy to reach the 60% CO2 reduction by 2050 that scientists insist is needeed. They would take a lead at the international level; and unlike the old parties the old parties are committed to contraction and convergence as the only fair and workable way of cutting CO2 emissions to stable levels (contraction means cutting the CO2 to safe levels; convergence means sharing out permitted emissions across the world on a head count, not a wealth count). They would overhaul the Treasury with an environmental incentive programme to ensure that the Government's economic policy promotes environmental objectives.

more details on protecting our environment.

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No more wars like Iraq

The Lib Dems opposed the war in Iraq and will ensure that there is a clear exit timetable to bring our troops home from Iraq. They will strengthen parliamentary accountability and remove the Royal Prerogative that lets Prime Minsters go to war without obtaining the agreement of Parliament. They will ensure greater parliamentary scrutiny of intelligence so there can be no more dodgy dossiers. At the international level they will call for a firm framework for conflict resolution to be agreed with a strong United Nations at its core.

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Smaller class sizes

The Lib Dems will cut class sizes for the youngest children and ensure that all children are taught by a qualified teacher in each subject. The Liberal Democrats would abolish uneccessary tests in primary schools.

Find out more.

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Scrap tuition and top-up fees

The Lib Dems will scrap top-up and tuition fees for students. The fees are excluding many students from university because of the fear of getting into such high levels of debt. This debt burden will also create difficulties in the future for recruitment to public service jobs that do not pay enough for students to pay off their debts, let alone buy their own home. The Lib Dems will not seek to restrict the number of people who can study, like the Tories are proposing. With the Lib Dems all students who succeed in gaining suitable qualifications will be able to study.

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