LIBERAL DEMOCRAT MANIFESTO | AT A GLANCE
Economy
• Save up to £15bn in government spending per year. A third will be set aside for additional spending commitments, but £10bn each year, after 2011/12, will go towards paying off the deficit, set to be £163bn this financial year.
• A cap on public sector pay rises, restricting tax credits, ending government payments into child trust funds, a £2bn bank levy, scrapping ID cards and cancelling part of an order for the Eurofighter warplanes would be some of the cuts made.
• Banks would be broken up, creating a clear separation between low-risk retail banking and high-risk investment banking. Bank bonuses would also be curbed.
•A budget of £3.1bn used as part of a green economic stimulus package.
• Restore a public interest test for company takeovers.
• Reject a new generation of nuclear power stations.
• Set a target for 40 per cent of electricity to come from clean, non-carbon-emitting sources by 2020, rising to 100 per cent by 2050.
Tax
• No plan to increase VAT.
• A “fairer” tax system, with a 10,000 income tax threshold, paid for through a cl amp down on tax avoidance.
• Closing tax loopholes for the wealthy.
• Introducing a one per cent so-called mansion tax on homes worth more than £2m.
• Imposing an increase in aviation duties.
• Tax relief on pensions would only be at the basic rate, and taxing capital gains at the same rate as income.
Political System
• Introduce a proportional voting system for lawmakers, and reduce their number by 150.
• Lower the voting age to 16.
• Have fixed-term parliaments for the lower chamber, and replace the upper chamber with a fully elected house.
• Give voters the right to sack their lawmaker if they have broken the rules.
Education
• Invest £2.5bn to boost education opportunities for disadvantaged children, and cut class sizes.
• Scrap university fees, and the 50 per cent target of young people attending university.