The UK has the fifth largest economy in the world, but one in five of us lives in poverty.
Yet instead of addressing inequality, the Tories’ heartless welfare policy has led to soaring levels of poverty across the country.
That’s why Jo Swinson’s Liberal Democrats have come up with a bold plan to tackle inequality across the UK. As the Resolution Foundation recognises, Liberal Democrats have the most progressive manifesto of all the major parties, focused on ensuring everyone has the same opportunities regardless of where they come from.
Read more on child poverty and the challenges facing Britain’s social security system in our latest report, The shifting shape of social security: https://t.co/l2zn5TP1PIpic.twitter.com/vtp9550Q5P
— ResolutionFoundation (@resfoundation) November 27, 2019
1. Jo will Stop Brexit
Any form of Brexit, whether it’s hard or soft, Conservative or Labour, will be bad for jobs, the economy, the NHS, and our environment.
It is also a sad fact that those who are the most in need of support in Britain today will be hit hardest by Brexit.
That’s why Jo has been fighting hard over the past three years to stop Brexit. With Jo as Prime Minister, we will stop Brexit on day one of government. By doing this, we won’t just grow the economy faster, but we’ll generate a £50 billion Remain Bonus that we can invest in public services and tackling inequality across Britain.
The country deserves better than Brexit, and it deserves better than the two tired old parties. Vote @LibDems to #StopBrexit and build a brighter future. pic.twitter.com/L7UvEodgwe
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) October 31, 2019
2. Jo has a plan to tackle the mental health epidemic
Our NHS is the envy of the world, but our mental health service is not.
Waiting times are being missed, people are not being referred for the treatment they need, and often action is taken only when at crisis point, or too late.
We are fighting to invest £11bn into mental health services, making them more accessible for everyone. In addition, prescriptions for people with chronic mental health conditions will be available for free on the NHS.
The Conservatives have given mental health care lip service for years – what is needed now is urgent action to help those most in need. Jo’s plan does just that and will help alleviate suffering throughout Britain.
We will invest £11bn into mental health to provide parity of urgency with physical health.
We will build a #BrighterFuture & giving people the support they need to do that is at the top of our agenda.
Find out more about our plan for the future here?
https://t.co/lvWPhIGvpgpic.twitter.com/Iomi34TwQO
— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) November 6, 2019
3. Jo is ready to lead on climate action and tackle fuel poverty
We are the last generation that can stop irreversible climate change, and we are running out of time. The Liberal Democrats are the only party with a radical, credible and detailed plan to tackle the climate emergency.
Jo will jump-start an economy-wide programme to tackle the climate emergency. Across a five year parliament, we will spend and invest an extra £100 billion of public finance on climate action and environmental preservation.
We will also make a £15 billion investment to make every building in the country greener, with an emergency ten-year programme to save energy, end fuel poverty and cut household heating bills by an average of £550 per year.
3.5 million households are saddled with exorbitant fuel bills due to poor quality houses. This needs to change. We will incentivise households to upgrade their homes and also provide fully subsidised home upgrades to those in fuel poverty. By prioritising fuel-poor households, all low-income homes will be insulated by 2025.
.@joswinson planted a tree in Hampstead today to launch our plan to undertake the largest tree-planting programme in UK history
LibDems will plant 60 million trees every year as part of our plan to combat the #ClimateEmergency
& build a #BrighterFuture?https://t.co/lvWPhIGvpgpic.twitter.com/cWCFKXJUCo— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) November 16, 2019
4. Jo will transform our education system
Education ensures children have the best start in life, yet years of Conservative cuts have resulted in understaffed and underfunded schools.
We’re fighting to reverse frontline school cuts since 2015 with an emergency cash injection of £4.6 billion next year. By recruiting 20,000 more teachers as part of an extra £10 billion a year for schools, we will reduce inequality across the UK so that every child can have the best start in life, no matter what their background.
5. Jo will build a fairer economy
Working hard should mean you are able to build a good life, but for too many people that’s not the case. In an ever changing workplace people often need to develop new skills, but the cost of courses and qualifications shuts too many people out.
Having already fought for shared parental leave and gender pay gap reporting, Jo is determined to go further and build a fairer economy.
With her plan to provide free childcare from 9 months and give every adult a £10,000 Skills Wallet to spend on skills & training throughout their lives, Jo will transform our economy and help everyone build good lives and brighter futures for their families.
We need to transform our economy and make life easier for working families. As part our plan for a brighter future, we’d introduce free childcare from 9 months old. https://t.co/mxZd0WdHeW
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) November 9, 2019