Tag Archives: scottish elections 2016

Willie Rennie on the four key Liberal Democrat values and the Lib Dem record of achievement

Willie Rennie put in a strong first day at work and set out the ideas on which the Scottish Liberal Democrats will fight the election in just 4 months’  time.

 

Willie Rennie values

He firstly intervened on the First Minister whose government promised to give 27% of 2 year olds nursery education. They’ve managed barely half that.

Before the First Minister moves on from education, new official Government figures show that only 7 per cent of two-year-olds are receiving nursery education. The First Minister’s promise was that 27 per cent would. How can she talk about a revolution in education and in childcare when she cannot even meet her timid plans?

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 3 Comments

What the Scottish Liberal Democrats should be saying in 2016

The Liberal Democrat manifesto for the Scottish elections this spring needs to be a cracker or we will not be noticed, even by the 5 per cent of voters who are thinking of supporting us.  So let me suggest a list of radical ideas.

First, we should be arguing for a 3p rise in income tax to raise around £1bn for public services.  Just about every day there is an example of our schools, colleges, health and care services, social work departments, police and fire brigades, libraries, sports fields etc. being short of money.  And George Osborne is only half way through his austerity programme.  This constant cutting has to end and we should be honest with people and say we all need to pay more in tax to halt this drastic decline in our public services. And while on the subject of income tax, we should say that from next year onwards (when Scotland gets its new powers) those earning over £60,000 a year should pay income tax at 50 per cent, so raising another £100m for public services.

Of course, extra funding should not be pumped into these public services without constant reform. The funding should be targeted….on struggling schools, poor communities, on preventive medicine not expensive treatments for the very old.     

Posted in News | Also tagged | 19 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • nigel hunter
    cHLOE, bLAIR CONTINUED tHATCHERISM. Our industries were 'transferred to China etc, cos they made them cheaper. Result, all the UK has are warehouses to store ...
  • Hywel
    "the cost of a first-class letter has risen by more than 100% in the last five years" Outside of sending leaflets at election time when was the last time peo...
  • Chloe
    Nigel; Every single factory my parents and their families worked in - in my home town has gone . Only to be replaced by low pay , low skill warehouse work on th...
  • Judy Abel
    And yes Brexit took the breaks off the worst excesses of neoliberalism with weaker consumer regulation and less scrutiny of public procurement for example....
  • Judy Abel
    @NigelHunter I agree with every word. Money is leaking out of the economy to narrow private business interests like water through a collander....