You can never again trust the LibDems

Nick Clegg likes to try and distance himself from his record and his Tory coalition partners. But the truth is that he has backed the Tories all the way, and broken the promises he made at the last election. You can't trust Nick Clegg, and you can't trust the Lib Dems:

• They promised to scrap tuition fees and then trebled them.
• They promised not to increase VAT, warned against a “Tory VAT bombshell”, but then voted through a VAT rise on hardworking families.  
• They promised a fair tax system with the wealthiest paying more but have cut taxes for millionaires. 
• They promised to be on the side of working people but hardworking people are £1,600 worse off since they joined the Tories in government.

You can’t trust them – they say they are holding David Cameron back but Nick Clegg has been weak and backed the Tories all the way:

• Nick Clegg backed the Tories’ wasteful and damaging £3 billion top-down reorganisation of the NHS, while cutting nurses and seeing waiting lists rise and operations rationed.
• Nick Clegg backed the Tories’ hated Bedroom Tax, even though two thirds of the people hit by it are disabled and 60,000 are carers.
• Nick Clegg backed Michael Gove and allowed schools to recruit unqualified teachers, putting school standards at risk.

UKIP - more Tory than the Tories

UKIP want to take billions out of the NHS, subsidising the better off to go private. Their health spokesperson favours introducing charging in the NHS for “non-emergency” cases and to allow people to pay to jump the queue.

UKIP claim to be on the side of working people, but the truth is UKIP is made up of senior figures with a history in the Tory party. UKIP relies more and more on Tory funding and UKIP shares a Tory policy agenda. The only difference is that UKIP is an even more damaging prospectus for Britain’s future than the Tories.

UKIP are even more right wing than the Tories. A vote for UKIP is a vote for:

• Higher taxes for working families 
• Huge tax giveaways for the rich
• Even deeper cuts to the public services you rely on
• Charges to see your GP
• Scrapping your rights as a worker  

And then, of course, there's our own dear UKIP MEP.

A future for the many, not the few

The Tories can't build a better future for working people because they stand up only for a privileged few.

 

Under the Tories’ failing plan too many people are treading water, working harder and harder just to stay afloat, and worried that the next generation are finding it harder to get on than the last.

• Working people are an average of £1,600 a year worse off under the Tories
• Family energy bills have been allowed to rise by over £300 since the election.
• The average age of first time buyers has now reached 33.

David Cameron claims this economy is fixed, but their plan has seen a recovery which is benefiting a privileged few far more than most families.

• David Cameron has cut tax for people on over £150,000 a year while raising it for everyone else.
• Hedge funds have been given a tax break worth millions.
• Families with children have been hit hard, with childcare costs up 30%.

And despite promising to protect the NHS, under David Cameron it is going backwards with people struggling to see their GP and waiting lists rising. You can’t trust the Tories with the NHS.

• One in four patients are waiting a week or more for a GP appointment.
• Waiting lists for treatment are at their highest level for six years.
• Thousands of frontline NHS staff have been lost while £3 billion has been wasted on a damaging reorganisation they promised wouldn’t happen.

The Time to Care Fund

The NHS is one of our greatest achievements but it’s struggling under a Tory-led government which wasted billions on an unnecessary top-down reorganisation. Even the Tories themselves see it as their biggest own goal.


That’s why Ed Miliband has announced that the next Labour government will create a £2.5 billion a year NHS Time to Care Fund to save and transform our health service.

We’ll support 20,000 more nurses, 8,000 more GPs, 5,000 more careworkers and 3,000 more midwives. By appointing these additional staff, our doctors and nurses will have the time they need to care properly for patients, as well as transforming services in communities and at home.

The Time to Care Fund will not be paid for through more borrowing or by raising taxes on everyday working people. Instead, the money will be raised from a tax on houses worth over £2 million, a co-ordinated crackdown against tax avoidance, and by ensuring tobacco companies contribute towards the costs they impose on the NHS.

The Tories haven’t just destabilised our health service; they’re holding it back from meeting the challenges of the 21st century as well. We need a world-class health and care service that is equipped to address the modern challenges that come from an ageing population, more people living with chronic conditions, the rise of mental health, and a higher premium on preventing illness.

The NHS is going backwards under the Tories so there has never been a better or more important time to care about its future. 

Only Labour can be trusted to protect the NHS and with the Time to Care Fund, we’ll ensure we have a health service fit for the 21st century.  

Boosting the Minimum Wage

LABOUR WILL HELP BRITIAN’S LOWEST PAID BY RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

The introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in 1999 was a great achievement of the last Labour Government.

This policy ended the exploitation of millions of Britain’s workers and increased productivity without job losses. But the challenge we faced 15 years ago is different to the one we face today and the one we will face in the coming years.

That’s why Ed Miliband has announced Labour’s plan to raise the NMW to £8 an hour by 2020.

One in five British workers find themselves struggling on low pay, often relying on benefits or tax credits to top up their wage so they can simply afford the essentials, even though they often work long, hard hours. This can’t be right. If you work hard you should be able to bring up your family with dignity without relying on the taxpayer to make up the difference.

But under David Cameron and George Osborne often people are not getting the rewards because the Government’s recovery is only benefiting a privileged few.

So the next Labour government, working with businesses and the Low Pay Commission, will raise the NMW to £8 by 2020, a move that will put an extra £3,000 a year in the pockets of Britain’s lowest paid workers.

This is an important move that will end the scandal of five million Brits struggling to make ends meet because they are on low pay. But Labour understands that businesses need time to adjust their models to support higher wages. That’s why we will raise the NMW over the five years of the next Parliament so businesses will have enough time to plan for the long-term goal of £8 an hour by 2020.

The Tories are boasting that the economy is fixed but we’ve seen a recovery that is working just for the few. Labour’s plan for Britain’s future will ensure we become a country that rewards hard work again. That begins by guaranteeing that everyone in Britain should be able to live on the wage they earn.