The Liberal Democrat leadership candidates Tim Farron and Norman Lamb have joined forces to launch the party’s campaign to protect the Human Rights Act.

It is expected that the Conservatives will announce plans to scrap the Human Rights Act in wednesday’s Queen’s Speech.

Liberal Democrats blocked Tory plans to weaken our human rights obligations in Government and we will continue to fight to stop them in Opposition.

The pair have put aside their leadership bids to speak up for legislation that has:

• Stopped the state spying on us, supported peaceful protest and protected soldiers.
• Helped rape victims, defended domestic violence victims and guarded against slavery.
• Supported those in care, shielded press freedom and provided answers for grieving families.
• Preserved our right to a fair trial, prevented indiscriminate stop-and-search and protected minorities.

The Conservatives don’t care about the rights of people in this country – they only appear to care about satisfying their right wing.  The Human Rights Act reflects British values – the same values that would be threatened by scrapping it.

The Human Rights Act exists to protect our basic human rights, regardless of gender, race, religion or background.

Back our campaign to protect the Human Rights Act here.

Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb said:

“Our human rights laws have already achieved so much and we must not let the Tories trample all over them.

“They have stopped the state spying on us, supported peaceful protest and guarded against slavery. They have helped rape victims, defended domestic violence victims and shielded press freedom.

“The Liberal Democrats blocked David Cameron from scrapping the Human Rights Act in Government and we must stop him again now.

“That is why we are urging everyone to get behind our campaign to stop the Tories riding roughshod over our freedoms and rights.”

Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron said:

“By drawing up plans to scrap the Human Rights Act and laying the groundwork to pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights – the Tories are revealing their true colours.

“It sends a clear message to the British people: the next five years will be nastier, less liberal and less compassionate that any Government in living memory.

“These are fundamental rights we all have and they define how we treat our citizens and offer our citizens protection from the state.

“They are the legacy of Winston Churchill and seeing the Tories trashing his legacy, I am in no doubt that today he would once again be a Liberal.

“We blocked them before and we must do all we can to block them again.”

Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton and Wallington, has written about the Tories’ plans to abolish the Human Rights Act. You can back our campaign to protect it here.

Tom writes:

In Coalition, the Tories said they would abolish the Human Rights Act as quickly as possible if they had their own way.

They also threatened to walk away from the European Convention on Human Rights, with no guarantee about what would come in its place.

The only reason they could not follow through on their plans is because they were blocked time and again by the Liberal Democrats.

Now David Cameron – presiding over a wafer-thin majority and held to ransom by the swivel-eyed right wingers on his backbenches – is back on the war path.

His first act in Government is not to explain how he plans to rip £12bn out of the welfare budget but a blatant, aggressive and cowardly attack on our human rights.

By drawing up plans to scrap the Human Rights Act (HRA) and laying the groundwork to pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – the Tories are revealing their true colours.

It sends a clear message to the British people: the next five years will be nastier, less liberal and less compassionate than any Government in living memory.

But we must fight the Tories every step of the way and stop them from trampling on our hard-fought freedoms and rights.

The HRA and ECHR are not some piffling pieces of legislation, dreamt up by bureaucrats in Brussels to tie us in red tape.

These are British rights, drafted by British lawyers.

They were forged in the aftermath of the atrocities of the Second World War and fought for by Winston Churchill.

They are designed to place public authorities in the UK under a strict, non-negotiable obligation to treat people with fairness, equality and dignity.

Frequently they have been all that has stood in the way of injustice, most usually inflicted on the individual by an over-powerful state.

Our HRA has already achieved so much. It’s held the state to account for spying on us, safeguarded our soldiers and supported peaceful protest.

It’s helped rape victims, defended domestic violence victims and guarded against slavery. It’s protected those in care, shielded press freedom and provided answers for grieving families.

Take for example, 90-year-olds Richard and Beryl Driscoll. They lived together for more than 65 years until, in 2006, he was moved into a residential care home.

He could not walk unaided and she was blind. She relied on her husband as her eyes and he relied on her for his mobility.

They wanted to remain together but the council said it wasn’t possible to accommodate them in the same nursing home.

But thanks to a campaign that argued their treatment breached their human rights – specifically their right to a family life – the council were forced to back down and they were reunited.

It’s difficult to believe that, without the protection afforded to them by the HRA, there would have been a happy ending.

The same is true in Europe too. Up until 2004, it was possible for two gay men to be prosecuted for having sex if one was aged 16 or 17, even though it was legal for heterosexual couples.

This blatant unfairness was only removed as a result of an ECHR ruling, one the right to a private life, a clause that causes heartless Tories such distress.

And, in 2002, a male-to-female transsexual – asked Strasbourg to determine whether there had been a violation of her right to respect and family life.

Why? Because Britain did not legally recognise her changed gender and did not let her marry. Her victory was a huge step forward in the battle for trans-equality in this country.

Our current human rights legislation has also blocked blanket interception of private messages by the state, protected our right to a fair trial and prevented indiscriminate police stop-and-search.

To walk away from the HRA and ECHR would remove at a stroke the moral authority we have when we engage with other countries.

What sort of message would the Tories send to brutal dictators across the world if we abandoned our human rights’ obligations?

If we pulled out of the ECHR we would join Belarus – hardly a bastion of liberal democracy – as the only other European country not to sign up to it.

These are fundamental rights we all have and they define how we treat our citizens and offer our citizens protection from the state.

David Cameron has shown he cares less about the rights of the British people than he does about placating his frothing-at-the-mouth anti-European backbenchers.

Liberal Democrats fought in Government to stop the Tories trashing our human rights laws. We must all come together now to stop them trying it again.

Since polls closed last Thursday, over 10,000 new members have joined the Liberal Democrats.

Nothing shows just how much Britain needs a strong, liberal party than the government’s recent announcements about introducing the ‘snoopers charter’ and abolishing the Human Rights Act.

Those of us who believe in the values of liberty, community and individual freedom must stand together and defend them. Please join us today and be part of our future.

We’re recruiting people who have never joined a party in the past but want to stand together against the things this Conservative government is already promising to do.

Find out more and join by clicking here.The minimum subscription is just £12 for one year – or £1 if you are a student.

All school children under the age of 11 will be entitled to free school meals under Liberal Democrat manifesto plans announced today (29 April).

Extending free school meals for seven to 11 year olds will benefit 1.9 million children and save parents around £400 per child a year.

These plans will more than double the offer of free schools meals to all five, six and seven year old pupils delivered by the Liberal Democrats in government.

Pilot studies have shown that a hot, healthy meal at lunchtime greatly improves the health, behaviour and results of school children, providing them with the best start in life.

When free school meals were first introduced, between 3% and 5% more children reached target levels in maths and English at Key Stage 1, showing that the school meal initiative will help kids to fulfil their potential.

Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg said:

“Liberal Democrats want every child to have the best possible start in life. That’s why I want every child to have a hot, healthy school lunch.

“We know that giving children a healthy lunch helps them to concentrate in the afternoon and do better in class.

“It will also save parents £400 for every child they have in primary school.”

Liberal Democrats set education red line

Liberal Democrats will not enter a coalition with any party that does not agree to protect education funding, Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said.

By setting education as a red line, any government with the Liberal Democrats must increase spending on nurseries, schools and colleges.

Liberal Democrats want to protect per pupil funding from nursery to 19, in real terms, by the end of the parliament. This would amount to £5.2bn more funding than is planned by the Conservatives and £2.5bn more than Labour.

Nick Clegg said:
“I can confirm a Liberal Democrat red line – a pre-condition for government – is increasing spending on education. The Liberal Democrats will not allow our children and grandchildren to pay the price of this generation’s mistakes. Without investment in education, there can be no deal with the Liberal Democrats.”

You can listen to Nick Clegg making the commitment on education here. More information on our policies on education here.

Thursday 7 May 2015 is polling day in the local and general election.

Our candidates need YOUR help to make the election a success!

How you can help:
Delivering – we have delivering to do in our target wards in Prestwich on Wednesday 6 May from the morning onwards right through to the end of polling day. This can be arranged to fit around your availability (e.g. daytime, or before or after work etc).

Phoning – there will be telephoning taking place on Thursday 7 May 2015 to remind supporters to vote. This can either be from our polling day HQ in Prestwich or we can arrange for this to be done from your own home – just let us know!

We also need to support our nearest target parliamentary seats where Liberal Democrat MPs are defending their seats. They need our help over the weekend and all next week. If you can help, we can put you in touch with our nearest seats in Manchester Withington, Cheadle and Hazel Grove.

For more information please contact either Michael on 07730 045287 michael.powell@aldc.org or Ellie on 07758 215187 ellie.hudspith@aldc.org

The Liberal Democrats have unveiled a ‘Five Point Plan’ aimed at teachers and parents.

The front page of the Lib Dem manifesto states our commitment on education, to protect education funding from nursery to 19.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party to guarantee the protection of per pupil funding in real terms over the next five years.

The Liberal Democrat five point commitment for teachers and parents will:

– Provide an additional £2.5bn of funding for 2-19yr-olds by 2020; protecting per pupil education spending in real terms over the next parliament and increasing the education budget as a whole.

– Guarantee all teachers in state-funded schools will be fully qualified or working towards Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) by September 2016.

– Establish the Royal College of Teachers to oversee QTS and professional development. And support the Teach First programme to attract high calibre graduates into teaching, in particular in STEM subjects.

– Establish a new National Leadership Institute to promote high-quality leadership targeting the most challenging schools in the UK.

– Get politics out of the classroom. We will give teachers more freedom over what they can teach by introducing a minimum curriculum entitlement – a slimmed down core national curriculum, which will be taught in all state-funded schools. As well as establish an Independent Educational Standards Authority (ESA) to remove ministerial interference in curriculum content and exam standards.

In Coalition the Liberal Democrats stopped the Conservatives cutting the schools budget. The scale of Conservative cuts in their plans is equivalent to axing four starter salary teachers in every school in England.

The Bury Lib Dem Election campaign is still set up and anymore donations would be very welcome.

The aim of our fundraising campaign is to make sure that every person in Bury has a chance to hear from our Liberal Democrats and our Prospective Parliamentary Candidates, Richard Baum (Bury North) and Paul Ankers (Bury South).

On the 7th May voters across Bury will go to the polls not only in local elections, but to elect two MPs to represent the town at a national level for the next 5 years.

We’re asking for your support to make sure that every household in Bury can get an election address from the Lib Dem team during this election.

Unlike the Conservatives we don’t have the support of big businesses. And unlike Labour we don’t have our bills paid by the trade unions. We rely on local donations to help us campaign in Bury.

Please Click here to access our election appeal page.

The Liberal Democrat manifesto puts opportunity at its heart and sets out a plan to ensure every child has a world-class education.

The party has announced a major new commitment to protect education funding for every child.

This means protecting education spending per pupil in real terms over the next parliament, increasing the education budget as a whole.

This commitment provides an extra £2.5bn of funding for 2-19yr olds by 2020.

This spending commitment will allow the Liberal Democrats to:

• Put a qualified teacher in every classroom.
• Recruit and retain more good teachers.
• Help schools to offer more one-to-one and small group tuition.
• Expand early years education as pupil numbers grow.

This funding will also help ensure we can meet our commitment that every child is able to read well by the age of 11.

The £2.5bn funding commitment is the equivalent of:

• 70,000 teachers, 10,000 learning support assistants and guarantees funding for the additional 460,000 children starting school through the parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg said:

“This manifesto is a blueprint for a stronger economy and a fairer society. At its heart is one word that is absolutely central to what Liberal Democrats believe: opportunity.

“We want to ensure that every child, no matter where they are born, the colour of their skin, or how rich their parents are, has the same opportunity to reach their potential.

“That’s why the Liberal Democrats are the party of education.

“At the last election, protecting schools spending and investing huge amounts of extra money towards the poorest pupils was one of our top priorities.

“I am immensely proud that we did just that in Government. But we won’t rest there. We are determined to make sure that every child in Britain has a world class education.”

Education Minister David Laws, chair of the Liberal Democrat manifesto group, added:

“This manifesto is a serious document from a party prepared to govern. It sets out a credible and deliverable liberal vision for Government that builds on our achievements in coalition.

“Liberal Democrats put spreading opportunity at the heart of the Coalition’s agenda.

“That’s why Liberal Democrats protected and invested in education. It’s why Liberal Democrats created a record 2m apprenticeships.

“And it’s why Liberal Democrats cut taxes for millions of working people and gave pensioners a generous rise in the state pension every year.”

Nominations have now closed and the list of candidates published for the local and general elections on 7 May 2015.