The Liberal Democrats have unveiled their five main priorities until the next Parliament. The party believes that this five aims are the keys to achieving a stronger economy and a fairer society whilst creating opportunity for everyone.

Prosperity for all 

Creating a stronger economy is about more than just clearing the deficit that’s why we will balance the budget fairly and invest in building a high skill low carbon economy. To build a strong, green, innovative economy we need to invest in upgrading our national infrastructure and producing the clean renewable energy that will power our future prosperity.

Fair taxes 

Creating a fairer society by cutting income tax by an additional £400 by raising the tax-free allowance to £12,500.

Quality healthcare for all

Creating a fairer society by properly funding our world class public services by investing in them as the economy grows. This means making sure the NHS has the extra £8bn a year it needs by 2020. Ending the stigma around mental health and putting it on equal footing with physical is vital to building a fairer society.

Opportunity for every child

Protecting the education budget from cradle to college, so that every child and young person has the opportunity to fulfill their potential, from nursery school to higher education. Giving children the best start in life by making sure there is a qualified teacher in every class.

Our environment protected

Protecting the environment so that future generations are not left paying for the mistakes of the generations before them. Fighting climate change with five Green Laws.

A new ambition to help 1 million more women into work by 2020 has been set out by party leader Nick Clegg. Addressing the British Chamber for commerce yesterday, Nick called for the government and business leaders to “think big” and work together to “smash the glass ceiling”. Clegg has summarized the target as “ambitious” but one which is “not out of reach”.

Year on year the number of women in work is increasing, but Nick has called for progress to be accelerated by “removing the barriers that stop women who want to work from being able to do so”.

In government Liberal Democrats have delivered a range of policies to support women in work, including shared parental leave, flexible working rights and support for carers returning to work.

In addition to this, Nick also outlined the Liberal Democrat plans for the next Parliament to help achieve this goal including:

• Introducing a month’s use-it-or-lose-it paternity leave to incentivise fathers to take time off after their baby is born.
• Expanding free childcare further, to 15 hours a week for all two-year-olds and 20 hours for all three and four-year-olds.
• Providing more support for carers to help them return to work if they want to, including increasing the amount they can earn before benefits are withdrawn.
• Increasing incentives to work by raising the tax free allowance to £12,500, completing the roll out of Universal Credit and extending free school meals to all primary school children.
• Requiring companies employing more than 250 members of staff to publish the average pay of their male and female workers.

Nick will also use his speech to challenge businesses to embrace policies to help women into work and close the gender pay gap.

He said:

“If we are to stand a chance of smashing that glass ceiling we need British business to hold the hammer.

“My challenge to you is to embrace change. Embrace shared parental leave. Embrace flexible working. Close the gender pay gap.

“If we can unlock the talents of women, British business will boom. We will be more innovative, more entrepreneurial, more dynamic.

“We need to think big. We need to do things differently. But, as any successful entrepreneur knows, that is exactly what it takes to succeed.”

Thursday 5 February 2015 is Time to Talk Day – asking the nation to take 5 minutes to have a conversation about mental health.

Having a mental health problem is hard enough, but sometimes the isolation and stigma can make it even worse. But we can all help to break the silence. Talking about mental health doesn’t need to be difficult and can make a big difference. That’s why we’re asking you to take just 5 minutes on the 5th to have a conversation about mental health.We will all know someone who has suffered from a mental health problem.

There is more information on the Time for Change campaign here.

One in four of us will be personally affected but almost all of us will have a parent, child, sibling, friend or colleague who has experienced a mental health problem.

In the Bury area alone, latest figures show almost 10% of people have been diagnosed as suffering from depression. But the real figure may be even higher. All too often, people are unable to access the support and treatment they deserve. For many years, mental health has been stigmatised with people feeling too embarrassed or ashamed to ask for help.

We need to break down these barriers. The sooner we can talk openly about mental health, the sooner people can get the support they need.

Thursday 5 February is Time to Talk Day; a national day where everyone is asked to take five minutes to have a conversation about mental health. Taking this short time out of your day can make a big difference and it’s completely up to you where you have that conversation – whether it be at work, home, in your community, school or online.

Bit by bit, we are making progress: transforming people’s attitudes and putting in place the reforms necessary to deliver long lasting improvements in our mental health services.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Health Minister Norman Lamb are leading Liberal Democrat plans to invest an extra £150m over five years to improve services for children and young people suffering from eating disorders and calling for all NHS trusts to commit to a new ambition for zero suicides.

Our zero suicide ambition is about changing how people who are in NHS care are treated so that they are not forgotten when they move house or transfer from one service to another.

The Liberal Democrats are also using £400 million to help people with mental health problems get the right support early on, such as psychological (or “talking”) therapies. We are also introducing the first ever access and waiting time standards to make sure people get help quickly when they need it – just as they would with a physical health condition.

We have committed to invest at least £500m extra every year in mental health in the next Parliament, building on the waiting time standards we have already introduced and improving support for new mothers, children and adolescents. Fundamentally, this is about making sure everyone gets a fair chance in life.

The Liberal Democrats will champion equality for all people with mental health problems and won’t stop until this is achieved. It’s wrong that in this day and age there is still stigma around mental health. Simply talking about how you’re feeling can really make a difference to people. You wouldn’t think twice about telling a friend you’ve broken your leg – physical and mental health should not only be treated equally in the NHS but should be discussed and treated equally in all other spheres of life.

Take a small time out of your day on 5 February to talk about mental health – it could make all the difference.

David Laws, the Liberal Democrat Education Minister, has revealed how the Conservatives wanted to implement severe cuts to the education budget in 2010 at the start of this Government.

The Liberal Democrats have categorically refused to support these plans and have fought hard to protect the education budget over the last five years in Government.

Liberal Democrats have remained committed to protecting and safeguarding the education budget in the next Parliament, while the Conservatives plan to cut it further by a quarter.

Commenting on the issue, David said:

“When we came into Coalition Government, tough decisions had to be taken because, as Liam Byrne famously told me, there was no money left. The Conservative assumption in 2010 was for a cash freeze in the schools budget – a whopping 10% cut in real terms over the course of the Parliament.

“When they put that to us, the Liberal Democrats insisted on properly protecting the schools budget and getting real terms increases year on year. They tried to cut the schools budget in 2010 and I fear that history is repeating itself in 2015. Their silence on the protection of the funding for early years, schools and colleges is deafening. Silence, photographed briefing documents and a stated mission to make deeper cuts than necessary can only lead to the conclusion that the Tories plan to make deep cuts in education.

“Just like in 2010, you need the Liberal Democrats in government again after 2015 to protect education and ensure that the next five years remain about building a stronger economy and a fairer society.

“With Labour surprisingly quiet on the issue as well, it is clear that the Liberal Democrats are the only party committed to protecting education.

“This is about more than just the schools budget. If we want a world class education system, then early years and colleges need to be properly funded too. The Conservatives and Labour should match the Liberal Democrats and protect education spending from cradle to college.”

Monday marked 100 days to go until the General Election and local elections in Bury. As we move closer to 7th May, Bury Lib Dems will be running more door knocking and leafleting sessions as we help the campaigns of our two Parliamentary candidates, Paul Ankers and Richard Baum, and target candidates Mary D’Albert, Donal O’Hanlon and Steve Wright, in the local elections.

If you would be willing to lend us a hand in any way, please contact Michael Powell (07730 045287) or Ellie Hudspith (07758 215187) as any help would be much appreciated.

Bury’s Lib Dem Councillor Tim Pickstone discusses how to tackle the North West’s increasing suicide rates:

In Britain last year 4,700 people committed suicide. Three quarters of them were men, and suicide is the largest cause of death for young people and young men in particular.

The North West has the second highest numbers of suicide rates in Britain. Last year 567 men and 146 women took their own lives in the North West.

Yesterday the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, made an important announcement as part of a major commitment to ensuring mental health services get the same commitment as other health concerns:

Nick Clegg said: “Suicide is, and always has been, a massive taboo in our society. People are genuinely scared to talk about it, never mind intervene when they believe a loved one is at risk.

“This isn’t about blame. It is about doing more in every area of our society to ensure that people don’t get to that point where they believe taking their own life is their only option.”

In some areas of the the USA, health services have managed to get to a situation where there are zero suicides for people receiving healthcare support. Some areas of the UK already have plans in place to achieve this by 2017 (Liverpool, South West, East of England).

We believe this is something that should be tackled in our area, and Lib Dem Leaders across Greater Manchester are writing to the NHS in Greater Manchester asking for this issue to be raised.

You can join our campaign to stamp out stigma in mental health by signing up here.

It was reported yesterday that the Tories plan to strip people of their human rights and allow British judges to ignore rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), an essential court used for ensuring that the human rights of all people are being upheld.

Under their plans for a new bill which would replace the Human Rights Act, the Conservatives want to pick and choose who is entitled to human rights.

The Human Rights Act is essential in protecting the rights of the vulnerable and powerless. The Liberal Democrats in Government have refused to support the Conservatives’ plans to scrap the Human Rights Act and their latest plans underline how much they cannot be trusted to protect the human rights of individuals.

Their draft Bill of Rights would mean that illegal immigrants and criminals would be restricted to raising their right to family life in deportation cases.

Under the Conservatives’ plans, suspects and criminals would not be able to use their human right to family life to fight against deportation unless it was deemed an “exceptional” circumstance. In addition, the bill would also ensure that trade union membership in the police could be banned and that rulings allowing prisoners the right to vote could be overturned.

Liberal Democrats believe strongly in individual freedoms and protecting human rights, hence why the party has launched a campaign to say no to he Conservative’s plans to eradicate the human rights act.

Simon Hughes has warned against the introduction of a Snooper’s Charter, stating it as a step too far in tackling terrorism.

His comments came after the Conservatives announced plans to introduce a Snooper’s Charter if they are elected to govern in May’s General Election.

The proposed charter would see internet companies be required to keep a record of all websites visited by every single member of the public.

Liberal Democrats are calling for future security measures to be targeted, proportionate and to not infringe or trample on civil liberties.

Simon said:

“It is vital that the police and intelligence agencies are able to investigate and prosecute terrorists, including surveillance of communications. The Liberal Democrats have moved quickly in Government to plug the gaps in existing legislation to bolster these abilities.

“Future security measures must be proportionate, justified and necessary – and not trample on our civil liberties. The so-called Snoopers’ Charter, which would see the internet browsing of every single citizen stored for a year, fails these very reasonable precautions.

“The idea that you protect free speech by spying on every law-abiding person in this country is a contradiction in terms. You can’t have an open society if you are constantly worried that the state is prying into your daily life.”

A Snooper’s Charter would undermine the freedom of expression that all British citizens enjoy.

Passing a Snooper’s Charter would dramatically shift the relationship between the state and the individual. It would give governments the indiscriminate power to record every individual’s web history, e-mails and social media communications, irrespective of whether they are guilty or not.

Freedom of speech is a founding principle of our democracy and one which Liberal Democrats will act to protect.