Lib Dem Pupil Premium – A Message from Nick Clegg
Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 by aldcadmin
For me, nothing better illustrates the Liberal Democrat mission to make Britain a fairer place than our Pupil Premium: extra money for the most disadvantaged children in our schools.

We are letting schools decide the best way to spend this money.  I want to strike a deal with our schools and teachers: we’ll give you the cash, the freedom, and we’ll reward and celebrate your success.  But in return, we want you to redouble your efforts to close the gap between your poorer pupils and everyone else.  We won’t be telling you what to do; but we will be watching what you achieve.

(Click picture to play video)

It is shameful that, despite all the promise on a four or five year old’s first day at school, or the passion of their teachers, you can all too often plot that child’s path just by asking how much their parents earn.

The £2.5billion Pupil Premium was one of the four pledges on the front page of our manifesto.  And now, with Liberal Democrats in government, schools are using the money for things like breakfast clubs; homework clubs; or to provide one-to-one-tuition. These are the sort of experiences many middle class children take for granted but a poorer child might rarely enjoy.

Yesterday I visited a fantastic primary school to see how they are spending their Pupil Premium, highlight our new Summer Schools to ease the transition from primary to secondary, and to set out our plans to reward teachers and hold schools to account.

The Pupil Premium shows that, in tough times, we are implementing Liberal Democrat values and prioritising help for those pupils who need it most.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg MP

Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister

PS Click here to find out how much money your local school will receive from the Liberal Democrats’ Pupil Premium.

Be Clear on Cancer – National Lung Cancer Awareness Campaign
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 by aldcadmin

This week, Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat minister at the Department of Health) has launched a national £4 million lung cancer awareness campaign. The campaign, the first of its kind, will use TV, radio and press adverts, and advertising on pharmacist bags and inside GP surgeries, to raise awareness of the disease.

One of its aims is to persuade anyone who has had a cough for more than three weeks to see their doctor.

You can find more information about coughing and lung cancer at the Department of Health website, here: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/05/coughing-could-be-a-sign-of-lung-cancer-2/

With 33,000 new cases diagnosed each year, lung cancer is a blight on the lives of far too many of our families and an early diagnosis can make all the difference. Please take the opportunity of the Be Clear on Cancer campaign to find out more about prevention and diagnosis, and to visit your local doctor if you’ve had a persistent cough – it is always better to be safe than sorry!

http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/tag/be-clear-on-cancer/

Lib Dem contributions to the Queen’s Speech
Posted May 9, 2012 * Comments(0)

Over on Lib Dem Voice, Caron Lindsay looks at what the Lib Dems have contributed to this year’s Queen’s Speech. You can read more

•Lords Reform
•Green Investment Bank
•Libel Reform
•Giving shareholders a vote on directors’ remuneration
•Flexible parental leave – the measure Nick Clegg’s championed to give families the choices that work for them by allowing parents to divide leave entitlements between them whereas now the mother is entitled to a year’s leave, the father just two weeks.
•Meeting the 0.7% target for overseas aid
•Reform of the State Pension, driven by Steve Webb
•Establishing a Groceries Adjudicator to ensure the big supermarkets treat their suppliers fairly
•Banking reform as championed by Vince Cable
•Reform of electricity markets – especially on fair pricing
•Continued progress towards reforming succession so that girls have equal rights to boys, as championed by Lynne Featherstone

What have the Lib Dems ever done for Birmingham?
Posted May 1, 2012 * Comments(0)

In 2004 we inherited a council that had left our roads to fall into disrepair, had built no new council houses and had let a third of the existing homes get so bad they were deemed beyond repair. Recycling was a pitiful 8% of total refuse and School GCSE pass rates were well below the national average – and for that we paid the highest council tax of any Metropolitan borough.

Since then we’ve started a 5 year repair and resurfacing plan for our roads. We’ve built over 1200 new social houses so far, with more to come this year. We’ve repaired and improved our existing houses, fitting insulation and solar panels that save tenants an average of £684 a year. Recycling rates are up, GCSE pass rates are up and recorded crime is down. All this and we now have the lowest council tax of any metropolitan borough.

We’re building a Cleaner, Greener, Healthier and Safer Birmingham, so help us continue our good work. Vote Liberal Democrat this Thursday.

Elected Mayor – An Opportunity Missed?
Posted April 18, 2012 * Comments(0)

On the 3rd of May, Birmingham will have a referendum on whether to have an elected mayor. The powers of this mayor will not be decided until after the referendum has passed, but it seems likely that the job will be very similar to the current council leader. At present, the council leader is elected in the same way as the Prime Minister. Just as the leader of the largest party in Parliament become the PM, so the leader of the largest party in the council becomes the council leader.

Some liken an elected mayor to the mayor of London – a super mayor covering all of London’s 32 borough councils. London’s mayor has control of many strategic bodies such as public transport which cover several borough councils. Birmingham’s referendum asks whether we should have a mayor for just the borough of Birmingham. Coventry has its own referendum while Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell and Solihull will keep the current council leader system.

Transport and regional development funds will continue to cover all the west midland’s boroughs. The advantage of London’s mayor is the strategic vision that can be provided for the whole metropolitan area – an opportunity that has been missed here in the midlands.

No Lib Dem Council Has Raised Council Tax – Tim Farron
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 by aldcadmin

Official reports have confirmed that no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has increased council tax for their residents. This is unlike both other major parties, many of which are increasing council tax by up to 3.5% this year.

Commenting on Labour and Conservative councils’ record on Council Tax, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said:

“While Labour and the Tories fight over how many of their councils raised Council Tax, it’s clear that with the Liberal Democrats your money is safest: no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has raised Council Tax.

“Ordinary working families are struggling already with paying bills, without their councils increasing the burden.

“The choice in next month’s elections is clear: vote Liberal Democrat for financially responsible councils that create jobs. Vote Labour and the Tories for waste, mismanagement and tax rises.”

As well as freezing council tax across the country, Liberal Democrat councils are protecting front-line services, fighting to keep libraries and Sure Start centres open. This is in addition to the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in government, which after the Budget include a £130 income tax cut for all working families, the largest-ever rise in the basic state pension, an increase in child tax credits for the poorest families, and an increase in the Lib Dem Pupil Premium to £600 for every pupil receiving Free School Meals.

At every level of government, the Liberal Democrats are cutting taxes for low- and middle-earners and better targeting help to those that need it the most. It is a record of financial responsibility of which we can be proud.


Local Elections 2012 – Video
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012 by aldcadmin

A first look at part of this week’s Liberal Democrat Local Election Broadcast. This clip looks at our key pledge to cut taxes for working families, and celebrates the fact that Liberal Democrats in government have achieved:

  • The biggest-ever single uplift in the tax-free personal allowance
  • A £3.5 billion tax cut for working men and women
  • 840,000 of the lowest earners in the country lifted completely out of paying Income Tax

Next year, the allowance increases again (to £9,205) – within touching distance of our manifesto promise to increase the Income Tax threshold to £10,000.

These are all significant achievements that are already making a difference for millions of hard-working men and women across Britain. Real change for real families in tough times – promised and delivered by the Liberal Democrats.

Is this year’s budget a Conservative or a Liberal Democrat budget?
Posted March 21, 2012 * Comments(0)

This year’s budget was widely trailed in the press with both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives pushing their own plans. Now that the budget has been published, what is the final outcome?

• Income tax threshold rise has been brought forward. £9205 of income will be tax free from April 2013. This will increase to 2 million the number of low paid workers who are taken completely out of income tax. Basic rate tax payers will be saving £550 a year on their income tax bill since the Lib Dems entered coalition.
• The 50% tax rate on income over £150,000 a year will be cut to 45%. This will be paid for 5 times over by increasing stamp duty on houses over £2 million and by cutting tax avoidance on houses by hiding them in foreign held companies. Capital gains tax will now be applied to residential properties owned by offshore companies.
• The child tax allowance withdrawal for higher rate tax payers was seen to be unfair to single income households who earn £43,000 or a little more. This plan has now been softened. People earning over £50,000 will start to lose the benefit, but only by 1% for every £100 they earn over £50,000 per year. That means people who earn £60,000 a year or more will completely lose child benefit.
• No change in alcohol duty
• No change in fuel duty
• Road tax will increase by inflation
• Tobacco duty to rise by 5% above inflation
• Basic state pension up by £5.30 a week. Plus plans announced for a simpler flat rate basic pension of £140 per week.
• Business rates cut to boost jobs but the bank levy increased so banks don’t benefit
• Deficit has fallen from 11% of GDP to 7.6% and will continue to fall
• Borrowing has fallen to £126 bn, down £30 bn from its peak
• Growth is expected to be 0.8% this year, compared to -0.3% in the eurozone

The Lib Dems have won a speeding up of our £10,000 income tax threshold plans, taking 2 million of the lowest paid out of income tax. Our pensions triple lock has ensured the basic state pension is rising faster than average earnings. The Conservatives wanted to cut the highest rate of income tax but we only let them do this by increasing other taxes on the rich. The highest paid will contribute more in tax than they do now and the lowest paid will pay less tax. So it’s not a budget that either the Lib Dems or the Conservatives would have introduced on their own. It’s a coalition budget.

For The Many, Not The Few: Budget Message from Nick Clegg
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012 by aldcadmin

We can be proud that the biggest tax cuts in today’s Budget go to millions of working families.

As a result of this Budget, someone working a full week on minimum wage will see their income tax bill cut by over 50% compared to under Labour.

Increasing the personal allowance to £9,205 takes us within touching distance of our number one manifesto pledge – ensuring no one pays any tax on the first £10,000 they earn.

Thanks to our changes, a basic rate taxpayer will be paying £45 a month less in tax than they would have been under Labour.

We can be proud that we’ve ensured the richest in our society will be paying more, much more.

The Tycoon Tax, an increase in stamp duty for high value properties and other new taxes on wealth will raise five times as much as the 50p tax rate. Those with annual incomes of more than £150,000 a year will be paying on average an additional £1,300 a year in tax, as a result of this Budget.

Of course, this is a Coalition Budget and we did not get our own way on everything. Conservative priorities are not ours. But as on so many other issues, we have made sure that there is a real Liberal Democrat stamp on this Budget.

Lower taxes for more than 20 million working people; effective new taxes on the rich.

This is a Budget we can be proud of – a Budget for the many, not the few.

Best wishes,

The best road out of the bad times
Sunday, March 11th, 2012 by aldcadmin

2012 is going to show the best of Britain. With the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee, we’ll be celebrating our past but with our face to the future and the change it will bring. In Government, the Liberal Democrats are at the heart of that change.

Of course, times are tough. Families are under pressure, worried about paying their bills. That’s why we’re cutting tax for working people while calling time on the tycoon tax dodgers.

From next month, 25 million working people will have more money in their pocket, because of us. You can help spread the word about our £60 tax cut by clicking here.


 Going green is not a luxury for the good times – Liberals have always fought to protect the environment, and that’s why we’re part of the greenest government this country has ever had. Not only are we making the right choices for the environment, we’re putting green policies at the heart of our economic recovery.

This is a liberal nation with liberal values; hard work, fair play and a sense of freedom. I’m proud that the Liberal Democrats in Government are repairing Labour’s industrial-scale destruction of that liberty.

Just think for a moment what we’ll have achieved by 2015. The first gay marriage, and end to child detention and the first elections to the House of Lords, to name just three.

These are just some clips from the speech Nick Clegg MP,  Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister made to the Gateshead Lib Dem conference, for the text of his full speech click here.

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