adamhopkinson.co.uk

With the elections confirmed for May 5th, 2005, the political machines are beginning to roll. I’ve never really had a great overview or complete understanding of what each of the main parties stand for, so I’m going to research and make some attempt to summarise my findings.

First up: the Lib Dems…

They say…

More investment in frontline services in our schools and hospitals, 10,000 more police on our streets, the abolition of tuition and top-up fees, better pensions to give older generations dignity in retirement, the abolition of the council tax, free personal care for the elderly, greater protection for the environment and a foreign policy based on honesty so that we never again get led into war in the way that we did in Iraq.

Policies

Charles Kennedy, leader of the Liberal Democrats, maintains a ‘people and environment’ theme throughout his manifesto, especially pushing tuition fees, pensions and the cost of pensioners’ healthcare, and public safety.

Transport

• Promote more environmentally responsible transport, both in the public and private sector, by linking transport and car taxes to the pollution caused.
• Offer free off-peak public transport on buses to all pensioners.

Crime

• Abolish the national ID card scheme, and use the money saved to fund 10,000 more police officers than the Labour party are planning to provide.
• Make better use of technology to streamline processes within the police force, reducing the amount of time officers spend on paperwork.

Health

• Offer much faster diagnosis procedures for sick patients.
• Remove target systems, allowing hospitals to focus on quality, not quantity.
• Move local healthcare decisions away from centralised government and into the hands of the local authority and community.
• Offer free personal care. This would cover services such as rest homes for the elderly, which are currently privately funded.

Pensions & Benefits

• Axe council tax, and replace it with local income tax.
• Provide better pensions for over 75s to the tune of �100 extra per month.

Environment

• Environmental issues will be dealt with in relation to how they affect other issues, such as personal health, economy & community. Improving environment can vastly improve these areas.
• Pressure other nations into ratifying the Kyoto Protocol.
• Promote public transport.
• Move towards increasing the amount of power generated by renewable energy sources.

Community

• Axe council tax in favour of local income tax.
• Provide more affordable homes.
• Offer subsidies and tax breaks for efficiency improvements in the home, such as insulation and renovation materials.

On the web

kennedycampaign.org is the election blog of the Lib Dems. Only started on April 10th, but they are promising daily entries and their policy on leaving comments/trackbacks open is commendable.

charleskennedy.org.uk is the personal site of Charles Kennedy. I had hoped it would be just that - a personal site - but it seems to be a part of the spin machine. I should have known better, but a well presented and balanced site none the less.

murky.org has a post category entitled ‘Current Affairs’, and is a politically neutral appraisal of the three main parties

Flickr has a number of photos documenting the Lib Dem campaign trail as well as an election photo group.

British newspaper The Guardian has an election blog as well as a flickr gallery.