Lib Dem leadership chooses Islington South & Finsbury to launch General Election manifesto (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Lib Dem leadership chooses Islington South & Finsbury to launch General Election manifesto

April 14, 2010 8:23 PM

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg MP chose Islington South & Finsbury to launch the general election manifesto

Bridget Fox joined Nick Clegg MP at the launch of the Lib Dem general election manifesto

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg MP led other high profile MPs in launching the general election manifesto in the ultra-marginal seat of Islington South & Finsbury today, boosting local candidate Bridget Fox's campaign.

Nick was joined by Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable at the manifesto launch held at Bloomberg in Finsbury Square, where the key buzzword was "fairness."

The manifesto, which is the only fully costed of all the main political parties', centres around 4 main themes: Fair taxes, that put money back in your pocket; a fair chance for every child, a fair future, creating jobs by making Britain greener and a fair deal, by cleaning up politics.

Vince Cable MP spoke about the "elephant in the room," referring to himself as "The Elephant Man," as the only Treasury specialist to be honest and upfront about the deficit and what we need to do to tackle it and get Britain back on its feet.

Party leader Clegg pledged to use the money saved by scrapping the ID card system to put 3000 more police back on our streets. University tuition fees would be scaled out for students whilst older people would benefit from the state pension increasing in line with inflation every year.

Immigration would be clamped down on with tightened border and exit controls and the climate would benefit from green jobs made necessary by the building of new, greener industry and public buildings.

Young people out of work for 90 days would be offered paid training or work and getting back to work would be financially incentivised for people currently claiming benefits.

Crucially, tax loopholes currently exploited by big businesses and the very wealthy would be closed, saving the country around £40 billion a year. This money would be used to cut the deficit and get Britain's books balanced again so our economy and citizens can thrive.

Bridget Fox said: I am honoured that Nick and Vince chose Islington South & Finsbury to launch the manifesto. Their support means a great deal and it's great to have the endorsement of the party leadership.

The launch was exciting, especially as it's a manifesto I feel we can be proud of. We are the only party to have done the sums to show how we would pay for our aims, including taking the lowest paid earners out of paying any tax at all.

Nick also pledged that savings in the NHS would be made by cutting the salaries of the big chiefs, who earn more than the Prime Minister, so that no A&E and maternity departments would be closed-in line with our campaign to save the Whittington, which he fully supports.

The pledges in this manifesto will resonate with people in Islington South and Finsbury, where people know their only choice is the same old, tired Labour party or fresh change and fairness under the Liberal Democrats.