Lib Dems launch a Manifesto to Stop BREXIT and build a Brighter Future
STOPPING BREXIT AND SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION
The Liberal Democrats have announced plans to spend £10 billion more a year on schools and hire 20,000 more teachers by the end of the next Parliament. In the Liberal Democrat Manifesto launched yesterday the Party said that using part of the £50 billion 'Remain Bonus' would be just one if the benefits of remaining in the European Union.
A Liberal Democrat government will reverse frontline school cuts since 2015 with an emergency cash injection of £4.6 billion next year. By 2024/25, the party will spend £10.6 billion more on schools than in 2019/20. This is more than the Conservatives have offered in every year of the Parliament.
Liberal Democrats will use this money to boost teaching numbers by 20,000 over five years. A Liberal Democrat government will attract and retain teachers by increasing starting salaries to £30,000 and guaranteeing all teachers a pay rise of at least 3% a year over the next Parliament.
The funding also includes an increase in support for children with special educational needs or a disability, and money to provide high-quality professional development for teachers.
In addition, Liberal Democrats will invest in the fabric of our schools, setting aside £7 billion over five years to build classrooms fit for the future.
The party will allocate £10 billion of the £50 billion Remain Bonus - the boost to the public finances that would result from stopping Brexit - to increase schools funding.
Jo Swinson's foreword to the party's Election Manifesto:
For more than three and a half years, our country's future has been on pause as the Brexit debate has raged on. This election gives us the opportunity to transform our country and create a brighter future. The Liberal Democrats have an ambitious vision for who we can be - a society where every child and young person is nurtured to become whoever they want to be, where if you play your part in society, you can live a happy and fulfilling life, and where we do everything in our power to save our planet for future generations.
And the opportunity for the Liberal Democrats at this election is huge. There are no limits to my ambition for our party as we take our positive vision for a brighter future to the country.
In the last few months, tens of thousands of people have joined our party as our membership continues to hit new records. We've had our best-ever local elections and beat both Labour and Conservatives in a national election for the first time in a hundred years, returning 16 Liberal Democrat MEPs. And former Labour and Conservative MPs have joined us because they know that we want to build an open, fair and inclusive society. The Liberal Democrats are standing strong, growing every day, and I am so proud to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Prime Minister at this election.
Voters are being told that the only choice is between the Conservatives and Labour. But when I look at Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, I know that I could do a better job as Prime Minister than either of them. Our country deserves better than what is on offer from the two tired old parties, each led by men who want to reuse ideas from the past - whether the 1870s or the 1970s - and gamble with our children's futures.
We can make a better choice. At this general election, people can choose to vote Liberal Democrat. They can choose a government that will build the kind of country and society we deserve, where every person, every community and our planet can thrive. They can choose what kind of country we are - open and generous, or closed and selfish. And they can choose whether we work with our closest allies or stand alone in the world.
For too many people, things aren't working as they should be. They are working hard and playing fair, and yet they struggle to pay the rent, or put food on the table and they don't feel confident that their children will go on to have better opportunities than they had. That's not good enough.
And instead of focusing on how we create a brighter future for everyone, our politics has been utterly dominated by Brexit. Leaving the European Union is not the answer to the single parent who is struggling to make ends meet, to the child who needs extra support at school, or to saving our planet. In fact, it will only make those problems worse.
Our politics is in a state of flux, and this general election could lead to seismic change out of which a new and different politics can emerge. A politics based on hope, not fear. A politics where every individual and community can thrive, and where we work together to save our planet for future generations.
For me, the choice is clear. To stop Brexit and build that brighter future, vote Liberal Democrat. We have the plan that this country deserves, and we are ready to deliver it.