Last day of the general election campaign

Final day of the campaign

Stronger Economy. Fairer Society. Opportunity for Everyone

Voters face the biggest political decision of their lives

On the penultimate day of the election campaign, Nick Clegg said “you face the biggest political decision of your life”.

With the polls neck-and-neck and no party likely to hold a majority in parliament, voters face the prospect of a new government lurching to the extreme left, the extreme right, or breaking up the country unless they vote Liberal Democrat to anchor Britain to the centre ground.  

Nick Clegg said only the Liberal Democrats will provide “stability, unity and decency” after Polling Day, highlighting six ‘red lines’ which must be agreed to as part of any coalition negotiations in the next government. These key policies will benefit millions of people across the country by creating a stronger economy and fairer society with opportunity for everyone.

The Liberal Democrats outlined six 'red lines' during the election campaign covering: education, the economy, tax, health, public sector pay and the environment:

1. Invest an extra £2.5bn in education – benefitting 11.5 million pupils aged 2-19
2. Invest £8bn a year by 2020 in the NHS – benefitting 53.9 million people in England
3. £2.7bn of pay rises for public sector workers – benefitting 5.4 million workers
4. Cut taxes by £400 for working people - benefitting 30 million individuals
5. Introduce a 'stability budget' in the first 50 days – benefitting the entire UK population
6. Fight climate change and protect nature - benefitting the entire UK population

Nick said: “Tomorrow, you face the biggest political decision of your life. Our economic stability, our decent British values of openness, generosity and tolerance and the unity of our United Kingdom are all at stake.

“Without Liberal Democrats to keep the next Government safe, stable and fair, Labour or the Conservatives will be left to run a messy and unstable minority Government, dependent on the SNP on the one hand or UKIP and the DUP on the other.

“The Liberal Democrats will give a heart to a Conservative Government and a brain to a Labour one. Every Liberal Democrat MP makes Labour’s reckless borrowing and the Conservatives’ ideological cuts less likely. And every Liberal Democrat MP is a barrier between Nigel Farage and Alex Salmond and the door to 10 Downing Street.”

We face a second election before Christmas without the Liberal Democrats in Coalition

Britain faces a second General Election before Christmas without Liberal Democrats to provide stability in coalition, Nick has warned.

The Liberal Democrat leader said it would be impossible for a minority government to pass key legislation without signing off controversial concessions to the nationalists and Nigel Farage.

It means a Labour or Tory-minority would collapse if they failed to offer ‘sweeteners’ to the SNP, UKIP or the DUP – or their own backbenchers rejected these backroom deals.

This makes a second General Election in 2015 election almost inevitable without more Lib Dem MPs in parliament.

The warning comes as party analysis reveals:

• A minority Labour government would not be able to pass a Queen’s speech without conceding full fiscal autonomy to the SNP.
• A minority Labour government would not be able to pass a Spending Review if reliant upon SNP “ending austerity” votes, without conceding on their plans to make savings in the first year from departmental budgets and welfare cuts.
• A minority Conservative government would have to find an additional £1bn for Northern Ireland to buy DUP votes to support a Spending Review.
• A minority Conservative government would have to slash funding for international aid to buy off UKIP and Right Wing Tories.
• A minority Conservative government would not be able to pass a Queen's Speech without conceding to UKIP's demands to hold an EU referendum this year - undermining Cameron’s claims he wants to stay in Europe after negotiating a new settlement.
• A minority Labour government would not be able to pass key budgetary votes as the SNP have stated they will vote against estimates if they include the cost of Trident.

Nick said: “The last thing Britain needs is a second election before Christmas. But that is exactly what will happen if Ed Miliband and David Cameron put their own political interest ahead of the national interest.

“The only party that will ensure stability is the Liberal Democrats.”

PS My personal suggestions to the Party as to how we can avoid cuts to benefits that will again hit the poorest in society:

Restore the cuts on alcohol duties that were made by Osborne in the first budget, and commission Sheffield University in collaboration with HMRC to assess the revenue that could be raised by further rises in alcohol taxation, and the effects the increases would have on reducing expenditure on  the health and criminal justice systems.

Index taxation on cigarettes and tobacco by 2 more than average earnings index.
Impose taxes on sugar.
Revalue properties for council tax and create higher bands above present limits