Party Policies Compare Liberal Democrat policies against policies

Industrial Strategy and Business Bank to grow modern British businesses; and delivered 99,000 jobs with our £3 billion Regional Growth Fund.

Continue to develop our Industrial Strategy, working with key sectors which are critical to Britain's ability to trade internationally motor vehicles, aerospace, low-carbon energy, chemicals, creative industries and more.

Support innovation through greater public funding on a longer timescale, with a ring-fenced science budget, more 'Catapult' innovation and technology centres and a green innovation arm within the new Business Bank.

Facilitate new entrants to the banking sector, including through public procurement policy, so that there is much more choice and variety of competitors in banking, in particular business banking, encourage the growth of crowd funding and alternative finance models, and promote a new community banking sector to support SMEs and social enterprises.

Grow the Green Investment Bank.

Continue to reform business tax to ensure it stays competitive, making small and medium-sized enterprises the priority for any business tax cuts.

Establish a new Regulation Advisory Board to reduce regulatory uncertainty and remove unnecessary business regulation.

Take tough action against corporate tax evasion and abusive avoidance strategies, including by continuing to invest in HMRC, as we have done in government, to enable them to tackle tax evasion and avoidance, and introducing a general anti-avoidance rule.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Design out opportunities for crime, by improving the built environment, the design of new technologies, and community resilience.

End the use of imprisonment for possession of drugs for personal use and move the drugs and alcohol policy lead from the Home Office to the Department of Health. We will establish a Commission to assess the effectiveness of current drugs law and alternative approaches, including further work on diverting users into treatment or into civil penalties that do not attract a criminal record which can seriously affect their chances of employment.

Create a National Institute for Crime Prevention, to provide evidence and guidance of what works in fighting and preventing crime.

Ensure that teachers, social workers, police offers and health workers in areas where there is high prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation are trained to help those girls at risk of being cut.

Improve support for victims of crime.

Guarantee the police pursue the public's priorities by replacing Police and Crime Commissioners with Police Boards made up of councillors from across the force area.

Encourage police forces and other emergency services to work together to reduce back office costs and exploit opportunities for efficiency savings.

Explore the case for transferring responsibility for more serious national crime to the National Crime Agency.

Work with EU partners to tackle serious and organised crime.

Create sentencing options which are effective in protecting the public, while reducing the risks of re-offending. We want to see an enhanced role for restorative justice, and will do more to keep young people and women out of prison. We will promote the use of Community Justice Panels.

Reform prisons, so they become places of work, rehabilitation and learning. We will encourage third sector providers to deliver improved rehabilitation.

Make more offenders perform unpaid work in the community to ensure they pay back to their community.

Provide experts on hand in courts and in police stations to identify where mental health or a drug problem is one of the main drivers behind an offender's behaviour so they can be dealt with in a way that is appropriate. We will pilot US-style drug and alcohol courts.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Maintain strong and effective armed forces, and set long-term budgets to procure the right equipment at competitive prices.

Remain fully engaged in international nuclear disarmament efforts.

Retain our Trident independent nuclear deterrent through a Contingency Posture of regular patrols, enabling a 'surge' to armed patrols when the international security context makes this appropriate. This would enable us to reduce the UK warhead stockpile and procure fewer Vanguard successor submarines, and would help the UK to fulfil our nuclear non-proliferation treaty commitments.

Improve the care of members of our armed forces by re-affirming the Military Covenant, improving mental health service provisions for serving personnel and veterans, and introducing a Veterans Commissioner.

Invest in our security services and act to counter cyber-attacks.

Work to engage with and strengthen multilateral institutions worldwide including global bodies such as the UN and regional groupings.

Support the UN principle of 'Responsibility to Protect'. This principle focuses on the security of individuals, rather than states.

Implement a policy of 'presumption of denial' for arms exports to countries listed as countries of concern in the Foreign Office's annual human rights report.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Raise the Personal Allowance to at least £12,500, cutting your taxes by around £400 more

Secured the biggest ever cash rise in the state pension with our ‘triple lock’ policy on uprating

Legislate to make the ‘triple lock’ permanent, guaranteeing decent pensions rises each year

Cut the cost of childcare with more free hours for 3 and 4 year olds, and help for disadvantaged 2 year olds too.

Extend free childcare to all two year olds, and to the children of working families from the end of paid parental leave

Helped people balance work and family life with Shared Parental Leave and the Right to Request flexible working for all

Expand Shared Parental Leave with a ‘use it or lose it’ month for fathers, and introduce a right to paid leave for carers

Kept welfare spending under control, while blocking plans to cut off young people’s benefits

Make sure it pays to work by rolling out Universal Credit, and invest in back-to-work and healthcare support for those who need it

Raise the tax-free Personal Allowance to at least £12,500 by the end of the next Parliament, putting around £400 back in the pockets of millions of working people and pensioners. We will bring forward the planned increase to an £11,000 allowance to April 2016.

Consider, as a next step, and once the Personal Allowance rise is delivered, raising the employee National Insurance threshold to the Income Tax threshold, as resources allow, while protecting low earners’ ability to accrue pension and benefit entitlements.

Ensure those with the highest incomes and wealth are making a fair contribution. We have identified a series of distortions, loopholes and excess reliefs that should be removed, raising money to contribute to deficit reduction. These include reforms to Capital Gains Tax and Dividend Tax relief, refocusing Entrepreneurs’ Relief and a supplementary Corporation Tax for the banking sector. In addition, we will introduce a UK-wide High Value Property Levy on residential properties worth over £2 million. It will have a banded structure, like Council Tax.

Take tough action against corporate tax evasion and avoidance, including by:

Levying penalties on firms proven to facilitate tax evasion, equivalent to the amount of tax evaded by their clients.

Restrict access to non-domiciled status, increasing the charges paid to adopt this status and ending the ability to inherit it.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Protect early years, school, sixth form and college budgets – investment from nursery to 19 to raise standards for all

A million more children now taught in good or outstanding schools

Parents’ Guarantee: core curriculum in every school and every child taught by qualified teachers

Driven up standards and narrowed the attainment gap between rich and poor children

End illiteracy and innumeracy by 2025, with action in nurseries to get all four year olds ready for school by 2020

Free school meals for the youngest children in primary school

Extend free school meals to all primary pupils

Two million apprenticeships, training our young people for 21st century jobs, and record numbers going to university

Raise the quality of early years provision and ensure that by 2020 every formal early years setting employs at least one person who holds an Early Years Teacher qualification. Working with organisations like Teach First, we will recruit more staff with Early Years Qualified status, and extend full Qualified Teacher status, terms and conditions to all those who are properly trained.

Increase our Early Years Pupil Premium – which gives early years settings extra money to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds – to £1,000 per pupil per year.

Continue to support Local Authorities in providing Children’s Centres, especially in areas of high need, encouraging integration with other community services like health visitors, and in particular reviewing the support and advice available for parents on early child nutrition and breastfeeding.

Improve the identification of Special Educational Needs and disability at the earliest possible stage, so targeted support can be provided and primary schools are better prepared for their intake of pupils.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Pass a Zero Carbon Britain Act to set a new legally binding target to bring net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.

Realise the full potential of the Green Investment Bank by increasing its capitalisation, expanding its remit, allowing it to raise funds independently and enabling it to issue green bonds.

Place the Natural Capital Committee (NCC) on the same statutory footing as the Committee on Climate Change through our Nature Act. We will task the NCC with identifying the key natural resources being used unsustainably and recommending legally binding targets for reducing their net consumption; and introduce incentives for businesses to improve resource efficiency.

Help incentivise sustainable behaviour by increasing the proportion of tax revenue accounted for by green taxes.

Grow the market for green products and services with steadily higher green criteria in public procurement policy, extending procurement requirements more widely through the public sector including to the NHS and Academy schools. In particular we will deliver ambitious reductions in energy use.

Increase research and development and commercialisation support in four key low-carbon technologies where Britain could lead the world: tidal power, carbon capture and storage, energy storage and ultra-low emission vehicles.

Ensure UK Trade and Investment and UK Export Finance can prioritise support for key sectors identified in our Industrial Strategy, including exports of green products and technologies, and press for higher environmental standards for export credit agencies throughout the OECD.

Encourage the creation of green financial products to bring consumer capital into green industries.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Remain a committed member of the EU so we can complete the Single Market in areas including online industries, the energy market and services, and help negotiate EU international trade agreements, opening opportunities for British businesses.

Support Single Market disciplines in relation to competition and state aid rules while creating a stronger public interest test for takeovers in research-intensive activities.

Continue to allow high-skill immigration to support key sectors of the economy, and ensure work, tourist and family visit visas are processed quickly and efficiently.

Ensure the UK is an attractive destination for overseas students, not least those who wish to study STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). We will reinstate post-study work visas for STEM graduates who can find graduate-level employment within six months of completing their degree.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Commit to an ambitious goal of 20 hours’ free childcare a week for all parents with children aged from two to four years, and all working parents from the end of paid parental leave (nine months) to two years. This will not only help parents afford to work, it will help all children start school confident, happy and ready to learn.

Start by providing 15 hours a week of free childcare to the parents of all two year olds. We will then prioritise 15 hours free childcare for all working parents with children aged between nine months and two years.

Complete the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare, which will provide up to £2,000 of childcare support for each child and include childcare support in Universal Credit, refunding 85% of childcare costs so work pays for low earners.

Protect your privacy by updating data laws for the internet age with a Digital Bill of Rights.

Complete the roll-out of high speed broadband, to reach over 99% of the UK.

Build on the Green Deal with a national programme to raise the energy efficiency standards of all Britain's households and eradicate fuel poverty cutting people's council tax bills if they take part. All new homes will be Zero Carbon by 2016, and we will help tenants afford to stay warm, with new energy efficiency standards for private rented homes.

Help people to form new energy co-operatives so they can benefit from group discounts and cut their bills.

Help people cut their energy tariffs by forcing energy companies to allow customers to change to any cheaper supplier in just 24 hours.

Give people easier to understand information about their own personal energy use with a national roll-out of smart electricity and gas meters. We will guarantee that anyone on a prepayment meter can choose a smart meter instead by 2017.

Promote the 'double price tag' approach where the customer sees both the purchase price and the annual running costs for all cars and domestic appliances.

Protect the independence of the BBC, funded by the Licence Fee, as the cornerstone of public service broadcasting in this country, and protect the funding and editorial independence of Welsh language broadcasters.

Require the Sports Ground Safety Authority to prepare guidance under which domestic football clubs, working with their supporters, may introduce safe standing areas.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Return power from the stifling grip of Whitehall to the citizens and communities of our nation, so the next generation have the power to shape the society in which they live.

Fixed Term Parliaments, taking away the Prime Minister's power to call elections when it suits the governing party.

Reform party funding, electoral reform and an elected House of Lords.

New financial powers for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, City Deals and Growth Deals to enable local people to drive local economic growth.

A new wave of devolution to the nations of the UK and 'Devolution on Demand' to transfer more power and control to local areas.

Reduce the powers of the Department of Communities and Local Government to interfere in democratically elected local government in England.

Remove the requirement to hold local referenda for Council Tax changes in England.

Build on the success of City Deals and Growth Deals, to devolve more power and resources to groups of local authorities and local enterprise partnerships, starting with back to work support.

Introduce 'Devolution on Demand', enabling even greater devolution of powers from Westminster to councils or groups of councils working together (for example to a Cornish Assembly).

Establish a commission to explore the scope for greater devolution of financial responsibility to English local authorities, and new devolved bodies in England.

Take big money out of politics by capping donations to political parties, at £10,000 per person each year.

Introduce votes at age 16 for elections and referenda, and make it easier to register to vote in schools and colleges.

Reform the House of Lords with a proper democratic mandate starting from the 2012 Bill.

Reform our voting systems for elections to local government and Westminster.

Make Parliament more family friendly, and establish a review to pave the way for MP job-sharing arrangements.

Strengthen the role of MPs in amending the budget and scrutinising government spending proposals.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Guarantee the NHS budget will rise by at least the rate of inflation every year. We will commission a Fundamental Review of NHS and social care finances in 2015, before the next Spending Review, in order to assess the pressures on NHS budgets and the scope for efficiencies. This will allow us to set multi-year budgets that will be sufficient to maintain and improve the current standard of NHS services, including keeping waiting times down.

We will always ensure access is based on need and not on ability to pay and that that NHS remains free at the point of delivery.

Reform the NHS payment system to encourage better integration of hospital and community care services and better preventative care for people with long term conditions. This would include more use of personal budgets for people who want them and better access to technology and services to help people get care closer to home.

Secure local agreement on and pooling of budgets between the NHS and social care.

Encourage GPs to work together to improve access and availability of appointments, including out of hours.

Incentivise GPs and other community clinicians to work in more disadvantaged areas.

Act to improve the mental health of children and young people promoting wellbeing throughout schools and ensuring that children and young people can access the services they need as soon as a mental health problem develops.

Deliver genuine parity of esteem between mental and physical health, including by improving access and waiting time standards for mental health services and establishing a world-leading mental health research fund to improve understanding of mental illness and treatments.

Do more to tackle the causes of ill health, including promoting healthy eating and exercise, making people aware of the dangers of smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol and other drugs, and helping to improve mental health and well-being.

Invest in research and set ambitious goals to improve outcomes for the most serious life-threatening diseases like cancer and long-term conditions like dementia.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Set an ambitious target of increasing the rate of house building to 300,000 a year, and build to the Zero Carbon Standard.

Within the first year of the next Parliament, publish a long term plan which sets out how this goal will be achieved.

As part of this plan, publish proposals for at least ten new 'Garden Cities' in England, in areas where there is local support, providing tens of thousands of high quality new homes, with gardens and shared green space, jobs, schools and public transport.

Bring forward development on unwanted public sector sites through the Homes and Communities Agency.

Help social housing providers including councils to build more affordable homes to rent, with central government investment and local flexibility within the Housing Revenue Account.

To maximise total house building we will work with housing providers to design new models of affordable housing, to sit alongside the traditional social rented sector, including models that offer a path to ownership for lower income working families.

Require local authorities in England to allocate land to meet 15 years' housing need in their local plans, and work with local authorities to pilot techniques for capturing the increase in land value from the granting of planning permission.

Tackle overcrowding with a new system to incentivise social landlords to reduce the number of tenants under-occupying their homes, freeing up larger properties for larger families. We will reform the policy to remove the spare room subsidy. The subsidy will continue to be removed for new tenants in social housing but existing social tenants will not be subject to any housing benefit deduction until they have received a reasonable offer of alternative social rented accommodation with the correct number of bedrooms.

We will ensure that tenants who need an extra bedroom for genuine medical reasons or whose homes are substantially adapted do not have their housing benefit reduced.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Restore full entry and exit checks at our borders, to rebuild confidence in immigration control, and allow targeting of resources at those who over-stay their visas.

Remove students from our immigration targets given their temporary status, while taking tough action against any educational institution which allows abuse of the student route into the UK.

Double the number of inspections on employers to ensure all statutory employment legislation is being respected.

Require all new claimants for Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) to have their English language skills assessed, with JSA then being conditional on attending English language courses for those whose English is poor.

Encourage schools with high numbers of children with English as a second language to host English lessons for parents.

Work in the EU to tighten up benefit rules for migrants, including reducing, and ultimately abolishing, payment of child benefit for children who are not resident in the UK.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Set out 10-year rolling capital investment plans.

Develop a comprehensive plan to electrify the overwhelming majority of the UK rail network, reopen smaller stations, restore twin-track lines to major routes and proceed with HS2, as the first stage of a high-speed rail network to Scotland.

Invest in major transport improvements and infrastructure. We will:

Deliver the Transport for the North strategy to promote growth, innovation and prosperity across northern England.

Develop more modern, resilient links to and within the South West peninsula to help develop and diversify the regional economy

Complete East-West rail, connecting up Oxford and Cambridge and catalysing major new housing development.

Ensure London’s transport infrastructure is improved to withstand the pressure of population and economic growth.

Work to encourage further private sector investment in rail freight terminals and rail-connected distribution parks. We will set a clear objective to shift more freight from road to rail and change planning law to ensure new developments provide good freight access to retail, manufacturing and warehouse facilities.

Ensure our airport infrastructure meets the needs of a modern and open economy, without allowing emissions from aviation to undermine our goal of a zero-carbon Britain by 2050. We will carefully consider the conclusions of the Davies Review into runway capacity and develop a strategic airports policy for the whole of the UK in the light of those recommendations and advice from the Committee on Climate Change. We remain opposed to any expansion of Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick and any new airport in the Thames Estuary, because of local issues of air and noise pollution. We will ensure no net increase in runways across the UK.

Ensure new rail franchises include a stronger focus on customers, including requirements to integrate more effectively with other modes of transport and a programme of investment in new stations, lines and station facilities. We will continue the Access for All programme, improving disabled access to public transport.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Introduce a 1% cap on the uprating of working-age benefits until the budget is balanced in 2017/18, after which they will rise with inflation once again. Disability and parental leave benefits will be exempt from this temporary cap.

Encourage landlords to lower their rent by paying them Housing Benefit directly, with tenants’ consent, in return for a fixed reduction. Our plans for a major expansion of house building and new ‘family friendly’ tenancies, which limit annual rent increases, will also help reduce upward pressure on rents. We will review the way the Shared Accommodation Rate in Local Housing Allowance is set, and review the Broad Rental Market Areas to ensure they fit with realistic travel patterns.

Improve links between Jobcentres and Work Programme providers and the local NHS to ensure all those in receipt of health-related benefits are getting the care and support to which they are entitled. In particular, as we expand access to talking therapies we expect many more people to recover and be able to seek work again.

Work with Local Authorities to tackle fraud and error in a more coordinated way, in particular on Housing Benefit.

Help everyone in work on a low wage step up the career ladder and increase their hours, reducing their need for benefits, with tailored in-work careers and job search advice.

Withdraw eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment and free TV Licence from pensioners who pay tax at the higher rate (40%). We will retain the free bus pass for all pensioners.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Given an £800 tax cut to low and middle income earners by letting you earn £10,500 tax free.

Raise the personal allowance to at least £12,500, cutting your taxes by an extra £400.

Consider, as a next step, and once the personal allowance rise is delivered, raising the employee national insurance threshold to the income tax threshold, as resources allow, while protecting low earners' ability to accrue pension entitlements.

Encourage employers to provide more flexible working, particularly for parents and carers, expanding shared parental leave with a 'use-it-or-lose-it' month for fathers to encourage them to take time off with young children.

Use transparency to drive fair pay: require companies with over 250 employees to publish information on gender pay differences, declare the number of people they employ on less than the living wage, and provide information comparing the top and median pay levels of their staff. We will also require companies to consult employees on executive pay as recommended by the High Pay Commission.

Ask the Low Pay Commission to look at ways of raising the National Minimum Wage, without damaging employment opportunities, and improve enforcement action.

Establish an independent review to consult on how to set a fair Living Wage, working with stakeholders such as the Living Wage Foundation. We will ensure this Living Wage is paid by all central government departments and executive agencies from April 2016 onwards, and encourage other public sector bodies including local authorities to do likewise.

Clamp down on any abusive practices in relation to zero hours contracts.

Continue the drive for diversity in business leadership and encourage women entrepreneurs.

Encourage employers to provide more flexible working, expanding Shared Parental Leave with an additional ‘use it or lose it’ month to encourage fathers to take time off with young children. While changes to parental leave should be introduced slowly to give business time to adjust, our ambition is to see Paternity and Shared Parental Leave become a ‘day one’ right.

Ensure swift implementation of the new rules requiring companies with more than 250 employees to publish details of the different pay levels of men and women in their organisation. We will build on this platform and, by 2020, extend transparency requirements to include publishing the number of people paid less than the Living Wage and the ratio between top and median pay. We will also consult on requirements for companies to conduct and publish a full equality pay review, and to consult staff on executive pay.

Ask the Low Pay Commission to look at ways of raising the National Minimum Wage, without damaging employment opportunities. We will improve enforcement action and clamp down on abuses by employers seeking to avoid paying the minimum wage by reviewing practices such as unpaid internships.

Establish an independent review to consult on how to set a fair Living Wage across all sectors. We will pay this Living Wage in all central government departments and their agencies from April 2016, and encourage other public sector employers to do likewise.

Improve the enforcement of employment rights, reviewing Employment Tribunal fees to ensure they are not a barrier. We will ensure employers cannot avoid giving their staff rights or paying the minimum wage by wrongly classifying them as workers or self-employed.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Work with our partners in the EU, NATO, the UN and the Commonwealth to tackle security challenges and seek peaceful solutions to conflicts worldwide.

Act globally to tackle the threats of climate change and environmental degradation.

Argue for a 50% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, while ensuring that the UK meets its own commitments and so can play a leadership role within Europe and internationally on efforts to combat climate change.

Work to secure agreement on a global climate treaty at the 2015 UN Climate Conference.

Argue for EU and global commitments to zero net deforestation, globally, by 2020 and provide greater resources for international environmental cooperation.

Ensure that UK and EU development aid, free trade and investment agreements support environmentally sustainable investment.

Maintain our commitment to spend 0.7% of UK Gross National Income on international aid and enshrine this in law. We will adhere to the OECD's definition of what activities count as Official Development Assistance.

Respond generously to humanitarian crises wherever they may occur.

Work to ensure the post-2015 development goals fully take into account the need to leave no one behind and to safeguard the sustainability of the planet.

Continue to support free media and a free and open internet around the world, championing the free flow of information.

Lead international action to ensure global companies pay fair taxes in the developing countries in which they operate.

Invest to eliminate within a generation preventable diseases such as TB, HIV and malaria; ensure that people do not suffer discrimination or disadvantage because of gender, sexual orientation, disability or ethnic origin, including pursuing an International Gender Equality Strategy, including recognition of women's rights to education and freedom from enforced marriage, and an international LGBT strategy; and aim to end female genital mutilation worldwide within a generation.

Source: Liberal Democrat party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

We will require listed companies to report on whether or not they pay the living wage.

We will ban employers from requiring zero-hours workers to be available on the off-chance that they'll be needed.

We will make it easier to start and grow businesses. We'll create a British investment bank that will lend money to new and growing businesses.

We'll support small businesses by cutting business rates for 1.5 million small firms and freezing their energy bills.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Protect neighbourhood policing by safeguarding over 10,000 frontline police officers over the next three years

We will put visible neighbourhood policing back in its rightful place at the heart of our communities, with a Local Policing Commitment that gives a guaranteed minimum level of neighbourhood policing.

We will insist on new professional standards in our police service, with officers guilty of serious misconduct struck off, and a tougher Police Standards Authority.

We will abolish Police and Crime Commissioners and put the savings back into frontline policing instead.

We will take domestic violence and violence against women seriously, with a ban on the use of community resolutions for dealing with domestic abuse and sexual crimes, and the introduction of compulsory sex and relationship education in schools.

We will create a justice system with witnesses and victims at its heart, including the country's first ever Victims' Law.

We will put rehabilitation at the heart of a prison system which aims to reduce reoffending and cut crime, ensuring that prisons properly punish and reform while mobilising the talents and expertise of all agencies to cut crime.

Labour will consult on lowering the sentence threshold for EU migrants who commit crimes having only recently arrived in the UK, so that, for example, a migrant who committed common assault or robbery within a few months of arriving would be automatically considered for deportation - Labour Euro Manifesto.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Conduct a Strategic Defence and Security Review in the first year of government

Outlaw discrimination against and abuse of members of the Armed Forces

Enshrine the Military Covenant in the NHS Constitution

Reserving the right to act in national self-defence, as we did in government by intervening alongside our allies in Afghanistan following 9/11.

Using military force only after all peaceful and diplomatic avenues to avert conflict have been exhausted and within international law.

A commitment to preserving and protecting universal human rights and to doing what we can to uphold the internationally recognised principle of the responsibility to protect.

A commitment to effective conflict prevention as well as being responsible post-conflict stakeholders once a conflict has ended.

A commitment to helping others to help themselves and a capacity-building approach which might apply to states regional organisations.

A commitment to multilateral cooperation. The threats we face are global and therefore shared and so the most effective solutions will inevitably be joint.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Cut the deficit every year and balance the books as soon as possible in the next Parliament

Reverse the 50p tax cut so that the top one per cent pay a little more to help get the deficit down

Not increase the basic or higher rates of Income Tax, National Insurance or VAT

Cut and then freeze business rates and maintain the most competitive corporate tax rates in the G7

Abolish non dom status

Increase the National Minimum Wage to more than £8 an hour by October 2019 and introduce Make Work Pay contracts to provide tax rebates to firms becoming Living Wage employers

Ban exploitative zero-hours contracts

Guarantee an apprenticeship for every school leaver who attains the grades and require any firm that gets a large government contract to offer apprenticeships

Reduce tuition fees to £6,000 a year

Freeze energy bills until 2017 and give the regulator the power to cut bills this winter

Introduce a British Investment Bank and support a network of regional banks.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Introduce a new gold-standard Technical Baccalaureate for 16 to-18-year olds

Protect the entire education budget from early years through to post-16 education

Guarantee all teachers in state schools will be qualified

Appoint Directors of School Standards to drive up standards in every area

Cap class sizes for five, six and seven-year-olds

Ensure all young people study English and Maths to age 18.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Push for an ambitious target in Paris to get to goal of net zero global emissions in the second half of this century.

We will make life more affordable for millions of people. We'll freeze gas and electricity bills until 2017 and reform the broken energy market to stop the cost of energy bills soaring.

We will fix the broken energy market, increasing competition and transparency so that it works for consumers. This will include introducing a simple new tariff structure so that people can compare prices in place of the complex and confusing system that exists today.

We will abolish Ofgem which has failed to stand up for consumers, and replace it from January 2017 with a tough new energy watchdog.

We will unlock investment in clean energy by setting a firm 2030 decarbonisation target and giving the Green Investment Bank more powers.

We will stick to ambitious, legally binding targets for carbon reduction including the decarbonisation of our electricity supply by 2030, and full implementation of carbon budgets and we'll make Britain a world leader in low carbon technology and green jobs, creating a million new high technology, green jobs by 2025.

We will strengthen the Green Investment Bank with borrowing powers, ensuring it is better placed to support investment in small and medium green businesses seeking to grow.

We will prioritise flood prevention and introduce a new climate change adaptation plan to help us properly prepare for the effects of a changing climate.

We will protect animal welfare ending the inhumane and ineffective badger cull, maintaining the ban on hunting with dogs, and introducing a ban on wild animals in circuses.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Return Britain to a leadership role in Europe, but reform the EU so that it works for Britain

Guarantee no powers will be transferred to Brussels without an in/out referendum

A referendum on whether the UK should be in or out of the EU only if there is a proposed transfer of more powers from London to Brussels.

Labour are proposing a new Commissioner for Growth, bringing together some of the existing Commission portfolios on economic policy, to help ensure the EU is focused on growth and held accountable for progress.

Alongside this, Labour are proposing that the EU establish its own equivalent of the UK's Office for Budget Responsibility with the narrower mandate of auditing all EU spending decisions based on the impact that they have on promoting growth and jobs across the EU.

Labour will continue to argue for the completion of the Single Market in digital, energy and services, providing potentially huge gains for Britain and helping deliver the economic recovery that Britain needs. The operation of the Single Market in existing sectors must also be protected in the face of possible closer integration between Eurozone states.

Labour will continue to support the conclusion of Free Trade Agreements as a means of promoting economic growth and development.

Tackle rising energy bills and climate change by reforming the European single market in energy.

Labour supports a proper framework for police forces to work together across borders.

Labour will seek to enhance our defence cooperation with allies in Europe where it is in our interests to do so, but we will not support the creation of a European Army.

We do, however, recognise that it is in Britain's interest for sovereign forces from European countries to engage in joint EU missions for peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance, in full coordination with NATO. And we will continue to lead the way in tackling global poverty, making sure that everyone has an equal chance in life.

Labour will continue to campaign for the wasteful second seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg to be scrapped. Labour believes we can bring down the cost of the Parliament and reform the Commission to help it operate more effectively as well as reforming how the EU spends its money and how Britain gets best value.

From the 2010 party manifesto:

On the Euro, we hold to our promise that there will be no membership of the single currency without the consent of the British people in a referendum.

We support the enlargement of EU membership to include Croatia, and believe that all Western Balkan states should open negotiations on EU accession by 2014, one hundred years after the start of the First World War.

Turkey's future membership is a key test of Europe's potential to become a bridge between religions and regions; there must be continued progress on its application to join the EU.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Extend free childcare from 15 to 25 hours for working parents of three and four-year-olds, and ensure all primary schools guarantee access to wraparound childcare from 8am to 6pm

Double paternity leave from two to four weeks and increase paternity pay by more than £100 a week

We will renew and reinvigorate Sure Start, reforming the way local services work together to shift from sticking-plaster services to radical early help, to provide good quality support to all families that need it.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Set up a people-led Constitutional Convention to determine the future of UK’s governance

Replace the House of Lords with a Senate of the Nations and Regions

Pass an English Devolution Act, handing £30 billion of resources and powers to our great English city and county regions

Give new powers for communities to shape their high streets, including power over payday lenders and the number of fixed-odds betting terminals

Meet our promises to devolve further powers to Scotland and Wales

Give 16 and 17-year-olds the vote

Create a statutory register of lobbyists

Ban MPs from holding paid directorships and consultancies

Require large companies to publish their gender pay gap

Implement the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Invest £2.5 billion more that the Conservatives to recruit 8,000 more GPs, 20,000 more nurses and 3,000 more midwives

Guarantee GP appointments within 48 hours and cancer tests within one week

Join up services from home to hospital, with a single point of contact for all who need it

Give mental health the same priority as physical health, with a new right to access talking therapies

Repeal the Government’s privatisation plans, cap profits and put the right values back at the heart of the NHS

End time-limited 15 minute social care visits and recruit 5,000 new home-care workers to support people in their home

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Ensure at least 200,000 new homes a year are built by 2020, with first priority for local first time buyers

Provide security for renters by guaranteeing three-year tenancies with a ceiling on excessive rent rises

Abolish the Bedroom Tax

Labour will build the homes Britain needs by getting 200,000 homes built a year by 2020. We will get a fair deal for renters with longer, more predictable tenancies and a ban on rip-off letting fees.

We will change the law to make three-year tenancies the norm instead of the six or 12-month short-term tenancies that most renters have now so that landlords and tenants both have more stability, but with the ability to terminate contracts early with proper notice if they have to, just as they can now.

We will get 200,000 homes built a year by 2020. This will close the gap between the number of homes we build and the number of homes we need, as well as providing up to 230,000 jobs in construction.

We will unblock the supply of new homes by giving local authorities "use it or lose it" powers over developers who hoard land that has planning permission so that they can sell it on for a bigger profit, instead of building on it now.

We will deliver a new generation of New Towns and Garden Cities, and give a new "right to grow" to communities who want to expand but are blocked by neighbouring local authorities.

We will tackle empty homes by giving councils more power to charge higher rates of council tax on empty properties, and ensure new homes are advertised in the UK first, not overseas.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Ensure migrants will not be able to claim benefits until they have lived here for at least two years

Stronger border controls: we will make it easier to deport foreign criminals, check people in and out of the country, and do more to stop illegal immigration.

A smarter system of controls: so we get the top talent and investment we need, whilst controlling low skilled migration.

Fair rules at work: a new law to prevent employers undercutting wages by exploiting immigration, and banning agencies from recruiting only from abroad. Fines will be increased for companies who employ illegal immigrants.

Earned entitlements: people coming here won't be able to claim benefits for at least two years.

Integration, not divided communities: people working in public services in public facing roles will be required to speak English.

We will take action to better manage the pace of immigration, reform our economy to be less reliant on low skilled migrant labour, and do more to help migrants integrate into our society so they can play their part - Labour Euro Manifesto.

We will do more to cut illegal immigration, with tougher action including the reinstatement of fingerprint checks at the border and closing down loopholes that enable people to exploit short-term student visitor visas - Labour Euro Manifesto.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

From the 2010 party manifesto:

High-speed rail is not just about faster journey times. It will free up capacity on existing intercity rail lines, enabling more rail freight, commuter and local services

We will press ahead with a major investment programme in existing rail services, hugely improving commuter services into and through London, and electrifying new rail-lines including the Great Western Main Line from London to South Wales.

We will complete the new east-west Crossrail line in London adding ten per cent to London transport capacity.

Rail passenger numbers have increased by 40 per cent in the last ten years and punctuality and quality of service are improving steadily.

We will encourage more people to switch to rail with an enforceable right to the cheapest fare, while trebling the number of secure cycle-storage spaces at rail stations.

Tackling road congestion is a key Labour priority. We will extend hard-shoulder running on motorways, alongside targeted motorway widening including on the M25.

Too much disruption is caused by local road works: we will increase tenfold the penalties on utilities who allow work to overrun.

We rule out the introduction of national road pricing in the next Parliament [2010-2015].

Heathrow is Britain’s international hub airport, already operating at full capacity, and supporting millions of jobs, businesses and citizens who depend upon it.

We support a third runway at Heathrow, subject to strict conditions on environmental impact and flight numbers, but we will not allow additional runways to proceed at any other airport in the next [2010-2015] Parliament.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

From the 2010 Labour Party Manifesto:

No young person in Britain should be long-term unemployed: those out of work for six months or more will be guaranteed employment or training through the £1 billion Future Jobs Fund, with mandatory participation after ten months. The fund will support 200,000 jobs.

All those who are long-term unemployed for two years will be guaranteed a job placement, which they will be required to take up or have their benefits cut.

More people with disabilities and health conditions will be helped to move into work from Incapacity Benefit and Employment Support Allowance, as we extend the use of our tough-but-fair work capability test.

We will reassess the Incapacity Benefit claims of 1.5 million people by 2014, as we move those able to work back into jobs.

For those with the most serious conditions or disabilities who want to work there will be a new guarantee of supported employment after two years on benefit.

We are radically reforming how Job Centre Plus helps lone parents: providing extra help with childcare, training and support to find family-friendly work, while requiring those with children aged three to take steps to prepare for work and actively to seek employment once their youngest child is seven years old.

Housing Benefit will be reformed to ensure that we do not subsidise people to live in the private sector on rents that other ordinary working families could not afford. And we will continue to crack down on those who try to cheat the benefit system.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Make it illegal for employers to undercut wages by exploiting workers

Introduce a compulsory jobs guarantee, paid for by a Bank Bonus Tax

Parents shouldn't face the prospect of taking a job that ends up costing them more than they'll earn. We will give working parents 25 hours of free childcare for three and four-year-olds per week.

We will increase the National Minimum Wage to £8 an hour by the end of the next Parliament to help ensure that those doing a hard day's work are rewarded for doing so.

We will increase fines for employers who fail to pay the minimum wage and give local authorities a role in enforcement.

We will introduce 'Make Work Pay' contracts, giving a tax rebate to those companies that sign up to become living wage employers in the first year of the next Parliament.

We will abolish exploitative zero-hours contracts, with rules introduced to give new rights to employees on zero-hours contracts.

We will create a clear route for the forgotten 50 per cent, with a new gold standard Technical Baccalaureate for 16 to 19-year-olds, with rigorous vocational qualifications, accredited by employers, a high quality work placement and English and maths to 18.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.

Push for global targets to tackle inequality and promote human rights

Conduct a Strategic Defence and Security Review in the first year of government

Return Britain to a leadership role in Europe, but reform the EU so that it works for Britain

Guarantee no powers will be transferred to Brussels without an in/out referendum

Appoint an International LGBT Rights Envoy and a Global Envoy for Religious Freedom

Outlaw discrimination against and abuse of members of the Armed Forces

Enshrine the Military Covenant in the NHS Constitution

Push for global targets to tackle inequality and promote human rights

Establish a Centre for Universal Health Coverage

Push for an ambitious target in Paris to get to goal of net zero global emissions in the second half of this century.

Source: Labour party website, existing manifesto or officially-published policies.