Party Policies Compare Respect policies against Liberal Democrat policies

We promise to be tough to those who seek to exploit Britain's soft-touch approach to taxation, and this particularly includes those working within the financial services sector.

We support the idea of a balanced economy with industry as a key part of it an industry where the workers are properly treated and where they are guaranteed a job for life.

From the 2010 party manifesto:

Investment in the infrastructure of rural communities; healthcare, education, leisure facilities and environmental development

Regulation of the large supermarket chains to ensure that food production and food prices are in the interests of all, not the large farmers and businesses

Secure rights of tenure for small farmers and small businesses at affordable rents

Provision of finance at low interest rates for small businesses and small farmers

Grants for small farmers to switch to organic farming.

Incentives for small farmers to form co-operatives to reduce costs.

Re-establish the marketing boards.

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

We believe the police need to do more to rid itself of the institutional racism that is inherent within the police so that the police and communities can begin working together on issues of collective security.

From the 2010 party manifesto:

The scrapping of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders.

Purge racists from the police and prison services.

Make the police accountable to the community.

Justice for all those who have been killed in custody.

A complete overhaul of the criminal justice system to end discrimination.

An end to police harassment and racist stop and search.

A serious attack on the causes of crime.

Build supportive communities and tackle social exclusion.

More resources for drug treatment and rehabilitation.

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

Respect stands against the idea that it is acceptable to savagely cut public services whilst simultaneously renewing a gigantic but ultimately useless nuclear weapons project.

In keeping with our foreign policy that seeks to strike a more balanced foreign policy; we should stop seeking to violate the terms of the non-proliferation treaty and encourage other countries to do the same.

In line with our foreign policy, Respect is for the closure of all extra-continental military bases.

Respect believes therefore that a British foreign policy that looked more towards our own place in the world rather than focusing solely on our relationship with the old unipolar power, the USA, would be a much more sensible option.

We support the idea that Britain should leave NATO. Furthermore, NATO should be disbanded and replaced with a European Union defence organisation which does not involve the United States and which reflects the interests of its own member states.

From the 2010 Party Manifesto:

A massive cut in military spending. Disband Britain’s weapons of mass destruction, scrap nuclear weapons, decommission Trident.

Transfer resources from military to useful production, nationalise the arms industry.

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

We in Respect reject the iron-clad austerity policies of the three main political parties in Britain. We need a new economic system which isn't dependent on financial services and which is constantly in thrall to the banks. But more importantly, we reject the idea that the British people have to pay for the mess that was not caused by them.

We stand against the Tories as they deflect blame away from the people who caused the financial crisis and their attempts to make poor people pay for the crimes of rich people by their savage cuts to the welfare state and their crass and mendacious attempts to turn poor people against each other.

We stand against the role of the Liberal Democrats, who are keeping the Tories in government and who are therefore complicit in their dirty work.

We stand against the Labour Party, who no longer properly stand up for the rights of working people and who are complicit in developing Britain's over-reliance with the financial services sector in the first place.

Respect stands in defence of people who have nothing to sell but their labour; those who certainly shouldn't be paying our way out of the economic crisis.

From the 2010 party manifesto:

Abolish VAT, as an indirect tax, and replace it with increased direct taxation.

Raise the top rate of income tax .

Raise the tax threshold to ensure that no one on the minimum wage pays income tax.

A big increase in corporation tax, with an additional tax on the super-profits profits of the oil companies and the banks.

A turnover tax on multinationals doing businesses in Britain.

Raise the top rate of inheritance tax whilst putting higher duties on other transfers of wealth and financial transaction.

Increased stamp duty on stocks and shares.

A crack down on tax evasion by big companies and action against offshore tax havens.

Abolish the ceiling on National Insurance contributions.

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

Respect campaigns for an end to tuition fees. We stand up for the rights of students to campaign against cuts to their educational standards and for a free education from the cradle to the grave.

From the 2010 party manifesto:

A fully comprehensive school system providing a common core curriculum for all until 18. End selection. Scrap SATs and other unnecessary tests.

Education free at point of use, from pre-school to FE, to university and adult learning.

A radical reduction in class size.

A qualified teacher for every class.

Better pay for teachers and other education workers.

An end to specialist school status, schools can come together in order to share facilities and expertise where feasible.

Free after-school clubs and play centres for all that need them.

Full and part-time nursery and day-care places as a right, for all who want them.

An end to charitable status and tax breaks for private schools.

Abolish tuition fees and student loans. Free education and a living grant for all further and higher education students.

Free and life-long access for all to high quality vocational education and adult education.

Urgent action to address the underachievement of black children and others in schools.

Full involvement of teachers, parents and pupils in tackling inequality in education.

An end to the privatisation of local authority leisure services.

Stop the sale of playing fields.

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

Grants and incentives for rural communities to undertake environmental protection.

A review of coastal erosion with the costs for beach and other coastal improvements to be met from direct government funding.

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

Respect is in favour of a referendum on EU membership.

Respect is a pro-Europe party, but not of the EU in its present form. It is untenable to continue pretending to be a part of a union whilst pretending we would rather go it alone.

Respect will campaign to be a central part of Europe. However, we will campaign, along with our sister left-wing parties around Europe, for the EU to be a more inclusive and democratic union.

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

From the 2010 Party Manifesto:

End the discrimination against women at work during pregnancy.

Extend parental leave entitlements to all employees regardless of size of workforce.

Full enforcement of equal pay legislation. Fine employers who flout this legislation.

Universal childcare in publicly-funded nurseries for the full working day, as well as after-school clubs for all children up to 11 years old.

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

Our parliament, with its 600+ members, is far too large and far too expensive to sustain.

Along with our support for proportional representation, we support a large reduction in the number of members of parliament.

We are calling for a parliament that is half its present size, where MPs are paid a wage in line with careers of equivalent responsibility. Their staff should be employed by the state and not by the MP themselves.

We support the idea that 16 year olds should get the vote.

From the 2010 Party Manifesto:

The repeal of the anti-union laws, as well as the automatic right to union recognition. The right to hold trade union meetings during working hours. Employment tribunals to have the powers to enforce reinstatement and protect trade union representatives.

The minimum wage to be raised to £7.40 per hour, which is the European Union decency threshold.

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

From the 2010 Party Manifesto:

A fully-funded, publicly-owned NHS, delivering care free at the point of use.

Opposition to PFI schemes; all privatised services to be brought back into the NHS.

No further closure of local hospitals or specialist units.

Bring all agencies administering care services into publicownership under NHS or local government control.

The abolition of charges for prescriptions, foot care, dentistry, eye and hearing services.

The expansion of psychiatric health services.

An expansion of training opportunities for doctors, nursing andrelated services.

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

From the 2010 party manifesto:

No privatisation of council housing.

End the right to buy scheme.

Publicly-owned land should be used to build council housing, not sold off to property speculators to build houses local people can’t afford.

Provide the financial means for local authorities to invest directly in council housing.

Give council tenants, who have been forced to privatise to gain investment in their homes, the right to return to local authority ownership.

Give local authorities powers to enforce repairs and improvements on private sector landlords and ensure they are more effectively regulated.

Legislate to prevent landlords from setting excessive rents.

Abolish the Council Tax and replace it with a progressive local income tax.

Review the business rate system.

Reintroduce council house building to rural communities and stop council house sales.

Abolish council tax relief on second homes, and ensure that people can afford to live in their local area.

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

Respect is in favour of a balanced and fair immigration policy.

We are in favour of an EU Referendum, in which we would campaign to remain a part of Europe.

Until then, we wholeheartedly welcome all EU migrants who seek to work hard in Britain, just as many British people work abroad.

Respect is in favour of a colour-blind points-based immigration system which is weighted in favour of those coming from Commonwealth countries to which we owe a historic debt.

From the 2010 Party Manifesto:

Migrant workers and asylum seekers to have the right to work, with the full protection of employment laws and regulations.

Defend the rights of refugees to political asylum; oppose any new legislation designed to further undermine it.

Oppose the EU’s ‘Fortress Europe’ policy.

Reinstate the right of asylum seekers to seek employment; an amnesty for all ‘illegal workers’.

End the policy of dispersal.

End the use of detention centres for asylum seekers.

End the White List of ‘safe’ countries and end deportations.

Give asylum seekers and refugees the right to food and shelter, plus access to education, health and social services.

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

From the 2010 party manifesto:

Bring the railways back into public ownership, under democratic control, and integrate the railways, bus services and urban light rail.

Invest in a cheap and integrated transport system to reduce the need to use cars, making the current road-building programme unnecessary.

New road building only with the agreement of the communities affected.

More frequent passenger journeys and better staffing of stations, trains and buses (guards and conductors) to encourage people back onto public transport.

A full programme of cycle routes in our towns and cities.

Hefty taxes on company cars and on company parking spaces.

Bring air traffic control back into public ownership.

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

We call for ATOS to be scrapped and for a comprehensive welfare system to be provided for those who need it.

From the 2010 Party Manifesto:

An immediate rise in the basic state pension to £110 per week for all pensioners

Restoration of the link between the state pension and average earnings.

Annual increases in the state pension in line with wages or prices, whichever is the greater.

Reduction of the age for receipt of the state pension to sixty for men and women.

Free long term care for all pensioners.

A national free travel scheme for all pensioners.

End attacks on occupational pension scheme; final salary schemes for all employees.

Statutory occupational pension schemes covering all employees in both the public and private sector with compulsory contributions by employers plus full liability by employers in the event of bankruptcy.

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

We support a policy of progressive taxation, not least because providing economic relief for those in most need of it will benefit our economy in the long run.

Our workers need the basic dignity of a living wage; not just the minimum but something which assures the basic living requirements of everyone in the country.

Policies from the 2010 Party Manifesto:

End the discrimination against women at work during pregnancy.

Extend parental leave entitlements to all employees regardless of size of workforce.

Full enforcement of equal pay legislation. Fine employers who flout this legislation.

Universal childcare in publicly-funded nurseries for the full working day, as well as after-school clubs for all children up to 11 years old.

From the 2010 Party Manifesto:

End work-place discrimination on the basis of age, ethnicity, gender or life style choices.

Tougher penalties for employers who discriminate.

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

The Respect Party firmly believes that if the U.K is to truly promote peace, democracy and stability throughout the world, then it should do so through diplomatic and peaceful means.

The Respect Party was born out of the anti-war movement, which opposed the invasion and occupation of both Afghanistan and Iraq. It is clear for all to see, that both wars have proven to be a disaster for all parties involved.

The Respect Party has dedicated itself to the struggle of deterring our political elite from, ever again, deciding to invade and occupy other people's land.

We are proud to say that we are still closely associated with the Stop the War Coalition, with whom we continue to oppose foreign invasion and occupation of other people's countries.

We want Britain to move away from the foreign wars of the Coalition of the Killing and strike a policy which acts in our own national interest. We have always argued that if you make war against Muslims abroad, you will inevitably make war with them at home and this is precisely what we have done.

Oppose Islamaphobia and the demonisation of Muslim communities.

Repeal New Labour and Tory restrictions on assembly and association and all the anti-terrorism legislation.

From the 2010 party manifesto:

Cancel the third world debt, with no strings or conditions.

End the ‘structural adjustment’ conditions, which impoverish third world peoples.

For a major increase in aid spending in the impoverished countries on health education and welfare.

Introduce a tax on currency speculation.

Take action to curb the power of the multinationals.

We want a Europe free from the policies of the WTO and the IMF, free from NATO, free from foreign military bases, free from weapons of mass destruction.

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