“Our policies are the most progressive of the three main parties.”

The Resolution Foundation, an independent think-tank, has released a report on child poverty. You can find this here.

It found that our policies would mean 600,000 fewer children in poverty by 2023-24.

This makes ours the most progressive policies of the three main parties.

That’s not all the report found. Child poverty risks reaching a record high under Conservative plans. It is a damning indictment of the Tories’ heartless welfare policy.

As the Resolution Foundation recognises, we have the most progressive policies here. We would scrap the cruel two-child limit, benefit cap and bedroom tax. We would also invest in free school meals and childcare for millions of families.

We will ensure that everyone has the same opportunities regardless of where they come from.

The Tories are hell-bent on continuing their backwards economic policies. They are ruining the lives of millions of people, young and old.

But our manifesto helps the most vulnerable in our society. We are deeply proud of that fact.

We are the only party that is committed to helping the next generation get ahead in life.

Only the Liberal Democrats will stop Brexit and build a brighter future for those struggling in our society.

The UK produces 2.26 million tonnes of plastic packaging every year.

Less than half of this is being recycled. 

The Conservatives claimed they will cut plastic pollution. They announced a deposit return scheme in 2018, but it is currently due to be implemented by 2023. 

In reality, all the Tories have done is try to get headlines with piecemeal bans on straws and stirrers. 

The Liberal Democrats demand better for our environment. We need a rapid plan to eliminate plastic pollution if our seas are to recover from the damage we’ve done.

That is why the Liberal Democrats are proposing a radical plan that will end the UK’s reliance on plastic. 

We will ban all non-essential, single-use plastics within the first three years of government. 

Our other policies include:

• Requiring all retailers to reduce the amount of plastics and non-recyclable packaging they use:
  • The average UK home produces 1.1kg of waste every day. The duty should be placed on retailers to ensure that this is reduced.

• Implementing a deposit return scheme: 
  • This will aim to end the 15 million bottles that are littered, landfilled and incinerated daily in the UK.

• Ending plastic exports abroad by 2030:
  • In 2018 the UK exported 0.6 million tonnes of plastic waste. It often ends up in landfill, defeating the purpose of exporting it abroad.

Under the Liberal Democrats, no plastic put into a bin in the UK will end up in our oceans. By declaring war on plastic, the Liberal Democrats will ensure a brighter future for our planet.

Together, we can build a brighter future, based on hope, not fear.

We can work with our closest neighbours in Europe to save our planet for future generations.

“Only someone as deceitful as Boris Johnson could dress up exploiting nurses as a gift to the NHS.”

Not only is Boris Johnson’s pledge for 50,000 nurses not true.

The Conservatives are trying to profit from taxing hardworking nurses.

The Conservative’s manifesto commitment includes 12,000 nurses from abroad. The visa fee will be £464 for EU and international nurses. The cost to the Home Office of processing one of those visa applications, however?

£317 if it’s in the UK or £127 if it’s made from overseas.

The Home Office would, therefore, make £4 million profit off the 12,000 nurses who are coming to the UK to work in our NHS to meet Boris’s demands.

Only someone as deceitful as Boris Johnson could dress up exploiting nurses as a gift to the NHS.

Our NHS currently relies on the hard work of 20,000 EU nurses. We are already desperately short on numbers due to the 5,000 nurses who have already left the NHS. Many of those facing the nurse tax will come from the EU.

To discourage EU nurses from working in the NHS when we already have a shortage makes no sense at all.

Liberal Democrats will stop Brexit to support our NHS workforce and invest £7 billion a year in health and social care to build a brighter future.

“We will put the UK at the heart of global efforts to protect our marine environment.”

Our marine environment is in crisis. Programmes like the BBC’s Blue Planet 2 have revealed the scale of the threat.

The world’s beloved marine species like whales and turtles face numerous threats. Plastic pollution, over-fishing, high volumes of shipping traffic, and rising temperatures are but a few.

We must act now to ensure that our global ocean thrives for future generations to enjoy.

Over the next Parliament, we will expand the ‘Blue Belt’ of Marine Protected areas. By 2030, this will cover at least 50% of the UK’s territorial waters. This includes overseas territories.

This policy will ensure better regulation of commercial activities, such as fishing. It will also protect biodiversity in key habitats through effective monitoring.

We will also protect and restore England’s lakes, rivers and wetlands. We will reform water management and introduce higher water efficiency standards. Additionally, plastic pollution is a major threat to the marine environment. To tackle this issue, we will introduce a Zero-Waste and Resource Efficiency Act. This will encourage the transition towards a circular economy in the UK.

We will put the UK at the heart of global efforts to protect our marine environment.

This is at the heart of our plan to build a brighter future.