Theresa May called this election, but now won’t even turn up to debate the issues. I think her elusiveness, just like her policies, demonstrates her utter lack of regard for the British people.

She’s clearly terrified of having to defend the cruel and heartless policies in the Conservative manifesto, 20 of which she’s said she’ll review AFTER the election.

This is simply not good enough.

From Brexit to the Dementia Tax, to restricting winter fuel payments and capping energy bills, Theresa May is keeping us in the dark on these issues. What is she plotting? How cold and mean-spirited will her vision for Britain become? The British people deserve to know.

The more Liberal Democrat MPs are elected, the more we can hold Theresa May to account on her yet-to-be finalised policies.

If you support us in our bold opposition, vote Lib Dem on 8th June.

Thank you,

Tim Farron

The figures, which have been broken down by constituency and local authority, show 260 children living in poverty are set to lose out in Theresa May’s constituency of Maidenhead.

It comes as Nick Clegg is set to unveil a new, hard-hitting poster attacking Theresa May’s decision to scrap free school lunches.

The Liberal Democrats have also calculated that under Conservative costings of just under 7p per child’s breakfast, each child could expect to receive either half a boiled egg, one slice of bread with 12 baked beans or 37.5 cornflakes and 100ml of semi-skimmed milk.

Commenting on the figures, Nick Clegg said:

“Theresa May’s cruel and illogical decision to take away free, hot lunches for all infants will hurt hundreds of thousands of Britain’s poorest children.

“It’s clear that the reintroduction of means-testing for school lunches will mean many children losing out on what could be the only hot, nutritious meal that they receive each day.

“Theresa May is not only risking the health of some of our youngest children, but she will also create terrible inequality in the classroom.

“The Conservatives’ cynical promise of a free breakfast is clearly not designed to reach all children because they have set aside a meagre 7p per breakfast per child. That’s the price of half a boiled egg or just one slice of bread with 12 baked beans.

“Theresa May insists she wants to govern for everyone. But her regressive cutting of free school lunches is clear evidence she is prepared to ignore some of the poorest and most vulnerable children in our society.

“Just because the youngest don’t vote, it doesn’t mean that Theresa May should simply cast them aside.”

He also warned that Theresa May’s plans to leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice would mean Britain will leave the Open Skies agreement which governs flights between the UK and Europe.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said:

“This is the reality of Theresa May’s extreme version of Brexit and insistence we could just crash out of the EU without a deal.

“Jobs could be lost, flights disrupted and British travellers’ lives thrown into chaos, but Theresa May doesn’t care.

“We will fight for a better deal on Europe and to give people a chance to reject a disastrous Brexit.

“The British people should be able to decide whether Theresa May’s Brexit deal is right for them, with the choice to remain in the EU if they don’t like what’s on offer.”

The Liberal Democrats have compiled the list of the biggest blunders of the Battle for Number 10 and the questions that May and Corbyn have failed to answer.

Jeremy Corbyn:

• Corbyn committed a whole new £3bn+ a year unfreezing working age benefits. There’s nothing in his manifesto costings to uprate benefits. How is he paying for it?
• He didn’t answer the question on why someone who is worried about Brexit should vote for Labour over the Liberal Democrats.
• Labour could have voted for unilateral rights for EU citizens to stay in the UK. They didn’t. They voted for Article 50. Why didn’t he stand up for the 3m EU citizens that call the UK their home?

Theresa May:

• Theresa May has completely changed her belief that we would be more safe, more secure, and more prosperous staying in Europe. She has refused to answer why she has changed her mind.
• The Conservatives are ruining the lives of the Just About Managing. She can’t and won’t say how many people her Dementia Tax will hit. She has repeatedly refused to come clean. What is she plotting?
• Theresa May is putting our security at risk by pursuing an extreme Brexit. She says the police need the power to do their jobs. But she is cutting their funding and stripping them of vital EU assistance, she is taking away their powers to search criminal records and find terror suspects. Does she still believe that we are less safe outside the EU?

Responding to May and Corbyn’s TV appearance Tim Farron, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “You don’t have to accept Theresa May and Nigel Farage’s extreme version of Brexit that will wreck the future for you, your family, your schools and hospitals.

“In the biggest fight for the future of our country in a generation, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour has let you down by voting with Theresa May on Brexit – not against her.

“The Liberal Democrats want you to have your choice over your future. You should have your say on the Brexit deal in a referendum. And if you don’t like the deal you should be able to reject it and choose to remain in Europe.”

On May:

“Theresa May has had a car crash interview. She is pursuing Nigel Farage’s cold, mean-spirited, extreme Brexit agenda and starving our schools and hospitals with heartless cuts. Nigel Farage told you everything you need to know about Theresa May when he tweeted: “Theresa May is using the exact words and phrases I’ve been using for 20 years.”

“The Liberal Democrats will stand up to Theresa May on Brexit, the NHS and schools

“Theresa May’s extreme Brexit will be bad for you and your family. Bad for your job. Bad for your bills. Bad for the NHS. Bad for our schools.

“A brighter future is possible. We will stand up to Theresa May’s cold, mean-spirited Britain. We will stand up to a bad Brexit deal that will cost jobs and put up prices. We will stand up for your schools and hospitals. We will stand up for you.”

On Corbyn:

“In the biggest fight for the future of our country in a generation, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour has let you down by voting with Theresa May on Brexit – not against her.

“Jeremy Corbyn ordered his MPs to vote in favour of Article 50 despite the Government making no concessions to them whatsoever. They failed to stand up for our membership of the Single Market, failed to stand up for the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and are refusing to give you the final say over the Brexit deal.”

The Tories seem to think – if we ignore any difficult question – we don’t have to tell the public the truth. If they cannot tell us even the most basic things why should we trust them at all.

Theresa May seems to be hiding their real agenda from the public.

The Tories cannot tell us anything about their plans and they are doing it on purpose. They hope to secure a colossal majority and then to take the country for a ride. We cannot let this happen – our schools, hospitals and social care are at risk

After the debacle on the Dementia Tax, the only policy they gave us detail on, it is no wonder they are trying to hide things from us. They need to come clean and tell us the truth.

These are the fifteen questions that the Conservatives must answer

Security

1. Why are the Conservatives insisting on a Brexit negotiation strategy that will automatically prevent access to the vital EU Schengen Information System – used 16 times a second by UK police forces to track terrorists and criminals?
2. Why has only one individual out of hundreds who have travelled to fight for ISIS in Syria been subject to the Temporary Exclusion Order powers introduced by the Coalition?
3. How will the Conservatives ‘ban encryption’ without weakening internet banking security for millions of British citizens?

Schools

4. How many children will lose their free school lunches?
5. How much money will the Conservatives spend on providing free school breakfasts instead of lunches?
6. Exactly how much money will the Conservatives give to schools to plug the the hole in their budgets, and why is their pledge unfunded?

Health and social care

7. How many people risk losing their house as a result of their social care policy?
8. At what level will losses be capped for people with long-term degenerative conditions like dementia?
9. How will the NHS cope with the loss of 26,000 EU staff who are planning to leave because of Brexit?

Welfare

10. How many people will lose their winter fuel payments?
11. How many lives will be lost as a result?
12. Will the coldest areas of England and Wales be exempted, as Scotland has been?

How will they pay for their manifesto policies?

13. Why should anyone vote for a manifesto without costings?
14. How many billions will be lost to the public finances as a result of the Conservatives’ plan to reduce net immigration to the tens of thousands?
15. How much will they raise taxes and national insurance by in order to pay for their pledges?