Category: News

Dear Sir,

In the week after the publication of the Sunday Times Rich List, what are the political parties going to say and do about extreme inequalities of unearned inherited wealth in the next generation of our so-called Opportunity Society. Do they think it is right that some will inherit billions free of tax thanks to exemptions and reliefs for land and businesses while others inherit no capital at all?

All parties should determine to introduce and gradually increase over the years a UK Citizen’s Universal Inheritance for all 25 year old UK citizens with a UK citizen parent, at a politically appropriate level, financed and clawed back from the more fortunate by a progressive tax on cumulative lifetime receipt of capital gifts and inheritance. This would encourage the wider spread of giving, on which the rate of the so-called ‘Inheritance Tax’, retained for cross-referral, could be dropped from 40% to 10% for giving to UK tax payers, without the current absurdly unlimited exemptions and reliefs for land and businesses.

This is the policy of the continuing UK Liberal Party, whose traditional constitution calls for liberty, property and security for all.

Yours sincerely
Dane Clouston
Member, Liberal Party National Executive Committee
Director, Campaign for Universal Inheritance

The Liberal Party notes the recent comments of the European Council President Donald Tusk on the future status of EU citizens in the UK in relation to the commencement of talks on BREXIT.

The party fully supports the rights of EU citizens to continue living and working in this country and believes making such an undertaking does not prejudice future negotiations with the EU if made in good faith.

The party believes in a fair settlement with the European Union as part of our disengagement from Europe but remains’ concerned that any excessively large demand for financial compensation as part of the final settlement.

The EU should respect that the UK proportionally pays more for the defence of the Europe through NATO than the EU countries do themselves and this disparity should be off set in any negotiations.

There remains a real possibility that a punitive sum will push the UK towards an unfavourable exit which is not in the long-term interests of either the UK or mainland Europe.

The Liberal Party deplores the rapid escalation of violence in Syria depicted by further use of chemical warfare agents in Northern Syria and the subsequent punitive military action on Syria by U.S. government forces.

The country’s civil war has now dragged on for 6 years, interspersed with civilian atrocities and widespread destruction on the ground, displacing an estimated 3.8 million civilians and leading to approximately 100,000 deaths.

The increased direct involvement of the Russian government, and attempts by Western powers to back a disparate array of opposition groups has led to a chaotic situation where civilians are seemingly targeted at will. It has also added to regional instability and allowed Islamic militant groups to exploit the breakdown in order to further their own extremist agendas.

The Liberal Party urgently calls for:

• the warring factions to resume direct talks immediately, under the auspices of the United Nations, to end the un-necessary suffering of the regions people who simply wish to live their lives free from violence and suffering.
• the creation of safe zones so that innocent civilians can move away from the danger of the armed conflict which has on occasions led to genocide against the largely Sunni opposition population.

The Liberal Party UK is deeply saddened by the loss of life in what is being treated as an act of terror in London. Our hearts go out to victims of the attack and to their families and loved ones.

Whilst it is too early to understand what motivated this attack, we condemn the recourse to violence and terror as a means to promote any cause.

The Liberal Party supports initiatives, both government and community based, that seeks to address social and political issue which draw otherwise law abiding citizens towards senseless acts of violence within our democratic society.

Engaging with those elements of British society who are likely to be led astray by extremist views requires a proactive and multi-agency approach. These should aim to bringing’s together community leaders, politicians, and the police and intelligence services to guide such individuals back into the mainstream political process.

The closing date of 10th February for nominations in our internal Party elections has now passed.

We have ten nominations for the National Executive and as this is fewer than the number of places on the NEC we do not need a ballot. All of those nominated below are duly elected as members of the National Executive of the Liberal Party for the next two years.

Only Cllr Steve Radford presented a nomination to be Party President, and is therefore duly elected without the need for a ballot, for the next two years.

Party President
Cllr Steve Radford

Members of the National Executive Committee
Dane Clousten
Daniel Wood
Stephen Graham
Chris Ash.
Paul Bradshaw
Anne Bradshaw
Colin France
John Hein
Bill Weights
Colin Hallmark

The Conservative Government has recently proposed that local authorities in the UK will be able to increase local Council tax by up to 6% to fund social care.

At a time when the Government is talking about helping the Just Managing or Squeezed Middle, it is simultaneously talking about passing the burden of funding vital public services back onto these already struggling groups.

Yet the Conservatives, both in coalition, and now in power in their own right, have ruthlessly cut the transfer to local government year on year in the name of austerity and cutting the national debt.

The best estimate is that during the last parliament overall funding for public services fell by about 29%, whilst Social care funding has fallen by 9% in real terms over the past five years alone.

The Liberal Party opposes un-necessary and counterproductive austerity, which plainly doesn’t mean we are all in it together as David Cameron oft claimed.

In a nation estimated in 2014 to be worth 8 trillion pounds, even with 5 trillion pound of this in property, surely we can afford adequately funded public service without adding to the burden on…

Funding needs to come from an adequate settlement from central government, which in turn needs to ensure all in our society pay their fair share of taxes and contribute to the provision of fully funded local services for the most dependent in our society.