CHANGE BRITAIN'S FUTURE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT MANIFESTO 2017 CHANGE BRITAIN'S FUTURE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT MANIFESTO 2017 Contents Your chance to change Britain's future by changing the opposition Protect Britain's Place in Europe 13 Save our NHS and Social Care Services 23 Put Children First 33 Build an Economy that Works for You 45 Keep our Country Green 55 Support Families and Communities 67 Defend Rights, Promote Justice and Equalities 79 Make a Better World 87 Fix a Broken System Your chance to change Britain'sfuture bychanging theopposition In every other manifesto, a Liberal Democrat leader has set out a vision for government. However, I want to make a different case to the British people in this election - an election that has been called by Theresa May, very cynically, with the sole purpose of putting the Tories in a position where they can do what they like unchecked. To be clear, Theresa May's Conservative Party is on course to win this election. Unless we make a stand, they will walk away with a landslide. We risk the arrogance and heartlessness with which she has governed for the last 10 months being reinforced by a majority that no government has had for 20 years. The reason? There is a complete absence of real opposition from Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party. On the biggest question facing all of us, Brexit, which has such huge implications for our young people and our future, Corbyn ordered his MPs to stand down against Theresa May's government. Where the Liberal Democrats are fighting every step of the way, Labour is holding Theresa May's hand as she jumps off the cliff edge of a hard Brexit. That's why the Liberal Democrats will not enter into coalition with either Theresa May's Conservatives or Jeremy Corbyn's Labour. Have no doubts - a massive Conservative majority would mean people and communities being taken for granted by a Conservative government that will believe it has the mandate to do exactly as it pleases. Governments without a strong opposition are bad governments. They become complacent and take poor decisions. So I am asking you to give me your support to make the Liberal Democrats the official opposition to Theresa May's Conservative government. I want the Liberal Democrats to be the party that holds Theresa May to account over spending on the National Health Service; our young people's education, skills and opportunities; the protection of our precious environment; and our future relationship with Europe. You don't have to agree with me on everything. But the danger of an arrogant government that doesn't have to listen to us is apparent to everyone, wherever you live in Britain. We don't share Theresa May's miserable vision. Liberal Democrats are passionate about building a Britain that is open, tolerant and united - that celebrates the very best of what it means to be British. So on June the 8th, I am asking you to think very hard about what will be best for you, your friends and family, and the area you live in. Another Tory MP, to bolster Theresa May's majority? Another member of Labour's hopeless and failed opposition? Another Nationalist MP who only wants to break up the UK? Or a strong and passionate voice sticking up for your area, challenging Theresa May's Conservative government and holding it to account as part of a real opposition? This election is your opportunity to change Britain's future - by changing the opposition. I love this country. It is optimistic, good-humoured and confident. It is open, fair and finds strength through its diversity. It isn't inward-looking or mean-spirited. Our young people are bright, creative and want a world that is clean and green and that the rest of us haven't wrecked. They want jobs, good health and the chance to choose who they love and how they live, with the security of a roof over their heads. They want to live in a country where the state isn't snooping into their emails and tracking their internet use. You might feel uncertain or anxious about the way our country is going. You might worry that jobs and living standards are threatened by the extreme and divisive Brexit that Theresa May has chosen for Britain. You might be fed up with a Labour Party that has given up on opposition, supports the Conservatives on Brexit and offers no vision for our country. If so, this is your chance. You can stand up for a Britain that is open, tolerant and united. You can change the opposition. You can change Britain's future. Tim Farron Leader, Liberal Democrats