The Tories are giving only £150 a year for couples who are married, the Lib Dems of course are promising £700 a year tax break to each individual who works and earns over £10,000 by raising the personal income tax allowance. Nick Clegg said:
"Modern families come in all shapes and sizes. One-size fits all policies like tax breaks for married couples are just not right for our times.
"Liberal Democrats will give all mothers and fathers the support and flexibility they need to spend time with their children.
"We will cut taxes for all working families on low and middle incomes, not just a select few.
"Following the birth of a child, we will allow parents to share leave between them.
"We will help fathers to share parenting, giving them the right to time off for antenatal appointments. And we will change the way tax credits are paid so you can rely on them and you don’t face the nightmare of having to pay back thousands of pounds when the government messes up your payments."
So as well as the tax breaks the Lib Dems are offering in our policies for families:
- flexible parental leave between the mother and father as they see fit
- free and universal childcare provision for children aged 18 months – five years for 20 hours per week, when resources allow
- fix the payments of tax credits for six months at a time so payments are stable and predictable for families
- set up an independent commission to agree a fair long-term solution to the problem of providing quality care to those who need it in their old age
- provide affordable homes for the 1.8m now on the housing waiting list by bringing the quarter of a million empty homes back into use by offering grant or loans to those willing to move in and renovate them for their own use
So while Dave wants to shoehorn us all into the same homogeneous family type the Liberal Democrats are dealing with the reality of the flexibility of the UK situation, giving real solutions that are fair to all, at whatever stage of live.
So you're standing in 2010? If you're door knocking in my neighbourhood, I'll put the kettle on. As a parent, there is only one optimal form of family - that in which two partners live together in a single household to raise children with some formal commitment. Single parent families and households are not sustainable or best for children. That is why marriage and civil partnership should be supported and promoted.
ReplyDeleteJess I have a friend who tragically lost his wife during the birth of their third child. Under Cameron's plans he would be penalised unfairly. Not all single parent units are through break down of marriage or failure to commit, that is why Cameron's policy is not fair.
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