Lib Dems

Question 1

Classical Liberals:

Answer 1

1. Classic liberals were committed above all else to the freedom of the individual and the
   minimal role of government in society.
2. In the 19th century, they supported free trade, the widening of the franchise, the
   extension of civil liberties to those outside of the Anglican Church and the widening
   of educational opportunity.

Question 2

Modern Liberals:

Answer 2

1. Individuals couldn’t be truly free due to the inequalities produced by free-market capitalism.
2. The definition of ‘freedom’ moved from being left alone to the state actively
   supporting some members of society to enable them to reach their potential.
3. Old age pensions and national
   insurance in an attempt to discourage the working class from supporting the newly founded
   Labour Party.

Question 3

Early 2000s Liberal Democrats:

Answer 3

1. Notably constitutional reform, civil liberties and internationalism expressed by being pro-EU, the Lib Dems have been consistent in their policy.
2. They were opposed to the Iraq War, identity cards and tuition fees and wanted to introduce a new 50% tax rate for those earning over £100,000.
3. Kennedy exemplified the priorities of the social liberals: modern liberals who supported the tradition of generous welfare provision, which could be traced back to the wartime Beveridge Report.

Question 4

Nick Clegg:

Answer 4

1. In the 2010 election, their manifesto included making the first £10,000 people earn tax free,
   scrapping university tuition fees for undergraduate students, changing the Trident nuclear
   missiles system and backing constitutional reform.

Question 5

Lib Dem Downfall:

Answer 5

1. Due to the gravity of the Financial Crisis, it needed to go
   along with the Conservatives’ immediate austerity policies, in order to demonstrate its
   credentials as a responsible party in government.
2. They became associated with the Conservative Party’s harsh austerity policies, u-turned on
   their promise to not increase undergraduate university tuition fees and saw a more
   proportional electoral system rejected by the electorate in the 2011 Alternative Vote
   referendum.

Question 6

Economic Policy:

Answer 6

1. Raise an extra £9.5B in spending for health and social care, raised through reforming Capital Gains Tax to close loopholes and raising levies on banks.
2. £27B more per year by 2029, including by spending an extra £9.5B on health and social care.
3. Fund this through reforming Capital Gains Tax to close loopholes,
   raising levies on banks, introducing a new aviation duty to penalise frequent fliers and cracking down on tax avoidance.
4. Limited tax rises, they therefore pledged to keep the vast majority of taxes the same, including income tax, VAT, corporation tax and national insurance.

Question 7

Law and Order:

Answer 7

1. Manifesto: restore visible community policing, improve
   rehabilitation in prisons and to increase funding for the justice system to speed up the
   process and clear backlogs in cases.
2. Manifesto pledged to scrap the Conservatives’ Rwanda scheme and
   end some current restrictions on legal immigration, including by reversing the ban on foreign care workers bringing dependents to the UK and reversing the increase in income
   thresholds for family visas.

Question 8

Welfare: NHS

Answer 8

1. Lib Dems pledged in 2024 to introduce free personal care in England, where people needing help with daily tasks do not have to pay. This would move England, where it is
   currently means-tested, in line with Scotland. They also pledged 8,000 more GPs in England and to significantly increase the speed of cancer treatment.

Question 9

Welfare: Benefits

Answer 9

1. They pledged to remove both the two-child limit, which affects Universal Credit and
   Child Tax Credit, as well as the benefit cap – the limit on the total amount of benefit
   one household can claim. They also pledged to reduce the waiting time for the first UC payment from 5 weeks to 5 days. They also pledged to reform Carer’s Allowance and expand its eligibility.

Question 10

Housing and Education

Answer 10

1. The Lub Dems’ 2024 manifesto pledged to increase housebuilding to 380,000 per year across the UK, including 150,000 social homes. They also pledged to end no-fault evictions and end rough sleeping within the next
   Parliament.
2. They pledged to give disadvantaged pupils in education more support through
   guaranteeing tutoring for children from low-income families and increasing school and
   college funding for each pupil above inflation every year, after 14 years of real-term stagnation under the Tories.

Question 11

Foreign Policy:

Answer 11

1. The Lib Dems’ 2024 manifesto pledged to increase defence spending in every year of the
   Parliament, with an ambition to spend at least 2.5% of GDP on defence.
2. They also pledged to maintain Trident and reverse cuts to Army numbers.
3. Unlike in 2019, their 2024 manifesto didn’t pledge to rejoin the EU. Instead, it pledged to fix
   the relationship with Europe and create a comprehensive trade agreement with the EU. In 2025, Ed Davey urged Starmer to begin talks on a new UK-EU customs union to grow the economy.
4. spending on foreign aid to 0.7% of GDP,
5. “stand with the people of Ukraine and
   provide them with the support that they need in the face of Putin’s illegal invasion.”

Question 12

Constitutional Reform:

Answer 12

1. Give 16-year-olds the vote.
2. Introduce proportional representation (Single Transferable Vote) for UK elections.
3. Enshrine the Ministerial Code in legislation.
4. Make the House of Lords elected.
5. Introduce a written constitution for a federal United Kingdom.