The welcome return of tax-and-spend politics

JVL Introduction

Perspectives on the General Election (9)

We intend to provide a range of analyses in the lead up to the General Election.

Our readers will have all kinds of views on the Liberal Democrats, many unfavourable and unprintable.

But it would be churlish not to note that their electoral manifesto is well to the left of Labour’s on a wider range of crucial issues.

It proposes taxing the super-rich, frequent flyers and banks, and using the proceeds to pay for the NHS, schools and international development.

It remains radical in its constitutional outlook, committed as always to electoral reform and now supporting citizens’ assemblies as well.

It  promises to end “hostile environment” immigration policies, scrap the “unworkable” Rwanda scheme, lift the ban on asylum seekers working, and reach net zero by 2045.

The Guardian editorial, reposted below, ends with a call for one-nation Tories and Labour voters to “seriously consider casting their ballot for the Lib Dems” in seats where Labour cannot realistically win.

It hopes there will be a significant Lib Dem presence in the new parliament – where we can confidently predict a Labour government – to act “as a driver of change in British politics, influencing the agenda of the country”.

RK

PS: You might recall the Guardian’s appalling role in 2017 and 2019 when progressive policies were on offer from Labour, but let’s not go there for now!

This article was originally published by the Guardian on Mon 10 Jun 2024. Read the original here.