TIM Farron has officially unveiled the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto for the General Election on June 8.
The document reveals that the Lib Dems plan to build 300,000 homes a year by 2022 as part of a £100bn package of additional infrastructure investment.
Tim Farron’s party also pledge to push for a second Brexit referendum before Britain leaves the EU.
But what does the Lib Dem manifesto mean for the Irish in Britain? Here are some of the key pledges…
Maintaining the Common Travel Area
The Lib Dems say they will “maintain the Common Travel Area and freedom of movement.” The Tories have also pledged to maintain the Common Travel Area between Ireland and Britain.
Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour manifesto, for comparison, makes no mention of the Common Travel Area.
The Lib Dem manifesto adds that they will “protect the rights of Northern Ireland citizens living and working in the EU, and EU citizens living and working in Northern Ireland.”
An equal NHS
The Lib Dems say they will increase spending on the NHS using proceeds of a 1p rise in Income Tax across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The party says that revenue from the tax increase will be ‘ringfenced’ for spending on NHS and social care services in England, with the ‘appropriate share’ also being transferred to Wales and Northern Ireland
Reconciliation in Northern Ireland
The Lib Dems say they will “protect the funding of programmes supporting peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.”
The party have pledged to “work constructively with the political parties in Northern Ireland and with the Irish government to secure the political stability of the Northern Ireland Assembly and other institutions of the Belfast agreement and the implementation of all the recommendations of the report on disbanding paramilitary groups.”
More devolution
The Lib Dems say they would support an ‘English-only’ stage in legislation so English MPs can have a separate say on laws that affect only England.
In regions of the UK where there is a “greater appetite for powers” – such as Northern Ireland – the Lib Dems will introduce ‘devolution on demand’.
The Lib Dems say that ‘Devolution on Demand’ will “enable even greater devolution of powers from Westminster to councils or groups of councils working together.”
