Liberal Democrats are the only party that believes in radical political reform to reinvent the way our country is run and put power back where it belongs: into the hands of people. We want to see a fair and open political system, with power devolved to all the nations, communities and peoples of Britain.

As the expenses scandal showed, the political system is rotten. Hundreds of MPs have safe seats where they can ignore their constituents. Party funding rules mean big donors have huge influence. Power has been concentrated in Westminster and Whitehall by a succession of governments. And Britain’s hard-won civil liberties have been eaten away.

Liberal Democrats will do things differently because we believe power should be in the hands of people, not politicians. We will give people a real say in who governs the country by introducing fair votes. We will stop big donations and give people the power to sack corrupt MPs. We will increase the powers of the Scottish Parliament. And we will introduce a Freedom Bill to restore the civil liberties that are so precious to the British character.

fairer politics

Liberal Democrats will transform politics. We want people to be empowered, knowing the chance to change things in their neighbourhood or in the country as a whole is in their hands.

cleaner politics

There has been much talk of political reform from the other two parties, but nothing has happened. They have worked together to block reform, even voting against a proposal to give people the right to sack corrupt MPs. Dependent on money from the unions and big business, they have blocked changes to party funding. And determined to protect the secrecy of the House of Commons, they had to be pushed into revealing the details of MPs’ expenses in the first place. Only Liberal Democrats are able to break open this system and deliver real change.

We will:

Give you the right to sack MPs who have broken the rules. We would introduce a ‘recall’ system so that constituents could force a by-election for any MP found responsible for serious wrongdoing.

Get big money out of politics by capping donations at £10,000 and limiting spending throughout the electoral cycle.

Require all MPs, Lords and parliamentary candidates to be resident, ordinarily resident and domiciled in Britain for tax.

a federal Britain

Liberal Democrats have always led arguments for decentralisation of political power within a federal Britain. While we welcome the progress that has been made, the job is still far from finished.

Devolution of power to Scotland – and Wales – has brought benefits to public services and politics across the whole of the UK, but we can go further. We believe there is an appetite for more transfer of powers and responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament, increasing accountability and bringing power closer to the people of Scotland.

We are calling for a new, permanent Home Rule settlement, within a federal Britain, that will equip Scotland with the powers to build a fairer Scotland and a strong, sustainable economy. We want to see a radical transfer of fiscal and policy powers to the Scottish Parliament within a strong UK framework.

We will:

At the earliest opportunity, implement the recommendations of the Calman Commission to give significant new powers and responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament.

Bring forward a renewed and refreshed set of relations for the whole of the UK, introducing a proper federal system of shared governance and competence to manage relations between governments and ensure constructive partnership working.

restoring your freedoms

Liberal Democrats believe it is an individual’s right to live their life as they see fit, without discrimination, with personal privacy, with equal rights in front of the law.

Decades of Labour and Conservative rule have overthrown some of the basic principles of British justice and turned Britain into a surveillance state.

We will:

Scrap intrusive Identity Cards and have more police instead, and also scrap plans for expensive, unnecessary new passports with additional biometric data.

Scrap control orders, which can use secret evidence to place people under house arrest.

Reduce the maximum period of pre-charge detention to 14 days.