Lib Dems pledge £8bn NHS and care package in manifesto
The Liberal Democrats have pledged an £8bn package for health and care services for England in their election manifesto.
At the launch, leader Sir Ed Davey spoke about the importance of carers, citing his own experience of being a carer for his disabled son and for his mother.
The party said its plans for government would be funded by reversing tax cuts for banks and closing tax loopholes exploited by the wealthiest individuals.
The party's plans if it wins power include giving everyone the right to see a GP within seven days, as well as free personal care for older or disabled people at home.
Health is devolved so the pledges only cover England, with additional funding for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland coming on top of the £8.35bn.
Speaking at the launch of the 116 page document, Sir Ed said: "Caring has been in the shadows for far too long."
He added: "The truth is unless we properly value care, unless we properly support carers, we will never be able to fix the crisis in our NHS or get our economy back on track.
"And that's why I'm so proud the Liberal Democrats have put health and care at the heart of our campaign in this general election, and at the heart of our manifesto too."
He added the party would not raise income tax, national insurance or VAT, saying that during a cost of living crisis it would be “absolutely the wrong thing to do to increase taxes on struggling families".
Instead the party says £5bn would be raised by closing a Capital Gains Tax loophole and making the richest 0.1% pay more, and £4.25bn by increasing levies on banks.
They also have outlined plans for a new aviation tax to penalise frequent fliers more heavily, looking to raise £3.6bn, and a super tax on private jet flights, which could net £380m.
Like Labour and the Tories, the Lib Dems have promised a tax avoidance crackdown - but claim investing £1bn in HMRC will allow them to raise more money, valued at £7.2bn.
The Lib Dems are standing in every seat in England, Wales and Scotland, and hope to improve on their 2019 election result, which saw 11 MPs elected.
The party targeting areas where they came second to the Conservatives in 2019, especially the so-called "blue wall" areas of southern England that were once Tory strongholds.
Asked what serious impact Liberal Democrats can have on Westminster after the election, Sir Ed said: "Politicians should not take themselves too seriously, but we should take the interests of the British people seriously," adding he believed the manifesto delivers that.
"My experience in parliament is if you get lots of Liberal Democrat MPs you can make a huge difference," he said.
Sir Ed, who as a teenager cared for his mother before she died of cancer, said his manifesto is the first in the party's history to include a dedicated chapter on care.
He said: "Like so many people my caring story started young, I was nine when my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer, my dad had died when I was four, taken from us just a few months after being diagnosed with a cancer called Hodgkin Lymphoma."
He added: "I never called myself a young carer, I never thought of myself that way, I was just looking after my mum, because she needed it and I loved her."
The party plans to spend an extra £3.7bn a year on social care with three main pledges:
Ensuring care workers are paid at least £2 above the minimum wage to help tackle vacancies
A £20 per week increase to Carer's Allowance, which supports people looking after someone with an illness or disability for at least 35 hours a week
Raising how much carers can earn in addition to caring duties to £183 a week and still receive Carer's Allowance, expected to cost an extra £1.4bn a year
The Lib Dems have also promised to invest in hospital buildings and public health.
To boost cancer survival rates, it would guarantee all patients can start treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral.
The party said it would guarantee access to an NHS dentist for everyone needing urgent and emergency care.
Other policies in the manifesto will include:
Plans to overhaul the water industry and tackle sewage pollution
A dedicated mental health professional in every primary and secondary school
A guarantee that all domestic burglaries would be attended by police and properly investigated.
