Prepare for a giant post.
I've gone through all 3 main party manifestos (I must be warped).
Lib Dems's is far and away the best - FULL of detail and policy, easy to read, and is fully costed at the end.
Labour's is appalling - boring, full of waffle, mostly "we'll improve this" or "look at that". If nature abhors a vacuum, then this manifesto is about to turn into a singularity. It's ugly too.
Conservatives's is the longest, has more to say than Labour's, but is mostly based around "we're screwed - so we're going to get the public to run everything for free" (aka "Big Society" - well you wouldn't want a small one). It's also has some VERY Orwellian graphics, quite disturbing.
Ultimately I think this is why Clegg was able to trounce Cameron and Brown at the first debate - he actually has proper policy initiatives to back him up, the others have mostly rhetoric.
There ARE some policy statements in there though, so how do they stack up?
I've listed what I think are the key points - I've ignored anything which is "same as it is now", or where they all agree.
(You're going to see a pattern here - bugger all from Labour since they're mostly "more of the same", more from Conservatives, tons from Lib Dems - it's not my fault, it's what the manifestos are like!).
Economy
(The UK is now skint - we're nearly a trillion in debt, compared to £350b in 1997. We spend more now per year on debt interest (£42b) than on education (£41b)).
Labour
• "Tough choices on tax."
• A bonus tax.
• Reduced tax relief on pensions.
• 50p tax rate on earnings over £150,000.
• 1p on National Insurance Contributions (which is what the Conservatives keep hitting them with).
Conservatives
• Cancel the Labour 1p NI rise.
• Stop paying tax credits to better-off families with incomes over £50,000.
• Freeze council tax for two years.
Lib Dems
• Cancel the Labour 1p NI rise.
• Break up the banks, to reduce future risk to the taxpayer.
• Increase the income tax threshold to £10,000 (giving low & middle income families an extra £750, costed by a "mansion tax" plus others).
• Bring forward urgent proposals for a financial transaction tax (the "Robin Hood" tax).
• Scrap compulsory retirement ages.
• Set the minimum wage at the same level for all workers over 16.
• Separate Post Office Ltd from the Royal Mail and retain Post Office Ltd in full public ownership.
• Stop MEPs having to travel to the Strasbourg Parliament every month, wasting €200 million a year.
Immigration
They all have some type of points system.
Lib Dems
• Immediately reintroduce exit checks at all ports and airports.
• Secure Britain’s borders by giving a National Border Force police powers.
• Prioritise deportation efforts on criminals - let law-abiding families earn citizenship.
• Scrap plans for new biometric passports.
Education
Conservatives
• "Big Society".
• Establish a free online database of exam papers and marking schemes.
Lib Dems
• Reduce class sizes.
• Scrap university tuition fees for all students taking their first degree.
• Immediately scrap fees for final year students.
• Axe the rigid National Curriculum.
Transport
Conservatives
• Stop the third Heathrow runway.
Lib Dems
• Cancel plans for a third runway at Heathrow.
• Open closed rail lines and add extra tracks.
• Cut rail fares.
• Make Network Rail refund a third of your ticket price if you have to take a rail replacement bus service.
• Require airlines to be honest and upfront about pricing.
Crime
Conservatives
• "We are determined that early release will not be introduced again, so we will redevelop the prison estate and increase capacity as necessary to stop it."
• "When offenders leave prison, they will be trained and rehabilitated by private and voluntary sector providers."
Lib Dems
• Introduce a presumption against short-term sentences of less than six months.
• Cancel Labour’s billion-pound prison building programme.
• Pay for 3,000 more police on the beat, funded by scrapping ID cards.
• Reform CRB checks to only one record that is portable, rather than multiple checks for each activity.
• Make prisoners work and contribute from their prison wages to a compensation fund for victims.
• Make hospitals share non-confidential information with the police so they know where gun and knife crime is happening.
• Give people a direct say in how petty criminals and those who engage in anti-social behaviour are punished by setting up Neighbourhood Justice Panels (NJPs).
• Prosecute and convict terrorists by allowing intercept evidence in court.
Defence
They will all have some sort of "Strategic Defence Review".
Labour
• Renew Trident.
Conservatives
• Renew Trident
• Double the operational allowance (what the forces are paid per day when out on Ops - currently £13?).
Lib Dems
• Scrap the Trident replacement (saving £100b), and hold a full defence review to establish the best alternative.
• Give a pay rise to the lower ranks to match the starting salary of their emergency services counterparts.
Europe
Conservatives
• Referenda for hand-over of powers to the EU.
• "A Conservative government would never take the UK into the Euro."
• "A liberal Conservative foreign policy."
Lib Dems
• Referenda for fundamental EU change.
• Referendum on joining Euro ("Wrong to join at the moment.").
• End ‘gold-plating’ of EU rules.
• "European co-operation is the best way for Britain to be strong, safe and influential in the future."
Civil Rights
Conservatives
• Replace Human Rights Act with a UK Bill of Rights.
• Repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote.
• Launch an annual "Big Society Day".
• Create a new right to government data, to request datasets in an open and standardised format.
Lib Dems
• End plans to store your email and internet records (Labour's National Intercept Database).
• Review the rushed-through Digital Economy Bill.
• Restore the right to protest by reforming the Public Order Act.
• Reform of the English and Welsh libel laws.
Government Reform
Labour
• Referendum on Alternative Vote for elections to the House of Commons.
• Referendum on a democratic and accountable Second Chamber.
• Free vote in Parliament on reducing the voting age to 16.
• Legislation to ensure Parliaments sit for a fixed term .
Conservatives
• "We will work to build a consensus for a mainly-elected second chamber to replace the current House of Lords."
• "We will not stand in the way of referendum on further legislative powers requested by the Welsh Assembly."
Lib Dems
• Proportional voting system for MPs.
• Replace the House of Lords with a fully-elected second chamber.
• Give the right to vote from age 16.
• Introduce fixed-term parliaments.
• Get big money out of politics by capping donations at £10,000.
• Give the Wales National Assembly primary legislative powers so that it becomes a true Welsh Parliament.
Housing
Lots about "green belts", "regeneration", "energy efficiency" and the like.
Lib Dems
• Scrap burdensome Home Information Packs.
• Stop major new housing developments in major flood risk areas.
Energy
Conservatives
• Clear the way for new nuclear power stations – provided they receive no public subsidy.
Lib Dems
• Reject a new generation of nuclear power stations, in favour of energy conservation and renewable energy.
Consumer Rights
Conservatives
• Introduce a seven-day cooling off period for store cards.
Lib Dems
• Stop private sector wheel-clamping.
• End unfair bank and financial transaction charges, so you cannot be charged more than the costs incurred.
