Fantasy Queen's Speech 2

Oh, dear, how could I forget the Lib Dems. Here's my look at Chatshow Charlie's entry.

Scrap student top-up fees and tuition fees.
And increase other taxes to subsidise students

Scrap the unfair Council Tax.
And replace it with an equally unfair Local Income Tax.

Introduce a Citizen's Pension uprated in line with average earnings to reverse the mass means-testing of pensioners.
While I think Britain can afford a living pension for everyone, it's still a vague uncosted proposal.

Introduce free personal care for the elderly.
As is this.


Modernise the police force, reduce reoffending rates, and introduce new systems of justice for the victims of crime.
Looking at the Lib Dem site, I find that this means 10,000 extra police (5,000 more than Howard proposes) paid for by not doing the ID card scheme (1), The establishment of a National Border Force and setting up Community Justice Panels of "local people" to give criminals a way of "paying back the harm they have done to their community."
Sounds like a load of waffle to me.

Ensure that the Environment is put at the heart of public policy-making.
Again looking to see what that is, it's that every bill is "environmentally audited". Every Bill? really?

As is usual with the Lib Dems it's mainly flashy uncosted nonsense, what's wrong with HM Customs and Excise staying the same, instead of being folded up into a Border Force, the name change won't make it better.

(1) Note to Lib Dems, you can't pay for something by not doing something else if that something else isn't something we're paying for at the moment. I can't buy an Aston-Martin out of the money I've saved by not buying a Ferrari if I didn't have the money for a Ferrari anyway.