Teather launches Lib Dem poster campaign in Brent

6.09.40pm GMT Tue 22nd Mar 2005

The Liberal Democrats offer a positive choice for the people of Brent

Local Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather today kicked off the Liberal Democrats national poster campaign in Brent. The Liberal Democrats also launched today ten positive proposals that will form the centrepiece of the General Election campaign.

The party proposes :

· abolition of hospital targets to put patients first

· scrapping tuition fees which discourage people from going to university

· reducing class sizes in early years

· recruiting 10,000 more police officers and giving them the tools to spend more time tackling crime and less time form-filling

· introducing free personal care for the elderly

· raising pensions by over £100 a month for all pensioners over 75, tackling the discrimination against women in our pension system

· taking climate change and the environment seriously, with a green focus to all policy areas

· scrapping council tax and replacing it with local income tax saving a typical family £450 per year

· no hidden tax rises, one income tax increase for the top one percent of earners

· a commitment never to go to war again in the way it was done for Iraq.

In contrast to the other parties, the Liberal Democrats are not merely listing what they oppose, but are publishing specific positive alternatives. Party leader Charles Kennedy also features prominently in the advertisement and poster. The Conservatives and Labour have shown a marked reluctance to use imagery of their own leaders.

Local Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather said:

"We are promoting positive policies for Brent and for Britain. It is different approach from that of the other parties. I am determined that we will fight a campaign which concentrates on real solutions to the real problems that people face in Brent everyday.

"A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a positive vote. We have shown that we can stick to our principles. We opposed the war in Iraq. There were no weapons of mass destruction. We were misled by Tony Blair and George Bush. We say never again.

"Our policies would make Brent better, fairer, safer. What they demonstrate is that the Liberal Democrats are the real alternative to Labour and the Conservatives. Increasingly, I believe it's an alternative that people really want."