Rutland & Melton Liberal Democrats

Over 20 million working people will be better off next year after Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government delivered the biggest ever increase in the income tax personal allowance in the Budget.

The massive £3.5bn tax cut for working people delivers:

• The biggest ever single uplift in the tax threshold
• A personal allowance of £9,205 in April 2013
• 21 million working people getting an extra £220 tax cut
• Brings the total tax cut for basic rate tax payers to £550
• Brings the total number of people lifted out of tax to 2 million.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg used his speech to the Party's Spring conference in NewcastleGateshead to call for the forthcoming budget to be a "budget for fairness" and pledged that it would help working familes.

The Deputy Prime Minister pledged that by 2015 Britain would have seen an end to control orders, the first gay marriages and the first elections to the House of Lords.

Fairer taxes, promoting green jobs, protecting your civil liberties - these are just some of the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in government.

We're building a freer, greener and more liberal country - and stopping some of the worst excesses of the Conservatives. Find out more in this infographic.

In his keynote speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference, Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has outlined his goals for the Government and the country over the coming years. He reiterated his commitment to liberal values on the environment and human rights and his determination to ensure a fair chance for every child, saying "every child can do good things, great things, if only we give them the opportunities they deserve."

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/2311

The E-Petition for a new National Defence Medal is gaining support and now has the largest number of signatories of any of the petitions that feature in the Ministry of Defence section. If you have not signed it already, please consider doing so. The Liberal Democrats adopted it as party policy at their Autumn conference in 2010. You can find the link to the petition above. Please support those vetearns who have served their country since the Second World War in their campaign for a new National Defence Medal.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-14194581

Local Rutland and Melton Liberal Democrats have welcomed the announcement by Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, that RAF Cottesmore will be the base of one of the new Army Multi-Role Brigades (MRB). Les Moverley, the Chair of Rutland and Melton Liberal Democrats and a former Army officer, said, "This is a very important and welcome announcement as it continues the long tradition of Rutland's involvement with the armed forces with both Cottesmore and North Luffenham being key bases for the new multi-role brigade. It is vital for the local economy of Rutland too."

Today, Wednesday 15 December 2010, will be the last flight of the Harrier in service with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. A formation of Harriers is due to fly from RAF Cottesmore for the last time and represents the end of an era for this iconic British-designed aircraft. Many former service chiefs,politicians, retired and serving personel have questioned the decision to retain the less capable and more expensive Tornado over the versatile and battle proven Harrier.

In a letter in today's edition of the Times, five retired senior officers from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines have questioned the logic behind the Government's decision to scrap the Harrier force and retain the more expensive and less capable Tornado fleet. Two of the officers, Alan West and Julian Thompson were commanding officers in the 1982 Falklands Conflict and have highlighted the threat to the Falklands and other dependent territories posed by the withdrawal of the Harrier.

The Prime Minister yesterday announced the results of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, which included a decision to withdraw the Harrier force early. This decision leaves RAF Cottesmore and RAF Wittering, where the Harriers are based, with a very uncertain future, although the Prime Minister indicated that the withdrawal of British Army units from Germany may lead to some RAF bases reconfiguring to accommodate these returning units.

The Rutland and Melton Liberal Democrats welcomed the news that Dr Cable is to chair a tough new cabinet committee aimed at greatly reducing the vast array of red tape holding back business.

The committee met for the first time today whilst Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, launched the "Our Freedom" campaign, aiming to move the balance of power away from the state