GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 07: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Image was created using a iPhone and processed using digital filters) Liberal Democrats merchandise for sale at the party's autumn conference on October 7, 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland. Liberal Democrat activists and supporters are gathering in the city for their final conference before the general election. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
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Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has made education a focus of his party’s election manifesto, promising at extra £2.5bn a year by 2020.

Highlights of the 157-page document include:

Economy and taxation

• Eradicate the structural current budget deficit by 2017/18 and have debt falling as a percentage of national income

• Raise the income tax threshold to £12,500 during the next parliament, bringing forward a planned increase to £11,000 to April 2016.

• Raise the national insurance threshold to the income tax threshold.

• Restrict access to non-dom status, increasing the associated charges and removing the ability to pass it on to children.

• Introduce an unspecified time-limited supplementary corporation tax charge on the banking sector.

• A graduated mansion tax on properties worth more than £2m

• Expand the British Business Bank and promote a new community banking sector

• No increase in headline rates of income tax, VAT or corporation tax

• Give higher status to the tourism sector by strengthening the Hospitality and Tourism Council

• Create a dedicated unit in HM Revenue & Customs for medium-sized businesses

• Extra funding will finance a qualified teacher in every classroom, help schools offer more one-to-one and small group tuition and expand early years education as pupil numbers grow

• Establish an independent Educational Standards Authority

In depth

UK general election

The UK’s main political parties are facing the prospect of a close and unpredictable national poll on May 7 as they struggle to address the march of the populists

Further reading

Benefits

• Write into law the “triple lock”, whereby the state pension increases each year by whichever is higher — wage growth, inflation or 2.5 per cent

• Introduce a 1 per cent cap on the annual rise in working-age benefits until the budget is balanced in 2017/18

• Extend 15 hours of free childcare to parents of all two-year olds, give 20 hours of free childcare a week to all parents of children aged two to four, and extend paternity leave to a month

• Offer discounted bus passes to 16-21 year olds.

Health

• An additional £8bn a year for the National Health Service in England by 2020 and more money for the rest of the UK

• Invest £500m in mental healthcare

Environment

• Set a legally binding decarbonisation target to reduce energy demand by 50 per cent by 2030

Seat moves

How the House of Commons’ composition could change

What would happen if the UK general election were held tomorrow?

Explore graphic

Housing

• Introduce a scheme whereby monthly rent payments go towards tenants buying a stake in their properties

• Introduce a scheme to help young people rent their first home

• Increase housebuilding to 300,000 homes a year

Transport

• Cap rail fare rises to the rate of inflation over the time of the parliament

• Devolve more economic decision-making

• Proceed with the High Speed 2 rail link as the first stage of a high-speed network to Scotland

Miscellaneous

• Extend Freedom of Information laws to cover private companies delivering public services

• Introduce a digital bill of rights

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