Good morning.
Today we are launching our mini-manifesto for women.
These mini-manifestos are intended as quick guides to aspects of our final manifesto for the General Election - which is our vision for would do in the next Parliament, if we were elected to Government.
These mini-guides aren't exhaustive.
They are aspects of the manifesto which provide a handy digest on areas of specific interest.
Some are policy dominated like health - but others will cover broader areas like our manifesto for families or the environment.
The mini-manifesto for women begs a couple of obvious questions. Since women comprise over 50% of the population, all policies have an impact on women.
On that basis, I want to stress that this is not an exercise in tokenism.
Instead we are responding to evidence which suggests that many women feel alienated from the political discourse as it is currently conducted and would like the dialogue framed with their specific concerns more squarely to the forefront.
Secondly, that there are areas of public policy which do actually disadvantage women and they require an answer about how these are being addressed.
Perhaps the most glaring of these is pensions.
One of our biggest and most expensive priorities in the General Election manifesto is our pension policy.
On average women get £40 per week less than men on retirement.
Two million pensioners in Britain currently live below the Government's own poverty line- 2/3rds of whom are women.
Pensions are currently calculated on the basis of how many years you have worked.
Years spent caring for children are currently ignored when women reach pensionable age.
A woman may therefore be dependent on what her husband earned or contributed, over which she had no control.
We don't pretend that we can solve this overnight.
But do we propose a Citizen's Pension for the over 75s based on residency not on contributions.
We would end means testing and put £100 a month more on the basic state pension.
It's an acknowledgement of the injustice and it's an important start
A Liberal Democrat government would work actively to find a solution for younger female pensioners in years to come.
At the other end of the life spectrum, we have looked at maternity pay.
A first baby is a big financial as well as emotional commitment.
We find it extraordinary that the present system pays working women 90% of their salary for the first 6 weeks and then just £102 thereafter.
If you are part-time or on a very low income that means that in those very needy few weeks just after the baby is born, you may actually get less than £102.
Our Maternity Income Guarantee says that for a first baby, working women on low incomes would get a fixed sum which is calculated on 35 hours at the minimum wage - £170 a week - for the whole 6 months.
Women will be able to choose.
If you would be better off under the old system then that will still be available.
But the Maternity Income Guarantee means that all women will get at least £4,420 for 26 weeks.
This isn't a hugely expensive policy. It would cost £145m a year. But it would make an enormous difference to the start in life for some of our poorest children and their mothers.
A proper aim in a Liberal democracy.
Our other central commitment to women in a first parliament would be our policy of free personal care for the elderly.
This is a double benefit.
Returning to the point that women can live longer than men, this eliminates that nagging uncertainty about what happens to you and who will look after you if you suffer from dementia.
It also benefits carers- who are mostly though not always women.
It assures dignity in old age and relief for younger carers.
And it is affordable.
We would pay for it by raising the top tax rate to a 50% marginal rate on income over £100,000 which would affect just 1% of our wealthiest taxpayers.
These three policies show how the Liberal Democrats are considering the needs of women.
But, before bringing in my colleagues, I just want to point up how some other aspects of our manifesto benefit women.
Crime and worries about safety on our streets come at the top of women's concerns too.
At the root of our policies is to put 10,000 police officers on the streets and to keep them there longer by cutting down on unnecessary paperwork at the station.
We would strengthen the anti-social behaviour measures so that they not only punish but also tackle the causes of bad behaviour as well.
In the last 10 years there has also been a 173% rise in the number of women in prison. Very few women fall into the category of violent and dangerous offenders and the possible impact of imprisonment on their children is immense.
I agree with Cherie Blair on this. Prison should be a last resort for women, not the first port of call.
Prison must be made to work for society as a whole.
Our emphasis on tough liberalism to tackle crime means that we also need to tackle re-offending rates which are running at 60%.
Over half of prisoners have reading, writing and numeracy skills of an 11 year old.
We would get them out of their cells and into the classroom.
We have a wide range of health and education policies, in particular our emphasis on cutting down on diagnostic waiting times and smaller class sizes.
I was also recently struck by a conversation with the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine about the disproportionate impact that tuition fees and huge amounts of debt are having on young women.
Women earn 15% less than men on graduating.
They are more likely to take career breaks to start a family or care for an elderly relative.
They worry about how long it will take them or their children to pay back mortgage style debts.
They question whether they will be able to get on the housing ladder or have to delay starting a family of their own.
It makes a university education a quite daunting prospect for women.
I consider that to be unfair.
We would scrap all tuition and top up fees.
Finally, women say that they are angry about the way politics is conducted in this country.
Well, if that's the case, it's time they took the lead in changing it.
As the leader of the Liberal Democrats I have fought for all of my political life to do things differently.
If women really wanted to engage in the political process, there's no question that that engagement would be decisive.
At this General Election 40% of our target seats based on the 2001 results will be fought by women candidates.
And of our top five winnable seats, two are being contested by women under 35 years old;
Justine McGuinness is standing against Oliver Letwin in Dorset West; and Jenny Willott, here with us today, is standing in Cardiff Central.
I want them to join us in parliament after the next election and together let's refashion the political debate in this country.
That way we can make it more straightforward and more broadly based.
Thanks you.
ENDS.
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