Lib Dem Manifesto for the North West launched

A message from Nick Clegg

Elections that can really make a difference don't come along very often. But this is one of them.

This May, you have an opportunity to shape the future of the North West for the better. We've had 65

years of Labour and the Conservatives: the same parties taking turns and making the same mistakes,

letting you down. Back in 1997, many people hoped things would get better, especially here, one of

Labour's heartlands. But Labour has let down the people of the North West and failed to deliver fairness.

And everyone knows the new, airbrushed Conservative party can't be trusted to change things.

It is time for something different. Something better.

Doesn't it make you angry that after 65 years of red-blue government, the life chances of a child born

here are still more determined by their parents' bank balance than by their own hopes and dreams?

Doesn't it make you angry that the banks have been allowed to ride roughshod over our economy, while

local businesses are starved of credit and farmers in Cumbria are driven into poverty? That politics is still

the plaything of wealthy donors and corrupt MPs? That despite endless warm words from politicians, our

climate is in danger? That the poorest are the ones who pay the biggest chunk of their income in tax?

I was brought up to believe that the way things are is not the way they have to be. I was brought up to

believe that you should fight for what you believe in, and fight for change. So my message for the people

of the North West in this election is simple.

Don't settle for low politics and broken promises: be more demanding. Don't settle for a Labour

government that will let you down again. Set your sights on the way you want your

neighbourhood, and your country, to be and use your vote to make it happen.

Only Liberal Democrats have the big ideas for changes that will finally deliver fairness for the North West.

Only Liberal Democrats will shake up the tax system to put at least £700 back in the pockets of tens of

millions of low and middle income families, paid for by ensuring the wealthy pay their fair share. Only

Liberal Democrats will break up the banks and get us building things again to create growth that lasts,

protecting our environment. Only Liberal Democrats will invest in our schools to give every child, no

matter their background, a fair start in life. And only Liberal Democrats will clean up politics for good.

A strong vote for the Liberal Democrats means the end of red-blue, blue-red politics. It means the end of

the stitch-up between the two old parties. It means opening up of our rotten political system. It means

the beginning of real change that works for you.

So don't hope for the best: vote for the best. Choose the Liberal Democrats.