Kennedy Launches Manifesto for Families at the Hampshire Rose Bowl (Eastleigh Liberal Democrats)

Eastleigh Liberal Democrats <enquiries@eastleighlibdems.org.uk>

Kennedy Launches Manifesto for Families at the Hampshire Rose Bowl

April 6, 2005 1:58 PM

Cover of the Liberal Democrat General Election 2005 Manifesto for the Family (Families) Hampshire MEP and Eastleigh parliamentary candidate Chris Huhne said that Eastleigh had been the ideal place for Charles Kennedy to launch the Liberal Democrats' manifesto for families as the constituency has one of the highest proportions of children in the country.

"Families are the heart of Eastleigh, and these proposals would be a real support for every parent who wants to see the best for their child" said Mr Huhne. "We want to concentrate help when the first child in born, as this is when young families incur the highest costs, as I can remember. For later children, bottles, sterilisation equipment, bouncing chairs and so on can be re-used".

The top Lib Dem priorities for families are a maternity income guarantee that will give women £170 a week for six months after the birth of their first child, reduced class sizes for 5-7 year olds, more Children's Centres and the extension of pre and after school care to all schools.

"We will make housing more affordable for young families by ending stamp duty for homes of less than £150,000, boosting rented and shared ownership schemes, and abolishing council tax in favour of local income tax related to ability to pay. This is particularly important in Eastleigh which faces a sharp hike in council tax because of revaluation".

Mr Huhne said that many young women had raised with him the unfairness of the present maternity pay of 90 per cent of salary for six weeks and then £102 for another 20 weeks. "A woman who is working part time may not even get the basic £102, and this is a desperate start to life with a new baby. So we will offer a choice of the new guarantee or the old scheme".