Tim Farron came out on top of tonight's debate showing that he is the voice for those people who want a brighter future than Theresa May's cold, mean-spirited vision for Britain.
He will stand up for the people of Britain on Brexit, the NHS and schools.
Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Campaign Spokesperson, said: "Tim Farron is a leader with principles and passion."
As the Lib Dem Climate Change Secretary, I think it’s an utter disgrace that Trump is preparing to withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement. He clearly has utter contempt for science and the planet.
Theresa May called this election, but now won't even turn up to debate the issues. I think her illusiveness, just like her policies, demonstrates her utter lack of regard for the British people.
The figures, which have been broken down by constituency and local authority, show 260 children living in poverty are set to lose out in Theresa May's constituency of Maidenhead.
He also warned that Theresa May's plans to leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice would mean Britain will leave the Open Skies agreement which governs flights between the UK and Europe.
The Liberal Democrats have compiled the list of the biggest blunders of the Battle for Number 10 and the questions that May and Corbyn have failed to answer.
Increasingly people are saying that the Liberal Democrats are now the only genuinely pro-business party. Over fifty business leaders recently signed a letter to The Times endorsing the Lib Dems1 and the party has published a manifesto specifically aimed at entrepreneurs (you can read that here).
And one business sector more than any other is turning to the Liberal Democrats - the Tech community - reflecting a passionate commitment to free trade, freedom of movement and an open, inclusive and tolerant society.
A growing number of tech business leaders have now publicly declared their support for the Lib Dems by signing the letter below.
Please read it and, if you agree, add your name below:
The Tories seem to think – if we ignore any difficult question – we don’t have to tell the public the truth. If they cannot tell us even the most basic things why should we trust them at all.
Theresa May seems to be hiding their real agenda from the public.
The Tories cannot tell us anything about their plans and they are doing it on purpose. They hope to secure a colossal majority and then to take the country for a ride. We cannot let this happen – our schools, hospitals and social care are at risk
After the debacle on the Dementia Tax, the only policy they gave us detail on, it is no wonder they are trying to hide things from us. They need to come clean and tell us the truth.
These are the fifteen questions that the Conservatives must answer
It comes after Amber Rudd said the Conservatives did not know what a future cap on social care costs would be, while refusing to rule out that it could be as high as £200,000 or £300,000.
The Schengen Information System (SIS II) is an EU-wide database on organised criminal and terrorist suspects across 28 countries, including 35,000 people wanted under a European Arrest Warrant. It includes alerts on suspected ‘foreign fighters’ - people who have travelled to Syria and elsewhere to fight for ISIS.
Today, we have challenged Theresa May to answer ten pressing questions on the Dementia Tax and to come clean and give the voters the facts before the election takes place.
It is simply not good enough to dodge difficult questions and proper scrutiny during the campaign over an issue that will have such a huge impact over people's lives.
Under Theresa May’s proposals, many would end up paying far more for their care.
Families deserve to know now what the Dementia Tax will mean for their homes, finances and relatives.
We have set out a clear set of questions Theresa May must answer in order to come clean to the British public and address their concerns.
The Liberal Democrats will keep campaigning to scrap the Dementia Tax and ensure no-one has to worry about catastrophic costs to pay for their care.
A new survey for The Independent has found the majority of the public is now in favour of banning the most-polluting vehicles from city centres.
An announcement by the Labour Party that it would invest £45bn in the NHS and social care over five years as well as protect pensions could be rendered meaningless by Brexit, Liberal Democrats have said.
Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has launched a national movement calling on people, irrespective of their party affiliation, to stop the Conservatives’ planned Dementia Tax.
The Liberal Democrats have withdrawn their Party Election Broadcast that was due to air on BBC One in England this evening. The party is replacing it with a heartfelt, personal and non-political message from leader Tim Farron following the heinous attack in Manchester on Monday.
Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has announced that the party has suspended all national campaigning until further notice. Tim was due to fly to Gibraltar today as part of the general election campaign but has cancelled the trip.
The Liberal Democrats recently distributed a letter signed by Dr Clare Gerada setting out her view on the challenges facing the NHS.
Clare absolutely stands by those comments however the letter did contain incorrect details regarding Clare’s time at the Royal College of General Practitioners. We thank Clare for publicising her concerns about our NHS and apologise for the drafting error. Here is the correct version of Clare's letter:
With the announcement of the Conservative manifesto today, Theresa May has shown her true colours. I’ve scarcely seen a colder, more mean-spirited agenda in my entire career.
A couple of weeks ago, in Kidlington near Oxford, I met a guy called Malcolm. I say met…he came up to me in the street and started shouting at me.
You might have seen it on the news. Or the internet.
The Liberal Democrats will launch their manifesto for a brighter future on Wednesday. Change Britain’s Future is a plan for a fairer Britain where people are decent to each other, with good schools and hospitals, a clean environment and an innovative economy.
This week Labour pledged an additional £37 billion of NHS funding, which sounds to me, as Shadow Health Secretary, like poorly-thought-out, pie in the sky policy.
You can’t solve the crisis in our NHS and social care services by simply imposing more top-down targets on staff and plucking numbers out of thin air.
As part of the coalition, the Lib Dems managed to secure 0.7% of Britain’s gross national income for international development. It was one of our final acts in government, and it’s one we’re most proud of.
Since then, 0.7% has been a legal requirement, which has prevented the Conservatives and UKIP from stopping these vital funds getting to the world’s most vulnerable people.
Now, in the face of yet more callous opposition from the government, who are attempting to reduce the funding – the Lib Dems are making a stand.
The Conservative government has given developers a carte blanche to play the property market at the expense of our citizens. And now the country’s in crisis.
Not enough homes. Properties sitting empty. Exorbitant prices. The market is closed and exclusive: a fat cats’ game. That’s not good for people and it’s not good for business.
Today the Lib Dems are laying down the law to developers: unless you build the homes that Britain needs, we will.
As part of the coalition, I was proud to introduce the original Shared Parental Leave programme.
The Lib Dems campaigned hard for this transformational policy, that allows parents – instead of the Government – to choose how they share their childcare.
The Liberal Democrats plan to break the grip of criminal gangs and protect young people by introducing a legal, regulated market for cannabis.
The Liberal Democrats will introduce an additional month of paid parental leave especially for fathers to encourage greater sharing of parental responsibilities.
Excellent healthcare is at the heart of our vision for Britain. As a leading liberal democracy, our public services should – and can be – the envy of the world. The Lib Dems are committed to making this vision a reality.
I passionately believe that the British people are open, tolerant and progressive. That’s what I love about us. But lately I’ve felt the country slide into a Britain I don’t recognise – a Britain that’s closed, insular and suspicious.
The Conservatives are largely to blame.
The leaked version of the Labour manifesto has confirmed Jeremy Corbyn's Labour won’t give the people the final say on the Brexit deal.
The Liberal Democrats have announced they will invest nearly £7bn more in schools and colleges over the next parliament.
Today, we at the Lib Dems are proud to announce our plan to introduce mandatory reporting on the ethnicity pay gap for organisations with 250 employees or more.
The Liberal Democrats have announced a new General Election Campaign Team, with former ministers including Jo Swinson, Vince Cable and Ed Davey all returning to the Lib Dem frontbench.
Today, we've announced our first election manifesto commitment; we will invest an extra £6bn a year in our NHS & Social Care system.
This new funding will be paid for through an immediate 1p rise on all rates of income tax.
This funding will be ring-fenced to be spent only on the NHS and social care and will provide vital services with the money they desperately need until a longer-term solution can be found.
This is our flagship spending commitment and our first major policy announcement for the election.
Our manifesto will also set out a ‘five-point recovery plan’ for NHS and social care services.
As he made the announcement, Liberal Democrat Leader, Tim Farron, said:
"Theresa May doesn't care about the NHS or social care. People are lying on trolleys in hospital corridors and she has done nothing. The truth is you can't have a strong NHS with a Hard Brexit."
"The Liberal Democrats will rescue the NHS and social care. We are prepared to be honest with people and say that we will all need to chip in a little more."
"It is not too late to change Britain's future. The Conservatives want absolute power, Labour are too weak to stand up to them, so we will. The Liberal Democrats will be the strong opposition Britain needs."
Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Norman Lamb, added:
“The NHS was once the envy of the world and this pledge is the first step in restoring it to where it should be."
“A penny on the pound to save the NHS is money well spent in our view."
“Simply providing more money on its own is not enough and that’s why this is just the first step in our plan to protect health and care services long-term."
“We also need to do much more to keep people fit and healthy and out of hospital, and that is why this new funding will be targeted to those areas that have the greatest impact on patient care such as social care, general practice, mental health and public health."
In today's Local and Mayoral elections we have made good progress - gaining on vote share and topping the polls in lots of seats that we can gain in June. However, I know it doesn't feel that way for those brilliant campaigners who haven't got the result they deserve.
As we're looking at the results coming in, there are two clear stories emerging:
Liberal Democrats are on course to make scores of gains at the general election and establish themselves as the real opposition to the Conservatives, based on the local election results in so far.
Today The Times has reported that within two years, more than five million people could be waiting for NHS treatment. The paper obtained this information from confidential documents.
The Liberal Democrats have hit their highest ever number of members, eclipsing the high watermark of 101,768 set in 1994.
The landmark comes as Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron heads to Oxford to rally activists for the party’s final push of the local election campaign.
My argument today is simple: our country cannot thrive without a strong economy.
And a strong economy is incompatible with a hard Brexit.
The pound has been falling since the prospect of the referendum was announced in mid-2015, and with average earnings growth set to stall later this year, consumers are inevitably going to feel the Brexit squeeze.
When prices go up and wages do not, millions of people are going to be poorer.
A lot poorer.
The average household is likely to be £500 worse off in 2017 compared to 2016 – and that’s before the Brexit negotiations have even started in earnest.
