Alex Wilcock, of Love and Liberty, has instigated and curated a range of statements on what the Liberal Democrats stand for on the 25th anniversary of their formation. I've finally got round to writing my statement which I had aimed to keep to 150 words - which is an arbitrary figure I saw mentioned in one of the comments to one of Alex's posts!
Within such a stricture, of course, I was unable to include everything - including our commitment to a long list of constitutional reforms. Anyway, for what their worth, here are my 156 words:
Liberal Democrats exist to promote the freedom of the individual within a society in which all can achieve their potential.
Liberal Democrats have a fundamental belief in the equality of all regardless of income, wealth, status, gender or gender identity, disability, personal capacity or sexual preferences - and that this should be enshrined and supported in law.
Liberal Democrats believe the role of the State is to facilitate the ability of individuals to reach and exceed their potential and to provide an underpinning of support for those who fail to do so. They believe that spending to meet these aims is of benefit to all and that the burden of taxation should be progressive but not punitive.
Liberal Democrats are pragmatic, concerned with outcomes not methodology and resisting traditional dogmas of left and right in favour of evidence-based policy which demonstrably support our aims.
Liberal Democrats support these aims in the UK, in Europe and internationally.
You can read other contributions here and also the current Lib Dem statement of belief (the preamble to the constitution) here.
Andrew
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