Between now and the Budget, Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats in Government will be arguing for faster tax cuts for hard-working families, promoting work and growth, and rewarding innovation, paid for by increasing the amount paid by the richest.

And the Liberal Democrats in Coalition are already making the difference:

• More than 800,000 working people no longer paying income tax
• 23 million working people have been given a £200 tax cut
• In April this year every worker will be given a further income tax cut of £130
• And by the local elections in May this year, 1.1 million of the lowest paid workers, will no longer be burdened by income tax

Imagine a mum who works 3 days a week as a teaching assistant – earning £10,000 a year or just over £190 a week. Under Labour she paid more than £1,000 in income tax and national insurance. Although she wanted to work more days a week she knew it was not financially worth it. Under Labour; once tax, tax credits and housing benefit has been deducted, for every extra pound she earned she was able to keep just 10.5p.
Under our plan she would see her income tax bill cut to zero making her £700 a year better off.

The Liberal Democrats are committed to delivering a fairer economy, turning our tax promise into cash in your pocket. It was on the front page of our manifesto and is being implemented because of Liberal Democrats in Government.

As part of this Coalition, Liberal Democrats are calling time on our unfair and out-of-whack tax system.

• We’ve clamped down on tax avoiders – targeting an extra £7bn every year
• We’re taxing the banks by an extra £2.5bn every year
• We’ve stopped inheritance tax cuts for millionaires
• We’ve put up Capital Gains Tax
• We’re ending the scandal, under Labour, of a hedge-fund manager paying less tax on their shares than their cleaner paid on their wages
• We’ve reduced tax breaks on pension funds for the super-rich
• We have retained the 50p rate
• And our overall priority is freeing the lowest-paid from income tax altogether and cutting income tax for millions of ordinary workers

You can read Nick’s speech to the resolution Foundation here.

In the worst affected area, zone H centred around the Hoe, the council sold 924 annual permits for just 551 spaces. Over the course of a year the council also sold over 16,500 daily visitor tickets for the same zone, according to the figures.

The next worst affected zone, DD centred around Sutherland Road, saw 469 annual permit holders chasing 194 spaces. A total of 523 annual permits for Zone D, covering Greenbank, were sold, but only 283 spaces were available. Both zones also saw 1,650 resident daily visitor permits sold, adding to the pressure.

The figures reveal that many zones are absolutely tiny. Seven zones have fewer than 10 spaces, including, bizarrely, one (JJ) with no spaces at all and one (BBB) with just a single parking space. A further 13 had two-dozen or fewer places to park.

Not every zone is desperately short of places to park. Zone S, around Dale Road, has 298 more spaces than there are permits, and even 101 more spaces than there are households able to apply for permits for that zone. The five zones in Crownhill and four more elsewhere in the city, including zone S, have more spaces than there are households able to apply for permits.

Liberal Democrat Stuart Bonar, who obtained the figures from the council under the Freedom of Information Act, said: “The system is a total mess. There are zones next to each other where one is hundreds of spaces short and the other has hundreds of spaces spare. Why not combine them?

“There are 53 zones, and many are far, far too small. Council officials should be looking to merge them together, especially where this would alleviate pressure on those zones especially badly hit.

“The council should also flag up far more clearly which zones are oversubscribed. Yes, the application form for a resident’s parking permit states that a permit does not guarantee a parking space, but it only does that in one sentence on page 2 of the form. I couldn’t find anything on the council’s website that warned applicants that there was no guarantee of a space.

“And why, for goodness sake, are there zones with many more spaces than there are households able to apply? Take zone HH, centred on Stuart Road. According to council figures, sixty spaces are set aside for people living in just 54 households and the council sold just 14 permit holders for the zone. Surely some of those spaces could be opened up for anyone needing to park in that area.

“I first raised these problems two years ago. At that point the council came up with some warm words, reassuring people that they were looking into this and would iron out the problems. Now, two years on, the same old problems remain. The Conservative councillors in charge of the council need to get a grip and sort this out.”

The move is expected to help thousands of people get onto the property ladder by giving tenants a 50% discount on the cost of their home.

This new initiative is part of a wider Lib Dem plans to help people to own their own home.

These plans also include extra help for hard pressed first time buyers.

But The Lib Dem plan will see the Right to Buy discount increased, making it far more affordable for tenants to buy their homes.

Under the previous Labour government, the discount for tenants was so small that most tenants could not afford to buy leaving thousands without the chance to own their own home.

Minister for Housing Lib Dem Andrew Stunell MP said:

“Unlike previous Conservative governments, the new Lib Dem scheme will see all the profits of right to buy ploughed back into social housing.

Thanks to the Lib Dems in government, an extra £10billion is being invested into new roads and railways, schools, science, and better broadband. Every area will benefit from this extra new investment.

To help create jobs and boost our economy, £2.4billion will be spent on transport improvements. This will include action to improve some of our most congested roads and support for new and better railway links.

The new programme will also create a new £200million fund to create jobs through science, and invest £100million to provide super-fast broadband to rural and urban areas

Local Lib Dem campaigner Stuart Bonar welcomed the investment, “This shows that the Lib Dems are making a real difference in government. I’m delighted that our own region will benefit through this investment”.

260,000 disadvantaged two year olds will now be given 15 hours a week of free education, thanks to the Lib Dems.

Lib Dem Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said, “We are doubling the number of free childcare places to make sure that every child gets a fair chance at the best start in life.”

A new scheme will see the Government act as guarantor for up to 100,000 mortgages, helping thousands get on the housing ladder for the first time.

Minister for Housing Lib Dem Andrew Stunell MP said: “Many people have told me they feel trapped in the rented sector because they can’t raise the big deposits needed to buy their first home.

“This action by the Lib Dems in Government will help those people who can’t call on the bank of Mum and Dad when buying their first home”

The previous Labour Government let first time buyers down in their failure to regulate the banks.

This saw many first time buyers sold mortgages they couldn’t afford to pay.

The new Government backed scheme will be subject to strict criteria and will be available to potential buyers from March 2012.

The 3p a litre rise in fuel duty, due to come into effect in January, has been cancelled and the August rise has been cut from 5p to 3p, saving the average family £144 a year.

Huge fuel rises under Labour

Had the previous Labour government’s plans been allowed to go ahead, prices at the pump would have been a massive 10p a litre more expensive by April 2012.

Local campaigner Stuart Bonar said: “Labour’s plans to hike up fuel duty would have hurt hard- working families and businesses here in Plymouth.

“This practical action by the Lib Dems in Government will help people during tough times.”

A new £21 billion loans scheme has been launched by the Coalition Government to give extra help to small businesses.

Thanks to the Lib Dems in government, it will now be quicker and easier for small and medium-sized businesses to get the money they need to grow and create jobs.

Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable welcomed this extra help for small businesses, saying “When times are tough, it’s right that we provide additional support to help the smallest firms”.

From April 2012, the basic state pension will rise by a whopping £5.30 per week.

This is in stark contrast to the last Labour government who insulted pensioners with a miserly 75p increase.

Pensions Minister Lib Dem Steve Webb MP said: “I hope this pension increase demonstrates our commitment of fairness to people who have worked hard all their lives.”

Under the Lib Dems’ ‘triple lock pensions guarantee’, the basic state pension will rise every year in line with either earnings, prices or by 2.5% – whichever is highest.

The Lib Dems have ensured that the Government will once again raise at least £2.5bn from its bank levy. This levy, which the Lib Dems demanded, raises more money each year from the banks than the last Labour Government ever managed.

During their 13 years in Government, Labour let the banks run wild and left the taxpayer to foot the bill. Now the Lib Dems are taking real action to clean up Labour’s economic mess and make sure the banks pay their way.