The Liberal Democrats have unveiled their General Election manifesto, focusing on multiple areas including legal recognition for non-binary identities and reforming the gender recognition process. Currently, UK law only acknowledges male and female genders. The manifesto pledges to scrap medical report requirements for Gender Recognition Certificates (GRC) and eliminate the spousal veto, which necessitates spousal consent for married applicants to obtain a GRC.
Additionally, the manifesto promises to allocate parliamentary time to debate assisted dying legislation for terminally ill, mentally competent adults. This issue gained prominence following Dame Esther Rantzen's public support for changing the law due to her stage four cancer diagnosis.
The Liberal Democrats propose broader policy changes, including reconnecting the UK with the EU by redrawing the post-Brexit trade deal, aiming to eventually rejoin the EU single market. They also plan to address economic issues by reducing energy bills, stabilizing mortgage rates, and tackling rising food prices.
Environmental priorities include ending sewage pollution by transforming water companies and implementing stricter regulations. In healthcare, they propose a right to see a GP within seven days and aim to add 8,000 more GPs, funded by increased taxes on banks and closing tax loopholes. There is a strong focus on enhancing social care support and ensuring fair compensation for victims of the Horizon Post Office scandal.
The manifesto includes commitments to maintaining the state pension triple lock, increasing educational funding, supporting the construction of 380,000 new homes per year, and implementing proportional representation for elections. Transport and political reforms, such as reviewing HS2’s cancellation and reversing recent anti-protest laws, are also highlighted.
Key social policies promise new flexible working rights, a ban on conversion therapies, and support for all sexual orientations and gender identities.