Lib Dems drop pledge to raise income tax by 1p

The Liberal Democrats have dropped plans to put a penny on income tax to invest in the NHS and social care.

Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Lib Dems, told the BBC "the last thing" people needed was "yet more tax rises" during a cost-of-living crisis.

The Lib Dems have called for a 1p rise on income tax since 1992 - then to fund education promises.

The party hopes it will reassure voters in Conservative-held target seats ahead of the upcoming general election.

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"I don't think it's credible for any opposition party to say they want to increase the tax burden more than the Conservatives are doing," Sir Ed said.

He described the government's decision to freeze allowances over a number of years as "stealth income tax rises" which equated to more than a three pence increase on the basic rate.

Instead, he said the Lib Dems would set out plans in its "costed manifesto" to raise funding to "build an economy for the future".

At the last two elections the Lib Dems promised to fund healthcare investment by increasing each band of income tax by 1p.

Income tax is the government's single biggest source of money. Under the current system, the first £12,571 you earn per year is tax-free, but once you breach that threshold you pay at least 20p tax for every pound earned. For earnings between £50,271 and £125,140, you pay 40p in tax on every pound earned - and above £125,140, it is 45p.

Scrapping the policy puts the Lib Dems in a similar position to Labour, which has previously said it will not increase income tax.

Party leaders have identified local health services and environment policies as key to wooing traditionally Conservative voters, who they are targeting at the next general election.

At the start of the party's annual conference in Bournemouth on Saturday, Sir Ed announced an overhaul of social care worth £5bn a year.

"If we want to grow the economy again we need to sort out our NHS," Sir Ed told the BBC in an interview.

"Something people have forgotten about under the Conservatives is we have seen a lot of people who are working but they fall ill and they go onto long waiting lists, they can't see their GPs and they are not able to go back into the workforce," he said.

"This is a link that hasn't been made but needs to be made."

Lib Dem vision

The Lib Dems also became the first major political party to adopt an early version of its manifesto for a general election expected next year.

Keeping the triple lock for pensions and banning sewage dumping are among pledges the party says are central to the newly approved "pre-manifesto".

On Monday at the conference, Lib Dem leaders were defeated in their attempt to drop a pledge a to build 380,000 new homes a year in England, in favour of a promise of 150,000 new council or social homes. But members, led by the Lib Dem youth wing voted the motion down after a fiery debate.

But the party's position on Brexit has opened up a potential split in the party. On Sunday, Sir Ed was heckled after insisting to delegates that he was "campaigning hard on Europe".

The party is "losing votes to Labour" among voters who would like to re-join the European Union, according to polling guru Sir John Curtice.

Re-joining the European Union is currently "off the table", the Lib Dem leader has said.