We must fashion policies for government, not just for opposition - Laws

12.00.00am GMT Sat 4th Mar 2006

David Laws MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, has today set out three key Liberal Democrat priorities for welfare reform: tackling child poverty, breaking down barriers to employment, and fundamental reform of Britain's state pension system.

Mr Laws said that policies for delivering social justice will only be delivered if they are built on economic credibility and economic dynamism, rather than on promising simply to reverse every tough choice which the Government of the moment happens to make.

He argued that policies must be based on the four Beveridge principles of security, opportunity, incentives and responsibility. Plans should include:

· A new commitment to reduce child poverty to the level of the best performing countries in Europe;

· Tax and benefits reform to help people back to work, by cutting effective tax rates for those going into work;

· Introduction of a Citizens' Pension, linked to earnings.

To pay for these changes Mr Laws will proposes:

· To get more lone parents into work, by changing benefit rules which allow lone parents to stay on income support until their youngest child is 16;

· To begin a phased increase in the state pension age, to 67;

· To establish an independent commission to recommend changes to public sector pensions.

Commenting, Mr Laws said:

"Welfare Reform was supposed to be Tony Blair's big idea, but it has turned out to be the biggest policy disaster zone of the Labour Government.

"For every complex problem in today's welfare state, Gordon Brown has a complex solution, which is invariably wrong.

"Our manifesto for 2009 should be more ambitious, more committed to a fairer Britain, than in 2005 or 2001. That means new policies which will make a difference to those who really need the help, and not just promising to oppose and reverse every tough choice which the Government of the moment happens to make. We must fashion policies for Government, not just for opposition.

"To deliver social justice, we will need economic dynamism and economic discipline. We need to show how we can create wealth, as well as redistribute it, and make tough choices and not just the easy ones."