Campbell places "opportunity society" at the heart of Liberal Democrat policy

4.09.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 8th Sep 2006

Today the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Menzies Campbell announces the creation of a new working group to tackle inequality and poverty and launches the Party's policy framework document Trust in People: Make Britain Free, Fair and Green. The document gives a clear direction of how the Liberal Democrats will tackle poverty and social injustice in Britain.

Launching the document, Sir Menzies Campbell said "I want everybody to have the opportunity to fulfil their ambitions. Poverty and lack of opportunity restrict freedom. Yet despite record growth under this Labour Government wealth inequality has increased, there is low social mobility and there are still pockets of extreme poverty and deprivation. The Government has taken a centralist and paternalistic approach to benefit reform. The complexity of the tax credit system has left many on low incomes facing hefty bills for overpayment and marginal tax rates of over 80%.

He continued "Launching at our party conference and over the next year Baroness Liz Barker will be chairing a group looking to come up with practical proposals for creating an opportunity society. We must break the cycle of poor children becoming poor adults. Our proposals must focus on simplifying the benefit system and be of substance rather than symbolism."

Baroness Barker, who will chair the working group, said "We aim to produce practical proposals to ensure that if somebody has potential and is prepared to work hard, their life chances will not be limited by where they come from or who their parents are. Equally, for those who are unable to create their own opportunities in life, we will be proposing concrete steps that government should take."

Duncan Brack, chair of the party's Federal Conference Committee, said "This document has come out of the widest and most vigorous consultation the Liberal Democrats have ever had. It sets out a clear policy and campaigning direction for our Party over the coming years."