The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Farron puts Brexit fight at heart of manifesto
Liberal Democrats leader forced to deny he’s against abortion
Tim Farron put battling against Brexit at the heart of the Liberal Democrat manifesto, but was forced to deny he is against abortion.
Opposing leaving the EU will be the key aim of the Lib Dems after the general election which Mr Farron has predicted will see a Tory landslide victory.
The Lib Dems say they want to keep free movement of people, stay in the single market and hold a referendum on any final deal to quit the Brussels bloc.
Mr Farron said: “You don’t have to accept Theresa May and Nigel Farage’s extreme version of Brexit that will wreck the future for you, your family, your schools and hospitals.
“In the biggest fight for the future of our country in a generation, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour has let you down by voting with Theresa May on Brexit, not against her.
“The Liberal Democrats want you to have a choice over your future.”
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland must also have their priorities and long-term interests “fully taken into account” during Brexit negotiations, the party notes.
The Lib Dem leader was forced to dismiss claims he was against abortion after it emerged he had previously said the practice was “wrong”.
He insisted he is “pro-choice now and I was pro-choice then” when asked about an interview with a Salvation Army publication in 2007 in which he reportedly condemned the method of terminating a pregnancy.
Mr Farron told the magazine: “Take the issue of abortion. Personally I wish I could argue it away. Abortion is wrong.”
He later told the Press Association: “Looking back on then I may not have explained myself terribly well but I support safe and legal access to abortion.
“I may not have expressed myself terribly well 10 years ago but I was pro-choice then and I am pro-choice now.”
Elsewhere in the manifesto, the party says it expects to raise £1 billion in revenue by legalising cannabis, but would not scrap tuition fees, insisting the NHS is a bigger spending priority.
The document says an extra £6bn a year will be pumped into health and social care through a 1p income tax rise.
It also details plans to bring in a diesel scrappage scheme and ban the sale of diesel cars and small vans by 2025.
Scottish Labour general election manager James Kelly MSP said: “The Liberal Democrats offer nothing new to the people of Scotland or the UK.
John Nicolson, for the SNP, said: “The Liberal Democrats cannot be trusted to stand up to the Tories – and as we know their manifesto pledges are not worth the paper they’re written on.”
Conservative Party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin said the Lib Dems would increase taxes on family homes.
“From increasing taxes to borrowing more, these policies are an echo of Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto we saw earlier this week,” he added.