The reason the cost of living is high is because Labour crashed the economy. For them to criticise the Coalition for cleaning up their mess is utterly hypocritical. Liberal Democrats have done everything we can to help people with the cost of living while cleaning up Labour’s mess. We have: · Stabilised the economy, keeping interest rates and mortgage payments low · Given 24m ordinary workers a £700 tax cut · Increased the state pension by £650 thanks to our ‘Triple lock’ (where pensions must rise with the highest of earnings, inflation or 2.5%) · Frozen Council Tax, saving the average household £600 since 2010 · Frozen fuel duty, saving motorists £170 per year compared to what they would have paid under Labour We will: · From 2015, give £1,200 a year towards the cost of childcare for every child under 12 · From 2016 introduce a cap on social care costs, after years of Labour failures to reform the system In Government, Labour: · Crashed the economy, which is why the cost of living is high now · Scrapped the 10p tax, leaving half a million of the lowest paid worse off · Increased the state pension by an insulting 75p Chester Liberal Democrats Chairperson, Mark A Williams, said, “We must maintain perspective and remember what got us to the current economic position. LibDems in government are making the hard choices and responsible decisions to put us back on track to a stronger economy.”