Western Counties Liberal Democrats

Over 20 million working people will be better off next year after Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government delivered the biggest ever increase in the income tax personal allowance in the Budget.

The massive £3.5bn tax cut for working people delivers:

• The biggest ever single uplift in the tax threshold
• A personal allowance of £9,205 in April 2013
• 21 million working people getting an extra £220 tax cut
• Brings the total tax cut for basic rate tax payers to £550
• Brings the total number of people lifted out of tax to 2 million.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg used his speech to the Party's Spring conference in NewcastleGateshead to call for the forthcoming budget to be a "budget for fairness" and pledged that it would help working familes.

The Deputy Prime Minister pledged that by 2015 Britain would have seen an end to control orders, the first gay marriages and the first elections to the House of Lords.

Fairer taxes, promoting green jobs, protecting your civil liberties - these are just some of the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in government.

We're building a freer, greener and more liberal country - and stopping some of the worst excesses of the Conservatives. Find out more in this infographic.

Leading Government Ministers, Party Leaders and European Commissioners from Liberal Democratic parties across Europe are meeting in London today at the invitation of South West England and Gibraltar MEP Sir Graham Watson, in his role as president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform party (ELDR) together with UK Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg. The main topics being addressed are the European economic growth; the eurozone and treaty change and the Multi-Annual Financial Framework, the European Unions long term budget strategy. A number of key Lib Dem Ministers will attend including Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and Business Secretary Vince Cable.

Prior to the meeting, Sir Graham commented: "Finding a credible solution to the economic crisis remains the number one priority. This will inevitably require greater fiscal coordination, discipline and solidarity among Eurozone countries. The draft Reinforced Economic Union (REU) Treaty under discussion at present is one step in this regard. But fiscal austerity alone cannot solve our problems. Unless we tackle the underlying cause of the crisis - Europe's chronic lack of competiveness in the global economy - this crisis will be the first of many more to come."

Dear Hugh and Fish Fight supporters,

Thank you for the many thousands of e-mails requesting my support for reforms to the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). My inbox has been flooded with e-mails on this topic.

I welcome your views on this matter and I deplore the amount of fish that is currently wasted by the EU's quota system, requiring fishermen to discard stock once they catch a certain amount. This affects all marine species and damages biodiversity immeasurably; this problem must be resolved.

EU Commissioner John Dalli has revealed that action has already begun at European level to punish Member States who have made little or no effort to conform to new egg welfare laws.

The Commissioner said that letters have already been sent to Member States informing them they will be taken to court for failing to comply with laws to outlaw battery cages.

Greetings

Of the three speeches I made in the House this week the two important ones - on the outcome of last week's European Council (Summit) and on the future of the Intelligent Energy Europe programme - went largely unreported in the UK, while my attack on the European Food Safety Agency for preventing prune sellers claiming prunes have a laxative effect was widely reported and went viral on social networking sites.

South West and Gibraltar Liberal Democrat MEP and President of the ELDR party Sir Graham Watson has called for the UK to come back to the negotiating table in a European Parliament debate.

Speaking in the chamber, Sir Graham said:

"The Liberal Democrats deeply regret the outcome of last week's summit. It is bad for Britain and divisive for Europe."

Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for South West England and Gibraltar Sir Graham Watson has raised the issue of prunes and their laxative qualities in the Strasbourg chamber of the European Parliament.

Watson's comments have arisen from the refusal of the European Food Safety Agency to recognise the high fibre quality of fruits such as berries, pomegranates and the infamous prune.

The European Council meeting (heads of state and government summit) of 8-9 December 2011 ended in agreement by 23 member states to press ahead with a new treaty to forge a closer economic and fiscal union. Two other member states said they would join subject to ratification by their parliaments, and a third is now in this category, bringing to 26 member states the number which intend to proceed. Their intention is to agree the new treaty by March 2012. The UK said it would not join them.