Ahead of Tim Farron’s launch of the Liberal Democrats’ election manifesto, here’s what Guardian readers thought should be included

10 things you think should be in the Lib Dem manifesto

The Liberal Democrats should position themselves as the UK’s pro-EU, pro-migrant, and pro-environment voice, according to Guardian readers who have been sharing policy ideas to crowdsource alternative manifestos for each of the major parties.

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Tim Farron’s party have already made pledges on NHS funding, paid paternity leave and a repeal of the Investigatory Powers Act.

Here are 10 suggestions of what else should be in the manifesto, according to our readers.



1) Fight Brexit - but acknowledge the EU needs to change

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron addresses Remain supporters on Park Lane, before a march to Parliament Square in London, to show their support for the European Union in the wake of Brexit. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

As the most prominent explicitly pro-EU party, we know that the Liberal Democrats hope to gain dozens of Remain-voting seats from Labour and the Conservatives. While there was broad support for pledging a second referendum on the completed Brexit deal, we heard from readers who wanted the Lib Dems to be a more critical friend to the EU.



“It’s getting it mostly right but needs to deal with inequality, debt, innovation, infrastructure. It needs to find and articulate its purpose far better,” said one London-based reader, who is planning to vote Lib Dem after backing Labour in 2015.



2) Become the pro-migration party



Further to building support through their pro-European leanings, we heard from young voters who wanted the Lib Dems to be more explicit about their support for immigration.

One reader saying the party should use their manifesto “to fully lay out the benefits of helping refugees and migrants as being economically beneficial.”



Farron has already promised that a pledge for the UK to take 50,000 Syrian refugees will be included in the manifesto.



3) Depoliticise the NHS

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Liberal Democrats health spokesman Norman Lamb, party leader Tim Farron and Dr Clare Gerada as they speak with NHS staff and patients at Riverside Medical Centre GP Surgery in London. Photograph: Lauren Hurley/PA

The Lib Dems are set to promise a 1p rise in income tax to secure a £6bn cash injection to help fund health and social care. Readers we heard from felt the crisis in the NHS was so severe that the Lib Dems should pledge cross-party talks about “a sustainable solution to the healthcare crisis”.

One doctor, Jess, from Shropshire, said: “To protect the NHS free at the point of the delivery, we need all parties to stop treating it like a political football, and find the courage to explore new ways of sustaining the most important service in this country.”

4) Overhaul income tax



We saw broad support for a raise in the personal allowance – in 2015, Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems campaigned on raising it to £12,500, but we saw readers wanting it raised to as much as £18,000 – as well as higher rates for high earners, as well as a simplification of the tax system.



5) Push for electoral reform

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at the House of Lords. Photograph: Pool/Tim Graham Royal Photos/Tim Graham/Getty Images

Voting reform was part of the Lib Dems’ coalition agreement with the Conservatives in 2010. A referendum on replacing first past the post with an “alternative vote” system duly took place in 2011, with AV being rejected by the electorate so heavily that then-party president Tim Farron ordered an inquiry into the campaign.

But there remains appetite for electoral reform among Lib Dem supporters, with full proportional representation – which the party has long backed – the preferred option, alongside a fully elected House of Lords.



6) Tackle the air quality crisis...

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A compact electric vehicle outside a model smart home in Toyota’s Ecoful Town in the Higashiyama district of Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Readers felt the Lib Dems would do well to make the most of its environmental credentials. Ideas suggested included a rejection of airport expansion in general and Heathrow in particular, investment in an expanded HS2, heavier tax of diesel cars and vans, and tax breaks to encourage widespread uptake of electric vehicles.



7) ... and introduce tax breaks and investment for Green business



A commitment to investment in green industries and infrastructure was a key part of the Lib Dems’ 2015 manifesto; our readers wanted more of the same:



“Green energy will create more jobs than current fossil fuel energy. Invest.”



8) Clamp down on the gig economy



Facebook Twitter Pinterest A cyclist making deliveroo deliveries. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

“Onboarding” instead of hiring, “independent suppliers” instead of employees – there’s been plenty written on the use of self-employed workers by gig-economy companies, and there have been hints the Lib Dems may include plans to regulate the sector in their manifesto. The gig economy and zero hours contracts were both issues our readers felt the Lib Dems should be tackling.



9) Embrace the progressive alliance

Given Farron has ruled out forming a coalition with either Labour or the Tories, and with the Tories expected to win, leader Tim Farron has expressed scepticism about a progressive alliance, despite saying he enjoyed working with the Green party’s Caroline Lucas. Readers felt the Lib Dems should put aside their differences with the other progressive parties in order to stave off a Tory landslide.

10) Pledge to get rid of tuition fees

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nick Clegg’s apology for his tuition fees pledge became a song. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

This pledge didn’t work out too well for Nick Clegg, but readers we heard from would like to see opposition to university fees back on the Lib Dem agenda.