The Liberal Democrats' manifesto chief has said the party is not standing aside from the big campaign debates on choice in the public services and immigration.

In an interview with ePolitix.com parliamentary party chairman Matthew Taylor defended his party's decision not to get involved in what it calls a "bidding war" between Labour and the Tories on the issues.

"I think we are going to the heart of these debates," the MP argues.

"On immigration we proposed a quota system for economic migration long before the Conservatives but we will stand true to the principles established after the second world war to stop a repetition of what happened to the Jewish people fleeing the Nazis - which is that they were all returned when they were seeking asylum and many of them died as a result. And we're not going to go back on our international obligations on asylum.

"I don't think that's standing aside on the debate. We are not going to try to appeal to a far right agenda which we think is wrong.

"On the issue of choice: when somebody has a heart attack or caught seriously ill and are rushed to hospital they want to know the hospital they are rushed to has the best possible equipment. They do not want a system where if they were 50 miles up the road they might have a better chance of surviving."

Tax plans

Taylor also says the progressive combination of a local income tax and a 50 per cent rate on incomes above £100,000 are not punitive.

"What we will do is to help most households with a cut in the tax bill but the richest in the country will pay a little more," he says.

"The present system under Labour because of the increase in indirect taxes is that the richest 20 per cent are currently paying 37 or 38 per cent of their income in tax on average whereas the poorest 20 per cent are paying 41 or 42 per cent and we don't think its right that poorer households should be paying more tax as a proportion of their income than richer ones. Our changes will level that but it won't penalise richer households, we are only asking for slightly more.

"What Labour and the Tories have done is both of them have cut direct taxes and put up indirect ones. That has increased the tax burden on poorer households and cut it on richer ones. What we will do is reduce that unfairness with the result that most people be paying less but yes - the richest people earning £100,000 a year will pay a little bit more.

"What I am saying is that we are addressing the unfairness of the current system which penalises poorer families at the advantage of richer ones. The simple fact is the bottom 20 per cent of households are paying five per cent more than their income in tax than the richest 20 per cent and I don't think anyone thinks that's fair once it’s pointed out to them."