Venstre – Putting people first

Venstre’s priority: Education. Environment. Small business. Welfare.

Venstre is Norway’s social liberal party. Our policy combines personal freedom with responsibilty for the community and each other. Our emphasis is on four main areas: Education, environment, small business and welfare.

Liberal policy is made with the individual at heart. We crave fair solutions that would bring freedom to everyone. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to use their abilities to the best for themselves and the society.

People are more important than systems.
That is why Venstre puts people first.

A school based on knowledge and equal opportunities

A school based on knowledge and equal opportunities requires competent teachers. Venstre wants every teacher to have the time and the resources needed for further education. We focus on the teachers because we want the best possible school for the pupils.

The future starts in the classroom. Venstre wants major investments in schools, education and research, and this is the number one priority in our alternative national budgets.

Research and education are important elements in regards to future jobs and welfare. We have to ensure that people’s creative skills are given space to develop in schools, research, culture and business.

Venstre wants:
• all teachers to have a right and a duty to get further education. This is our number one priorty in the Norwegian school.
• to introduce a five year teacher education and to increase the admission requirements.
• to facilitate teachers spending their time on pupils rather than bureaucracy.
• to increase the use of other professions in school and to strengthen the school health services.
• to strengthen research through an increase in funding for universities, colleges and research institutes.

Abelia rates Venstre 5 out of 6
Abelia’s evaluation of how knowledge-friendly the parties’ electoral manifestos for 2009-2013 are.
www.venstre.no/bestitest

A climate-friendly society

It is vital that we preserve the environment for coming generations by upholding the biodiversity that exists today. This will be a challenge, but it will also provide us with opportunities.

Norway needs to move away from old fashioned fossil fuels and become a country that is at the forefront of environmental politics. Norway should take the lead in the production of renewable energy, both developing and utilising new technologies. We need to create green workplaces and make it easy and affordable to become evironmentally friendly.

We want an emission-free transportation sector with greener cars. Travelling by public transport must be both financially worthwile and effective. A better public transport system makes it easier to travel and benefits the environment. This is why Venstre wants public transport to be better, cheaper and with more frequent departures.

Venstre wants:
• to introduce protection plans at sea and stop any plans for oil drilling in the sea outside Lofoten, Vesterålen and other vulnerable areas
• Norway to fulfill its climate commitments (as set in the Kyoto agreement) by cutting the emissions in Norway
• to replace fossil energy with renewable energy and use CO2-capture technology for emissions from gas plants
• to have strong commitment to wind power, small hydro and other renewable energy
• to protect vulnerable and distinctive nature and habitats, and have a systematical mapping of the biodiversity
• to introduce a green tax system: lowering taxes on labour and employment while increasing taxes on activities damaging the environment
• to ensure that travelling by train between the major cities takes no more than four hours
• to reduce electricity consumption through energy efficient homes and buildings

WWF Norway gives Venstre’s environmental policy a top score
WWF Norway’s survey of the parties’ electorial manifestos for 2009-2013.
www.venstre.no/bestitest

A creative and innovative Norway

We want to ensure that smaller businesses and people who are self-employed have good conditions, because the welfare state is dependent on innovative business. The jobs of the future are not yet created, so we need a policy supporting small business and entreperneurs.

Knowledge is the foundation of new business, and so investment in education and research is important. Venstre wants an innovative Norway, where it is easier to start and run you own business and to create new jobs.

Venstre wants to use tax stimulation to ensure that more of the innovations taking place in established businesses can be used in new jobs and products. We need to support those that have the courage to «go for it».

Venstre wants to:
• strengthen innovation by reducing bureaucracy and providing better conditions and social rights for entrepreneurs
• give people who are self-employed the same social security as those who are employed
• reduce bureaucracy in order to give new and small businesses simpler regulations
• increase the funding for research and development
• remove wealth tax and inheritance tax
• make it possible for social entrepreneurs to deliever good solutions for schools, health care, child care protection and correctional facilities.
• introduce schemes and funds that will give entrepreneurs easier access to venture capital
• improve the conditions for green businesses, making industry our most important tool in the climate change battle

NHO gives Venstre’s business policy a 5 out of 6 rating
NHO’s survey of the impact the parties’ electorial manifestos for 2009-2013 would have on growth, and jobs in the business sector.
www.venstre.no/bestitest

A warm welfare when you need it

We believe that a welfare society should be measured by how we look after the less fortunates among us. In Norway it is no longer important to give more to every one of us, but to help those who really need it.

There are plenty of stories about people not getting the health care they need. Unfortunately, this is particularly pronounced within the fields of psychiatry, caring for the elderly, rehabilitation and services for addicts. Venstre believes that far more of the health and social services should be performed locally and as close to the citizen as possible. There needs to be better care and dignity for everyone, and this requires stronger and larger municipalities, a stronger local democracy and more local responsibility.

Venstre is more concerned with the quality of welfare services than who provides it. It is not our goal to use private services at every occasion, but we recognise that there are a number of nonprofit organisations and private institutions providing good care. They play an important part in the Norwegian welfare state.

Venstre wants to:
• strengthen the municipalities and give them more responsibility for the health and care services
•focus on prevention by strengthening the primary health care
• secure nursing homes for those who need it and to increase the quality in nursing homes
• have new and reinforced institutions in the municipalities to relieve the hospitals and to have more rehabilitation centers
• open up for competition to secure the patients and to strenghten the quality of the care services
• emphasise a better qualaity good child protection service by transferring resources from BUFetats regional offices to the local child protection services
• establish a low-threshold service at the municipal level for psychological treatment without the need for referral
• offer addicts treatment within 24 hours of detoxification and expand the range of medications available to them
• reduce the paperwork in the healthcare sector: more treatments, less bureaucracy

Venstre and welfare
Welfare has been part of Venstre’s policy ever since the party was established. Venstre’s model for National insurance was adopted in 1967, and Venstre introduced the school law giving every child the right to an education.

More power to local democracy

Venstre wants to give more power to the municipals. Decisions should be made as close as possible to the people, because the best solutions will be found by the local citizens. Local democracy is the mainstay of a vibrant democracy. A true local autonomy would create different solutions for different needs.

Local politicians govern on behalf of the citizens and should act as their ombudsmen. A good, open relation­ship between voters and politicians is a prerequisite for a democray to work. A local democracy like this gives the citizens the opportunity to influence the decisions all the time — not just during elections.

Venstre has 6877 local candidates on its electoral lists. The election this autumn is a local election, and you can find everything you need to know about our candidates at Venstre’s local web pages.

We need you on the team!

• Become a member! Venstre’s membership has increased eight years in a row. Continue the trend by becoming a member at www.venstre.no/innmelding/
• We need you as a volunteer. Sign up as a volunteer at www.venstre.no/skjema/frivillig
• Are you on Facebook? Share articles from Venstre with your friends. Follow Venstre on Facebook (www.facebook.com/www.venstre.no) and follow @venstre, @trinesg and @solumlarsen on Twitter
• Do you blog? Write about current topics and what you and Venstre think about them.
• Write letters to the editor! Do not hesitate to write letters to the editor at your local paper, and sign the letter with your name and that you are a member of Venstre
• Attend meetings! We need more active and committed members. Contact your local party.
• Visit www.venstre.no! Get to know Venstre’s position on different issues.
• Participate at liberal.no! Liberal.no is Venstre’s discussion forum. Participate and meet politicans, members and potential Venstre voters.
• Would you like to make a financial contribution? We need your support. Donate online: www.venstre.no/skjema/donasjon/

History and ideology

Venstre is Norway’s oldest political party, founded on 28th January 1884. Johan Sverdrup, Venstre’s first party leader, is generally given the credit for introducing the parliamentary system in Norway.

Venstre is based on the liberal ideology. Social liberalism emerged in the nineteenth century with the demands of social justice and real freedom for all. When Venstre was estblished in 1884, freedom for the individual and responsibility for each other was at the core of liberalism. Venstre fought political battles to achieve greater freedom of religion, to introduce the jury system in courts and to extend voting rights. Throughout its history, Venstre has been responsible for major social reforms, such as state schooling and gender equality. The biggest social reform of the twentieth century, national insurance, was introduced in 1967 using Venstre’s model.

There is still a great deal that separates a social liberal party from others. To the left, we have socialism and the social democracy, representing a strong state and sentralised political government. This inhibits the indivdual freedom and responsibility. To the right, we have conservatism and libertarianism, demanding less political governance and community, and thus creating a foundation for public poverty and major social differences.

Venstre is Norway’s social liberal party. A liberal policy is the best opportunity to solve the challenges of the future. Venstre prioritises education, environment, small business and welfare.