Matthew Taylor: Tell the truth before, not after, elections

From a speech by the Lib Dem's Treasury spokesman at 'The Independent's' fringe meeting in Brighton

The public understand that simple truth – you can't get first-class public services without paying for them. At the last election, Liberal Democrats pledged to raise the money necessary to put right the decades of under-investment in our public services and we said how we would raise that money – we put forward a fully-costed manifesto that included targeted tax rises, such as the pledge of a penny on income tax to pay for a better education system.

If a political party going into an election with the intention of raising taxes wants support after polling day, it has to be honest before polling day. This sets the Liberal Democrats apart from the other political parties. William Hague's Tories could not agree amongst themselves about the level of tax cuts they offered – anywhere between £8bn and £20bn, depending on who you spoke to. And after the election, after saying nothing about tax rises, Labour in government did exactly what the Liberal Democrats said was needed.

Now, with new money coming into the system, we must shift the focus of the debate over public services from investment to delivery – from how the money is raised to how the money is spent. The priority should be giving the money to those on the front line, and giving power to local people for local priorities.

But if further investment becomes necessary to ensure first-class public services, Liberal Democrats will not hesitate to tell the truth on taxation – before the election, not after.