By Faye Brown, political reporterThe Liberal Democrats have announced plans for free school meals for all primary school children funded by a new share buyback tax.In a policy announcement that could put pressure on Labour, the Lib Dems said the plan would begin with an immediate extension of free school meals to all 900,000 children living in poverty who currently miss out.The second phase would see all primary school children receiving free school meals as the public finances stabilise.
The pledge, to be included in the Lib Dem's manifesto, would be funded by a 4% levy on the share buybacks of FTSE 100 listed corporations.This is similar to the excise tax on buybacks implemented by President Biden in the US and could raise around £1.4bn a year, the party said.A share buyback is when companies buy back their own shares from the market to increase their price - essentially so they can return excess cash to their shareholders.