16 June 2025 – today’s press releases

  • More than 1.3 million PIP claimants at risk of losing support with worst hit areas revealed
  • Davey: Starmer must rule out Trump tax on life-saving drugs
  • Casey Review: Victims must finally get the justice they deserve
  • McArthur: SNP must explain why it is using England as ‘dumping ground’

More than 1.3 million PIP claimants at risk of losing support with worst hit areas revealed

The Government’s cuts to Personal Independence Payments could leave 1.3 million people claiming the standard and enhanced-rate payment for daily living activities at risk of losing some support, analysis of the Government’s response to a Liberal Democrat Written Parliamentary Question has revealed.

Under the Government’s plans, from November 2026 people on PIP will be required to score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to receive support with everyday tasks such as washing and cooking. Those scoring less will lose access to the “daily living” component, which for some will result in a full withdrawal of the benefit.

The Government’s response to a Lib Dem Written Parliamentary Question revealed the number of current claimants who did not score at least four points. The figure hit 1.3 million, with 1.1 million standard-rate and 200,000 enhanced-rate claimants at risk. It means that 87% of standard-rate claimants and 13% of the enhanced-rate claimants could lose out.

The analysis also revealed the number of claimants at risk in each constituency. The constituency with the highest number of claimants who could lose support was Liverpool Walton with 5,250 enhanced and standard-rate claimants at risk. This was followed by Blackpool South and Liverpool Riverside with 5,060 and 4,940 respectively.

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We need a debate on Electoral Reform

As we approach the first anniversary of Labour’s loveless landslide general election victory, it is worth taking stock of the current state of British politics.

The Starmer ministry has committed a series of unpopular acts, many of which run contrary to the ethos of the Labour Party as the left-leaning of the two major parties and have proven alienating to some of their key voters. The Conservatives have failed to make any significant recovery in the opinion polls, likely due to ongoing backlash against their disastrous decisions over austerity, Brexit, coronavirus, the cost-of-living crisis and the mini-budget. And Reform UK seems on track to form the next government on a lower vote share than Labour won in 2024, with Labour and the Conservatives seemingly aping their anti-migrant, anti-woke policies in a desperate bid to reattract disaffected voters.

Such a picture would surely highlight the need for a more responsive democracy in the UK. Having usually elected a single party to majority government on under half of the national vote, First Past the Post has proven unconducive to delivering such a democracy. With declining support for the two-party status quo, FPTP may serve to elect Parliaments that have little or no bearing on voters’ intentions.

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Mathew on Monday: We must never deny the importance of soft power

No one can deny the reality that we live in an increasingly dangerous world.

Russia’s attempted invasion of Ukraine. Israel’s war with Hamas. The dangerous stand off between Iran and Israel. Ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan. The Democratic Republic of Congo. And on and on.

With the benefit of hindsight how foolish it now seems for the political scientist Francis Fukuyama to have declared, in an at the time much lauded book in 1992, the ‘end of history.’ The argument that, with the conclusion of the Cold War, Western liberal democracy had won the battle of ideas and beaten autocracy; as he wrote, ‘not just… the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: That is, the end-point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalisation of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.’

If only, eh?

Less than a decade later such a theory began to be tested to distruction with the 9/11 attacks on American power by Islamist terrorists and the subsequent ‘war on terror.’. Two decades on from that, the world, as noted above, whilst not quite in flames is certainly more dangerous and uncertain than since the end of the Cold War if not longer.

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‘What is truth?’ (and why this matters to Liberal Democrats)

We live in a post-truth age. No longer is there any such thing as objective reality. On both Left and Right, the media, commentators and politicians present their own subjective reality, primarily based on feelings and lived experiences. These alternate realities allow facts to be denied, history to be altered and new ‘facts’ to be created which are more conducive to the mindset of other people who live in this particular simulacrum of ‘real’ reality. When facts do not matter, when a lie is believed even when all the evidence points to the contrary, when we cannot or refuse …

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How to empty the hotels

It is a Labour pledge to empty all hotels of asylum seekers by the next general election. So how are they going to do it?

I sincerely hope not by expanding sites like Wethersfield where, as the Helen Bamber Foundation has said that accommodating people at the base causes harm to their physical and mental health and “Housing people, including survivors of torture and trafficking, in an isolated, overcrowded camp reminiscent of an open-air prison, with inadequate healthcare and legal services, is an inhumane way to treat those seeking protection.”.

There are Liberal Democrat alternatives, other than “I wouldn’t have started from here.”. All the following is established Lib Dem policy.

We start from the premise that there needs to be radical reform, independent of central Government, to speed up decision making. Such should be taken out of political control completely and move towards a caseworker-model of support for applicants, to seek just outcomes that are right first time. It is no use moving policy-making to different departments if the Home Office retains control of the process of administering and assessing applications. It isn’t just a quicker decision that is needed but one that is right first time. 75% of decisions are appealed and 33% of those are allowed first time. If the cost of appeals were to be transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Home Office that in itself would make a difference. It is easy to refuse and then hope a person did not appeal. Sometimes the Home Office do not even bother turning up at an appeal hearing. If they had to pay for it, they would do a better job.

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Governments must do more for survivors of same-sex sexual assault

There’s a strange fact which you may not know about the UK. You live in the world’s only country that tells the world that no person (man or woman) can ever be raped by a woman

Imagine telling a lesbian that they don’t count because their assaulter wasn’t a man? We live in a time where it is in vogue to put on a rainbow in June but gay or lesbian survivors of same-sex assault aren’t even recorded. Is this not the peak of homophobia? But this is our law.

Here’s another funny fact. We’re the world’s only jurisdiction that records sexual violence against men as a crime against women and girls. The state telling men who are sexually assaulted that they are actually women is one of the worst and most demeaning insults male survivors can endure. I know, because I am one. It implies that my manhood is gone because I was victimised. Alas, neither Labour or the Conservatives seem to think this is a big problem. 

The situation for male survivors especially is worsening. Today a little under half of crisis centres will turn men away from their door. But in 2025, the government is cutting the country’s only support line for male survivors. The cost of maintaining this line is not much, a mere £250,000 pa.

Empathy is a value that our party puts first. I am a survivor of sexual violence. I live in a world that is hostile to my existence.

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14-15 June 2025 – the weekend’s press releases

  • SNP’s ScotRail: 17,000 cancellations and 300,000 trains running late
  • Greene brands Findlay “McFarage”

SNP’s ScotRail: 17,000 cancellations and 300,000 trains running late

In his first major investigation since being appointed transport spokesperson, Scottish Liberal Democrat Jamie Greene MSP has revealed that more than 17,000 trains were cancelled and a further 300,000 did not arrive on time last year on government-owned ScotRail.

Mr Greene is now calling on the Scottish Government to deliver a reliable railway system that works for all communities, all ages and the climate.

Figures provided by Transport Scotland to Scottish Liberal Democrats have revealed that:

  • 17,491 trains were cancelled in the financial year

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13 June 2025 – Friday’s press releases

  • Davey: International leadership is needed now
  • Davey urges Starmer to forge new UK-Canada defence pact to reduce reliance on Trump
  • Greene to Tories: It’s Kemi-geddon
  • Greene: Badenoch might as well say vote Lib Dem

Davey: International leadership is needed now

Following Israel’s strikes in Iran overnight, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

People across the UK and the world will be fearing the break-out of widespread regional conflict in the Middle East, following Israel’s strikes overnight.

The UK must work with allies to contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions through diplomacy, not war.

The UK Government should urge both Israel and Iran not to do anything that will escalate the situation any further.

International leadership is needed now.

Davey urges Starmer to forge new UK-Canada defence pact to reduce reliance on Trump

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called on the Prime Minister to forge a new UK-Canada defence pact, to strengthen national security and boost the economy, while reducing both countries’ reliance on Donald Trump’s US administration.

It comes as Keir Starmer is expected to arrive in Canada ahead of the G7 summit beginning this weekend.

This week the Trump administration said it would review the submarine deal with the UK and Australia, saying the security pact must fit its “America First” agenda.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

Trump has shown his disregard for our collective security time and time again – not least this week, displaying total indifference to his traditional allies by threatening the future of the AUKUS defence agreement.

We should work with our Commonwealth ally Canada as it joins the UK in increasing defence spending, but also looks to move away from its reliance on US military exports.

That is why I am urging the Prime Minister to propose a new, bilateral UK-Canada defence pact at the G7 this weekend, making us more secure while also boosting British manufacturing.

Greene to Tories: It’s Kemi-geddon

Speaking as the Scottish Conservative conference gets underway at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Greene said:

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UK sanctions on Israeli ministers must be a turning point, not a token gesture

This week, the UK government announced sanctions on Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway. citing their incitement of violence and abuses of Palestinian human rights. This marks a significant shift – from targeting individual settlers to sanctioning sitting ministers – and is a move the Liberal Democrats have long called for in parliament. 

But if this action is to be more than symbolic, it must mark a broader change in UK policy. Sanctions should not stop at ministers who incite violence; they must extend

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Tom Arms’ World Review

United States

The Los Angeles riots started at a local Home Depot store. These stores are a national network of shops selling hardware and DIY material.

Throughout America they act as a magnet for illegal aliens—main Hispanic and Latinos—who base themselves outside shops in search of part-time construction and handyman jobs.

Where illegal aliens gather you will now find Trumps ICE (Immigration Control Enforcement) agents ready to swoop down, arrest, detain and deport. Which is exactly what happened last Friday at the Home Depot store in Los Angeles’s Westlake District and at LA’s Huntington Park.

Normally, the arrests are relatively peaceful. The arrestees may try to run for it, but generally, they are quiet affairs. This time they fought back. They were soon joined by friends, neighbours and family trying to prevent the arrests.

The result was a riot. There was looting and cars were set alight. But the fighting was confined to a few city blocks. Elsewhere in Los Angeles life continued as normal.

Trump did not care. The Los Angeles riots were an opportunity to project his strong man image on the one issue that resonates most with American voters—immigration. Despite the local nature of the riots he went over Governor Gavin Newsom’s head and ordered in 2,000 National Guardsmen and 600 marines.

According to the LAPD, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and Governor Newsom, Trump inflamed the situation and – most important of all—broke the law.

The law which they claim Trump broke is the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 which restricts the use of federal troops for domestic law enforcement. There are exceptions, mainly those governed by the 1807 Insurrection Act which says the president can order in federal troops in order to suppress rebellion or insurrection or to enforce federal law when local authorities are unwilling or unable to do so.

The Home Depot disturbances were not an insurrection—however much far-right nationalists claim otherwise. Neither were they a rebellion. And as for the willingness of the local authorities, the mayor had already ordered in the police who said they were in control.

The end result is three-fold. First liberal progressives are now convinced that Trump will use every demonstration as an excuse to shout “insurrection” and possibly declare martial law which could lead to a postponement of elections. Secondly, MAGA Republicans think their president is even more wonderful which means the country is even more divided. Finally, Trump faces another court case. This time he is being taken court by Governor Newsom who also happens to be the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028.

Trump v Musk

The Battle of the Titans—Trump v. Musk—is over. And Trump has won.

It was inevitable. Alright, Musk is the world’s wealthiest man at $400-plus billion. But Trump controls the machinery of the world’s most powerful country, and he has repeatedly proven that he is not afraid to use that power to further his own ends.

Musk talked—or rather tweeted—big about exposing Trump’s sexual antics and funding a third political party. But his power is based entirely on his pile of cash and Trump has the power to reduce it.

Musk does have some leverage. Both NASA and the Pentagon are dependent on the billionaire’s technology to maintain vital satellite communications and complete planned lunar expeditions. The contracts to provide this technology are worth billions for several years to come.

Trump—in one of his more peevish moods—did threaten to terminate those contracts. It was an empty threat.

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12 June 2025 – the Scottish press releases

  • Cole-Hamilton: Youth work is key to tackling youth violence
  • Cole-Hamilton to Swinney: Do the right thing and give Fornethy survivors access to Redress
  • Wishart comments on energy report calling for delay to RTS switch off
  • Cole-Hamilton calls for investment in concrete youth work after summit

Cole-Hamilton: Youth work is key to tackling youth violence

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and former youth worker Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called for greater investment in youth work ahead of a summit on youth violence.

Later today, Alex will attend a cross-party summit hosted by the First Minister on tackling youth violence and knife crime.

It follows a recent spate of violent incidents involving young people across the country, including the murder of 16 year-old Kayden Moy on Irvine Beach.

Before entering politics, Alex was a youth worker. During that time, he worked with a range of vulnerable young people, including those who had grown up in the care system and children who had been trafficked to Scotland.

Commenting ahead of the summit, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

For the best part of twenty years, I was a youth worker, helping some of the most disengaged young people get their lives back on track.

That experience taught me that no child is inherently bad. Most of the time, they are just in need of some direction, a need that has only been fuelled by the isolating impact of lockdown.

That’s where youth work comes in: it provides young people with the direction they need and gives them a positive adult role model who is neither a teacher nor a parent.

It teaches teenagers to come out of their comfort zone, helps them rebuild their sense of self-worth and fosters a whole host of key life skills.

Since the pandemic, however, the SNP have presided over the quiet death of youth work. Budgets have been squeezed, services have struggled to survive, just when we need them the most.

While acts of violence require a strong response, punishing predominantly law-abiding young people cannot be our broader solution. We need youth work to pre-empt and prevent those acts of violence, to properly engage young people in society and lay the foundations for them to succeed in life.

Cole-Hamilton to Swinney: Do the right thing and give Fornethy survivors access to Redress

Ahead of a members’ business debate in the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has urged John Swinney to do the right thing and grant the Fornethy House survivors access to the Redress compensation scheme.

The Scottish Government’s Redress Scheme pays out up to £100,000 and offers support to those abused in residential care.

More than 200 women have now come forward alleging that they were sexually, physically and mentally abused in the 1960s and 70s at Fornethy House- an all-girls residential school in Angus.

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12 June 2025 – Thursday’s Federal press releases

  • GDP figures: Chancellor’s claims at spending review have not “survived contact with reality”
  • Spending review: Over £4.5 billion of “hidden” cuts to departments could be avoided with better UK-EU trade deal
  • Reeves must rule out tax rises for families and small businesses, say Lib Dems
  • AUKUS: Trump move to bring submarine deal under review throws “grenade” into security partnership

GDP figures: Chancellor’s claims at spending review have not “survived contact with reality”

Responding to GDP falling by 0.3% in April, the first month of figures since the employers’ national insurance rise came into effect and Trump’s tariffs came into effect, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

At the spending review yesterday the Chancellor suggested that the country was on the up but today this claim has not survived contact with reality.

Today’s figures should be a wake up call for the Government which has so far refused to listen to the small businesses struggling to cope with the jobs tax, worried that our high streets will be completely hollowed out and that our hospitality sector is hanging by a thread.

To tackle Trump’s tariffs, Ministers must stop cowering in the corner and get on with building an economic coalition of the willing with our European and Commonwealth neighbours.

It’s time for the Government to get serious, scrap their damaging jobs tax and go for growth with a bespoke UK-EU Customs Union that will raise billions to re-build our public services.

Spending review: Over £4.5 billion of “hidden” cuts to departments could be avoided with better UK-EU trade deal

Government departments are facing real-terms cuts of £4.6 billion by 2028-29, Liberal Democrat analysis of the Spending Review has revealed.

The Liberal Democrats said these “painful cuts” could be avoided by boosting growth, including through a better UK-EU trade deal that could boost public finances by around £25 billion a year.

Some departments will see significant cuts over the spending review period. The Foreign Office, Home Office and Department for Transport are all expected to be hit with real-terms cuts of over £1 billion. DEFRA will also see a £355 million real-terms cut over three years.

The Liberal Democrats said that the spending review will see public services already stretched to breaking point be expected to endure another round of painful cuts.

The party said that the Government would not have to make these choices if it got a better trade deal with the EU and moved to negotiating a bespoke UK-EU Customs Union. Previous analysis has found that a better deal even within the Government’s own red lines could boost GDP by 2.2% raising £25 billion a year in extra revenue for the Exchequer.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP said:

Hidden in the small print of the spending review are painful cuts to public spending, with funding for social care and our police being stretched to breaking point.

We cannot afford to wait another decade for the government to fix social care while patients are treated in hospital corridors and elderly people wait for months on end for a care home place.

The Chancellor would not have to make these difficult choices if she got serious about going for growth, got a better trade deal with the EU and cut red tape for British businesses.

That is the best way to boost our economy, put more money into people’s pockets and rebuild our public services.

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Observations of an Expat: Bombing Iran

There is no safe way to bomb an Iranian nuclear reactor.

This is especially true of Iran’s facilities as the key ones are buried deep underground and heavily protected.

The more impregnable the target. The bigger the bomb required to destroy it. The greater the risk of a nuclear disaster.

This is why Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), quickly called a press conference when he heard of Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear power plants.

Nuclear sites, he said, should never be attacked. He added: “Any military action that jeopardises the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region and beyond.”

The 1986 Chernobyl Disaster resulted in radioactive dust carried to a dozen European countries. Forests died in Scandinavia. Fish stocks were polluted and restrictions on sheep grazing were in place in Wales and the English Lake District for decades. A total of 2,600 square kilometres around Chernobyl has been closed.

Iran has five nuclear facilities – Natanza, Fordow, Isfahan, Arabk and Bushehr. The ones suspected of producing nuclear warheads are Natanza and Fordow. Natanza’s reactors are buried 40-50 metres underground. Fordow’s are also buried deep inside a mountain.

If one of them is severely damaged than the Shamal wind would blow radioactive particles towards Iraq, Syria, the Persian Gulf, Lebanon and even Israel.

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Lib Dems in the Birthday Honours

From a quick late night glance at the Birthday Honours I have found just two  Liberal Democrats from searching political service and local government.

Mike Cox, Party Treasurer  and Bournemouth Councillor gets a CBE for public and political service. From other parties, Penny Mordaunt becomes a dame and I was really pleased to see Glasgow  Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy get an MBE.

Council Leader Stephen Giles-Medhurst from Three Rivers gets an OBE.

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ALDC by-election Report, 12th June

This week saw the first non-Thursday by-election of the new cycle, with a Labour defence in Stroud on Wednesday. The Green Party narrowly beat Reform UK and the Conservatives, as Labour were pushed into fourth place. Thank you to Mike Stayte and the team for flying the Lib Dem flag mid-week.

Stroud District Council, Severn
Green Party: 439 (27.8%, +10.0)
Conservative: 425 (26.9%, -6.6)
Reform UK: 421 (26.7%, new)
Labour: 177 (11.2%, -21.3)
Liberal Democrats (Mike Stayte): 112 (7.1%, -9.1)
UKIP: 5 (0.3%, new)

Green Party GAIN from Labour

This was followed by four Thursday elections, three of which had a Liberal Democrat on the ballot. It was another Green Party victory in Mid Suffolk, this time a hold. Thank you to Tim Glenton and the team for getting the Lib Dems onto the ballot this time, when we weren’t previously.

Mid Suffolk District Council, Haughley, Stowupland & Wetherden
Green Party: 901 (64.1%, -12.7)
Conservative: 444 (31.6%, +8.4)
Liberal Democrats (Tim Glenton): 61 (4.3%, new)

Green Party HOLD

In Leeds, Reform UK continued their strong performance against localists, this time gaining from Morley Borough Independents. Well done to Michael Fox and the team for jumping up into third place with a great vote share increase!

Leeds City Council MBC, Morley South
Reform UK: 2,119 (36.8%, +29.8)
Morley Borough Independents: 1,450 (25.2%, -12.9)
Liberal Democrats (Michael Fox): 1,009 (17.5%, +15.9)
Labour: 634 (11.0%, -20.3)
Green Party: 313 (4.3%, new)
Conservative: 230 (4.0%, -5.6)

Reform UK GAIN from Morley Borough Independents

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Leading the Fight for Local Government: Why you should vote in the LGA elections

3000

No, I’m not quoting the Busted song – this is the approximate electorate for this year’s Lib Dem Local Government Association Group Elections! It’s a number of councillors that only a few years ago would have looked completely inconceivable and it’s a testament to the hard work of councillors and campaigners across the country that we’re in range of overtaking the Tories as the 2nd largest party in local government.

Our 2025 cohort join us during the most critical time for local councils in over 50 years with Local Government Reorganisation and local budgets stretched to the absolute limit. We now have 76 council leaders (we might need some new giant numbers for Autumn Conference…) managing billions in council budgets and countless opposition groups holding their administrations to account while fighting for a new structure of local government that can still deliver for our residents. No pressure!

Who we elect as our leadership at the LGA is central to ensuring that we have the powers and the money to shape our communities, working with the Government where we can and taking them to task when they push to transfer even more power to Whitehall. While we know who most of our group officers will be (congratulations to Joe Harris, Bridget Smith and Heather Kidd on their re-election), we also need to decide who will represent us when negotiating key areas of LGA policy – fighting for effective regulatory powers, planning policy that works for our communities and funding for children’s services.

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Reeves’ Spending Review lacks vision

In the afterglow of Rachel Reeves’ Spending Review, Labour’s press machine was quick to declare victory. Behind the slogans, the figures, and the bumptious cheers from the Labour benches, reality reared its head — fast and unflinching.

Yes, the NHS has gotten a financial uplift. Day-to-day spending is to increase to 3% per year. A welcome move. But let’s not uncork the bubbly just yet – since 1999, most parliaments have averaged a 4% increase. And anyone who’s ever tried to buy medical equipment knows, health inflation tends to swagger above consumer average.

And behind the figures and planted slogans; Reeves tried to hide—like a magician shuffling a bent card back into the deck—the real sin. The real detail, if you look hard enough, is hidden in plain sight. The capital budget – for bricks, beds, scanners and surgical machines – is flat. Flat in real terms over the review period. So while Reeves praises its “Labour choices”, the reality is a Review that feels like it offers the NHS by putting on fresh coat of paint on a house riddled with damp.

And what of social care? A passing mention? No. Not a word. A critical part of tackling patient backlog, ignored. As Daisy Cooper rightly called it – a missed opportunity. Labour hoped some wouldn’t notice. But some of us did while social care is kicked back again into the long grass.

Much like some of us noticed Labour’s clumsy sleight of hand with the bus fare cap. “We’ve kept it at £3!” I saw them gloat on their social media’s. Yes, after you raised it from £2 last year. The party that hiked the fare now wants applause for “protecting” the price they hiked up. Working people, like myself, who actually use buses – we’re not daft. The message smells less of sincerity, more of spin and exhaust fumes.

Still, I’ll admit: not all was bleak.

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Make Wales great again? Reactions to Nigel Farage’s vision for Wales

This past week, Nigel Farage took to Wales Online to outline his vision for Wales, ahead of the 2026 Senedd elections.

His article, published on Sunday, June 8th, at 10:30 PM, bears all the hallmarks of what is to be expected from a regressive, right-wing populist voice such as Mr Farage.

Firstly, his first reference to Wales isn’t of the 20s, the 10s, the 00s, or any time in modern history; it’s 1851. Mr Farage’s entire argument relies upon the 1851 census to justify Reform’s manifesto, citing the number of people in industrial jobs rather than agricultural ones, and even makes the bold claim that Reform will “reindustrialise Wales” by reopening coal mines, in one of his many attempts to defeat “woke spending”.

Of course, I can’t speak for everyone in Wales, but I can for my family. My grandparents’ relatives worked down the mines, and they did not live to see past 50 years old due to ill health and complications related to coal dust in their lungs. I’ve no doubt this story is the same for so many others in Wales. Nobody in their right mind wants to see the mines reopened.

Mr Farage goes on, moving from the coal mines to the need for regional technical colleges, to teach young people trades such as welding, plumbing and industrial automation. While I am far from opposed to apprenticeships and believe they are vital for providing a wide variety of career choices, Mr Farage’s support for them doesn’t stem from the same sentiment. He believes that there are “useful degrees,” and that people not studying science, technology, engineering, medicine, or mathematics need not bother going to university and should instead invest in a trade.

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11 June 2025 – today’s other press releases

  • 10-Year rail funding reaction – Labour showing contempt to Wales
  • Greene criticises potential closure of Scottish bus builders
  • Rennie: Swapping around a few ministers won’t erase SNP failures

10-Year rail funding reaction – Labour showing contempt to Wales

Responding to Labour’s announcement that the £445 million they announced for rail funding this morning will, in fact, be spread out over 10 years, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said:

Labour’s contempt for Wales just gets worse and worse.

The indefensible decision to spread this measly amount of rail funding over 10 years not only robs Wales of what it is owed for past projects, but also guarantees that we will continue to fall behind in infrastructure spending, as major transport projects in England get the green light.

Labour clearly has no interest in growing the Welsh economy or giving us the tools we need to thrive and attract investment into our country.

Greene criticises potential closure of Scottish bus builders

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Jamie Greene MSP has today said that the wheels are falling off the SNP’s economic strategy as it was announced that bus builder Alexander Dennis has launched a consultation on potentially closing its Falkirk and Larbert sites and moving all production to Scarborough, citing a lack of forthcoming work.

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11 June 2025 – today’s Spending Review press releases

  • “Smoke and mirrors” spending review could leave a blackhole for social care
  • Police funding short-fall as families face council tax bombshell to pick up the tab
  • Spending review: Reeves has put farmers “at the back of the Treasury queue”
  • Welsh rail funding announcement – Wales getting the scraps again
  • Lib Dems comment on defence, Acorn, supercomputer in spending review

“Smoke and mirrors” spending review could leave a blackhole for social care

Responding to the spending review, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

This spending review was a missed opportunity to repair the damage done by the Conservatives and finally deliver on the promise of change.

Behind the smoke and mirrors is a potential blackhole for social care as local government budgets remain at breaking point. Putting more money into the NHS without fixing social care is like pouring water into a leaky bucket.

The Chancellor must also raise her ambition for the country and boost growth through a much closer trade deal with the EU. That’s the best way to improve people’s living standards and unlock billions of pounds more for our public services.

Police funding short-fall as families face council tax bombshell to pick up the tab

The Government has said that the ‘police core spending power’ increases assumes rises in the PCC council tax precept in order to fund it. It means people will be left to pick up the tab in order to fund increases in police spending with the Government refusing to cover the costs.

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Lisa Smart MP said:

The Government is relying on a hidden council tax bombshell to fund their half-hearted rise in police funding as they pass the buck to local families.

After frontline policing was neglected for years under the Conservatives, local communities deserve better than this sleight of hand.

The Government must put more bobbies on the beat, with the proper funding to make it happen. Liberal Democrats will keep pushing for the proper neighbourhood policing our communities deserve.

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Lib Dems react to Spending Review “smoke and mirrors”

The Liberal Democrats have reacted to the Spending Review.

Daisy Cooper has warned that Rachel Reeves may have left a black hole for social care funding. This is based on local government having their funding cut by 1.4% during the period of the review. Councils have a statutory duty to provide social care and this does not help them.

This spending review was a missed opportunity to repair the damage done by the Conservatives and finally deliver on the promise of change.

Behind the smoke and mirrors is a potential blackhole for social care as local government budgets remain at breaking point. Putting more money into the NHS without fixing social care is like pouring water into a leaky bucket.

The Chancellor must also raise her ambition for the country and boost growth through a much closer trade deal with the EU. That’s the best way to improve people’s living standards and unlock billions of pounds more for our public services.

Welsh Lib Dem MP David Chadwick was distinctly unimpressed with Labour’s plans to invest in Welsh rail:

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Ed and Emily Davey talk to This Morning about caring for their son

Yesterday Ed Davey and his wife Emily, who is also the Housing Portfolio holder at Kingston Council, went on This Morning to talk about Ed’s book, Why I care and why care matters. which you can buy from the publishers Harper Collins or from other bookstores.

They talked about their own experience of caring for their disabled son John and about why supporting family carers is so important. Without them, the NHS and social care would literally fall apart.

You can see the whole interview on ITVx or STV Player or watch this clip:

Wales online reports:

Their son remains without an official diagnosis, with Ed explaining that John finds walking and communicating difficult, adding: “Because he’s undiagnosed, you’re on a journey both with the people in the health service, and other carers.”

“He’s our wonderful boy and we’ve tried to help him become as independent as possible,” Ed, who also shares daughter Ellie with his wife, said.

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What are Liberal Democrats looking for from the spending review?

Today Rachel Reeves announces her spending review. What are Liberal Democrats looking for from it?

It will surprise nobody to hear that social care is top of the agenda, alongside a closer relationship with Europe. Without the latter, Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper says, Labour will be trying to drive the economy forward with the handbrake on. And anyone who has tried to do that in a car will know how impossible that feels and how much of an idiot you feel when you realise that you have forgotten to take the handbrake off.

Daisy said:

People have been left desperately disappointed in the Government’s failure to break clean from years of Conservative neglect and finally start delivering the change that people were promised.

Today’s spending review must deliver progress on social care. The Government’s bid to start reforms has barely progressed since it was announced six-months ago. Yet we all know the simple truth: without solving the social care challenge, putting money into the NHS today will be like pouring water into a leaky bucket.

Ministers should also be slashing the reams of red tape that are holding local businesses back and negotiate a bespoke UK-EU customs union, rather than pursuing painful cuts to already stretched budgets. Until they do, the Chancellor will still be trying to drive the economy forward with the handbrake on.

Here she is speaking about the key issues:

The Party has also commissioned House of Commons library research into the impact of possible cuts.  The Independent reports;

However, the analysis, carried out by researchers at the House of Commons library commissioned by the Lib Dems, found that unprotected departments — which excludes NHS England, the core schools budget and defence — could see real-terms cuts worth nearly £5 billion in total by 2028/29.

The calculation, based on Reeves’ promise that will not hike taxes, was made before the chancellor committed a further £1.25bn a year to reversing cuts of winter fuel payments to pensioners, a U-turn which was confirmed on Monday. It also does not take into account another potential U-turn on ending the two child benefit cap, which could cost a further £3bn.

The Home Office budget is forecast to take a huge hit, being almost half a billion quid short. The Independent report forecasts dire outcomes for social care and education. These would be incredibly short-sighted. It is so obvious that fixing social care is vital to sorting out the whole NHS, and why would you cut back on skills development when you are also hell bent on cutting social security and putting even greater holes in the safety net than the Conservatives’ best efforts managed?

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10 June 2025 – the rest of today’s press releases

  • Cole-Hamilton: Crisis-hit care sector deserves better than a dog’s dinner
  • More than 300 drug deaths in first quarter of 2025
  • Welsh unemployment rise: Labour must scrap their Jobs Tax
  • Fraud and computer misuse make up two fifths of all crime
  • Greenhouse gas stats show Scottish Government has “consistently failed”
  • Greene calls for urgent national review of rural transport

Cole-Hamilton: Crisis-hit care sector deserves better than a dog’s dinner

Ahead of a final vote in the Scottish Parliament on the Care (Reform) Scotland Bill, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said carers deserve better and that the SNP should apologise for making “a dog’s dinner” of the legislation.

SNP ministers originally proposed a National Care Service to centralise social care services. Scottish Liberal Democrats were the only party to oppose this from the very beginning.

In recent budget negotiations, Scottish Liberal Democrats put a stop to the SNP wasting money on their doomed centralisation, secured millions more for social care and fashioned a new pipeline for care workers through colleges. Liberal Democrats have also called for a new UK-wide national minimum wage for carers that is £2 higher and for care providers to be exempt from the national insurance hike.

Speaking ahead of the vote, which will take place in National Carers Week, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

The care sector is in crisis and the SNP have shown that they can’t be trusted to fix it.

SNP ministers should apologise to care users and providers across the country for making such a dog’s dinner of this legislation.

Scottish Liberal Democrats were the only party to oppose the SNP’s power grab from day one. We forced it out of the budget after the SNP had thrown away £30 million – money that could have paid the annual salaries of 1,200 care workers.

Carers deserve better and only the Liberal Democrats will deliver a fair deal. We introduced free personal care in Scotland, enshrined the right to carers leave in employment law and have just won a change that will enable family carers to earn more. Ed Davey put it at the heart of our manifesto and has opened up on his own life as a carer.

Carers – paid and unpaid, young and old – do a critical job. They deserve far more support but are too often forgotten and ignored. It’s why our plans would see care workers properly rewarded, high quality care for everyone who needs it and unpaid carers given the fair deal they deserve.

More than 300 drug deaths in first quarter of 2025

Responding to new figures showing that there were 308 suspected drug deaths in the first three months of 2025, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

100 people a month are dying in Scotland’s drug deaths crisis. It is nothing short of a national tragedy.

Drug misuse casts a long shadow across Scotland. That’s why my party made access to drug and alcohol services a major part of our budget negotiations earlier this year.

As a former youth worker with a charity that focused on parental substance use, I was pleased to secure support for a new facility for mothers and their babies born addicted to drugs. That’s key to getting people on the right path, but there is still a mountain to climb.

Scottish Liberal Democrats would give our country the world-class drug services it deserves. From rolling out a nationwide network of safer consumption rooms to new drug checking facilities, it’s time ministers listened to our calls.

Welsh unemployment rise: Labour must scrap their Jobs Tax

Responding to the latest figures showing unemployment in Wales at 4.7%, up 1.3 percentage points on the year, and that the number of paid employees in Wales has decreased by 5,300; Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said:

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10 June 2025 – today’s Federal press releases

  • Workforce figures: clear the Government must change course
  • Spending Review must deliver progress on social care
  • “Conveyor belt of Trump sycophants” rolls on as David Bull appointed Reform Chairman
  • Spending review: Home Office at risk of £500 million shortfall as Home Secretary on ‘resignation watch’
  • Ben-Gvir and Smotrich: Davey welcomes sanctions and calls for recognition of Palestine
  • £3 Bus cap extension: Labour clearly isn’t listening

Workforce figures: clear the Government must change course

Responding to the latest workforce figures which show unemployment and the number on jobless benefits rising, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

These figures could not be a clearer signal to the Chancellor, ahead of the spending review, that the Government must change course.

The Chancellor’s pig’s ear of a jobs tax is crushing the growth potential of our high-streets and small businesses, pushing people out of work, and ramping up the benefits bill.

This week, instead of pursuing another round of devastating departmental cuts, the Government needs to take the handbrake off our economy and go for growth. That means negotiating a bespoke UK-EU Customs Union to turbocharge our economy and raise billions of pounds to protect public services and struggling families.

Spending Review must deliver progress on social care

Ahead of the spending review today (11th June) Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

People have been left desperately disappointed in the Government’s failure to break clean from years of Conservative neglect and finally start delivering the change that people were promised.

Today’s spending review must deliver progress on social care. The Government’s bid to start reforms has barely progressed since it was announced six-months ago. Yet we all know the simple truth: without solving the social care challenge, putting money into the NHS today will be like pouring water into a leaky bucket.

Ministers should also be slashing the reams of red tape that are holding local businesses back and negotiate a bespoke UK-EU customs union, rather than pursuing painful cuts to already stretched budgets. Until they do, the Chancellor will still be trying to drive the economy forward with the handbrake on.

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URGENT: Why we need a statutory climate duty for councils

As Liberal Democrats, we know the climate crisis is one of the defining challenges of our time. Councils have a crucial role in meeting it, whether it’s retrofitting homes, investing in active and public transport, supporting the green economy, or leading local partnerships to build resilience and cut emissions. But too often, we are expected to lead on climate without the tools or powers to do so.

In my role as Deputy Chair of the LGA’s Local Infrastructure and Net Zero Board, I’ve been working to change that. Last November, I called for the Board to explore how a statutory duty for councils to act on climate change could support and strengthen our leadership. But I also made clear: any new duty must be matched by the funding, resources and powers required to deliver. Legal responsibilities must enable, not constrain.

Following that work, and in partnership with organisations such as UK100, ADEPT, the Climate Change Committee and others, the LGA launched an open consultation in April to seek views on whether councils should have legal responsibilities on climate change—and if so, what they should look like.

There is strong support for change. A recent UK100 survey found that 88% of councils back the introduction of a statutory Net Zero duty—provided it comes with adequate support. Councils influence over a third of UK emissions but lack a clear, consistent legal framework to act. That must change.

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The Lib Dems must be the party that listens to what local people need and reflects that in the next Senedd elections

This series of articles sees me exploring the options available to the Welsh Liberal Democrats ahead of the 2026 Senedd elections. You can find the first instalment here and the second here.

In this article, I aim to explore an alternative approach that fully embraces the principles of community politics.

Many thanks to the numerous Lib Dem Voice commenters who suggested this idea throughout the various discussions generated under my articles. Without the support of our community, these articles would still be sitting in my drafts folder!

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Now it’s the Israeli state versus Greta Thunberg

As I write, Greta Thunberg and eleven other pro-Palestine activists intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters are being transported to Israel, where they will be shown videos of the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7th 2023. What this is intended to achieve is a mystery, but maybe the Israeli authorities think Greta and her fellow peace campaigners will decide that Israel has a right to tear up humanitarian law while it takes its revenge on Gaza, and stop complaining. Events may have moved on by the time you read this, but I don’t think we will have seen the shutting up of Greta Thunberg.

No precise figures are available, but it’s widely accepted that the numbers add up to at least 100 Gazans who have been killed or injured in revenge for each of the Israeli civilians killed by Hamas on that day, and with many bodies still to be recovered, the number of dead, let alone those injured, orphaned or who’ve pulled their dead children from the rubble, could be as high as 80,000. And the death toll is still mounting, with daily bombings adding to the effects of the starvation policy introduced three months ago by Israel.

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9 June 2025 – today’s press releases

  • Davey: Spending review cannot be used to cut social care as number requesting support set to rise by 500,000 a year
  • Winter Fuel Payments: Govt has realised “how disastrous this policy was” but misery caused “cannot be overstated”
  • Nigel Farage Port Talbot speech – Real cheek as Trump threatens remains of Welsh steel industry
  • Liberal Democrat MP Wendy Chamberlain warns the government risks ‘decimating’ rural communities ahead of Spending Review
  • Lee Waters comments – nonsense, that Welsh funding isn’t a party-political issue
  • Farage promising to re-open mines shows he doesn’t understand Wales
  • Jardine comments on winter fuel news

Davey: Spending review cannot be used to cut social care as number requesting support set to rise by 500,000 a year

  • Ed Davey calls on Chancellor to rule out “devastating” cuts to social care in Spending Review
  • An extra 500,000 people a year could need social care support by the time Government reforms come into force in 2036
  • Liberal Democrat Leader calls for named carer and social care worker for every family in need of care

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called on the Chancellor to rule out any cuts to social care funding at this week’s Spending Review warning they would be “devastating” for those in need of care. It comes as research by the party reveals that an additional 500,000 people a year could need social care support by the time the Government’s reforms are expected to finally be completed in 2036.

Ed Davey is also calling for a named carer and social worker to be assigned to each family in need. He made the call in his recent book ‘Why I Care: And Why Care Matters.’ It would mean that for the UK’s 6 million unpaid carers, each of their families would have a professional that would be assigned to focussing on their needs and who they knew by name. This would make for more efficient and better care due to the experience that each of these named carers and social care workers would have with each family.

It comes as it has been reported that social care reforms from the Casey review due to be completed in three years time may not be in place until 2036, more than a decade from now. The Liberal Democrats have previously called for this review to be completed by the end of this year, not the three it is currently scheduled for, and the reforms implemented as soon as possible.

Analysis by the Liberal Democrats has shown that if the number of people requesting social care continues to increase at the same rate as it has historically from 2017/18 until now – 1.79% on average annually – then an additional 495,000 people a year will be requesting support by 2036. It means by 2035/36 the number of those requesting support each year could have risen from 2.1 million to 2.6 million.

Despite the turmoil in social care, the Chancellor has yet to rule out any cuts to the sector. It has been reported that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which provides funding to councils who provide social care, are still yet to reach a funding settlement with the Chancellor.

The crisis in care is already cascading into the NHS. Care England said last year that over 45% of hospital discharge delays were linked to social care, with separate research showing around 16 million bed days lost to bed blocking in the past 3.5 years, an average of 12,772 a day and costing the NHS £2 billion a year.

In recent months, hospitals have experienced bed occupancy levels of 96%, well above the safety limit of 85%. This contributes to long delays in A&Es as people cannot be admitted into hospital, with previous analysis suggesting that there were 16,600 deaths associated with long A&E waits before admission in England last year – a rise of 20% on 2023.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

Any further cuts to social care at the spending review would be devastating for the countless people in desperate need of care. Years of Conservative neglect broke the system, with massive consequences for our health service, but now the Labour government is moving at a snail’s pace in addressing this crisis.

Without fixing social care, we cannot fix the NHS so it beggars belief that ministers seem willing to let the rot continue. We simply cannot wait more than a decade for reforms to be put in place, whilst the number of people suffering grows.

The Government needs to get serious and that starts by completing their review by the end of the year with the reforms to follow as quickly as possible alongside introducing a named carer for each family who needs support.

At this week’s Spending Review, the Chancellor must realise that social care cannot take any more cuts and rule them out. If Rachel Reeves goes ahead the consequences could be catastrophic.

Winter Fuel Payments: Govt has realised “how disastrous this policy was” but misery caused “cannot be overstated”

Responding to the Chancellor’s announcement regarding changes to the eligibility thresholds for Winter Fuel Payments, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

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Gaza: an open letter to Ed Davey

Dear Ed,

As the Chair of Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine, I am writing to you to express my appreciation for your principled leadership in speaking out against the atrocities unfolding in Gaza. Your question to the Prime Minister in this week’s PMQs powerfully highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in the Strip, where Israeli forces are shooting at starving Palestinians as they attempt to access aid. The Early Day Motion you tabled on Tuesday, signed by every Liberal Democrat MP, sets out a clear and unified statement condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank and reaffirming our Party’s commitment to peace, accountability, and a just two-state solution. At a time when many remain silent or equivocate, your leadership has given voice to the values we share and the urgency this moment demands.

As your EDM acknowledges, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has reached appalling new levels. The entire population is facing famine, while the US-Israel aid distribution plan has been exposed as insufficient, unworkable, and profoundly dangerous. Israel’s renewed ground offensive has brought intensified bombing, forced mass displacement, and the continued killing of civilians and aid workers. Meanwhile, as attention remains fixed on Gaza, the Israeli Government has approved 22 new settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank – the largest such expansion in decades – with Defence Minister Katz vowing to “build a Jewish Israeli state” in the territory.

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