• Citizens Advice: pensioners had “legs cut out from underneath them” after Winter Fuel Payment scrapped
• Local election delays: Lib Dems accuse Conservative councils of “running scared” and “silencing democracy”
• Reeves in China: Chancellor needs to return and announce “plan B” for growth
• Cole-Hamilton calls for network of drug consumption rooms ahead of Glasgow facility opening

Citizens Advice: pensioners had “legs cut out from underneath them” after Winter Fuel Payment scrapped

Responding to Citizens Advice saying that they have seen a surge in households seeking help with energy bills in 2024, Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions spokesperson Steve Darling MP said:

People are being hammered by energy bill rises with millions of vulnerable pensioners especially struggling after the government scrapped the Winter Fuel Payment for the vast majority.

Older people, many already choosing between heating and eating, had their legs cut out from underneath them by the government’s cruel decision to slash this vital support.

The government needs to recognise their disastrous error and get these vulnerable pensioners the support they deserve or risk millions suffering.

Local election delays: Lib Dems accuse Conservative councils of “running scared” and “silencing democracy”

The Liberal Democrats have accused Conservative councils of “running scared” and “silencing democracy” as the deadline for councils to apply for election postponement expires.

The Government gave councils until today to say if they would prefer to cancel May’s local elections while devolution plans for changes to local authorities, with many set to become unitary, are discussed.

Almost all councils that have called for elections to be cancelled are Conservative-run, including several in areas like Devon and Surrey where the Liberal Democrats won swathes of seats from the Conservatives at the General Election.

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

The Liberal Democrats made sweeping gains against the Conservatives at the General Election from Devon to Surrey. Now Conservative councils are running scared and attempting to delay these local elections, to avoid voters appalled with their record of failure.

This attempt to silence the voice of millions is a scandal. Democracy delayed is democracy denied. The Liberal Democrats will keep fighting to ensure these elections go ahead in May as planned.

Reeves in China: Chancellor needs to return and announce “plan B” for growth

Responding to the Chancellor not cancelling her trip to China amidst the ongoing market turmoil, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The ongoing crisis in the markets needs the Chancellor’s urgent attention and for her to be on the other side of the world is deeply worrying.

Our economy is flying blind with the Chancellor and Bank of England governor abroad.

The Budget has not worked and this market turmoil is proof of that. We need to see the Chancellor now announce a plan B for growth.

That should start by cancelling her misguided jobs tax and a real focus on rebuilding our broken trade relationship with Europe. Only then will we see the growth needed to fix our economy after years of Conservative economic vandalism.

Cole-Hamilton calls for network of drug consumption rooms ahead of Glasgow facility opening

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has called on the Scottish Government to roll out a network of safe drug consumption centres as the first facility of its kind in the UK is set to open in Glasgow on Monday.

The Safer Drugs Consumption Facility on Hunter Street in Glasgow will allow people to take substances under the supervision of clinicians in a safe and clean space. These facilities have been proven to prevent fatal overdoses and present new pathways for treatment and recovery.

The opening of the facility comes amid the continuing drug deaths crisis, with the latest Police Scotland figures showing that there were 833 suspected drug deaths between January and September 2024.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

I welcome the opening of the Glasgow facility. Support for facilities such as this has been Liberal Democrat policy for many years, long before a consensus emerged in their favour, and I am glad that forward-thinking approach has finally become a reality.

When almost 100 Scots are dying every month from drugs- a death rate far worse than anywhere else in Europe- the priority must be saving lives.

These centres are proven to keep people safe and support them into recovery. That is why this pilot should herald the first of many more consumption facilities across the country.

If we are to end the untold suffering caused by the drug deaths crisis, help cannot be limited to Glasgow. Now, my party want to see the Scottish Government rolling out a nationwide network of safe consumption rooms, new drug checking facilities and giving people who are misusing drugs treatment instead of prison.