• Sunak in “parallel universe” as NHS waiting lists grow by 330,000 since he pledged to cut them
• Nick Fletcher endorses Lee Anderson: Sunak should kick him out of Conservative Party
• Donelan libel costs: Donelan must pay this money back now
• Lib Dems to create London Housing Company – Blackie: “I will get London building again”

Sunak in “parallel universe” as NHS waiting lists grow by 330,000 since he pledged to cut them

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has said Rishi Sunak is living in a “parallel universe,” after today’s figures reveal NHS targets are being missed while waiting lists have grown by 330,000 since the Prime Minister pledged to cut them.

NHS targets missed include:

• NHS waiting lists: NHS waiting lists stood at 7.54 million outstanding treatments in February 2024, up from 7.21 million in January 2023 when Rishi Sunak pledged to cut them. This is an increase of 330,000 (NHS England).

• 65 week waits: There were 75,000 65-weeks for treatment in February, despite a target to eliminate them by March 2024 (NHS England).

• A&E: 71.3% of patients were seen within 4 hours in all A&E in February, against a target of 76% (NHS England).

• Cancer: 63.9% of people treated began cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral in February 2024, against a target of 85% (NHS England).

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

This week we uncovered that over 150,000 people waited over 24 hours in A&E last year. Now we find that waiting lists have gone up by 330,000 after Rishi Sunak pledged to cut them.

To add insult to injury, the Conservatives have cut NHS spending while millions of patients are suffering in pain on endless waiting lists.

Rishi Sunak is living in a parallel universe if he thinks our National Health Service is recovering. The Conservative Party and the Prime Minister are out of touch, out of ideas and deserve to be kicked out of office.

Nick Fletcher endorses Lee Anderson: Sunak should kick him out of Conservative Party

Responding to Nick Fletcher, Conservative MP for Don Valley, telling voters in Ashfield that Reform UK MP Lee Anderson is the area’s “greatest champion” and that he needs to be back in Westminster, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

It seems even Conservative MPs don’t want the Conservatives to win. Voters are sick to the back teeth of this never-ending circus of infighting.

Rishi Sunak needs to find his backbone and kick Nick Fletcher out of the Conservative Party. Failure to do so would show yet again that he’s too weak to control his party let alone govern the country.

Donelan libel costs: Donelan must pay this money back now

Responding to £34,000 of taxpayers money being spent on Michele Donelan’s libel costs, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

Michelle Donelan must pay this money back now. People’s taxes should not be used to bail out disgraced Conservative Ministers.

This saga stinks of a rotten cover up, with Donelan at its core.

People in Chippenham will be furious their MP is wasting taxpayers money like this, whilst their health services crumble. At the next election, they will get the chance to show her the door by voting for the Liberal Democrats.

Lib Dems to create London Housing Company – Blackie: “I will get London building again”

Launching his housing policy today, Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate Rob Blackie pledged to create a London-owned housing developer to deliver high-quality, affordable homes.

The London Housing Company would “fill in the gaps” left by the private market, particularly taking advantage of building homes on publicly owned land and setting conditions to prioritise key workers. Any profits will be reinvested into delivering more homes.

The experience of running the company is also expected to catalyse improvements to the London Plan, unlocking further private development across the capital.

The Lib Dem Housing Plan includes:

• Creating a London Housing Company to deliver affordable homes, including releasing more publicly owned land
• Reviewing the London Plan to be more ambitious on homebuilding targets and making it easier to accelerate home building
• Establishing a “Good Developer” accreditation scheme – awarded to developers that engage properly with local communities and deliver good quality projects in line with the community’s expectations

Speaking at the launch at a new development in Wallington by Sutton Living, a development company wholly owned by Sutton Council, Blackie said:

Londoners are facing a dramatic housing crisis. When Sadiq Khan boasts of his record on housing, people must think he is deluded.

We need to build dramatically more homes. I will get London leading the way by building more affordable homes directly through a London Housing Company, making it easier for the private sector to build more and ensuring high standards through a ‘Good Developer’ accreditation scheme.

I talked to a teenager recently who has spent three years living in temporary accommodation and was running out of hope. Young people more broadly are spending more than half their salary on rent and families are seeing their mortgages soar.

We need more than special pleading to the government on house building. We need leadership. I will be a pro-housing Mayor and get London building again.