• NHS waiting lists: Govt must tackle social care to end era of sky-high waiting lists
• Davey on Mandelson sacking: Starmer must come before Parliament
• NHS maternity payouts rise to £1.3bn as Ed Davey visits South West to discuss crisis
• Farage stamp duty: Reform leader has “serious questions to answer”
• Mandelson: PM must carry out full review of vetting procedures

NHS waiting lists: Govt must tackle social care to end era of sky-high waiting lists

Responding to the number of people on NHS waiting lists rising for the second month in a row to 7.4 million in July, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

The Government promised to go full throttle when it comes to cutting NHS waiting lists, instead they’ve gone into reverse.

The Conservatives brought the NHS to its knees, with patients often suffering tragic consequences, but far from bringing the change people are crying out for, this Labour government is just treading water.

Without fixing the underlying issues in our health service this situation will persist and patients will suffer. Only by urgently tackling the crisis in social care can we unclog the system and bring and end to this era of sky-high waiting lists.

Davey on Mandelson sacking: Starmer must come before Parliament

Responding to the news that Peter Mandelson has been sacked as the UK Ambassador to the United States, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The Prime Minister now needs to appoint an ambassador who will stand up to Trump, not cosy up to him and his cronies.

He also needs to come before Parliament and explain why Lord Mandelson was appointed in the first place, given everything the Government knew then.

This Government seems to be lurching from one crisis to another. It desperately needs to get a grip on fixing the economy and public services so badly damaged by the Conservatives.

NHS maternity payouts rise to £1.3bn as Ed Davey visits South West to discuss crisis

NHS figures show that clinical negligence payouts for maternity rose to £1.3 billion last year, up 13% on 2023/24’s figure of £1.15 billion with total payouts hitting a record high in 2024/25.

It comes as Ed Davey visits the South West today (12th September) to discuss issues with local maternity services.

The 2024/25 NHS compensation figures found that maternity clinical negligence payouts had risen £150 million on the previous year to £1.3 billion, a 13% rise. Maternity clinical negligence payments account for 42% of all clinical negligence payments.

NHS clinical negligence payouts generally rose to a record £3.1 billion, up from £2.8 billion in 2023/24 which was also a record. It represents an 11% increase.

In April the Government announced cuts to the national Service Development Funding (SDF) for maternity services from £95m in 2024-25 to just £2m in 2025-26. The fund had been introduced following the Ockenden Review into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford to improve the quality of maternity care.

The Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to immediately implement all of the actions from the landmark Ockenden report into maternity care and to reverse the cuts to the SDF.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

Maternity care is at a breaking point. Having a child should be one of the happiest moments of any family’s life, but for far too many it is mired in trauma and tragedy.

Midwives and doctors are forced to cope in units that are understaffed and under-resourced. The situation is plainly unsafe. This is the Conservative Party’s shameful legacy, but the Labour government is doing nowhere near enough to address it.

The extraordinary decision to gut ring-fenced funding for improved maternity care could lead to even more dangerous situations. We must do better for expectant mothers and their families. That means restoring this key training grant, implementing the actions from the Ockenden Review without delay, and ensuring crumbling and dangerous maternity units are urgently repaired.

Farage stamp duty: Reform leader has “serious questions to answer”

Responding to a BBC investigation into the stamp duty paid on Nigel Farage’s house in Clacton, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

Nigel Farage has serious questions to answer over this. After spending days attacking others over their tax arrangements he now needs to be frank and honest about his own.

I’m not holding my breath. The only time Nigel Farage wants to answer questions is when he is in the US talking Britain down.

Mandelson: PM must carry out full review of vetting procedures

Responding to reporting that Number 10 appointed Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador despite the security services expressing concern, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

The Prime Minister needs to carry out a full review of vetting procedures. It would be extraordinary if Peter Mandelson was appointed to a key role without the PM having been made aware of the full facts.

Our country cannot be put in a position where we could be embarrassed on the international stage because of the Government not carrying out appropriate levels of due diligence.