• Lib Dems table humble address to force Government to publish impact assessment of UK-US deal
• Care Workers: Change is urgently needed to fix the mess the Conservatives made
• Liberal Democrats call on Government to “futureproof” infrastructure following reports of Underground failures
• Rennie to push amendments to housing bill

Lib Dems table humble address to force Government to publish impact assessment of UK-US deal

The Liberal Democrats will table a humble address in Parliament this week to force the Government to publish its impact assessments of the agreement with the US announced last week.

The Government has so far not published documents such as impact assessments on key British industries following the deal, leaving many in the dark as to what ministers have given up in exchange for Trump’s lowering of tariffs.

The deal allows more American beef into the UK market, as well as setting a limit on the number of British cars that can be exported to the US before being hit with 25% tariffs. It is not yet clear what impact this will have on these sectors as the Government has not published the relevant analysis.

The Liberal Democrat motion aims to force the Government to publish these details. Humble Address motions have been successfully used in the past, including in 2017 when the Government was forced to publish an impact assessment of Brexit on the economy.

The Liberal Democrats are also calling on the government to prepare plans in case Trump reneges on the deal or imposes further tariffs in the future, given his record of doing so to other countries he has signed trade deals with, including Canada.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The Government needs to publish the details behind this agreement so those impacted aren’t left in the dark, from Britain’s world-class farmers to all those working in businesses still being hit by Trump’s tariffs.

People are deeply worried about Donald Trump’s attempts to bully the UK and his record of breaking his own deals.

We’ve seen how Trump has trampled over deals he signed with our allies like Canada. We cannot allow him to do the same to Britain. The Prime Minister needs to recognise this and prepare a plan B if Trump tears up this agreement or imposes new tariffs in future.

The Liberal Democrats will keep standing up for Britain and holding this Government to account over their dealings with Trump.

Care Workers: Change is urgently needed to fix the mess the Conservatives made

Commenting on the government’s Immigration White Paper, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Carers Alison Bennett MP said:

The Conservatives failed to bring forward their promised plans to get social care working and as a result left care providers with no choice other than to rely on overseas workers.

Change is urgently needed to fix the mess the Conservatives made. The new Government has failed to bring forward a credible plan that makes it easier to recruit British workers to fill these vacancies.

If the Government doesn’t introduce a higher Carer’s Minimum Wage to tackle this and get on with reforming social care this year, both their plans for social care and immigration will fall apart.

Our country deserves a comprehensive plan to fix social care – not half-baked proposals that only address one part of the problem.

Liberal Democrats call on Government to “futureproof” infrastructure following reports of Underground failures

Responding to the news of major disruption across the London Underground network caused by a power failure, the Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson Paul Kohler has said:

These reports of disruption across the Underground are deeply concerning. Millions of passengers a day rely on the Underground and this will no doubt cause chaos for many Londoners.

Coming so soon after the recent power outage that closed Heathrow a review of all our critical transport power supply is clearly over due. The Government must urgently futureproof our ageing infrastructure to ensure this doesn’t keep happening and invest in a safe and reliable transport system everyone can use.

Rennie to push amendments to housing bill

On Tuesday, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie will begin to put forward a series of amendments to the Scottish Government’s housing bill to tackle fears that it will discourage properties from being put forward for rent and discourage house building.

Mr Rennie’s amendments include proposals to:

• exempt mid-market-rent and build-to-rent properties from the proposed rent control regime including registered social landlords, exempt properties which are let at below half the rate of open-market rent and exclude build-to-rent properties from harmful measures.

• prevent rent control measures from applying between tenancies where work has been done to improve the property.

• require Scottish Ministers to publish and review a private rented sector strategy.

Commenting ahead of moving the amendments, Mr Rennie said:

Scotland needs more properties of every kind if we are to bring down housing costs. The amendments I am putting forward aim to build confidence and increase investment in new housing.

The Scottish Government with the influence of the Greens has damaged investment and resulted in fewer homes being built in the middle of a housing emergency.

Their damaging rhetoric about landlords and investors has reduced the number of properties available to renters and discouraged landlords from doing upkeep work. Unsurprisingly less supply means that prices go up.

Seeing these problems and doubling down, like the Green party are proposing, is the economic equivalent of being a flat earther. It’s time for a sensible approach which brings down housing costs.