• Wage Growth falls: Govt must back small businesses as the backbone of our economy
• NI Rise: Chancellor needs to think again
• Poll: 1 in 4 reveal they are unable to work because they can’t get a NHS appointment
• Lib Dems urge further UK government sanctions to proscribe far-right Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich
• Highland MP to lead debate on Community Benefits from Renewables
• Cole-Hamilton: A&E waits once again worse than last year

Wage Growth falls: Govt must back small businesses as the backbone of our economy

Responding to the latest wage growth figures falling by 4.9%, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

The cost of living crisis is still affecting many people across the country.

The cost of the weekly shop remains sky high compared to a few years ago, and years of mismanagement under the Conservative Government had squeezed people’s pay.

The Government must use the Autumn Budget to tackle the cost-of-living crisis facing pensioners and families, and also back small businesses as the backbone of our economy.

NI Rise: Chancellor needs to think again

Responding to Keir Starmer refusing to rule out a National Insurance increase for employers in the Budget on BBC Breakfast, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

The Chancellor needs to think again if the government is considering hiking taxes on small businesses, who have already suffered from eye-watering tax rises under the last Conservative government.

The burden of this budget should fall on the likes of big banks, social media giants and oil and gas firms, instead of our local community businesses. The Chancellor should be protecting these smaller businesses, who are the backbone of our economy and the heartbeat of our communities.

Now is not the time to raise national insurance rates on our high streets, local businesses and dynamic entrepreneurs.

The Conservative government has left our economy on life support. Now is the time to boost growth by backing small businesses and repairing our crumbling public services.

Poll: 1 in 4 reveal they are unable to work because they can’t get a NHS appointment

• The Liberal Democrats will be using their first full opposition day in 15 years to focus on the NHS and care crisis.

• Almost half (45%) of Brits have tried to get a NHS appointment in the last year and have been unable to.

• 1 in 4 (27%) reveal they are unable to work because they can’t get a NHS appointment

• Almost three in five (58%) adults who were unable to get a NHS appointment have self-diagnosed from searching their symptoms online.

The Liberal Democrats will use their opposition day in Parliament tomorrow to raise the NHS crisis, as a shocking new poll commissioned by the party reveals reveals a quarter (27%) of working adults in the UK say they have been unable to work in the last 12 months because they were waiting for a GP (19%) or NHS dentist appointment (12%).

Of all UK adults who wanted a NHS GP or dentist appointment, almost half (45%) were unable to, revealing the extent of the strain on the NHS system as we head into the winter months. Even more concerningly, approaching one in five (17%) working adults say they have had to take at least one week off work whilst waiting for NHS treatment in the last 12 months. As many as one in five (21%) ended up taking more than two weeks off whilst they waited for treatment.

Shockingly, almost 60% of Brits unable to get a NHS appointment have resorted to self diagnosis by searching their symptoms online. The data also shows that three in ten (29%) ignored their symptoms completely as they couldn’t get the care they needed on the NHS.

This comes ahead of the Liberal Democrats opposition day on Wednesday, the first full opposition day for the party in 15 years, and the first opposition motion in more than 6 years. The Liberal Democrats will use their opposition day to highlight the crisis in the NHS and lack of support for unpaid carers – issues the party has urged the Labour government to prioritise in the new Parliament.

The first Liberal Democrat motion will focus on the Carer’s Allowance repayments scandal, calling on the government to write-off existing overpayments and conduct a full review of support for unpaid carers. The second motion will urge Ministers to tackle the NHS crisis by improving access to GPs, NHS dentists and community pharmacists.

Commenting ahead of the opposition day, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care Spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

It is an outrage that patients across the country are forced to take time off work because they can’t access the care they so desperately need. Every person who needs to see a doctor or dentist should be able to. But due to the neglect and incompetence of the former Conservative government, people are struggling to get the care they need.

That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent investment in our health services to increase the number of GP and NHS dental appointments.

Fixing the crisis in our NHS is crucial to kickstarting our economy, by cutting down waiting lists and getting people back into work. The new government must make health and social care their top priority.

Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP said:

When I speak to families and pensioners across the country, there is one issue that comes up again and again, that people can’t get an NHS appointment when they so desperately need it.

The Liberal Democrats have listened to people’s concerns, and will continue to fight in Westminster to make sure the government prioritises our health and care systems after years of neglect and mismanagement.

Lib Dems urge further UK government sanctions to proscribe far-right Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich

Following the government’s announcement of sanctions on settlers in the West Bank, Calum Miller MP, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, said:

The Liberal Democrats welcome the government’s recent announcement of sanctions on settlers in the West Bank. Those illegally settling in the region are actively undermining the prospects of a two-state solution and a lasting peace.

This move is a step in the right direction – but we were lagging behind our allies and we must go further.

The government must expand the scope of sanctions to include far-right Israeli government ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, as I asked them to do in the House of Commons today. It is crucial that we act against the leaders of the extremist settler community and stand up for international law and against incitement.

Highland MP to lead debate on Community Benefits from Renewables

Angus MacDonald MP for Inverness, Skye, and West Ross-shire will lead a Westminster Hall debate today on the community benefits from renewable energy projects.

The debate will highlight the need for greater financial investment in rural areas that are impacted by large-scale renewable energy infrastructure.

Angus MacDonald has been a strong advocate for fair compensation to local communities who bear the burden of hosting renewable projects like wind farms and solar panels, which are transforming the UK’s energy landscape. However, many of these communities, especially in rural areas, see little direct financial benefit, despite enduring the visual and environmental impact of these industrial-scale projects.

In 2023, research by Octopus Energy found that 87% of people would support a wind turbine in their community if it reduced their bills. But the Great British Energy Bill, currently being discussed in Parliament, makes no provision for community ownership or benefit from renewable projects.

Mr MacDonald has now drafted an amendment to the Great British Energy Bill, that the LibDem Energy spokesperson Pippa Heyling has submitted.

Clause 5, page 3, line 8,

“(1A) A statement under this section must include as a strategic priority, consistent

with Great British Energy’s objects under section 3, measures to be taken to

ensure that local communities benefit directly from low carbon and renewable

energy projects operating within their area.”

Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr MacDonald said:

Britain and Norway once shared the same opportunity with North Sea oil, but while Norway built a $1.7 trillion Sovereign Wealth Fund, Britain spent our oil receipts. Now, we face a similar transformational moment as we transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Billions of pounds are being made, and jobs created, but too often it is overseas companies who reap the rewards while rural communities pay the price for hosting these projects.

You only need to travel to the Highlands, Islands, and rural areas across the UK to see how the landscape has changed with miles of towering wind turbines and fields covered in solar panels. These are the very communities that face higher fuel poverty, poor infrastructure, and rising living costs, yet they receive little financial benefit from the energy being generated on their doorsteps.

I’ve consulted with energy companies, government ministers, and local authorities, and there is a consensus that rural communities must directly benefit from hosting renewable infrastructure.

Other countries, such as Ireland, Denmark and Germany already provide significant financial benefits to local communities through ownership stakes or local taxation on renewable projects. It’s time for the UK to follow suit and ensure that those who are most affected by renewable energy developments also share in the wealth they create.

Cole-Hamilton: A&E waits once again worse than last year

Responding to new figures showing only 62.7% of people attending A&E were seen within the 4 hour target in the week ending 6th October, while 3,536 people waited over 8 hours and 1,649 waited over 12 hours, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

Under this SNP government, there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for emergency care services. Waiting times have barely improved since the depths of winter and they are worse than they were this time last year.

We need to see urgent action from this SNP government to stop this crisis getting even worse as we head into winter. Patients and staff should not be left to suffer as a consequence for this government’s failings.

Scottish Liberal Democrats would overhaul the SNP’s failed NHS Recovery Plan, get you fast access to GPs and help people leave hospital on time through a new minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher.