• Davey: UK facing energy crunch
• Cable: Corbyn determined to play party political games
• Lib Dems: Outrageous that army reserves are on standby due to Tory Brexit mess
• Lib Dems: Only way forward is through a People’s Vote
• Govt back-payment for modern slavery victims is too little too late
• Cable: Government wrong on People’s Vote timetable

Davey: UK facing energy crunch

Responding to the news that Hitachi have stopped work on the Wylfa plant, former Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy Ed Davey said:

Japanese businesses have warned about Brexit’s economic consequences since the 2016 referendum, so this latest set back to the Conservatives’ energy policy is not a surprise.

The UK will face an energy crunch in the next decade and fall behind on climate change targets if the Government just continues to sit on its hands.

Liberal Democrats demand better. The much cheaper opportunity of renewable power backed up by cutting edge technologies like new-generation batteries, interconnectors and tidal lagoons must now take priority over nuclear.

Cable: Corbyn determined to play party political games

Responding to Jeremy Corbyn’s speech in Hastings, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said:

Since he appears to be determined to play party political games rather than acting on the wishes of his own members and MPs, he will no longer be able to rely on our support for further no confidence motions.

I believe other parties are taking the same view. It’s time Mr Corbyn got off the fence and made his position plain.

Lib Dems: Outrageous that army reserves are on standby due to Tory Brexit mess

Responding to the news the Government has put the army reserves on standby due to a no-deal Brexit, Liberal Democrat Armed Forces Spokesperson Jamie Stone said:

The Conservatives have made such a mess of Brexit that now even soldiers are being put on standby. It is outrageous. What kind of message to the country is this? It does nothing to alleviate the worry and uncertainty people feel.

All this nonsense can be stopped by the Prime Minister ruling out a chaotic ‘no deal’ scenario. But better yet, Liberal Democrats would give the power back to the people through a People’s Vote with the option to remain in the EU.

Lib Dems: Only way forward is through a People’s Vote

Following talks between Liberal Democrat MPs and representatives of Theresa May’s government, a Liberal Democrat spokesperson said:

The Liberal Democrats are happy to talk and happy to listen in order to achieve a people’s vote.

In today’s meeting, we made our position clear that the only way forward is through a people’s vote with an option to remain.

The government now needs to get serious about making significant changes to their own position. The ball is ultimately in their court.

Govt back-payment for modern slavery victims is too little too late

Responding to the Home Office’s announcement of a back-payment scheme for modern slavery victims, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Ed Davey said:

For a Prime Minister who said modern slavery is ‘the great human rights issue of our time’, it is humiliating to have to be forced by the courts to treat these vulnerable victims properly.

Leaving victims without enough money to support themselves always risked pushing them back into the hands of traffickers, but the Government didn’t care.

The Home Office should never have cut this support, and must now do everything it can to make sure every victim gets the money they are owed.

Hoping past victims will read a press release and fill in an online form isn’t good enough, and the Liberal Democrats demand better.

Cable: Government wrong on People’s Vote timetable

According to incorrect reports that planning for a People’s Vote will take a year, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said:

This is completely wrong. One of the useful outcomes from the first round of the discussions with the Government was around the practicalities of a People’s Vote. These discussions brought to the surface the complete misunderstanding in government circles about the timeline to bring it about.

As Lord Tyler demonstrated today, it would be perfectly possible to organise a People’s Vote to take place as early as May without trampling on constitutional and practical requirements.