• Number of serious childbirth injuries spikes by over a fifth
• Lib Dems winners of by-elections Super Thursday, sweeping the board in once true blue Surrey as Conservative council tries to delay elections again
• Farron: No Govt change on family farm tax is a “kick in the teeth” to farmers
• Chamberlain to set out plans to tackle violence against women and girls

Number of serious childbirth injuries spikes by over a fifth

The number of third and fourth degree perineal tears following child birth has spiked dramatically since 2021 with the injuries now affecting almost 3% of all births.

The data found that, as of 2024, almost 29 in every 1,000 births now results in a serious perineal tear, up from 23.5 in 2021, the first full year of comparable data. That is a rise of more than a fifth. The number has risen every year between the comparable years since that data began to be recorded. Throughout 2024 there were 7,995 third or fourth degree tears reported.

The research also revealed that the number of readmissions following childbirth has risen on last year, with more than 5% of all childbirths resulting in one with more than 14,000 reported in 2024.

It comes as previous Liberal Democrat research has also found that the number of maternal deaths has also risen from 209 in 2015-17 to 254 in 2021-23. The NHS has faced a £27 billion bill for maternity failings over recent years, far more than the health service’s £18 billion budget for newborns over that period.

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 said the figures were “heartbreaking” as more mothers had to endure these traumatic births. The party has called on the Government to immediately implement all of the actions from the Ockenden report into maternity care and to reverse the cuts to the SDF.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

Behind these figures are heartbreaking stories of women suffering unimaginable trauma at a moment that should be full of joy.

The Conservatives neglect of maternity services was unforgivable, putting mothers and babies under threat, but Labour risks kicking action on this problem into the long grass. We of course need to understand why these awful injuries are on the rise but the Government’s inquiry cannot be used as a shield against taking meaningful action now.

It is unacceptable that, while so many women die or are injured by poor maternity care, the Government raided the key ring-fenced fund for improving maternity services. Their promises to improve safety will ring hollow until they change course.

If the Government is serious about ending the disaster unfolding on our maternity wards, they must reverse these cuts at once, support our hard-working NHS teams, and implement every measure in the Ockenden Review without delay.

Lib Dems winners of by-elections Super Thursday, sweeping the board in once true blue Surrey as Conservative council tries to delay elections again

• Party wins 7 out of 10 council by-elections this week, including all 6 out of 6 in Surrey.

• Wins include Caterham in East Surrey constituency, held by Claire Coutinho, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, as Ed Davey says “what remains of the Blue Wall is crumbling away.”

• ⁠Lib Dems also gain from Labour in Preston, beating Reform to the win.

• ⁠Conservatives in Surrey looking to delay elections again in bid to remain in power for another year.

The Liberal Democrats have won the most by-elections on what has been dubbed ‘Super Thursday’, winning 7 out of the 10 council seats up. The wins came in Surrey but also in Preston, Lancashire, where the party gained from Labour, beating Reform to the win.

The party’s gains include Camberley in Surrey, which Ed Davey visited last week. It is in Surrey Heath constituency, won by the Liberal Democrats in the General Election, previously held by Michael Gove.

The party won in Caterham, in the East Surrey constituency, held by Shadow Cabinet member Claire Coutinho.

Last night it emerged that the Conservative administration at Surrey County Council was attempting to delay the elections by another year, reported by the Times. The Liberal Democrats labelled the news “a disgraceful stitch up between Labour and the Conservatives”, adding that “Tory-run councils are running scared and denying voters a chance to kick them out of office”.

These results show the Liberal Democrats are on track to win the new East and West unitary councils, ending 50 years of Conservative failure in Surrey. The people of Surrey are more and more fed up with Conservative debt, pothole-plagued roads, and failing children’s services.

Leader Ed Davey said that “what remains of the Blue Wall is crumbling away.”

But the Liberal Democrats’ wins weren’t just against the Conservatives. The party gained from the Greens in nearby Spelthorne.

The party also beat Reform to gain a seat from Labour in Preston.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

What remains of the Blue Wall is crumbling away. People across Surrey and beyond have voted for true community champions who will put them first.

The Liberal Democrats are winning against the Conservatives, but also Labour, Reform and the Greens.

These results show that the public have not forgiven the Conservatives for the mess they left the country in. Former Conservative voters feel abandoned by Kemi Badenoch’s lurch to the right, mimicking Farage instead of standing up for true British values. The Conservatives are on their way out in councils across the country.

On reports that elections may be delayed again, he added:

This is a disgraceful stitch up between Labour and the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats made sweeping gains against the Conservatives in Surrey, Hampshire and across the Blue Wall at the General Election, and now they are running scared and denying voters a chance to kick them out of office.

On the gain in Preston, he said:

Labour isn’t listening. People are feeling frustrated and disappointed that the Labour government has failed to deliver the change they promised. After years of Conservative chaos and neglect, people want to see far more urgency and ambition from this government.

Farron: No Govt change on family farm tax is a “kick in the teeth” to farmers

Responding to the reports that there will be no amendment or repeal of the Family Farm Tax in next month’s Budget, Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, said:

This is hugely disappointing and a kick in the teeth for British farmers. This tax will do immense damage to farmers, food production and environmental stewardship.

We were hoping that the Chancellor would use the Budget next month as an opportunity to reverse course and protect family farms, but instead, they face this tax and cuts to their incomes – after one of the worst harvests on record.

The Liberal Democrats will continue to lead the charge against this unfair tax hike, to protect family farms and rural communities who are being taken for granted.

Chamberlain to set out plans to tackle violence against women and girls

At their autumn party conference in Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats are expected to back a motion put forward by deputy leader Wendy Chamberlain which sets out a range of measures to tackle violence against women and girls, including a call for the Scottish Government to implement key domestic abuse protections four years after they became the law.

In 2021, the Scottish Parliament voted for new legislation to tackle domestic abuse.

However, Part 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 is not yet in force and the Scottish Government were unable to confirm when they will come into effect.

It contains provision for two new legal measures, designed to give emergency protection to domestic abuse victims: domestic abuse protection notices and domestic abuse protection orders.

Both the notice and the order could be issued immediately following a domestic abuse incident. The notice would enable the police to require a perpetrator to leave a victim’s home, while the order would give a sheriff the power to impose certain requirements or prohibitions against a perpetrator.

The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre has said that the “delay in implementation of these remedies has a significant impact on the availability of protection for victims/ survivors.” They explain that this delay means that both victims and their children “remain at serious risk of further abuse and harm”.

The motion also calls for

• ‘Sex’ to be swiftly added to the list of protected characteristics in the Hate Crime and Public Order Act 2021, and a review in the next parliament, with a view to bringing in separate legislation as originally recommended by Baroness Kennedy if required.
• Consistent guidance for schools and local authorities on how to tackle violence against female pupils in schools.
• Measures to prevent further violence against women and girls to be included as part of efforts to rehabilitate prisoners.
• Establishing a single point of contact within a local authority that victims of domestic abuse can speak to in order explain their circumstances, ensuring victims only have to tell their story once.
• All housing and frontline staff to be trained to detect and respond appropriately to domestic abuse and survivors of domestic abuse.
• A presumption that the perpetrator of domestic abuse will be required to leave the shared home, allowing survivors greater choice and agency.

Wendy Chamberlain said:

Every day in Scotland, women and girls are suffering violence at the hands of men.

If we are serious about tackling misogyny and protecting women and girls, we need change in a number of different policy areas, from health to education to justice.

Four years since the Domestic Abuse Act passed, SNP ministers have yet to implement crucial protections contained within it. The longer these delays continue, the continuing risk to those experiencing domestic abuse.

Equally, by ditching the Misogyny Bill earlier this year, the SNP threw away a real opportunity to take a dedicated approach to tackling violence against women and girls.

Scotland deserves better. From removing domestic abusers from the family home to properly protecting female pupils in schools, our proposals will send a clear message that we are committed to stamping out misogyny and gender-based violence for good.