18 January 2024 – today’s press releases

  • Sunak press conference: Out of touch and out of ideas
  • UK Stats Authority criticises Sunak over asylum backlog claim
  • “The Tories have failed Port Talbot” – Welsh Lib Dems

Sunak press conference: Out of touch and out of ideas

Responding to Rishi Sunak’s press conference on the Conservative government’s Rwanda policy, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

This Conservative government crashed the economy, sent mortgage rates spiralling and has made it almost impossible to see a GP.

Instead of tackling these major challenges, Rishi Sunak’s government is too busy fighting over an unworkable and expensive policy that is destined to fail.

It just confirms how desperately out of touch and out of ideas this Conservative government is. We urgently need a general election so we can finally put an end to this cycle of Conservative chaos and get on with tackling the huge challenges facing us all.

UK Stats Authority criticises Sunak over asylum backlog claim

The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) has criticised Rishi Sunak over his claim to have “cleared” the asylum backlog earlier this month, despite the latest figures showing the total backlog of asylum cases is over 99,000.

In response to a letter from Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael, the Chair of the UKSA Sir Robert Chote said voters may have been “misled” by Sunak’s claim and that it “may affect public trust.”

Chote says the average member of the public would assume from Sunak’s claim to have “cleared” the asylum backlog that the whole backlog had been cleared, adding that he was “not surprised that the government’s claim has been treated with scepticism and some people may feel misled.”

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said:

Not only is the Conservative Government celebrating something that is no achievement, they are twisting the facts – as proven by the UK Statistics Authority just today.

As this letter again shows, the Conservatives have not cleared the asylum backlog. Thousands of vulnerable people are still living in limbo as they wait for their claims to be processed. The British public deserves better than this.

“The Tories have failed Port Talbot” – Welsh Lib Dems

Today (18th January 2024) the Welsh Liberal Democrats have criticised the UK Conservative Government for failing the steel industry in Wales.

The criticism comes after it was announced that Tata Steel will be closing all their remaining blast furnaces in the UK. Resulting in a potential loss of 3,000 jobs, 2,000 of which would be in Port Talbot.

Commenting, the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

I am deeply disappointed to hear that Tata Steel will be closing their remaining blast furnaces in the UK. Something which could have a devastating impact on communities across the country, particularly in Port Talbot where the local economy is reliant on the nearby steel plant.

The UK Conservative government, through their inability to support investment into UK steel, has failed towns like Port Talbot across the country.

If the UK government was willing to implement a real and sustainable industrial strategy that protected jobs whilst simultaneously supporting the transition to low carbon sectors, we wouldn’t find ourselves in this mess.

But now we are here, on the verge of witnessing the destruction of Port Talbot.

The Prime Minister and his cabinet will never know what it’s like for the thousands of workers at risk of losing their jobs, they will never know the constant worrying and anxiety that comes with the prospect of losing one’s livelihood.

They will never know, and they simply will never care.

I urgently call on Tata Steel to put a pause on this decision and consider the impact that this will have. Losing so many jobs this summer during a financial crisis will be devastating.

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One Comment

  • Martin Gray 20th Jan '24 - 6:58am

    In the race to net zero it was always going to be the working man that pays the price …The deindustrialisation of the UK and outsourcing our manufacturing capabilities together with their omissions continues unabated…All supported by those that couldn’t never envisage working at a steel plant..

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