• Truss refuses to apologise for mini-budget while pocketing taxpayer handouts
• RAAC: Lib Dems win vote forcing govt to publish register of crumbling schools and hospitals

Truss refuses to apologise for mini-budget while pocketing taxpayer handouts

The Liberal Democrats have called for taxpayer-funded payouts to failed ministers to be scrapped, after Liz Truss today refused to apologise to households for the damage caused by her mini-budget.

In 2022, Liz Truss was paid £18,660 in severance pay for her failed tenure as Prime Minister. Meanwhile, former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng received £16,876 in severance pay, or £444 in taxpayers’ cash for each day he held office.

The Liberal Democrats said it was “rubbing salt in the wound” for those being hit by spiralling mortgage payments that Truss and her failed Conservative ministers were able to pocket thousands of pounds in handouts. The Lib Dems will debate proposals at their Autumn Conference this weekend to prevent MPs who have resigned for breaking the Ministerial Code from claiming severance pay, and to ensure ministers have to serve in post for a reasonable period of time before being entitled to it.

Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

Liz Truss’ refusal to apologise to the families who have seen their finances ruined by her botched budget shows just how out of touch she is. To rub salt in the wound, Truss and her fellow Conservative ministers pocketed thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ cash in handouts after causing an economic car crash and fleeing the scene of the crime.

The British public will never forget this shambolic Conservative government for trashing the economy and sending mortgage rates spiralling. It is time to change the rules over ministerial severance pay for good so that Liz Truss and other former Conservative ministers cannot again profit from their own failure.

RAAC: Lib Dems win vote forcing govt to publish register of crumbling schools and hospitals

The Liberal Democrats have won a vote in the House of Lords this evening on an amendment forcing the Government to publish a register of schools and hospitals in serious disrepair, including those impacted by the RAAC scandal.

The amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill was tabled by the Liberal Democrats and won this evening with a majority of 35. It would force the government to publish a full public register of schools and hospitals that have had to close buildings because they are deemed unsafe, including those with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). The list would also include buildings closed due to disrepair and those in need of major rebuilding and refurbishment.

The list would have to be published within a month of the Bill passing, and would then be reviewed every three months to ensure it contains up-to-date information. The amendment will now return to the Commons in the coming weeks.

Following the vote, Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson for Communities and Local Government Baroness Pinnock said:

This Liberal Democrat amendment is a fantastic win for all the children and patients who have been denied money by the Conservatives to stop hospitals and schools falling into disrepair.

This new amendment should help people feel that they are safe in public buildings. It is appalling that this information is not already compiled by the Government. The Liberal Democrats are fighting to make sure the Government is accountable for this crisis.