• Conservative leadership: To call this contest scraping the bottom of the barrel would be an insult to barrels
• Davey: New Govt must make repairing our broken relationship with Europe a priority
• Welsh Government urged to adopt successful family court model – Substance use among parents dropped by over a quarter
• McArthur comments on prisoner early release figures

Conservative leadership: To call this contest scraping the bottom of the barrel would be an insult to barrels

Responding to the speeches made by the four Conservative leadership candidates at their party’s conference today, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

To call this contest scraping the bottom of the barrel would be an insult to barrels. Every day this leadership contest goes on reminds the public why they voted to kick the Conservatives out of office.

The leadership candidates are competing in an undignified race to the bottom, suggesting maternity pay should be slashed, civil servants should go to prison and insulting the armed forces. All four of them are failed former Conservative ministers, refusing to take responsibility for their appalling record in government.

Davey: New Govt must make repairing our broken relationship with Europe a priority

Responding to Keir Starmer’s meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said:

After years of Conservative failure, this new Government must make repairing our broken relationship with Europe a priority. That starts with a common sense agreement on a Youth Mobility Scheme between the EU and the UK.

For years, Conservative Ministers not only ignored our closest neighbours but treated them with contempt.

The Conservatives’ shoddy deal with the EU has harmed farmers, fishers and small businesses across the country. It’s time to tear down the red tape erected by the former Conservative Government and give a boost to Britain’s economy, by working closely with our European allies once again.

Welsh Government urged to adopt successful family court model – Substance use among parents dropped by over a quarter

The Welsh Government have been urged to adopt a successful family court model to help cut down on the number of children taken into care.

Speaking to the Siambr on Tuesday, Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds called for the adoption of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court model, which is a therapeutic problem-solving court model that focuses on allowing children to remain with their families where possible while also stopping parental drug misuse.

The Welsh Government had previously run a pilot version of the court model last year in Cardiff, which saw a remarkable decline in substance misuse and a rise in the number of children staying in parental care.
Drug misuse amongst parents declined from 83% to 54%, with 29% of parents achieving sobriety.

Meanwhile, the number of children in parental care more than doubled from 14% to 32%, resulting in more families staying together.

Despite successful results, the scheme was ended last year due to budgeting constraints.

Jane Dodds MS has criticised the Welsh Government for scrapping the scheme, and has asked them to reverse their decision and provide future long-term funding for the scheme, stating that:

This court model could prove to be transformative to family justice here in Wales.

I was disappointed to see that, despite successful results from the pilot model in Cardiff, this potentially life-changing model was scrapped due to a withdrawal of funding by the Welsh Labour Government.

We have a golden opportunity here to change our system for the better, ensuring that children are able to stay together with their families, giving them a brighter future in the long-term.

McArthur comments on prisoner early release figures

Responding to the news that more than one in ten early release prisoners were back in prison before their original release date, Scottish Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur MSP said:

The SNP have only themselves to blame for this mess.

The Scottish Government has failed to do enough to stop Scotland’s prison population spiralling out of control. These plans were a last-ditch response to a crisis that was years in the making.

The SNP can’t be trusted with our justice system. Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see a system in which prisons are equipped to help people turn their lives around and keep communities safe.