• 40 new hospitals: Shoddy attempt to bury bad news on day of Trump’s inauguration
• Farm incomes in Wales fall by 34% – Liberal Democrats call for Government reset
• Trump inauguration shows importance of close ties with Europe

40 new hospitals: Shoddy attempt to bury bad news on day of Trump’s inauguration

Responding to the Health Secretary’s announcement that there will be significant delays to the completion of the New Hospital Programme, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

This is a double betrayal. The Conservatives shamelessly made promises they never intended to keep to countless communities served by crumbling hospitals.

Now this government uses the day of Trump’s inauguration in a shoddy attempt to bury bad news, showing an outrageous disregard for patients.

Instead of ducking scrutiny, the Health Secretary needs to publish the full impact assessment of these delays.

Patients have a right to know just how at risk they are, and how many more delays they will have to suffer as a result of the government’s decision.

Farm incomes in Wales fall by 34% – Liberal Democrats call for Government reset

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on Labour to reset their relationship with farming and the countryside following the release of statistics showing farming incomes in Wales have fallen by 34% for the period April 2023 to March 2024.

David Chadwick MP, the Liberal Democrats Wales spokesperson in Westminster has said that recent policy failures by both the Welsh Labour Government in Cardiff Bay and the UK Government are damaging agriculture and the wider rural economy in Wales and risk making the situation even worse.

Dairy farmers saw their income drop by 59 per cent, while cattle and sheep farms in Wales’s less favoured areas saw average income fall by 9 per cent to £22,200.

The fall in incomes comes in the wake of spiralling energy prices and associated inflation in products like fertilizers with the Welsh Liberal Democrats stating that Labour’s family farms tax (changes to APR and BPR) will only continue to add pressure on a sector that is already struggling to cope.

The Party has argued the changes, alongside economic pressure and bullying behaviour from large supermarkets will lead to more farmers leaving the profession entirely and a further hollowing out of rural communities that are already struggling to cope with rapidly ageing populations.

They have also raised the risk Labour’s policies pose to the Welsh language. With 43% of agricultural workers speaking Welsh (a percentage well above the average within the general population) there is a risk community survival of the language declines if people leave farming and rural areas suffer increased depopulation.

Commenting Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick said:

These figures should be a stark reminder for Labour that the idea farmers are all wealthy and should be targeted to punitive tax raids is for the birds.

Agricultural incomes have been falling for some time. The last Government did not offer much to help and now the new Government risks making things even worse. If they don’t change course, we will see a continued decline in the rural economy and the hallowing out of our rural communities.

Labour must end their war on the countryside being waged from both Cardiff Bay and Westminster, cancel the family farms tax and reset their relationship with our farmers. Our food security and the economic viability of rural communities depend on it.

Trump inauguration shows importance of close ties with Europe

Commenting as Trump’s inauguration takes place today, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

Donald Trump returning to the White House will be deeply worrying for millions of people in the UK and around the world. With a President who promises trade wars, undermines NATO and praises Vladimir Putin, the threats to our national security and our economy are clear.

The UK must lead on the world stage again, standing up for our interests by working closely with other countries – above all our European neighbours.

We need to make sure that Ukraine has the weapons it needs to carry on defending its territory and protecting the whole European continent.

The threat of tariffs could cause real damage to our economy and have a particular impact on our whisky industry. If some kind of trade war with America is now a realistic short-term possibility then we must, as a matter of urgency, negotiate a brand-new Customs Union deal to cut red tape and boost British businesses.”

My party will press the UK Government to be far more ambitious and positive in fixing our relationship with Europe, to strengthen Britain’s hand when it comes to dealing with Trump.