Our Press Team have been incredibly busy today, so much so that I’m going to have to deal with this in two parts, both of which are going to be larger than usual. So, without further ado…

• Lib Dems: Levels of homelessness an ‘absolute disgrace’ (see article here)
• Tory paralysis failing domestic abuse victims
• Health Sec knows UK in critical condition
• PM’s deal goes from fudge to farce
• Tory bucket list for pupils ‘an insult’
• Lamb: Tories must not neglect young people with mental illness

(see article here)

• Davey: Reducing climate-changing gases demands real leadership

Tory paralysis failing domestic abuse victims

Responding to official statistics published today showing that 2 million people experienced domestic abuse in 2017-18, Liberal Democrat Communities spokesperson Wera Hobhouse said:

Every case of domestic abuse is an abhorrent and unthinkable crime. The scale of these figures show the urgent need for the Domestic Abuse Bill, but the Tories’ Brexit-induced paralysis is delaying vital legislation and failing victims.

Changing the law alone won’t, however, be enough on its own. Liberal Democrats demand better. We are fighting for more funding for refuges and rape crisis centres, as well as a new national rape crisis helpline to support victims and increase the chances of convictions.

Health Sec knows UK in critical condition

Responding to the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, declaring the UK could hold a second referendum on Brexit, Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake said:

Hancock says he doesn’t like the idea of a People’s Vote but May firmly put ‘no Brexit’ on the table last week.

Support is growing to give the people the final say on Brexit, and the Health Secretary knows better than anyone that this country is in a critical condition. May’s deal is dead on arrival.

He, and the others around the Cabinet table need to open their eyes and ears to public opinion, but are running scared from the Brexit backlash they face.

PM’s deal goes from fudge to farce

Commenting on today’s publication of the Political Declaration between the European Union and the UK, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake said:

This document is as aspirational as it is contradictory. In reality, it tells us nothing new, and as we heard from the Spanish PM’s comments last night, people aren’t rallying behind this deal, home or away.

This has gone from being a fudge to a farce. May needs to start telling some home truths, about what this deal really means for people in Britain, and British expats.

The declaration – in trying to please all sides – pretends that the UK will be able to have its cake and eat it, combining a “single customs territory” and “alignment of rules” with an independent trade policy and an end to freedom of movement. This is not the case, and MPs should not be tricked into voting for the deal on this pretence.

Tory bucket list for pupils ‘an insult’

Responding to the announcement from the Education Secretary of a ‘bucket list’ for pupils, Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Layla Moran said:

Whilst I welcome any shift away from the Conservative Government’s obsession with high-stakes exams, this list is an insult considering their punitive funding cuts to schools across the country.

It is laughable that the Education Secretary is prioritising “watching the sun rise” when teachers are barely able to afford text books, are being forced to drop subjects and are using food banks to provide lunches.

If the Tories are serious about giving children a more rounded experience of education perhaps they should be protecting arts subjects and mental health education – which are either being cut back or squeezed out of the school day altogether because of critical funding shortages.

Davey: Reducing climate-changing gases demands real leadership

Reacting to news that climate-changing gases in the atmosphere have reached a new high, former Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey said:

Climate change comes not just with an environmental cost, but a human cost. Unless we act now, the destruction could be unparalleled.

Frankly, however, this Conservative Government is moving at a glacial pace. Tory Ministers have no interest in tackling climate change, proven by the fact the UK is already set to miss the Paris Agreement objectives.

Liberal Democrats demand better. Now is the time for real leadership. Liberal Democrats are offering just that with plans to bring forward decarbonisation targets by ten years and a radical plan to ensure the UK can meet them.