• Ed Davey calls for UK airdrops to get aid to Gazans
• Davey urges PM to pressure Trump on ending the humanitarian disaster in Gaza
• Doctors strike: Lib Dems call for patients to be sent to private hospitals to ease impact
• Lib Dems call on RAF to ‘lead the way’ on Gaza airdrops
• Lib Dems call for Family Farms Tax U-turn as record number of farms close

Ed Davey calls for UK airdrops to get aid to Gazans

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called on Keir Starmer to launch a UK airdrop operation over Gaza, in response to the reports of mass starvation and the mounting number of deaths related to malnutrition.

The operation would involve RAF planes supplying aid into Gaza from the air. Similar operations were undertaken by British pilots in Spring 2024, delivering hundreds of tonnes of aid to support humanitarian relief efforts in the Strip.

The call comes as over a hundred humanitarian organisations have warned that the population of Gaza is at risk of mass starvation as a result of the Israeli Government’s failure to comprehensively reopen aid supply routes across the occupied territory.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

It is simply inhumane that the entire population of Gaza is at risk of starvation as a direct result of Israel’s aid blockade. The time for words is over – now we must act. That should include the UK Government conducting a fresh set of aid airdrops over Gaza.

Aid delivered by the air is no substitute for the reopening of supply routes by land. But the extent of the humanitarian catastrophe we are now witnessing requires us to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get aid to Gazans.

The Prime Minister should secure agreement from other international partners that they will follow the UK’s example and conduct their own airdrops. This must be alongside a redoubling of our collective effort to secure the total reopening of aid supply routes on the ground – the most effective and sustainable way to alleviate the suffering of Gazans.

Davey urges PM to pressure Trump on ending the humanitarian disaster in Gaza

Ed Davey has written to the Prime Minister urging him to work with President Trump to bring an end to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza ahead of the US President’s visit to the UK this weekend.

In his letter, Davey emphasised that Starmer has a “crucial window” to persuade President Trump to take decisive action to end the conflict in Gaza. Davey condemned Trump’s grotesque previous comments on Gaza, while acknowledging the US President’s significant sway over Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The Liberal Democrats are urging Starmer to highlight the importance of securing an immediate halt to the Israeli Government’s military action in Gaza and to put an end to the devastating aid blockade.

That includes calling on the Prime Minister to push Trump for a joint UK-US Resolution to the United Nations Security Council. This would call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza alongside the reopening of UN-administered humanitarian corridors into the Strip.

In addition, Davey pressed Starmer to officially recognise the independent state of Palestine and call on the Trump administration to do the same.

These calls come as over a hundred humanitarian organisations have warned that the population of Gaza is at risk of mass starvation – with Liberal Democrats pressuring the UK Government to begin airdropping humanitarian aid into the occupied territory in response to the humanitarian catastrophe.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said:

No one has forgotten the disgusting calls President Trump made in February for Palestinians to be removed from Gaza. We need to be clear-eyed about the man we’re dealing with.

But it’s also obvious that Trump has unique leverage over Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the President’s visit to the UK this weekend offers a crucial window to appeal to him for decisive collective action over Gaza.

We cannot sit idly by while the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip worsens even further. That’s why Keir Starmer must seize the opportunity of Trump’s visit with both hands – and push him to agree to a joint UN Security Council Resolution for an immediate ceasefire and comprehensive lifting of the aid blockade.

Doctors strike: Lib Dems call for patients to be sent to private hospitals to ease impact

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an NHS Strike Resilience Plan, using private hospitals for some elective treatments to ensure no patient gets bumped down a waitlist further.

The plan would ensure that the harmful impacts of the strike are kept to an absolute minimum for patients, who have already suffered numerous disruptions and ballooning waitlists due to strikes in the last few years.

As part of the plan, the Liberal Democrats are also calling on the Government to secure a more comprehensive derogation process with the BMA. This would allow hospitals to ask striking doctors to return to work if patient safety is at risk, not just in the event of an unforeseen emergency or mass casualty event – as is currently the case.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Hospitals and Primary Care Spokesperson Jess Brown Fuller MP said:

People across the country waiting for the treatment they desperately need will be disappointed to hear there’s yet more strikes, having already faced so much disruption in the last few years.

The Government cannot afford to dither and delay, there is too much at stake- and patients deserve to get the treatment they need when they need it.

That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for an NHS Strike Resilience Plan, to protect patients from suffering. The Government needs to pull its finger out and ensure that private hospitals are on standby so that anyone set to receive treatment is not forced to go without and waitlists are not left to soar.

Lib Dems call on RAF to ‘lead the way’ on Gaza airdrops

In response to the news that Israel will allow foreign countries to drop aid into Gaza, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for International Development Monica Harding MP said:

The current scale of suffering in Gaza is beyond comprehension, with the entire population at risk from mass starvation. Every moment counts and the RAF must lead the way and deliver air drops into the Strip without delay.

Let’s be crystal clear, these air drops are only a temporary solution. The UK must redouble our efforts with our international partners to put an end to this humanitarian crisis including urgently securing a total reopening of aid supply routes across Gaza.

Lib Dems call for Family Farms Tax U-turn as record number of farms close

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have renewed their call for the UK Labour Government to reverse its changes to inheritance tax on family farms, as new data shows closures in the agricultural sector have hit record highs.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 6,365 agriculture, forestry and fishing businesses shut down over the past year, the highest figure since records began in 2017. Only 3,190 new businesses were created in the sector, leaving a net loss of 3,175.

The sharp decline has coincided with the announcement of Labour’s so-called “Family Farms Tax.” Introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in October 2024, the change will cap inheritance tax relief on agricultural land from April 2026. A 20 per cent tax will apply to land inherited above £1 million, ending the current full exemption from the standard 40 per cent inheritance tax rate.

The majority of closures took place in the six months following the policy’s announcement, suggesting the prospect of future tax burdens is already driving families out of farming. Farmers and rural groups warn that the change will force families to sell off land simply to pay inheritance tax, even if they intend to continue farming.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats argue this policy will hit rural Wales particularly hard, weakening both the farming economy and wider supply chains.

They have also warned that the policy could have a significant impact on the Welsh language, with 43% of agricultural workers speaking Welsh, significantly higher than the general population in Wales, any policy that forces farmers to sell up and move out of farming could have disastrous consequences on the survival of the language in rural communities.

The changes come amid wider challenges for farmers, including rising costs, increased bureaucracy, and post-Brexit trade disruption. The latest data also shows a downturn in farm investment, reflecting uncertainty across the sector.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a full U-turn on the Family Farms Tax and are instead urging the Government to raise revenue by taxing the profits of the big banks.

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

Family farms are the heart of rural Wales, but this Labour Government is tearing that heart out. By slapping a tax bill on the next generation just for keeping their parents’ farm going, Labour will force local farms to be chopped up and shut down.

In my constituency, generations have worked tirelessly to feed our country and protect our countryside. They deserve support, not a tax raid that risks forcing them off the land.

I am calling on the Chancellor to reverse course before more Welsh family farms are lost forever. We need a government that backs rural Wales, not bankrupts it.