• Lib Dems table motion calling on Parliament to rebuke Lee Anderson’s Islamophobic comments
• Cancer survival rates: Lib Dems will put giving UK among best cancer survival rates at heart of priorities
• Tory support in freefall – Rob offers London liberal choice
• Welsh Lib Dems call for action against child health inequality in Wales

Lib Dems table motion calling on Parliament to rebuke Lee Anderson’s Islamophobic comments

The Liberal Democrats have tabled a censure motion, calling on Parliament to rebuke Lee Anderson’s Islamophobic remarks and calling for him to come to the House and apologise.

The party is calling on Conservative MPs and the government to back the motion, adding that the Conservative party must “show that Islamophobia is not tolerated in Parliament”.

It comes as Anderson said that he would not apologise for his Islamophobic remarks as to do so would be “a sign of weakness”.

The motion tabled by the Lib Dems, if adopted by the government and passed by the House, would be an unprecedented rebuke of the Ashfield MP’s remarks. It would show that Parliament found the remarks unacceptable and Islamophobic and that Anderson should apologise in the House.

Liberal Democrat Women and Equalities spokesperson, Christine Jardine MP said:

Lee Anderson’s remarks were damaging, divisive and need to be called out for what they are – Islamophobic. He should apologise immediately.

British Muslims across the country deserve so much better than this. There is no place in our society for hatred like this.

If the government is too weak to call out this behaviour, the House – including Conservative MPs – must take matters into its own hands and show that Islamophobia is not tolerated in Parliament. Not go completely silent on the issue or look for a way to excuse the inexcusable.

This latest scandal proves once again that the Conservative party is not fit for purpose and is certainly not fit for office.

Cancer survival rates: Lib Dems will put giving UK among best cancer survival rates at heart of priorities

Responding to research that shows the UK as lagging 10 to 15 years behind some other countries for cancer survival rates, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

Cancer is a devastating disease and I know from my own personal experience after losing both my parents to it, the tragic impacts that it can have. We must go further and faster to spare more families the intense pain and suffering that cancer can cause in the coming years.

That is why the Liberal Democrats have put bringing UK cancer survival rates in line with the best in the world at the heart of our priorities. This needs to be done on two fronts. We must reduce the unacceptably long delays for cancer treatment and make the UK a world leader in research to tackle this awful disease.

This is a challenge that I know our great country can rise to. By working together, through our fantastic NHS to our cutting-edge scientists, we can rectify this horrific situation and take the UK to the top of the global league table for cancer survival rates.

Tory support in freefall – Rob offers London liberal choice
In the latest London election poll by YouGov, Liberal Democrat support has doubled since the last election while Conservative support has fallen by 11 points.

Responding to the latest London Poll, Lib Dem Mayoral candidate Rob Blackie said:

It’s clear that support for the Conservatives in London is in free fall. The Tory candidate will not win – but Sadiq Khan doesn’t deserve a free run.

The Mayor’s record of delivery has been appalling. After eight years in charge, the Metropolitan Police is in crisis.

I’m determined to Fix The Met and give Londoners a liberal choice in this election.

Welsh Lib Dems call for action against child health inequality in Wales

Today in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to tackle child health inequality in Wales.

According to Public Health Wales, the child mortality rate in Wales is 70% higher for children in the most deprived groups than the least deprived.

Children in these groups are also 76% more likely to be obese and by age 11, children in poverty are four times as likely to develop mental health issues.

The Welsh Lib Dems are now calling on the Welsh Government to commit to the creation of specific health inequality targets for their Child Poverty Strategy.

Commenting, the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

In 2024, no child in Wales should have to suffer from the devastating effects of poverty.

Child poverty can have a significant impact on health inequalities and poorer health outcomes, including higher infant mortality rates, and physical and mental health problems.

I am pleased that the Welsh Government’s Child Poverty strategy has recognised this link. However I, alongside several organisations such as the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, remain disappointed that calls for clear targets and robust monitoring to track the strategy’s progress have seemingly been ignored.

At times it feels as though the Welsh Labour Government’s approach to tackling this crisis, whilst well-intended, lacks ambition.

An ambition to set targets, to focus on priorities and to take action.

Without the establishment of a robust monitoring framework, we risk allowing our most vulnerable to slip through the cracks.

We must strive to do better, for the sake of our children and our future.