28 January 2020 – today’s press releases

  • Tory proposals to end free movement will make it harder to recruit teachers, nurses and doctors
  • Liberal Democrats: Huawei decision shows no regard for its human rights record
  • Davey calls for ‘Net Zero’ department to slash UK greenhouse gas emissions
  • Liberal Democrats: Trump’s negotiations a sham

Tory proposals to end free movement will make it harder to recruit teachers, nurses and doctors

Responding to the publication of the Migration Advisory Committee report which has advised against against a full points-based system for UK, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine said:

The Conservative Government wants to impose an entirely new immigration system in less than 12 months, without any proper consultation and managed by the discredited Home Office. That is a recipe for disaster.

The Conservatives’ proposals to end free movement will make it harder for our schools and NHS to hire the teachers, nurses and doctors they need.

As the Migration Advisory Committee makes clear, these plans will make the crisis in social care even worse. They will also mean huge amounts of extra costs and bureaucracy for thousands of British businesses. No amount of spin will change that fact.

Liberal Democrats recognise the enormous contributions people who move to the UK make to our society, our economy and our communities. We are fighting for a fair, effective immigration system that treats everyone with dignity and respect.

Liberal Democrats: Huawei decision shows no regard for its human rights record

Responding to the Government’s announcement that Huawei will be allowed to control up to 35% of non-core elements of the UK’s 5G networks, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Daisy Cooper MP, said:

This decision shows how little regard the Conservative Government has for Huawei’s human rights record. Boris Johnson must now condemn the use of Huawei’s surveillance technology in the repression of the Uyghur Muslims in the strongest possible terms. Brexit Britain must not be an excuse to ignore human rights when making trade deals, signing public contracts and deciding who gets to run critical infrastructure.

Giving Huawei – which has reportedly received billions in state aid from China – access to more than a third of the 5G network also flies in the face of the Government’s aim to support new companies to market. We urgently need the R&D investment to lower our reliance on Huawei and we need strong partnerships with the EU and Five Eyes to ensure any security risks are swiftly dealt with.

Liberal Democrats will continue to stand up for people’s human rights, security and right to privacy, no matter where they live.

Davey calls for ‘Net Zero’ department to slash UK greenhouse gas emissions

Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has today called for a new governmental department to get the UK to Net Zero as soon as possible.

In comments today at the Institute for Government, Ed Davey said the new department would take on all the powers of the previous Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) but would have “much more teeth and responsibility”, with influence over transport, housing and finance.

Speaking at the Institute for Government today, Ed Davey, Acting Leader of Liberal Democrats said:

When Liberal Democrats ran the Department for Energy and Climate Change we managed to more than treble Britain’s renewable power and led Europe to adopt tougher climate change targets. As the world is waking up to the threat of the climate emergency, DECC is needed more than ever.

But rather than building on the work we did, the Conservatives abolished the Department. And alongside it they halted progress in its tracks, banning onshore wind, abolishing zero carbon homes and privatising the Green Investment Bank.

If Britain is to regain a leading role ahead of hosting this year’s UN conference on climate change, we must make action on climate change a much higher priority. Liberal Democrats are calling for a new government Department – a Department for Net Zero. It would have the power and responsibility to transform our country and to take tough but necessary decisions on transport, housing and finance.

If the Tories fail to do that, they are simply not serious about tackling the climate emergency.

Liberal Democrats: Trump’s negotiations a sham

Responding to the news that Donald Trump has released his plan for the Middle East, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, the first UK MP of Palestinian descent, said:

The first step of an effective and meaningful negotiation is to include all parties. The exclusion of Palestinian representatives from the negotiation of this settlement is evidences enough that this is nothing more than a sham.

Trump and Netanyahu are motivated by a desire to distract from domestic problems, rather than by the desire to build real consensus. It’s clear that this is about scoring points, rather than a genuine attempt to solve conflict in the region.

The Liberal Democrats have long advocated a two-state solution to this crisis. This starts by bringing both Israel and Palestine to the negotiating table as equal partners. This is the only hope of achieving a workable settlement.

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2 Comments

  • A department for Net Zero is a great idea. For one thing it provides opportunities for some educating around what net zero means and how to achieve it. If it gets sufficient clout especially with The Treasury, it should make it easier to achieve it and sooner.

  • “will make it harder for our schools and NHS to hire the teachers, nurses and doctors they need.
    … these plans will make the crisis in social care even worse. They will also mean huge amounts of extra costs and bureaucracy for thousands of British businesses. “

    So what?
    The ‘crisis’ is wholly the result of poor decision making at Westminster, over an extended period of time ie. decades. Rather than keep alienating voters with their neo-liberal cheerleading – which must be music to the ears of some in the Conservative party, the LibDems need to be upping the pressure on Government to honor what people wanted from Brexit and invest in the UK.

    UK business also has a choice, I suggest it should be easier and more remunerative to invest in UK residents than import workers…

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