• Davey on Southport attacks one year on: We are a caring country not one of thuggery
• Davey calls for Lord Hermer to publish legal advice on Gazan aid blockade
• Anglian Water fine: Lib Dems urge “No More Sewage, No More Excuses”
• Lib Dems: “If Trump really loves Scotland, why is he hammering Scotch whisky with tariffs?”
• Cole-Hamilton accuses SNP of serial failures on A&E, care and drugs
• Cole-Hamilton responds to decline in healthy life expectancy

Davey on Southport attacks one year on: We are a caring country not one of thuggery

Reflecting on the one year anniversary of the Southport attacks, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said:

Today especially, we hold in our hearts Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar.

Three little girls, horrifyingly murdered at their Taylor Swift dance class in Southport. Three young lives, so cruelly cut short by a heartbreaking tragedy.

Our thoughts are with their families and friends, who still grieve such a cruel loss.

The lawless riots that followed appalled us. Egged on by hate preachers and conspiracy theorists, thugs resorted to appalling racism and violence, targeting some of the most vulnerable in our society.

But last summer also saw the best of the British people. Everyone who came together with love and compassion to mourn the deaths of Bebe, Elsie and Alice. And all those who stood peacefully in solidarity against the riots. Who powerfully rejected racism and Islamophobia.

That is who we are: a caring country, not a country of thuggery. A nation of laws and decency, not hate and lawlessness.

As we grieve today – as we remember Bebe, Elsie and Alice – let us also remember that.

Davey calls for Lord Hermer to publish legal advice on Gazan aid blockade

Commenting ahead of a Cabinet recall on the conflict in the Middle East, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called for the Attorney General Lord Hermer to publish his legal advice to the Government, saying:

There can be no denying that Israel has egregiously breached international law through its devastating blockade of Gaza.

The Australian Prime Minister said this two days ago. And yet the UK Government continues to drag its feet on describing these acts as anything more than merely “risking” a breach.

Actions speak louder than words. It’s time for the Attorney General to publish the legal advice he has given to the Government on the Netanyahu cabinet’s grotesque restriction of aid to Gazans.

Anglian Water fine: Lib Dems urge “No More Sewage, No More Excuses”

Liberal Democrat MP Pippa Heylings has condemned Anglian Water’s repeated failings, following Ofwat’s damning £62.8 million fine for the company’s illegal dumping of raw sewage into rivers and coastal waters.

The water regulator found that Anglian Water “failed to operate, maintain and upgrade” its sewage infrastructure properly, resulting in excessive pollution and a breach of its legal obligations. The failures included lack of oversight from senior management and the board.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for tougher fines on water companies that fail to fix leaks and stop sewage spills. Anglian Water Directors are currently banned from receiving bonuses, with the Lib Dems calling for that ban to be extended whilst water is being wasted via leaks and sewage is pumped into rivers, lakes and beaches. The public shouldn’t be forced to pay the price for failure of water companies”.

Liberal Democrat MP for South Cambridgeshire, Pippa Heylings, said:

Once again, Anglian Water has let down its customers, our environment, and the communities it is supposed to serve. Our rivers and coastal areas are being polluted with raw sewage, wildlife is suffering, and local people are rightly outraged. Meanwhile, millions of litres are leaking out of their pipes every single day.

Water companies must be properly held to account. No more excuses. Firms that fail to fix leaks should be fined, and water company bosses should be stopped from pocketing eye-watering bonuses and pay rises while billions of litres of water is wasted and sewage is pumped in rivers, lakes and beaches. Enough is enough. The public shouldn’t be forced to pay the price for the water companies’ failure.

Lib Dems: “If Trump really loves Scotland, why is he hammering Scotch whisky with tariffs?”

Commenting on Donald Trump saying “we love Scotland” while opening a new Aberdeenshire golf course, Liberal Democrat Scotland Spokesperson Susan Murray said:

If Trump really loves Scotland, why is he hammering Scotch whisky with tariffs?

Actions speak louder than words, so if the President truly cares about his Scottish ties, he must drop his damaging tariffs on our whisky exports. This would allow our treasured Scotch whisky industry and all those employed in it to breathe a sigh of relief – and it would act as a sign of good will from the President ahead of his state visit.

With millions regularly enjoying Scotch on both sides of the Atlantic, it’s a bridge between the US and the UK – even in the midst of Trump’s trade war. These unfair and damaging tariffs must go.

Cole-Hamilton accuses SNP of serial failures on A&E, care and drugs

Responding to new A&E figures showing that during the week ending 20th July, 3,139 (11.4%) patients spent more than 8 hours in A&E, while 1,146 (4.2%) spent more than 12 hours, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

People are waiting excruciatingly long at A&E because the SNP have failed to fix the crisis. Staff and patients are trapped in pressure cooker conditions.

Since the target was last met, there has been a merry-go-round of four SNP health secretaries, but not a single one has ever made a dent.

Unlike the SNP, my party is full of ideas for getting our NHS back on its feet, and you can vote for those plans by backing the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the peach regional ballot paper at next May’s election.

Responding to the new figures showing that there are more than 10,000 people currently waiting on social care assessments and care at home packages, an 8% increase since May, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

Under the SNP, people are stuck in hospital, prevented from getting on with their lives.

You can’t fix the NHS unless you fix care because the more patients are delayed in hospital, the longer people wait at A&E and the longer ambulances wait outside the front door.

Only the Scottish Liberal Democrats are focused on fixing care. Just look at the millions more we secured for care in our budget negotiations. You can vote for more bright solutions like that at next May’s election by putting a cross beside my party on the peach regional ballot paper.

Responding to the Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) report, which shows a 19% rise in drug-related emergency department attendances and a 15% rise in suspected drug deaths compared to the previous quarter, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

This is a damning indictment of Scotland’s drugs emergency.

Drug misuse casts a long shadow across the country, which is why my party made access to drug and alcohol services a major part of our budget negotiations earlier this year.

If SNP ministers are serious about tackling this crisis, they need to properly support staff and services, deliver essential counselling and mental health support and introduce new drug checking facilities. That’s how we can stop people dying and get them the help they need.

Cole-Hamilton responds to decline in healthy life expectancy

Responding to new figures showing that the average number of years Scots are expected to live in good health has been falling since 2014, with this type of life expectancy higher in England, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

This decline is a real cause for concern, and it is inextricably tied to the problems and pressures within our health system.

Under the SNP, people are waiting far too long for the health care they need. Key targets for cancer treatment are being missed, people are routinely stuck in an 8am rush for a GP appointment and waiting lists for operations are through the roof.

After almost two decades in charge, the SNP have proved to be bad for your health; on their watch, we’re falling behind. Scottish Liberal Democrats are bursting with fresh ideas to get our NHS back up and running and get everyone the care they need in good time. At next May’s election, you can vote for those plans by backing my party on the peach regional ballot paper.