… and here are the rest!

• A Second Chance for the Swansea Tidal Lagoon
• Lib Dems oppose “shockingly complacent” Tory funding for police
• Cable: PM speech proves the Govt has run out of ideas
• Brexit Bribes Breach Bribery Act – Welsh Lib Dems

A Second Chance for the Swansea Tidal Lagoon

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have welcomed plans from Tidal Lagoon Power to build the Swansea Tidal Lagoon without the need for funding from the UK Government.

Last year the UK Government decided not to support the Swansea Tidal Lagoon, despite the strong support the lagoon enjoyed from experts, businesses, local government, Welsh Government and politicians across the political spectrum.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said:

We wholeheartedly welcome this positive news. We’ve long supported the Swansea Tidal Lagoon and were immensely disappointed when the UK Government decided not to support it.

This only shows how innovative the Welsh economy can be, whether the UK Government supports it or not. We urge governments and businesses to wholeheartedly get behind this new proposal.

The Swansea Tidal Lagoon is a vital pathfinder project that has the potential to transform the Welsh economy and produce cheap, reliable and green energy for generations to come.

Now Wylfa Newydd has been put on hold, it’s more important than ever projects like the Swansea Tidal Lagoon get built. We now know we can build the lagoon with or without the help of the UK Government, but it’s not too late for the UK Government to give the project the funding it deserves.

Lib Dems oppose “shockingly complacent” Tory funding for police

Ahead of the vote on the Police Grant Report, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Ed Davey said:

Violent crime is destroying the lives of far too many young people, yet Conservative Ministers’ response is shockingly complacent and totally inadequate.

This Government has inflicted £1 billion of real-terms cuts on frontline policing and taken 5,000 officers off our streets since 2015, and the new police settlement we’re voting on today contains not a single penny to reverse that.

At a time when serious violence is soaring, the Home Secretary has abrogated his responsibility and passed the buck to local police chiefs. That’s especially shameful given that those areas with the worst knife crime problem are the least able to raise funds through Council Tax.

The Liberal Democrats demand better. The Government must give local police forces the funding they need to recruit more officers and restore the community policing that prevents crime and keeps us safe.

Cable: PM speech proves the Govt has run out of ideas

Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech in Northern Ireland, Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable said:

Theresa May’s lacklustre speech in Northern Ireland proves she has no real idea of a way forward. She has ratted on her own agreement with the EU and breached faith with Northern Ireland in the process.

People deserve better than just words when it comes to the Good Friday Agreement. The Prime Minister must rule out a hard border by taking no-deal off the table and give the people the final say on Brexit, including the option to remain in the EU.

Brexit Bribes Breach Bribery Act – Welsh Lib Dems

In a letter published in The Times, Welsh Liberal Democrat Peer Martin Thomas has questioned whether the Government are in breach of the Bribery Act (2010) over plans to offer MPs money for their constituency to vote for the Brexit deal.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Lord Thomas of Gresford, QC said:

It’s vital our politics avoids trading votes for money. If this wretched Brexit deal can only survive by diverting tax payers’ money to several compliant MPs’ constituencies to buy their support in ramming it through the House of Commons, we are all profoundly the losers.

Wales desperately needs its fair share of the proposed Shared Prosperity Fund, intended by the government to replace the European Regional Support funds we will be losing on Brexit. It must be distributed according to need, and not influenced by corrupt deals with individual MPs.