• Ed Davey calls for 62-day cancer treatment guarantee as NHS target missed for 100,000 patients
• Ed Davey pledges to be “voice of carers” as he opens up about personal experience of care
• Sunak a “pound shop Boris Johnson”: Ten times the Conservatives have misled the public with dodgy figures
• D-Day: Davey sets out plans for veterans and military personnel
• Revealed: Commuters have faced £1,100 ticket bombshell since 2019 as Lib Dems pledge to freeze rail fares
• Family taxes: Conservative stealth rises have left everyone worse off

Ed Davey calls for 62-day cancer treatment guarantee as NHS target missed for 100,000 patients

• The Liberal Democrats have announced that their manifesto will include a pledge of a legal right for cancer patients to start treatment within 62-days

• Ed Davey says “far too many patients are still waiting far too long to start treatment” and that the “Liberal Democrats will make improving cancer care a top priority”

• Almost 100,000 cancer patients waited longer than 62-days to begin treatment last year

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has announced his party would give cancer patients a legal right to start treatment within 62-days after an urgent referral.

Ed Davey said his party would make “improving cancer care a top priority,” adding the issue was deeply personal to him having lost both his parents to cancer as a child.

Currently cancer care targets are routinely missed, with almost 100,000 cancer patients last year waiting longer than 62 days to begin treatment after an urgent referral, the worst on record. The 62 day target has not been met since 2015.

The Liberal Democrats would introduce a legal guarantee that 100% of patients will be able to start treatment within 62 days from urgent referral. The new cancer treatment guarantee would be enshrined in the NHS constitution, which already sets out a number of other patients’ rights. It would place a legal duty on the Government and the NHS to put the policies and resources in place to ensure the patient can start treatment within 62 days.

The manifesto pledge will form part of a plan to improve cancer care services with an additional £4bn invested over the next five years.

Liberal Democrat Leader, Ed Davey said:

Like millions of people, my life was turned upside down by cancer, which took both my parents from me when I was young. I know how painful it feels to see your loved one left in limbo – diagnosed with cancer but waiting months for the treatment they need.

Every day counts in a battle against cancer. But far too many patients are still waiting far too long to start treatment after being diagnosed as cancer delays soar to the worst levels on record.

Despite all the progress by our incredible scientists and NHS staff, the UK still lags behind other countries when it comes to cancer survival rates – and these delays are a major reason why. That’s why the Liberal Democrats will make improving cancer care a top priority, and fight every day for better care for you and your loved ones.

Ed Davey pledges to be “voice of carers” as he opens up about personal experience of care

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has today pledged to be the “voice of carers” as he said care will be at the heart of his party’s manifesto.

It comes as Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey opens up about his own experience as a carer for his severely disabled son John and caring for his mother as a child when she fell ill with cancer, in a party election broadcast to be aired this evening.

In the election broadcast, Ed discusses his caring responsibilities and how it has made him determined to stand up for millions of other family carers like him.

Ed’s wife Emily Davey has also spoken out about their experience, saying their story is one of “millions of other families.”

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

Caring is why I got into politics. It isn’t just my story, it is the story of millions, caring for each other, dealing with tough times, and keeping going with love.

Looking after my mum when she fell ill and now my son, I know that the challenges that millions of carers across the country face are immense.

The Liberal Democrats will be the voice of carers every day, fighting their corner in Parliament. I am proud that we will be putting unpaid carers at the very heart of the Liberal Democrat manifesto.

Ed’s wife Emily Davey said:

Sharing our story has not been an easy decision. For years Edward has kept the story of his life, his father’s cancer, caring for his mother and then his nanna, and our time at home, as a private, personal thing.

But we have come to realise – as a family – that our story is not unique. It is the story of millions of other families too. We need people like Edward in power, people who care.

Sunak a “pound shop Boris Johnson”: Ten times the Conservatives have misled the public with dodgy figures

The Liberal Democrats have published a dossier detailing 10 times the Conservatives have misled the public with dodgy figures, saying it showed Rishi Sunak has ended up as a “pound shop Boris Johnson.”

Here are ten times they were found to have fiddled with the figures:

June 2024: the Treasury’s top official pushed back on the Conservatives’ tax claim.

May 2024: the Chancellor rebuked by the UKSA on tax-cutting claims after a demands from the Lib Dems that he comes clean.

January 2024: the Prime Minister was criticised by the UKSA over his claim to have “cleared” the asylum backlog in January, after a complaint by the Lib Dems.

December 2023: Rishi Sunak’s claim that debt was falling as a percentage of GDP, with the UKSA saying the comments ‘undermined trust’.

May 2023: Suella Braverman’s claim that there are 100 million people displaced around the world who could qualify for protection in the UK.

March 2023: Robert Jenrick’s claim that asylum claims were higher than ever.

May 2022: Nadine Dorries’ misrepresentation of the results of the consultation into the privatisation of Channel 4.

May 2022: the Prime Minister’s misleading use of employment statistics in PMQs.

February 2022: Boris Johnson and the Home Office’s misleading use of crime statistics.

May 2020: Matt Hancock’s claim in April 2020 that the Government had hit 100,000 coronavirus tests a day.

Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney said:

Rishi Sunak’s latest attempts to deceive the British public are nothing new. He has spent years hiking people’s taxes to record levels while claiming to cut them.

Sunak promised to govern with integrity, but has ended up as a pound shop Boris Johnson.

D-Day: Davey sets out plans for veterans and military personnel

On D-Day, the Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has set out the party’s plans to deliver a fair deal for veterans, serving personnel, and their families.

This would include improving Ministry of Defence housing, strengthening the Armed Forces Covenant, and ensuring that military compensation for illness or injury does not count towards means testing for benefits.

The Liberal Democrats said veterans and military personnel deserve a new package of support as the country “will be reflecting on the sacrifices made to free Europe from tyranny 80 years ago.”

The party is also calling for the setting up of a new government commission to secure a cross-party consensus on improving conditions for serving personnel and veterans.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

Today millions of people across the country will be reflecting on the sacrifices made to free Europe from tyranny 80 years ago.

We must ensure everyone who has stood in defence of our nation is rewarded and properly supported.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a fair deal for our veterans and military personnel. We want to see improvements to military housing and compensation and a new commission to ensure that our service men and women and veterans are no longer taken for granted.

The Liberal Democrats’ plans include:

• Strengthening the Armed Forces Covenant by placing a legal duty on the Defence Secretary and government departments to give it due regard.
• Improving the standard of Ministry of Defence housing, including by reviewing maintenance contracts.
• Accepting the recommendations of the Atherton Report on women in the armed forces.
• Ensuring that military compensation for illness or injury does not count towards means testing for benefits.
• Establishing a “Fair Deal for Service Personnel, Veterans and Families Commission”.

Revealed: Commuters have faced £1,100 ticket bombshell since 2019 as Lib Dems pledge to freeze rail fares

• Liberal Democrats announce manifesto commitment to freeze rail fares next year, saving commuters in some areas from a £199 rise in ticket prices

• Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney warns that commuters have “borne the brunt of Conservative chaos” and are now “paying more for a worse service”

• Commuters are paying an average of £1,100 more a year in some areas on season tickets since 2019

The Liberal Democrats have announced a manifesto commitment to freeze rail fares next year, saving commuters from £115 million in fare hikes.

It comes as analysis by the party reveals rail season ticket holders in some areas have forked out an extra £1,100 in rail fares since 2019.

In Winchester, commuters have seen the cost of a season ticket soar to £6,432 a year, up £1,101 since 2019. The Lib Dem pledge to freeze rail fares would save commuters in the town from a £199 rise in ticket prices over the next year.

In Harpenden, train commuters have seen the cost of a season ticket soar to £4,792 a year, up £820 since 2019. Commuters from Guildford have seen a £773 increase, with annual tickets now costing over £4,500.

The Liberal Democrat proposals would save commuters a total of £115m next year. This would be funded through a clampdown on tax avoidance and evasion. Uncollected taxes under the Conservatives currently stand at a staggering £35.8bn a year.

These price rises come in the face of rising cancellations. A Liberal Democrat FOI has revealed that last year 55,829 rush hour trains were either partly or fully cancelled. This was a 10% rise on the previous year and the worst of any year since 2019.

The Liberal Democrats have said that passengers should not be paying more for a worse service and that commuters need to be protected from the Conservative party’s neglect of the railways through a price freeze on fares. Liberal Democrats have also pledged to reform the broken fares system by the end of the next parliament.

Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson, Sarah Olney said:

Commuters have borne the brunt of Conservative chaos, with the price of train tickets soaring whilst services are worse.

From Winchester to Wokingham, it is disgraceful that everyday passengers are having to pay more for trains which are increasingly delayed or cancelled.

That is why the Liberal Democrats would help commuters keep more money in their pockets by freezing fail fares.

Family taxes: Conservative stealth rises have left everyone worse off

Responding to the Conservative Party’s announcement on family tax, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney said:

The Conservatives are fooling absolutely nobody. Their chaos and mismanagement have damaged the economy and left British families worse off, saddling them with £41bn of unfair stealth taxes worth hundreds of pounds for every household.

Hard-working families deserve so much better. Voters will never forgive the Conservative Party for saddling them with unfair tax hikes and failing to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, while giving tax cuts to the big banks and oil and gas giants.