Govt decision on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe a step in the right direction

Responding to news that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been offered diplomatic protection, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Jo Swinson said:

This is a promising step in the right direction.

I welcome this action by the Government, which contrasts the reckless incompetence displayed by the previous Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson.

Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s plight should give us all pause for thought. We must all do what we can to bring her home as soon as possible.

Moran: Fox wastes £2.6m on another vanity project

A Parliamentary Question from Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran has revealed that the Department for International Trade’s ‘Exporting is GREAT’ campaign cost the taxpayer £2.6m last year.

£1.9m was spent on online digital advertising and a further £0.72m was spent on advertising via physical formats.

The latest figures from 2017 show that up to 130,000 businesses took unquantifiable ‘steps’ towards exporting because of the campaign.

Commenting on the spending by Liam Fox’s department, Layla Moran said:

Liam Fox has spent £2.6m of taxpayer’s money on this campaign when he should be securing trade deals, the sole purpose of his job.

His department is the least effective on Whitehall and is throwing money at an advertising campaign, when what businesses really need is support and instruction whilst they attempt to navigate their way through the uncertainty Brexit is causing them.

It is also ridiculous that the Government are spending so much on ‘advice’ when it is clear that no body in the Cabinet has a clue what is going on.

Lib Dems: School funding crisis should shame the Govt

Responding to The Guardian investigation which has found teachers are cleaning and paying for books and pens to plug the gaps in school funding, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Layla Moran said:

We are clearly in the midst of a crisis over school funding and these revelations must result in direct action by the Conservatives. This investigation should shame the Tory Government.

With teachers covering for cleaners and parents donating money for essential services there is no way Conservative Ministers can deny there is a lack of funding for our schools.

The Secretary of State must begin an urgent listening exercise with frontline staff and reverse the budget cuts pursued after coalition, otherwise this crisis will only get worse. To fail to act is to leave both teachers and children in the midst of what is clearly a crisis.