Apologies to our regular readers for the temporary disappearance of this regular feature – I was away and had some surprisingly poor internet access. Anyway, on with the show…

• Liberal Democrats set out ambitious spending plans to tackle the climate emergency
• Lib Dems: Brexit leak on Northern Ireland checks shows Johnson is lying to the public
• Lib Dems: Johnson refusing to look at picture of sick child shows mask has slipped
• Question Time debate shows Jo Swinson is a next generation leader

Liberal Democrats set out ambitious spending plans to tackle the climate emergency

The Liberal Democrats have set out ambitious £100 billion spending plans to tackle the climate emergency, including generating 80% of our electricity from renewables and retrofitting all homes by 2030.

Launching their ‘Our Plan to Tackle the Climate Emergency’, the party’s Climate Emergency spokesperson Wera Hobhouse declared that “the climate emergency is upon us and we need to take radical action now.”

The plan includes the full costings of how the Liberal Democrats would spend £100 billion tackling the climate emergency and details on how they would cut greenhouse gases in every sector of the economy to achieve net-zero.

Plans in the Liberal Democrat’s ‘Our Plan to Tackle the Climate Emergency’ include:

• Generating 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030.
• Retrofitting all homes – cutting energy bills – and targeting those in fuel poverty first by 2025.
• Planting 60 million trees a year to increase UK forest cover.
• Ensuring all new cars sold are electric by 2030.
• Banning all non-essential non-recyclable single-use plastic within three years.

Commenting on the Liberal Democrats’ ‘Our Plan for Tackling the Climate Emergency’, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for the Climate Emergency Wera Hobhouse said:

The climate emergency is real. It’s upon us and we need to take radical action now. Our children will never forgive us if we allow the climate crisis to rob them of their future. The Liberal Democrats have a fully-costed, bold plan to protect our planet now and for generations to come.

Neither Labour nor the Tories have a real plan for the climate emergency. Their desire for Brexit means we would have less money to invest in this crisis. Brexit would leave us out in the cold internationally and unable to work cooperatively with our European partners on this global issue.

Young people and children across the world have been crying out for politicians to take action on the climate crisis. The Liberal Democrats are listening and will make real change happen. We will build a world with clean air, clean waters, and where wildlife can flourish.

Only the Liberal Democrats have a realistic but radical plan to achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2045. A Liberal Democrat government will generate 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030, plant 60 million trees a year and invest £100 billion in tackling the climate emergency to build a brighter future for our planet.

Lib Dems: Brexit leak on Northern Ireland checks shows Johnson is lying to the public

Responding to a leaked document from the Department for Exiting the EU on potential goods checks between Northern Ireland and Britain after Brexit, Liberal Democrat Shadow Brexit Secretary Tom Brake said:

These documents show Boris Johnson is hiding the truth about the damage his Brexit plans would do to our family of nations.

He has lied to the Queen, lied to Parliament and now he’s lying to the public.

If Boris Johnson gets a majority, the Brexit chaos will drag on for years to come as it’s clear major issues like the Irish Border will remain unsolved.

Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to stop Boris, stop Brexit and invest the £50 billion pound Remain Bonus in our public services.

Lib Dems: Johnson refusing to look at picture of sick child shows mask has slipped

Responding to the footage of Boris Johnson refusing to look at a picture of a sick child lying on a hospital floor, Liberal Democrat Welfare Spokesperson Tim Farron said:

This is the moment the mask slipped. When confronted with the human impact of his government’s failure to properly fund our NHS, Boris Johnson chose to look away.

This shocking lack of empathy shows why Johnson is not fit be prime minister. He simply doesn’t care about patients or their families being catastrophically let down by this Conservative government. It is unacceptable that hospitals are under so much pressure that they don’t have enough beds – especially for small children.

Question Time debate shows Jo Swinson is a next generation leader

Following the BBC’s Young People’s Question Time programme, Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, said:

Tonight Jo Swinson proved – yet again – that she is the next generation leader this country needs.

Jo could not be more of a contrast to Corbyn and Johnson – two men who are willing to trash our future, yet couldn’t even be bothered to turn up tonight to answer young people’s questions. Meanwhile Angela Rayner made it crystal clear that the Labour party won’t lift a finger to stop Brexit.

Jo is leading the only party with an ambitious plan to empower young people. A Liberal Democrat government will stop Brexit, tackle the climate emergency before it’s too late, and invest in creating the homes, the education service and the inclusive society that so many young people want to see.

Times have changed and we need a leader that’s changed with them. While Labour and the Tories are stuck in the past, the Liberal Democrats have bold plans to build a brighter future.