• Age UK report: WFP cut will be a “crushing blow” for most vulnerable
• Over 3 in 10 less likely to vote for Conservatives over leadership candidate out of touch views
• Conservative leadership election: If this were an interview process they would’ve put the job advert up again

Age UK report: WFP cut will be a “crushing blow” for most vulnerable

Responding to the Age UK report which shows that four in five pensioners living below or just above the poverty line will lose the Winter Fuel Payment as a result of the government’s cuts, Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions spokesperson Steve Darling MP said:

We have heard countless stories in recent weeks of pensioners terrified about just making it through the winter without having to choose between heating and eating. This reports lays bare just how frightening these cuts are for so many.

To push ahead with taking away this support would be a crushing blow for some of the most vulnerable in society and it cannot be allowed to go ahead.

The government must change course and get these people the support they need this winter.

Over 3 in 10 less likely to vote for Conservatives over leadership candidate out of touch views

• New polling shows over 3 in 10 (35%) would be less likely to vote Conservative if their leader were someone who said they would vote for Trump

• Over 3 in 10 (35%) people also say that they would be less likely to vote Conservative if their leader said that maternity pay was ‘excessive’

• Over 3 in 10 (35%) also said they would be less likely to vote for the Party if their leader had made a comment that trivialised drink-spiking

• 3 in 10 (31%) Brits also said they would be less likely to vote Conservative if their new leader backed Liz Truss in the 2022 Conservative leadership race

New polling commissioned by the Liberal Democrats and carried out by Savanta has shown that some comments made by Conservative Party Leadership candidates would make over 3 in 10 people less likely to vote Conservative.

When asked how likely they would be to vote for the Conservatives if the party leader had said they would vote for Donald Trump if they were an American citizen, 35% of Brits said they would. This comes after Conservative Leadership candidate Robert Jennrick said “If I were an American citizen, I would be voting for Donald Trump.” A similar proportion was also put off by Kemi Badenoch’s maternity pay comments (35%) and James Cleverly’s comments that trivialised drink spiking (35%).

Voters were also put off by any leadership candidate who previously gave their support to Liz Truss with 3 in 10 (31%) saying they would be less likely to vote for the party if their new leader had backed her 2022 campaign – James Cleverly endorsed Truss in that election.

Commenting Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

Far from a serious leadership election, this group of chaotic Conservatives seem to be having the biggest unpopularity contest of the year.”

Each failed Minister standing for their party’s leadership is grossly out of touch and has a tainted record of taking voters for granted.

Former Conservative voters abandoned the party in massive numbers at the last election. In so many places across the country, people are backing the Liberal Democrats who are speaking up for them on the issues that matter most like saving our NHS, tackling the cost of living crisis and stopping the sewage scandal.

Conservative leadership election: If this were an interview process they would’ve put the job advert up again

Responding to Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick making it to the final round of the Conservative leadership election, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

If this were an interview process they would’ve put the job advert up again.

The best the Conservatives can come up with is a failed former Minister who’d vote for Donald Trump and a failed former Minister who thinks maternity pay is excessive.

Whoever wins this election will be tainted by the Conservatives’ legacy in government for years to come.