Author Archives: Mark Valladares

I’m a veteran Party bureaucrat, having joined the old Liberal Party at university. And, perhaps not entirely surprisingly, I’ve held a range of positions since then - everything from Secretary-General of the Young Liberals to being a member of the ALDE Party‘s Financial Advisory Committee. Returning Officer, Presidential consort, committee secretary, you name it, I’ve probably done it. These days, I’m the Chair of the Parish Council for a (very) small rural village in Suffolk’s Gipping Valley, and a member of the East of England Regional Candidates Committee.
Mark Valladares

Israel-Gaza conflict: Liberal Democrats call for immediate bilateral ceasefire

By Mark Valladares | Mon 13th November 2023 - 7:58 am

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey and Lib Dem Foreign Affairs spokesperson Layla Moran MP have today called for an immediate bilateral ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The purpose of such a ceasefire, which must apply to both Israel and Hamas, would be to get aid in, get the hostages out, and provide space to realise a political solution, ultimately with two states and a lasting peace.

Ed Davey has set out this proposal in full here.

Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Layla Moran MP commented:

A lasting peace and a two-state solution is the only way to guarantee

…

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Mark Valladares

10 November 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 10th November 2023 - 10:45 pm
  • GDP Stats: On the no growth path
  • 72 billion litres of sewage pumped into the River Thames in just two years
  • Welsh Lib Dem leader honours the fallen

GDP Stats: On the no growth path

Responding to the latest ONS figures which shows the UK economy stopped growing between July and September, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

Conservative chaos has delivered a hammer blow to our economy leading us down a no growth path.

Hard-working families shouldn’t be paying the price of the Conservative party’s economic vandalism.

The Autumn Statement should deliver a proper plan to grow the economy, fix our NHS and help with the cost-of-living crisis. Instead we’re set to see more of this Government’s failed approach.

72 billion litres of sewage pumped into the River Thames in just two years

  • Liberal Democrats uncover “horrifying revelations” from Information Request to Thames Water
  • Twickenham site suffers from almost 1 billion litres of sewage in just one day
  • Local Liberal Democrat MP slams “environmental crime” and demands Thames Water is “ripped up” to form new company

The River Thames has suffered from at least 72 billion litres of sewage discharges since 2020, the Liberal Democrats have discovered.

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Mark Valladares

9 November 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 9th November 2023 - 10:55 pm
  • Sharp rise in mortgage arrears should “ring alarm bells in Downing Street”
  • NHS waiting lists: Sunak’s pledge lies in tatters
  • Welsh Lib Dem leader gives her reason for voting for Senedd Gaza ceasefire motion
  • Braverman: What on earth will it take for Sunak to do the right thing?

Sharp rise in mortgage arrears should “ring alarm bells in Downing Street”

There has been an 18% rise in homeowners in mortgage arrears over the past year, the latest UK Finance figures have revealed.

The data shows there were 87,930 homeowners in mortgage arrears worth at least 2.5% of their outstanding loan in the third quarter of 2023, up from 74,420 in the same period last year.

The Liberal Democrats said the figures show families are facing “mortgage misery” and reiterated their calls for a Mortgage Protection Fund, with targeted support to prevent people losing their home, funded through scrapping tax cuts for the banks.

Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

This sharp rise in mortgage arrears should be ringing alarm bells in Downing Street.

The Conservative Party crashed the economy and is now forcing ordinary families to pick up the tab.

Homeowners facing mortgage misery should be offered a rescue scheme, with targeted support to protect those most at risk of losing their home. It is the least this government could do after the economic damage they have caused.

NHS waiting lists: Sunak’s pledge lies in tatters

NHS waiting lists have reached a new record high of 7.8 million. It means that the waiting lists have grown every month since Rishi Sunak made his pledge in January that they would fall.

Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP said:

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Mark Valladares

8 November 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 8th November 2023 - 11:15 pm
  • Ofwat on exec pay: Toothless regulator needs to ban bonuses
  • Health Secretary must be accountable for mouth cancer link to lack of dental care
  • Braverman article: Home Sec is running a leadership campaign, not her department

Ofwat on exec pay: Toothless regulator needs to ban bonuses

Responding to the latest announcement by the water industry regulator Ofwat, which rules out banning executive bonuses despite the sewage scandal, Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

The British public will be reading this and screaming at regulators to just get on with banning these insulting bonuses.

Every penny spent on exec bonuses is less money being used

…

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Mark Valladares

30 October 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 30th October 2023 - 10:35 pm
  • HSBC profits: Govt cut taxes for big banks over protecting people’s mortgages
  • Reynolds: Number 10 Culture of Chaos laid bare

HSBC profits: Govt cut taxes for big banks over protecting people’s mortgages

Responding to HSBC announcing it made quarterly profits of £6.35 billion, boosted by higher interest rates, and more than double what they were through the same period last year, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

It was the Conservative party’s economic vandalism that crashed the economy and now the big banks are raking in massive profits off the back of working people’s spiralling mortgage payments.

To add insult to injury, this

…

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Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 30 October 2023 – rules, regulation… and enforcement

By Mark Valladares | Mon 30th October 2023 - 12:45 pm

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another Monday.

It’s a quiet week at Westminster, as we await what is likely to be the last King’s Speech before the General Election. In terms of content, I suspect that we’ll see more “culture war” legislation proposals but what will say a lot is any legislation which smacks of “sowing the ground with salt” – actions proposed to limit the actions of an incoming Labour government. Given the Government’s actions to make the completion of HS2 “difficult” if not impossible, it isn’t hard to envisage similar acts of “legislative vandalism”. It’s just another …

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Mark Valladares

ALDE Party Council – give ‘em the old razzle dazzle…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 23rd October 2023 - 11:45 am

Escaping Storm Babet, albeit not by much, Thursday saw me heading to the Paris of the East, and capital of Romania, Bucharest. After the various travelling calamities that befell the delegation to Stockholm in June, I wasn’t taking any chances on arriving on the day of the meeting, and reached my destination to find the sun shining and the temperature pleasantly warm. Perhaps it was a good omen…

In truth, the most controversial item on the agenda was always going to be the urgency resolution on the situation in Israel and Palestine, given that European liberals have quite divergent views on who is to blame and what should be done. However, our delegation leader, and Chair of Federal International Relations Committee, David Chalmers, had decided that the best way forward was to draft something which might attract majority support in advance and, after some discussion amongst our delegation, with valued input from our Parliamentary Foreign Affairs team, we had been able to circulate something to our sister parties that, I thought, had a real chance of success.

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Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 23 October – Focus, Focus, Focus?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 23rd October 2023 - 8:15 am

I’ve been a bit busy for the past few days, as you’ll see later, although I have noticed that the comments thread on my early Friday morning post of the results from Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth has been busy – and I only really wrote that because, with a two hour time difference in my favour, I could at least write it with the benefit of some sleep.

There is always a danger of over-reaction to what was a bit of a disappointment. After all, after recent successes, it was too easy to believe that we could fly. But, we have hopefully learned some valuable lessons which, if properly applied, will make our General Election campaign more focused and more effective. It may also act to remind some of us that, just because one of our opponents is in utter disarray, that doesn’t mean that all we need to do is merely turn up to knock off a Tory MP. And, if you haven’t done the work yet, you might struggle to persuade others that you’re worth investing precious resources in.

I am reminded of “Cleggmania” in 2010, when our targeting discipline weakened in the face of promising poll numbers, and I’d rather prefer our final result next year to be seen as a success rather than something of a letdown.

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Mark Valladares

Another disastrous night for the Tories, but Emma comes up short in Mid Bedfordshire

By Mark Valladares | Fri 20th October 2023 - 5:12 am

The results are in and it’s another day not to be the Conservative spokesperson, as Labour have won both of yesterday’s by-elections.

In Mid Bedfordshire, Alistair Strathern will go down in the record books as having overturned a near 25,000 majority:

  • Labour 13,872 (34.1%, +12.4%)
  • Conservatives 12,680 (31.1%, -28.6%)
  • Liberal Democrats 9,420 (23.1%, 10.5%)

It’s the first by-election of this Parliament in which voters had a choice between three alternatives with a credible chance of winning but it appears at first glance that, on the day, wavering voters opted for Labour rather than us as the means to defeat Nadine Dorries’s stand-in.

However, as Daisy Cooper put it:

We nearly doubled our share of the vote which would see the Lib Dems win dozens of seats off the Conservatives in a general election.

The Liberal Democrats played a crucial role in defeating the Conservatives in Mid Bedfordshire, and we can play a crucial role in getting rid of this Conservative government at the next election.

I’m so proud of Emma Holland-Lindsay and her campaign which convinced thousands of lifelong Conservative voters in the villages of Mid Bedfordshire to switch to the Liberal Democrats.

Unlike in North Shropshire, where in a short campaign we were able to “make the weather” and quickly overwhelm the Labour campaign, the long phoney war between the somewhat petulant announcement of Nadine Dorries’s resignation and the actual one meant that Labour had the time to organise a strong campaign. But nonetheless, it’s a good win for Labour, a decent result for us, and an awful one for the Conservatives, albeit they’ll probably expect to win it back in a General Election.

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Mark Valladares

12 October 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 12th October 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • NHS waiting list: Public are tired of waiting on this government that has given up
  • London Assembly Liberal Democrats Back Motion to Condemn Hamas Terrorist Attacks

NHS waiting list: Public are tired of waiting on this government that has given up

Responding to the news that the NHS waiting list has risen to 7.7 million, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP said:

This is yet another damning indictment of this Conservative government’s record on the NHS.

They broke their promise to recruit 6000 GPs, broke their promise to build 40 hospitals and now they’ve broken their promise to bring down

…

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Mark Valladares

Lord Paddick to join the Metropolitan Police as a Non Executive Advisor

By Mark Valladares | Tue 10th October 2023 - 8:04 am

Metropolitan Police have announced that Lord Brian Paddick is joining them as a Non Executive Advisor.

As a result he is stepping back from his position as a Liberal Democrat Peer to a non-affiliated Peer for the duration of the appointment.

Lord Paddick said:

It is with some sadness that I am leaving the Liberal Democrat Group in the Lords, but I know that they will continue to work as an extraordinary force within Parliament to represent the very best of Liberal Democrat values in this House.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said:

I wanted to personally thank Lord Paddick for all his incredible

…

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Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 9 October 2023 – “the train now arriving on platform 2 is an aspiration…”

By Mark Valladares | Mon 9th October 2023 - 7:45 am

It’s one of the most obvious things about a Government attempting to be populist that the things it does should be vaguely popular. There’s also an implication that they should get their messaging right as well.

And yet, this Government doesn’t seem to be terribly good at even something so simple, as demonstrated by this week’s announcement that HS2 was to be abandoned beyond Birmingham and the £36 billion supposedly saved would be spent on other projects. In principle, given that HS2 has been easy to attack due to overspends and a false prospectus – speed was merely a benefit, the …

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Mark Valladares

5 October 2023 – the overnight press release

By Mark Valladares | Thu 5th October 2023 - 7:30 am

IFS Report: Schools are paying for “Government’s economic incompetence”

Commenting on the IFS report being published tomorrow showing that schools costs are growing faster than economy-wide inflation, particularly support staff pay, energy and food costs, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said:

Today’s IFS report mirrors what I am being told by head teachers day-in and day-out. Schools are struggling to make ends meet.

School trips are being axed, teaching assistants are being laid off and urgent classroom repairs are being ignored as buildings crumble. The lack of proper funding means pupils with additional needs won’t get the

…

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Mark Valladares

4 October 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 4th October 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • Ed Davey on Sunak speech: PM has lost control of his party and lost the trust of the country
  • 10 things Rishi Sunak didn’t mention in his conference speech

Ed Davey on Sunak speech: PM has lost control of his party and lost the trust of the country

Responding to Rishi Sunak’s conference speech, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

This chaotic conference shows Rishi Sunak has lost control of his party and lost the trust of the country.

Every bungled announcement confirms that this shambles of a Conservative Party is not fit to govern.

Sunak had no answers on how to fix our crumbling health services or help people seeing their bills go through the roof. Instead we got just more empty rhetoric from a lame-duck Prime Minister who is running scared of a general election.

It’s time to give the British people the chance to kick Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party out of government.

10 things Rishi Sunak didn’t mention in his conference speech

The Liberal Democrats have accused Rishi Sunak of being so out of touch he may as well be living on another planet, after highlighting ten pressing issues facing families which the PM didn’t mention once in his speech.

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Mark Valladares

3 October 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 3rd October 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • Twenty’s plenty: 20 Conservative politicians and Councils who backed 20 mph zones
  • Ed Davey slams Sunak over Conservative conference chaos on visit to Mid Bedfordshire

Twenty’s plenty: 20 Conservative politicians and Councils who backed 20 mph zones

The Liberal Democrats have accused Rishi Sunak of “rank hypocrisy” and “playing politics with road safety” for criticising 20 mph zones, despite Conservative politicians across the country backing them.

It comes as analysis by the party reveals a list of 20 Conservative MPs and Councils, including three Cabinet Ministers, that have backed 20 mph speed limits.

Among those who have previously backed 20 mph zones is Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who pledged his support to a 20’s Plenty campaign saying that “dropping your speed by merely 10 mph can make all the difference in preventing potentially fatal accidents.”

Other Cabinet Ministers who have expressed support for 20 mph speed limits include the Welsh Secretary David Davies and Justice Secretary Alex Chalk.

Health Minister, Helen Whately, has backed the expansion of 20 mph speed limits in her constituency saying “there are benefits for everyone from a lower speed limit – safer roads, cleaner air, and better quality of life.”

And even in Rishi Sunak’s own backyard, Conservative run North Yorkshire Council has proposed the ‘the most significant 20 mph zone the council has ever introduced’ as they believe they are ‘safer’.

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Mark Valladares

2 October 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 2nd October 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • Hunt rules out tax cuts as Conservative soap opera continues
  • Water bill hike: Bosses paid £41m in bonuses while customers asked to pay for upgrades
  • Liz Truss’s £18,000 golden goodbye same as five-year mortgage hit for typical Blue Wall family
  • HS2: Rishi Sunak makes Liz Truss look like a political genius
  • Covid Inquiry: Sunak’s failure to send messages is another “Conservative cover up”

Hunt rules out tax cuts as Conservative soap opera continues

Responding to Jeremy Hunt’s latest comments this morning ruling out tax cuts this year, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

The Conservative Party are fighting like rats in a sack, while

…

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Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 2 October 2023 – autumn has come…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 2nd October 2023 - 7:41 am

It’s October already, and despite the rather pleasant September that we’ve had, today offered a sense that the seasons are turning. And whilst the Conservatives are still in Manchester, engaged in what the Economist described as “magical thinking” (paywall, I’m afraid), the rest of us have moved on to what will happen in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, Tamworth and, of most interest to Liberal Democrats, Mid Bedfordshire.

If the polls are accurate, Labour should win in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, but Tamworth is supposedly neck and neck, despite Labour’s recent performance in local elections there, and Mid Bedfordshire is being claimed by all three major parties. Should the Conservatives hold either or both, it will be a confidence boost for them, even if it persuades them to keep going as they are – in the face of the national polling data. Thus, it’s important that we keep pushing in Mid Bedfordshire, and I’m perpetually impressed by the reports of activists converging on the area from across the country.

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Mark Valladares

29 September 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 29th September 2023 - 10:40 pm
  • IFS comment: People are sick and tired of this unfair, irresponsible government
  • Sunak scrapping winter fuel allowance a “slap in the face” for pensioners

IFS comment: People are sick and tired of this unfair, irresponsible government

Responding to the IFS’s comments that this will be the biggest tax-raising Parliament on record, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, Sarah Olney MP said:

This Conservative government crashed the economy and is making the public pay the price. This is the same party which promised not to raise people’s taxes and is now taxing families through the nose.

Despite this, Ministers have given tax cuts to the big banks, failed

…

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Mark Valladares

22 September 2023 – today’s press release

By Mark Valladares | Fri 22nd September 2023 - 10:30 pm

Families in Blue Wall hit with £3,000 “Truss tax” in year since mini-budget

New research reveals homeowners in London and the South East have seen their mortgage payments rise by £3,000 in year since mini budget

The two ‘Blue Wall’ regions are the hardest hit, compared to an average hit of £2,000 across the country

Those on a 2-year deal who remortgaged in the wake of the mini budget saw their mortgage rate jump by average of 1.69% to 5.17%

Homeowners in London and the South East have seen their mortgage payments rise by a staggering £3,000 in the year since Liz Truss’ shambolic mini budget, new research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

The party said it showed that homeowners are still paying a “Truss tax” on their mortgages and suffering the consequences of years of Conservative chaos.

According to figures provided by the House of Commons Library, typical homeowners coming out of a two-year deal in the week after the mini budget last September would have seen their rate shoot up from 1.69% to 5.17%.

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Mark Valladares

Liberal Democrat conference will “fire starting pistol” on General Election campaign

By Mark Valladares | Fri 22nd September 2023 - 7:30 am

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper has said the party will be using their Autumn Conference in Bournemouth this weekend to “fire the starting pistol” on its General Election campaign.

The Liberal Democrats are looking to build on their four historic by-election wins and major local election gains in formerly safe Conservative areas.

Liberal Democrat MPs will today hold a Blue Wall summit in Bournemouth with top candidates in marginal seats, discussing their strategy to win more Conservative seats and elect MPs who will act as local champions for their communities.

On Sunday, the Liberal Democrats will become the first party to adopt …

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Mark Valladares

21 September 2023 – today’s press release

By Mark Valladares | Thu 21st September 2023 - 10:30 pm

Liberal Democrats call on Sunak to commit to maintaining fracking ban

The Liberal Democrats have called on the Prime Minister to personally commit to maintaining the ban on fracking after Liz Truss praised his watering down of key clean energy pledges and urged Sunak to lift the ban on fracking.

Liz Truss’s premiership ended last year following chaos around a Labour opposition day motion on fracking.

Liberal Democrat Climate and Energy spokesperson, Wera Hobhouse MP said:

Rishi Sunak seems hellbent on taking his policy cues from the worst Prime Minister in living memory, Liz Truss. There is no telling how far he

…

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Mark Valladares

20 September 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 20th September 2023 - 10:45 pm
  • Latest inflation figures will be “of cold comfort”
  • Liberal Democrats call for increase to apprenticeship pay as dropout rates soar
  • Davey: Sunak is trashing the economy of the future
  • Over 1,000 sewage leaks in armed forces’ accommodation
  • Davey: This is not leadership from Rishi Sunak, this is putting the UK at the back of the queue

Latest inflation figures will be “of cold comfort”

The latest inflation figures show that inflation has fallen slightly to 6.7% from 6.8% in August. Responding to the news Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, Sarah Olney MP said:

This news will be of cold comfort for families across the country still struggling with sky high prices and mortgages because the Conservatives have crashed the economy.

Ministers still simply haven’t got a clue how to protect hardworking people’s wallets during the cost of living crisis.

Rishi Sunak should not pat himself on the back whilst this crisis carries on, the Government must do more.

Liberal Democrats call for increase to apprenticeship pay as dropout rates soar

Apprenticeships in shortage occupations have fallen by up to 73%, research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats reveal, while in some sectors three in four apprentices are dropping out before completing their course.

It comes as the party is set to adopt proposals to increase pay for apprenticeships to at least the minimum wage, as part of a new industrial strategy being unveiled at its Autumn Conference this weekend.

A collapse in new apprenticeships is contributing to the crippling skills shortages affecting British businesses, making it even harder for them to fill vacancies. House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats shows that sectors listed in the Government’s official “shortage occupation list” have seen particularly stark falls in apprenticeships.

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19 September 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 19th September 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • OECD Report: UK economy is “stuck in the slow lane”
  • Revealed: Truss taxpayer handouts now reach over £40k
  • Sunak has failed to embrace the industries of the future

OECD Report: UK economy is “stuck in the slow lane”

Responding to the lastest OECD report, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Treasury and Business Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

This damning report shows that under the Conservatives, the UK economy is stuck in the slow lane. We’ve had zero apology from Liz Truss for trashing the economy, and now zero plan from Rishi Sunak to fix it.

It’s time for a proper plan to grow the economy and tackle the cost of living. That means boosting apprenticeships to tackle skills shortages and helping exporters by fixing the government’s botched trade deal with Europe.

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18 September 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 18th September 2023 - 11:15 pm
  • Truss refuses to apologise for mini-budget while pocketing taxpayer handouts
  • RAAC: Lib Dems win vote forcing govt to publish register of crumbling schools and hospitals

Truss refuses to apologise for mini-budget while pocketing taxpayer handouts

The Liberal Democrats have called for taxpayer-funded payouts to failed ministers to be scrapped, after Liz Truss today refused to apologise to households for the damage caused by her mini-budget.

In 2022, Liz Truss was paid £18,660 in severance pay for her failed tenure as Prime Minister. Meanwhile, former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng received £16,876 in severance pay, or £444 in taxpayers’ cash for each day he held office. …

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Welcome to my day: 18 September 2023 – changing perspectives…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 18th September 2023 - 7:33 am

There’s been a lot of debate about the Party’s proposals on housing policy for the past week or so, as evidenced by the series of articles on this website. There’s another today from Simon McGrath, who has rather controversially linked one area of Party policy to this one. It’s controversial merely because the Government don’t do that sort of joined up thinking.

The subject is of particular relevance to me this week, because I’ve just moved house, leaving my small, perfectly formed village in the Gipping Valley for a new home in the centre of Ipswich. Housing policy isn’t just about …

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Mark Valladares

14 September 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 14th September 2023 - 11:55 pm
  • Crumbling Hospitals: Lib Dems call for Rishi Sunak to explain why he ignored crumbling hospitals
  • Sunak breaches rules again: Same old sleaze and scandal as Boris Johnson
  • Liberal Democrats urge the Government to act on Voter ID Scheme

Crumbling Hospitals: Lib Dems call for Rishi Sunak to explain why he ignored crumbling hospitals

Following the report that Rishi Sunak blocked plans to rebuild hospitals with crumbling concrete three years ago, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

This new revelation is a disgrace. The Prime Minister has put the public’s health and safety at risk for far too long.

It’s

…

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13 September 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 13th September 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • GDP stats: Sunak has failed to get a grip on the economy
  • Nutrient Neutrality: Lib Dems to vote against removing water pollution rules
  • PMQs: Davey raises Sunak’s failure on cancer as 22,000 people wait more than 4 months for treatment
  • Watchdog failing to audit water companies – Lib Dems call for inquiry
  • Levelling Up Bill: Government overruled for nutrient neutrality laws

GDP stats: Sunak has failed to get a grip on the economy

Responding to latest GDP stats which show the UK economy shrank by 0.5% in July 2023, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

The Conservative government’s mismanagement of the economy is a burden on any chance of growth.

Rishi Sunak has utterly failed to get a grip on the cost of living crisis as mortgage costs continue to spiral and the price of a weekly shop goes through the roof.

Mortgage arrears are now at their highest since 2016 and families are wondering if they will once again be forced to choose between heating and eating this winter.

This out of touch Conservative government has completely failed on the economy.

Nutrient Neutrality: Lib Dems to vote against removing water pollution rules

Today in the House of Lords, the Liberal Democrats are voting against the Secretary of Housing Michael Gove’s plan to remove EU anti-water pollution laws- so called ‘nutrient neutrality’ rules in order to build more houses. This in turn could lead to more pollution in our already filthy rivers.

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Mark Valladares

12 September 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 12th September 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • Wage Figures: Sunak must commit to triple lock now
  • NHS staff cannot be left to suffer in silence
  • Government may have broken law over sewage: “Environmental vandalism on an industrial scale”
  • Liberal Democrats welcome TfL’s new road safety charter

Wage Figures: Sunak must commit to triple lock now

Responding to today’s wage figures which would be used to uprate pensions, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

Rishi Sunak must commit now to the triple lock to ensure the state pension rises in line with the cost of living.

His failure to commit to the triple lock earlier this week will have left a cloud of uncertainty hanging over struggling pensioners. We also need a guarantee that welfare payments won’t be slashed in real terms.

Families and pensioners should not be made to pay the price for years of economic mismanagement under the Conservatives.

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Welcome to my day: 11 September 2023 – everything changes yet nothing does…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 11th September 2023 - 7:29 am

Regular readers might have wondered where I’ve been for the past month or so (and for those of you who didn’t, I’m afraid that you going to get the answer anyway).

It is perhaps a marker that I’m growing older that I’ve been away on grandparent duty. Given that I have no children of my own, it’s an interesting reflection of how family life has changed with the advent of the right to divorce, or the emergence of non-traditional family structures, that allows someone like me (childless by choice) to step into the role of “Grandpa” to a small child. And, whilst I approach the role with a combination of love and trepidation, it’s been fun thus far.

I’m also undergoing some upheaval here at home, which I might explain at some point, but the key word at the moment is change.

Sadly, our politics isn’t doing much of that. A new face or two, yes, but the Government seems determined to faceplant itself at every opportunity – whether it’s legionnaire’s disease on the Bibby Stockholm, crumbling concrete in our schools, hospitals and other public buildings, or the lack of funding certainty for that bedrock of historic Conservative support, farmers.

It’s an indication of two of the key flaws that this Government exhibits, a lack of long term thinking and a failure to understand how things work in real life.

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Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 14 August 2023 – whilst there are still some grouse left…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 14th August 2023 - 8:15 am

The newspapers seem to be full of stories either questioning what future the Conservative Party has given the prospect of a solid thrashing at some point in the next fifteen months or so or bemoaning what it might do in the time it has left. It does require a sense of manic optimism to believe that a government which appears to have given up on addressing the issues that actually matter to the public can actually turn things around.

And yet, the public mood is fickle. It isn’t that long ago that the Conservatives were leading in the polls fairly comfortably, …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 2 Comments
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