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.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called for the creation of a “Celtic Sea Powerhouse” to serve as a new economic region for Wales harnessing green technology on the first day of their spring conference.
The policy comes on the back of the announcement of freeport status in Milford Haven and Port Talbot.
The policy calls for the cutting of red tape in Wales to establish floating offshore wind farms which can currently take up to 10 years for floating offshore wind to be given planning permission.
The Crown Estate Estimates the Celtic Sea has the economic potential to accommodate up to an additional …
Responding to the leaked names on Liz Truss’ Honours List, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP said:
Handing out more expensive gongs to Conservative allies is a truly remarkable way to reward the shortest tenure as Prime Minister in British political history.
Truss and her Conservative colleagues trashed our economy and left millions in misery.
Those selected for honours are the very people who helped plunge the country into chaos and crisis.
Rishi Sunak must block these Honours immediately as allowing Truss to dish out positions of influence shows a stunning lack of humility.
Interest rates rise: Sunak’s pledge to halve inflation in tatters
Responding to the Bank of England raising interest rates, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Treasury Sarah Olney MP said:
This news will come as a hammer blow to countless hardworking families.
People seeing their mortgage bills go up by hundreds of pounds a month have been left high and dry by this Government, which sent interest rates soaring with their catastrophic mini budget.
Rishi Sunak’s pledge to halve inflation is in tatters.
The Government could be cutting household energy bills and extending energy support for businesses to help keep prices down. Instead,
Inflation rises: Proof the Chancellor should have cut energy bills in the budget
Windsor Framework: Conservative MPs are mutinous pirates who no longer care what their captain says
Inflation rises: Proof the Chancellor should have cut energy bills in the budget
Responding to this morning’s inflation figures, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said:
This rise is just more proof why the Chancellor should have cut energy bills in the budget. Instead he sat on his hands and we are left with rising inflation once more.
People across the country are struggling and the Government has failed totemically to support hardworking families and pensioners.
High borrowing: Govt blew a hole in our public finances
Responding to the latest ONS statistics which show public sector net borrowing at the highest February total since records began, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:
This Conservative Government blew a hole in our public finances and made hard-working families pay for it through unfair tax rises, higher mortgage bills and soaring inflation.
The Chancellor could have taken action in last week’s Budget to put our economy on the right track, but instead we saw a total lack of ambition and no economic plan.
Firstly, an apology to those of you who’ve been waiting for comment moderation this evening – my duty as Chair of my small, but perfectly formed, Parish Council took me away from my desk.
But there will be those of you who will be disappointed with my decisions today. William Byrd might well fairly reflect my thoughts on that:
My wealth is health and perfect ease,
And conscience clear my chief defence
I never seek by bribes to please
Nor by desert to give offence
Thus do I live. Thus will I die
Would all did so, as well as I
We have had a number of what I would describe as the online equivalent of “drive-by shootings”, which in truth were pretty easy to decide upon, and then there are those who use absurd arguments, or obviously false names or e-mail addresses, or who deliberately misrepresent the views of others. There are also more “shades of grey” comments where, if I’m honest, I may have erred on the side of caution – I am a bureaucrat, after all. But, for the benefit of the unhappier of you, I courteously point you towards our comments policy, a document which some people might benefit from reading. We retain the right to publish comments (or not) as we see fit.
Moderation is, by its very nature, art not science. Balancing freedom of expression against protection for the vulnerable is, I feel, a mark of one’s liberalism, weighing the rights of the individual against the interests of the wider community. It does mean entertaining the notion of honest doubt and responding accordingly, something that isn’t without its risks.
And, with that final thought, I bring today to a close. But, as I pass over the editorial baton, I leave you with William Byrd’s “My Mind to me a Kingdom is”, and hope that it brings you, as it does me, some joy and just a little peace.
Revealed: Over 100 Met officers still working while under investigation for sexual abuse
Over 100 Met police officers are still working on the frontline while under investigation for allegations of sexual or domestic abuse, a Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.
A total of 548 Met police officers are currently under investigation for claims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, or a combination of both.
144 of the officers under investigation for these offences are still working and carrying out their normal duties, the response from the Metropolitan Police reveals. Of these, 111 are under investigation for sexual abuse. 28 …
Lib Dems call for emergency action to end dental deserts
Banks’ £17.8 billion tax cut could have funded pay rise for 150,000 carers
Lib Dems call for long-term strategy to end energy crisis
Lib Dems call for emergency action to end dental deserts
The Liberal Democrats have blasted the Government for the spread of ‘dental deserts’ across the UK.
Vast areas of the country are without access to NHS dental appointments, often in rural or deprived areas.
The Party passed a motion at its Spring Conference today which called for urgent reform to the NHS dental contract to ensure everyone can get the care they need and isn’t forced to go private.
The plans also call for an emergency scheme to ensure children, pregnant women and young mothers have access to their free check ups on time.
This comes as Healthwatch England found that 41% of people are struggling to get an NHS dental appointment, with one in five unable to access all the treatments they needed.
Under the proposals, there would be an increase to the number of dentist training places in the UK and continued recognition of EU trained dentists’ qualifications.
The Liberal Democrats are also calling for the removal of VAT on children’s toothbrushes and children’s toothpaste.
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, Daisy Cooper MP said:
Our NHS dental system is completely broken. NHS appointments are scarce at best and in some places don’t exist at all. People are being forced to spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds on private dental care with some even resorting to their own at-home DIY dentistry.
This Conservative Government has done next to nothing to tackle this crisis.
Rishi Sunak would rather engage in divisive culture wars to cover up his government’s appalling record on the NHS, which is leaving dental patients in pain and distress.
The Liberal Democrats believe that everyone should be able to access a dentist when they need one.
Steve Brine must step down from Health Select Committee
‘Show Sunak the door’ – Lib Dems update by-election door as victory props take centre stage in blue wall rally
Welsh Conservative MPs should “hang their heads in shame” over rail funding
Steve Brine must step down from Health Select Committee
Responding to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner launching an investigation into Steve Brine over allegations of inproper lobbying of the NHS, Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:
Steve Brine should immediately step down from the Health Select Committee whilst this investigation takes places. It is absurd for an MP who may have wrongly
Train journeys back from Conference tend to offer a chance to reflect on the events of the past few days, especially for someone who likes to travel in a bubble of isolation (nothing personal, fellow Liberal Democrats, but sometimes I just like to be alone). And this Conference has been no different.
Was their journey really necessary?
Sadly, the culture wars that have poisoned our national body politic have come to the Liberal Democrats and, unlike our more authoritarian opposite numbers, we’re curiously more vulnerable in some ways. Many of us find confrontation enervating rather than enjoyable, and we have a tendency to wish away conflict rather than address it head-on. And I do get that – we’re (mostly) nice people who want to be welcoming. And that means that not so lovely people can get quite far into the Party’s core before anyone necessarily notices.
However, at some point, unless you draw lines in the sand in terms of behaviour and values, you find that what you had is gone forever, and that the liberal party you thought you were part of is no more. And it does happen, for example in Hungary, where it is now hard to believe we were once a sister party to FIDESZ, the conservative nationalist party which forms the most unpleasant administration in the European Union.
It is at times like this, therefore, that those who believe in the liberal values of tolerance and mutual respect have to step up as Conference did on Saturday.
ONS economy stats: Tomorrow is judgement day for Jeremy Hunt
Braverman must apologise to women and girls for police dropping complaints
Conservative MPs must back amendments to ban child detention
Budget is “judgement day” for Chancellor on cost of living crisis
Jane Dodds responds to Health Minister statement on Dental Reform
ONS economy stats: Tomorrow is judgement day for Jeremy Hunt
Responding to this morning’s ONS earnings and employment figures, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said:
Tomorrow is judgement day for Jeremy Hunt. He must finally end the cost of living crisis and the endless pay squeeze which is crippling families across the country.
The revolving door of Conservative Chancellors in recent years have all failed at keeping prices down. Jeremy Hunt can take action tomorrow and cut energy bills by £500, by introducing a proper windfall tax on the bumper profits of oil and gas firms. They are raking in billions off the back of higher energy bills and the public won’t stomach it any longer.
Braverman must apologise to women and girls for police dropping complaints
Responding to the figures that show police forces drop most complaints of officer violence against women, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip and former Police Officer, Wendy Chamberlain MP said:
These statistics tell us what millions of women and girls already know. Across the country, they look to the police to protect them and ultimately the buck stops with the Home Office to fix this crisis.
Violence against women and girls has no place in our society, not least in the police forces that are meant to keep us all safe.
We need swift action from Suella Braverman, including a promise to tighten vetting and investigation regulations. But first, she needs to apologise for the Government and police forces letting women and girls across the country down.
Liberal Democrats urge Conservative MPs to ‘examine their conscience’ ahead of Small Boats Bill vote
Lineker is back, Sharp must go
Responding to the news that Gary Lineker and the BBC have come to an agreement, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said:
Everyone will be pleased to see Gary Lineker and the football and sports coverage back to normal on the BBC next weekend.
However, given his ties to Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party, and the scandal surrounding his appointment, the public simply cannot trust Richard Sharp to restore the BBC’s credibility.
This year sees the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd, one of this country’s great composers. As a Catholic myself, I am reminded that he converted to Catholicism in his thirties at some personal risk given the culture of the day. It is a reminder that state-sponsored attacks on minorities and other vulnerable people is not a new concept, and that the conservative right have never been afraid to secure power through the demonisation of others.
And of course what is particularly ironic is that Tory MPs, who are usually championing the right of people to be as racist, sexist and transphobic as they like in the name of free speech, are now going after Gary Lineker.
There is a perfectly obvious reason for this, which is that not only are these people hypocrites, but they don’t care that they contradict themselves over and over again. It’s all about stirring up anger and distracting attention from their failure and incompetence. Find the smelliest, deadest cat they can find and hurl its foul carcass on the table so that we’ll talk about that rather than stick to the issues that matter.
Hunt’s budget set to be “more hot air and no real or urgent help”
Davey: Richard Sharp must resign
The Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has called on Richard Sharp to resign.
Davey has said that Richard Sharp’s position is “untenable” and blamed the Conservative Government for “systematically attacking the independence of the BBC”.
Richard Sharp has spent recent months wrapped in controversy around his role in an £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson. The Chairman of the BBC is head of the BBC Board and responsible for maintaining the independence of the BBC.
ONS: Economy still suffering consequences of Conservatives
BP boss pay doubles: Sunak must bring in bonus tax now
Lineker: Today is a reminder that we need a properly independent BBC
Lee Waters must apologise to Welsh nurses
ONS: Economy still suffering consequences of Conservatives
Responding to the latest ONS GDP figures from January 2023, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:
These disappointing figures are yet another reminder that our economy is suffering under this Conservative Government, and people are feeling this under-performance in their own pockets.
The Conservative party has broken this country’s economy with record energy bills, rising food prices and soaring mortgage costs. Yet they are completely out of touch with people’s worries.
The Chancellor needs to take action in next week’s Budget by cutting people’s energy bills by £500, and putting in place a proper plan to get our economy growing fairly and sustainably.
BP boss pay doubles: Sunak must bring in bonus tax now
The Liberal Democrats have demanded that the government bring in a tax on the bonuses of oil and gas company bosses, following the news that the chief executive of BP’s pay doubled to £10m.
Davey: Shell boss £10m pay packet shows need for “bonanza bonus” tax
HS2 Delay Must Trigger Barnett Consequential Funding for Wales
Davey: Shell boss £10m pay packet shows need for “bonanza bonus” tax
The Liberal Democrats have reiterated their calls for a tax on the bonuses of oil and gas company bosses, following the news that the former chief executive of Shell’s pay rose more than 50% to nearly £10m in 2022.
Shell announced today that former chief executive Ben van Beurden received a bonus of £2.6m in 2022, up from £2.2m the previous year. Under Liberal Democrat plans, this would be taxed at …
In response to the Coram Family and Childcare annual survey which showed an increase of 5.6% in part-time childcare costs and 7% fewer local areas reporting sufficient childcare places for children under two, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson said:
The huge increase in costs of childcare is hitting cash-strapped young families who are already facing a cost of living crisis.
The UK already has some of the highest childcare costs in the world. Parents up and down the country are struggling to afford their nursery fees, while for others the crippling costs of childcare mean they simply can’t afford to
Responding to comments made by the Home Secretary this morning on the government’s small boats proposals, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:
Suella Braverman can’t even answer basic questions about her flawed, callous and inhumane policy.
To suggest that those who oppose these divisive plans are somehow betraying Britain is stooping to a new low. It is
Sunak should rule out ever restoring Hancock’s Conservative whip
Small boats ‘vanity project’ bill trashes UK’s reputation
Sunak should rule out ever restoring Hancock’s Conservative whip
The Liberal Democrats are calling on Rishi Sunak to rule out ever restoring Matt Hancock’s Conservative Whip after the latest set of leaked WhatsApp messages. The messages show Hancock threatening to block a disability centre in a Conservative MP’s seat in an attempt to force him to vote for the new Covid tier system.
This is yet another shocking revelation from the Lockdown Files which raises even more concerns about Matt Hancock’s integrity and …
97% of NHS trusts are missing cancer treatment targets in “shocking gap in care”
Sunak must veto Johnson honours list
Responding to reports in The Times that Boris Johnson has nominated his father for a Knighthood in his Resignation Honours list, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP said:
The Conservative party is rewarding Boris Johnson’s failure, lies and corruption. If future Honours Lists are to have any shred of credibility, Sunak must step in and veto this list.
Honours should be reserved for those who’ve gone above and beyond to contribute to our country. Boris Johnson’s attempt to bestow that recognition on his father makes a mockery of the whole thing.
This nepotism from the former Prime Minister isn’t new, he successfully secured a position in the House of Lords for his brother, now he’s trying to get similar VIP treatment for his father.
A Prime Minister who was found guilty of breaking the law while holding office doesn’t deserve an honours list with one name, let alone with over 100.
97% of NHS trusts are missing cancer treatment targets in “shocking gap in care”
Only 3% of NHS trusts met a crucial cancer treatment target last year, down from one in two in 2015, distressing new research from the Liberal Democrats has revealed.
The House of Commons Library data analysis looks at the number of trusts meeting a key target for 85% of patients to receive their first cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent GP referral.
Following the somewhat divisive reign of Lord Andrew Adonis as Chair of the European Movement, an election contest is underway to replace him. There are three candidates, who may be more or less familiar to Liberal Democrat Voice readers:
Tom Brake
Mike Galsworthy
Patience Wheatcroft
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, there’s plenty of buzz in Liberal Democrat circles in support of Tom, who’s certainly been busy since he narrowly lost Carshalton and Wallington in 2019 (despite actually increasing his share of the vote). He became the Director of Unlock Democracy (a fine organisation) in 2020 and has been campaigning strongly for reform of our political system …
It’s been a long time since I attended a Federal Conference, or even a Regional one, in person, and the world feels like a somewhat different place post-COVID. But I don’t have a role or function, and it’ll be nice to simply try to take the pulse of the Party less than two years before a General Election.
I suppose that my key question will be, “does the Party offer a sense that it has a destination in mind?”, and it isn’t clear to me yet that there is one, other than give an impression that we’re better than the Conservatives. That’s a pretty low bar, if we’re being honest.
And yes, I support the Party’s line on the issues it has chosen to feature – river pollution, carers and competence in government are all worthy causes. But are we talking about the issues that engage the wider public? We’re cautious (at best) on Europe, even though it’s now widely acknowledged that the trade barriers between the United Kingdom and its nearby markets are the cause of slower economic growth and thus less resources to share around. We’re keen to offer financial support to those struggling with higher mortgages, heating and food bills. But that’s reactive rather than strategic.
We’ll be talking about a fairer society too, which vaguely troubles me, as fairness is a deeply subjective term, very much an “eye of the beholder” concept. But the motion to be debated on Saturday week does offer some meaningful choices, as long as we campaign on them after they’re adopted. Perhaps I shouldn’t mention Europe at this point…
Rail fare rise: Betrayal of commuters and families
Lockdown files: Matt Hancock’s attempt to fire SAGE scientist ‘shocking’
Small boat ban will punish victims of human trafficking
Rail fare rise: Betrayal of commuters and families
Responding to a rail fare increase of 5.9% due on Sunday, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP said:
Liberal Democrats are fighting for a fair deal for commuters and families who will be left forking out even more for train journeys in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
Ministers cannot keep turning a blind eye to these problems, especially given people are paying more for
Elderly fraud victims in Wales losing £35,000 a day to “tidal wave” of scams
Government’s refusal to confirm further energy support payments leaves people “living in limbo”
Partygate: Prime Minister must back Committee’s findings
Elderly fraud victims in Wales losing £35,000 a day to “tidal wave” of scams
Elderly fraud victims are facing a “tidal wave of scams” with losses of over £35,000 million a day, shocking new figures uncovered by the Welsh Liberal Democrats have revealed.
The party accused the Conservatives of being “asleep at the wheel” in the fight against fraud, and called for an urgent strategy to protect victims including the vulnerable and elderly from online scams.
The figures were revealed through a Freedom of Information request by the Welsh Liberal Democrats to Action Fraud, covering all fraud cases where the victim was 65 or older over the past four years. They show a staggering £51.2 million has been lost in total, meaning over-65s across Wales are losing £35,087 to fraud each day.
The analysis shows that elderly fraud is on the rise, jumping from 1,847 recorded cases in 2019 up to 3,366 cases in 2022. Financial losses were also at a new high in 2022 – with pensioners losing nearly £16.5 million, up from £6.8 million in 2021.
Since the beginning of 2019, more than 12,000 cases of fraud against pensioners have been logged in Wales.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have criticised the Conservative Government for shirking its responsibility to tackle fraud. The Home Office has failed to publish the Fraud Strategy it promised in March 2022, which replaced 2021 plans for a national Fraud Action Plan that never materialised.
The party is demanding that the Government urgently publish its Fraud Strategy after months of delays. They are also calling for the creation of an Online Crime Agency that would coordinate work across the country on tackling online fraud.
Commenting on the shocking figures, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:
Ed Davey opens first Lib Dem office in Esher and Walton in bid to oust Dominic Raab
Surrey oil court case: A victory for local people against the Government and oil barons
The Government laughed at us while everyone else followed the rules
Ed Davey opens first Lib Dem office in Esher and Walton in bid to oust Dominic Raab
Today, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey opened the party’s first ever office in Dominic Raab’s ultra-marginal Surrey constituency.
The Liberal Democrats are under 3,000 votes away from ousting the Conservative Deputy Prime Minister at the next election.
Since the last General Election, the Liberal Democrats have been on a winning streak; gaining a host of council seats in Esher and Walton as well as achieving three historic parliamentary by-election victories in Chesham & Amersham, North Shropshire and Tiverton & Honiton.
The new office in Esher & Walton marks the party’s campaign ramping up in Surrey ahead of this May’s crucial local elections. The Liberal Democrats have re-selected Monica Harding as their General Election candidate, who came a close second in Esher & Walton in 2019, achieving a massive swing from the Conservative party.
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:
At the next election in Esher and Walton, it will be a two horse race between four more years of Conservative party chaos, or a hardworking local Liberal Democrat MP.
I am delighted to open the first ever Lib Dem office in the constituency, which is a landmark moment in our bid to oust Dominic Raab at the next election.
Every time I visit Esher and Walton, which neighbours my own constituency, I hear from local people who are fed up with being taken for granted by the Conservative party. There is outrage here at local health services starved of funding, sewage being dumped in rivers and taxes being hiked on hardworking families.
The Blue Wall is crumbling after years of Conservative party chaos in Westminster. The Liberal Democrats will be the challengers to Conservative MPs across vast swatches of the South East, especially here in Surrey.
PAC NHS report: Targets simply aren’t worth the paper they’re written on
Lockdown files: Rees-Mogg got Covid test couriered to own home
St. David’s Day – Welsh Liberal Democrats Call on Other Parties to Back Bill to Make St. David’s Day a public holiday
Hancock messages “lay bare the chaos at the heart of the Govt”
PMQs: Sunak refuses to cut energy bills
Hancock messages: How many more ministers received priority tests?
Williamson’s text solidifies his place as one of the worst Ministers to grace Government
PAC NHS report: Targets simply aren’t worth the paper they’re written on
Responding to the embargoed Public Accounts Committee report which finds the first year of NHS England’s three-year recovery programme is already falling short of expectations, Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Daisy Cooper said:
It‘s broken promise after broken promise when it comes to this government and the NHS.
The public has lost all faith in the Conservative government and can now see that its targets simply aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.
Lockdown files: Rees-Mogg got Covid test couriered to own home
Responding to reports in the Telegraph that Jacob Rees-Mogg had a Covid test couriered to his home by health officials during a national shortage, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said:
This is yet more evidence that it’s one rule for Conservative ministers and another for everyone else.
The Covid inquiry must look into reports Conservative ministers were able to get priority access to tests at a time of national shortage. Rishi Sunak must also confirm what he knew about this scandal. The public deserves to know the truth.
St. David’s Day – Welsh Liberal Democrats Call on Other Parties to Back Bill to Make St. David’s Day a public holiday
This St David’s Day, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have reiterated their calls for the day to become a public holiday in Wales urging other political parties to back a Bill they have put to parliament that would allow the Senedd to designate the day as such.
St David’s Day is currently only a patron saint day and does not have any legal standing. Meanwhile, in Scotland and Ireland St Andrew’s Day and St Patrick’s Day respectively are already public holidays.
Fuel poverty figures reveal over 7 million household struggling with energy bills
Sewage: Govt Minister refuses to protect clean water regulations
Fuel poverty figures reveal over 7 million household struggling with energy bills
New fuel poverty statistics have revealed millions of households are struggling to afford their energy bills.
The government’s annual Fuel Poverty Report showed there were an estimated 3.26 million households (13.4%) in fuel poverty in England in 2022, which is expected to rise to 3.5 million in 2023. A staggering 7.39 million (30.3%) of households in England had to spend more than 10% of income on energy costs in 2022, up from 4.93 million (20.5%) in 2021.
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to scrap its plans to increase average energy bills by £500 in April, and instead cut bills funded through a proper windfall tax.
Responding to the news, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:
These stark figures show milions of families and pensioners are struggling to afford sky-high energy bills.
It beggars belief that the Conservatives are plannng to worsen this cost of living catastrophe by hiking people’s energy bills by another £500 in April.
People in fuel poverty need support without delay. We need to cut energy bills and expand support for the most vulnerable, funded through a proper windfall tax on oil and gas giants making record profits.
Sewage: Govt Minister refuses to protect clean water regulations
Today, the Liberal Democrats held up proceedings in the Committee Stage of the Retained EU Law Bill to save regulations that protect both swimmers and wildlife from sewage and other water pollution.
The Bathing Water Regulations and Water Framework Directive are both at risk of being scrapped under the Government’s new Retained EU Law Bill, which aims to remove hundreds of pieces of legislation from UK law.
Hundreds of sewage leaks in England’s hospitals over the last year
Shocking reports of patients slipping over on sewage, staff becoming ill and urine & faeces leaking into offices and wards
Sewage flows in A&E departments, cancer wards and maternity centres amongst other critical hospital buildings
Liberal Democrat Leader demands urgent funds to fix hospitals before more patients and staff suffer from disgusting conditions
Freedom of Information Requests by the Liberal Democrats to NHS Trusts has revealed in the past twelve months there has been a staggering 456 sewage leaks in England’s hospitals. 55 NHS Trusts provided responses which reveal the shocking state of …
For those of you who don’t have the joy of living in the countryside, you will be aware of the existence of large boxes on wheels which pass up and down roads near you, stopping regularly to pick up and drop off complete strangers. Buses are relatively rare in my neck of the woods, however, so journeys need to be planned more thoroughly.
And that’s how I spent my Saturday, using the temporary £2 fare to travel from Bury St Edmunds to Lincoln, using five buses and travelling via Thetford, Kings Lynn, Spalding and Skegness. And yes, it took more than …
Inflation Stats: Hard-working people are paying the price for Conservative incompetence
British Gas profits: A betrayal for customers across the country
Welsh Lib Dems Respond to Welsh Dental Report
Responding to the publication of the Health and Social Care Committee report on dentistry in Wales, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:
I welcome the publication of this report and its recommendations. Since being elected I have made securing access to NHS dentistry one of my top priorities and the issue regularly fills my inbox.
NHS dental provision in Wales is not good enough, and this report raises really important questions about the reasons why Labour has allowed a two-tier dental system in Wales to develop, where the rich can go private and everyone else is left languishing on waiting lists.
I am also disappointed to hear that relations between Welsh Government and the dental profession are at a low point when, to deal with both the effects of the pandemic and the longer-term structural problems in NHS dentistry, we need Government and dentists to work together.
Ultimately we need to ensure the resources are in place to fix this problem, including raising spend on dentistry per head to similar levels as Scotland or Northern Ireland as I argued for in the most recent Welsh Government budget debate. By failing to address this issue now Labour is potentially creating a longer-term problem.
Peter Martin @ Kira,
The words you quoted were from Peter Davies'. Not me. I wouldn't agree with raising VAT on energy to 15% right now. I'd leave it as is.
The point ...
Peter Martin “‘why can’t social care and NHS spending be treated as ‘investment’’. Of course, that wont wash”.
I'd agree if were talking about re...
Peter Martin There's really only two fiscal rules that make any sense:
1) If inflation caused by an overheating economy is the main issue, then governments should tax mor...
Peter Davies @Kira Collins You seem to have missed the bit about raising tax allowances. That primarily helps those on low wages....
David Wright According to this well-argued article (by Lib Dem councillor Mark Ellis), a simple wealth tax wouldn't work, but tax on TRANSFER of wealth could, if current tax...
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Martin Wainwright's Guardian obituary of Michael Meadowcroft
Evaluating different electoral systems for the House of Commons
Brexit and summer holidays
Peter Martin 
Peter Davies 
David Wright 