Category Archives: Press releases

17 June 2025 – today’s press releases

  • NI tax hike: Government must scrap damaging jobs tax
  • Trump tariff deal: Govt must come clean and publish impact assessment
  • Lib Dem MP to take Thames Water to the Supreme Court
  • Rennie responds to school leaver deprivation gap widening
  • SNP miss key targets for drug treatment and care
  • Rennie: Will another 77 pages of school violence guidance change anything?
  • Cole-Hamilton: NHS, care and economy at the heart of liberal vision

NI tax hike: Government must scrap damaging jobs tax

Commenting as S&W’s business owners sentiment survey revealed around a third of business owners have said they plan to cut more jobs after being hit by higher national insurance contributions, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

Unfortunately, this confirms what we knew from the start – that the unfair National Insurance tax hike is a massive hammer blow to businesses already struggling to cope, and will lead to people losing their jobs or seeing their salaries suppressed.

Small businesses are the engine of our economy and the backbone of our communities. After all the damage they faced under the last Conservative Government, the government should be doing everything it can to support them.

Ministers need to go back to the drawing board, scrap this damaging jobs tax that holds back economic growth, and instead ask the big banks and social media giants to pay their fair share of tax.

Trump tariff deal: Govt must come clean and publish impact assessment

Responding to the news that the UK-US trade deal has been partially signed off by Donald Trump, Daisy Cooper MP, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson and Deputy Leader, said:

The Government needs to come clean on the full details of this deal – including publishing impact assessments on how it will affect British farmers, food standards and steel industry. When you’re dealing with someone as unreliable as Trump, you have to read the small print.

If precedent is anything to go by, Trump will be working behind the scenes to extract more concessions. We need a cast-iron guarantee that the NHS will be exempt from any kind of Trump deal and that US tech giants won’t be given a tax cut.

Lib Dem MP to take Thames Water to the Supreme Court

Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard will be appealing to the Supreme Court, and asking them to hear his case against the Thames Water (TW) restructuring plan.

This follows Charlie’s case earlier in the year which was heard in the High Court. Charlie is arguing that the public and customer interests should be taken into account for this restructuring plan given Thames Water provides essential public services and has a monopoly over customers, and that the Court should not leave it up to the Secretary of State or Ofwat to decide whether there are any public interest objections.

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16 June 2025 – today’s press releases

  • More than 1.3 million PIP claimants at risk of losing support with worst hit areas revealed
  • Davey: Starmer must rule out Trump tax on life-saving drugs
  • Casey Review: Victims must finally get the justice they deserve
  • McArthur: SNP must explain why it is using England as ‘dumping ground’

More than 1.3 million PIP claimants at risk of losing support with worst hit areas revealed

The Government’s cuts to Personal Independence Payments could leave 1.3 million people claiming the standard and enhanced-rate payment for daily living activities at risk of losing some support, analysis of the Government’s response to a Liberal Democrat Written Parliamentary Question has revealed.

Under the Government’s plans, from November 2026 people on PIP will be required to score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to receive support with everyday tasks such as washing and cooking. Those scoring less will lose access to the “daily living” component, which for some will result in a full withdrawal of the benefit.

The Government’s response to a Lib Dem Written Parliamentary Question revealed the number of current claimants who did not score at least four points. The figure hit 1.3 million, with 1.1 million standard-rate and 200,000 enhanced-rate claimants at risk. It means that 87% of standard-rate claimants and 13% of the enhanced-rate claimants could lose out.

The analysis also revealed the number of claimants at risk in each constituency. The constituency with the highest number of claimants who could lose support was Liverpool Walton with 5,250 enhanced and standard-rate claimants at risk. This was followed by Blackpool South and Liverpool Riverside with 5,060 and 4,940 respectively.

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14-15 June 2025 – the weekend’s press releases

  • SNP’s ScotRail: 17,000 cancellations and 300,000 trains running late
  • Greene brands Findlay “McFarage”

SNP’s ScotRail: 17,000 cancellations and 300,000 trains running late

In his first major investigation since being appointed transport spokesperson, Scottish Liberal Democrat Jamie Greene MSP has revealed that more than 17,000 trains were cancelled and a further 300,000 did not arrive on time last year on government-owned ScotRail.

Mr Greene is now calling on the Scottish Government to deliver a reliable railway system that works for all communities, all ages and the climate.

Figures provided by Transport Scotland to Scottish Liberal Democrats have revealed that:

  • 17,491 trains were cancelled in the financial year

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13 June 2025 – Friday’s press releases

  • Davey: International leadership is needed now
  • Davey urges Starmer to forge new UK-Canada defence pact to reduce reliance on Trump
  • Greene to Tories: It’s Kemi-geddon
  • Greene: Badenoch might as well say vote Lib Dem

Davey: International leadership is needed now

Following Israel’s strikes in Iran overnight, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

People across the UK and the world will be fearing the break-out of widespread regional conflict in the Middle East, following Israel’s strikes overnight.

The UK must work with allies to contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions through diplomacy, not war.

The UK Government should urge both Israel and Iran not to do anything that will escalate the situation any further.

International leadership is needed now.

Davey urges Starmer to forge new UK-Canada defence pact to reduce reliance on Trump

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called on the Prime Minister to forge a new UK-Canada defence pact, to strengthen national security and boost the economy, while reducing both countries’ reliance on Donald Trump’s US administration.

It comes as Keir Starmer is expected to arrive in Canada ahead of the G7 summit beginning this weekend.

This week the Trump administration said it would review the submarine deal with the UK and Australia, saying the security pact must fit its “America First” agenda.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

Trump has shown his disregard for our collective security time and time again – not least this week, displaying total indifference to his traditional allies by threatening the future of the AUKUS defence agreement.

We should work with our Commonwealth ally Canada as it joins the UK in increasing defence spending, but also looks to move away from its reliance on US military exports.

That is why I am urging the Prime Minister to propose a new, bilateral UK-Canada defence pact at the G7 this weekend, making us more secure while also boosting British manufacturing.

Greene to Tories: It’s Kemi-geddon

Speaking as the Scottish Conservative conference gets underway at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Greene said:

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12 June 2025 – the Scottish press releases

  • Cole-Hamilton: Youth work is key to tackling youth violence
  • Cole-Hamilton to Swinney: Do the right thing and give Fornethy survivors access to Redress
  • Wishart comments on energy report calling for delay to RTS switch off
  • Cole-Hamilton calls for investment in concrete youth work after summit

Cole-Hamilton: Youth work is key to tackling youth violence

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and former youth worker Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called for greater investment in youth work ahead of a summit on youth violence.

Later today, Alex will attend a cross-party summit hosted by the First Minister on tackling youth violence and knife crime.

It follows a recent spate of violent incidents involving young people across the country, including the murder of 16 year-old Kayden Moy on Irvine Beach.

Before entering politics, Alex was a youth worker. During that time, he worked with a range of vulnerable young people, including those who had grown up in the care system and children who had been trafficked to Scotland.

Commenting ahead of the summit, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

For the best part of twenty years, I was a youth worker, helping some of the most disengaged young people get their lives back on track.

That experience taught me that no child is inherently bad. Most of the time, they are just in need of some direction, a need that has only been fuelled by the isolating impact of lockdown.

That’s where youth work comes in: it provides young people with the direction they need and gives them a positive adult role model who is neither a teacher nor a parent.

It teaches teenagers to come out of their comfort zone, helps them rebuild their sense of self-worth and fosters a whole host of key life skills.

Since the pandemic, however, the SNP have presided over the quiet death of youth work. Budgets have been squeezed, services have struggled to survive, just when we need them the most.

While acts of violence require a strong response, punishing predominantly law-abiding young people cannot be our broader solution. We need youth work to pre-empt and prevent those acts of violence, to properly engage young people in society and lay the foundations for them to succeed in life.

Cole-Hamilton to Swinney: Do the right thing and give Fornethy survivors access to Redress

Ahead of a members’ business debate in the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has urged John Swinney to do the right thing and grant the Fornethy House survivors access to the Redress compensation scheme.

The Scottish Government’s Redress Scheme pays out up to £100,000 and offers support to those abused in residential care.

More than 200 women have now come forward alleging that they were sexually, physically and mentally abused in the 1960s and 70s at Fornethy House- an all-girls residential school in Angus.

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12 June 2025 – Thursday’s Federal press releases

  • GDP figures: Chancellor’s claims at spending review have not “survived contact with reality”
  • Spending review: Over £4.5 billion of “hidden” cuts to departments could be avoided with better UK-EU trade deal
  • Reeves must rule out tax rises for families and small businesses, say Lib Dems
  • AUKUS: Trump move to bring submarine deal under review throws “grenade” into security partnership

GDP figures: Chancellor’s claims at spending review have not “survived contact with reality”

Responding to GDP falling by 0.3% in April, the first month of figures since the employers’ national insurance rise came into effect and Trump’s tariffs came into effect, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

At the spending review yesterday the Chancellor suggested that the country was on the up but today this claim has not survived contact with reality.

Today’s figures should be a wake up call for the Government which has so far refused to listen to the small businesses struggling to cope with the jobs tax, worried that our high streets will be completely hollowed out and that our hospitality sector is hanging by a thread.

To tackle Trump’s tariffs, Ministers must stop cowering in the corner and get on with building an economic coalition of the willing with our European and Commonwealth neighbours.

It’s time for the Government to get serious, scrap their damaging jobs tax and go for growth with a bespoke UK-EU Customs Union that will raise billions to re-build our public services.

Spending review: Over £4.5 billion of “hidden” cuts to departments could be avoided with better UK-EU trade deal

Government departments are facing real-terms cuts of £4.6 billion by 2028-29, Liberal Democrat analysis of the Spending Review has revealed.

The Liberal Democrats said these “painful cuts” could be avoided by boosting growth, including through a better UK-EU trade deal that could boost public finances by around £25 billion a year.

Some departments will see significant cuts over the spending review period. The Foreign Office, Home Office and Department for Transport are all expected to be hit with real-terms cuts of over £1 billion. DEFRA will also see a £355 million real-terms cut over three years.

The Liberal Democrats said that the spending review will see public services already stretched to breaking point be expected to endure another round of painful cuts.

The party said that the Government would not have to make these choices if it got a better trade deal with the EU and moved to negotiating a bespoke UK-EU Customs Union. Previous analysis has found that a better deal even within the Government’s own red lines could boost GDP by 2.2% raising £25 billion a year in extra revenue for the Exchequer.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP said:

Hidden in the small print of the spending review are painful cuts to public spending, with funding for social care and our police being stretched to breaking point.

We cannot afford to wait another decade for the government to fix social care while patients are treated in hospital corridors and elderly people wait for months on end for a care home place.

The Chancellor would not have to make these difficult choices if she got serious about going for growth, got a better trade deal with the EU and cut red tape for British businesses.

That is the best way to boost our economy, put more money into people’s pockets and rebuild our public services.

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11 June 2025 – today’s other press releases

  • 10-Year rail funding reaction – Labour showing contempt to Wales
  • Greene criticises potential closure of Scottish bus builders
  • Rennie: Swapping around a few ministers won’t erase SNP failures

10-Year rail funding reaction – Labour showing contempt to Wales

Responding to Labour’s announcement that the £445 million they announced for rail funding this morning will, in fact, be spread out over 10 years, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said:

Labour’s contempt for Wales just gets worse and worse.

The indefensible decision to spread this measly amount of rail funding over 10 years not only robs Wales of what it is owed for past projects, but also guarantees that we will continue to fall behind in infrastructure spending, as major transport projects in England get the green light.

Labour clearly has no interest in growing the Welsh economy or giving us the tools we need to thrive and attract investment into our country.

Greene criticises potential closure of Scottish bus builders

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Jamie Greene MSP has today said that the wheels are falling off the SNP’s economic strategy as it was announced that bus builder Alexander Dennis has launched a consultation on potentially closing its Falkirk and Larbert sites and moving all production to Scarborough, citing a lack of forthcoming work.

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11 June 2025 – today’s Spending Review press releases

  • “Smoke and mirrors” spending review could leave a blackhole for social care
  • Police funding short-fall as families face council tax bombshell to pick up the tab
  • Spending review: Reeves has put farmers “at the back of the Treasury queue”
  • Welsh rail funding announcement – Wales getting the scraps again
  • Lib Dems comment on defence, Acorn, supercomputer in spending review

“Smoke and mirrors” spending review could leave a blackhole for social care

Responding to the spending review, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

This spending review was a missed opportunity to repair the damage done by the Conservatives and finally deliver on the promise of change.

Behind the smoke and mirrors is a potential blackhole for social care as local government budgets remain at breaking point. Putting more money into the NHS without fixing social care is like pouring water into a leaky bucket.

The Chancellor must also raise her ambition for the country and boost growth through a much closer trade deal with the EU. That’s the best way to improve people’s living standards and unlock billions of pounds more for our public services.

Police funding short-fall as families face council tax bombshell to pick up the tab

The Government has said that the ‘police core spending power’ increases assumes rises in the PCC council tax precept in order to fund it. It means people will be left to pick up the tab in order to fund increases in police spending with the Government refusing to cover the costs.

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Lisa Smart MP said:

The Government is relying on a hidden council tax bombshell to fund their half-hearted rise in police funding as they pass the buck to local families.

After frontline policing was neglected for years under the Conservatives, local communities deserve better than this sleight of hand.

The Government must put more bobbies on the beat, with the proper funding to make it happen. Liberal Democrats will keep pushing for the proper neighbourhood policing our communities deserve.

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10 June 2025 – the rest of today’s press releases

  • Cole-Hamilton: Crisis-hit care sector deserves better than a dog’s dinner
  • More than 300 drug deaths in first quarter of 2025
  • Welsh unemployment rise: Labour must scrap their Jobs Tax
  • Fraud and computer misuse make up two fifths of all crime
  • Greenhouse gas stats show Scottish Government has “consistently failed”
  • Greene calls for urgent national review of rural transport

Cole-Hamilton: Crisis-hit care sector deserves better than a dog’s dinner

Ahead of a final vote in the Scottish Parliament on the Care (Reform) Scotland Bill, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said carers deserve better and that the SNP should apologise for making “a dog’s dinner” of the legislation.

SNP ministers originally proposed a National Care Service to centralise social care services. Scottish Liberal Democrats were the only party to oppose this from the very beginning.

In recent budget negotiations, Scottish Liberal Democrats put a stop to the SNP wasting money on their doomed centralisation, secured millions more for social care and fashioned a new pipeline for care workers through colleges. Liberal Democrats have also called for a new UK-wide national minimum wage for carers that is £2 higher and for care providers to be exempt from the national insurance hike.

Speaking ahead of the vote, which will take place in National Carers Week, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

The care sector is in crisis and the SNP have shown that they can’t be trusted to fix it.

SNP ministers should apologise to care users and providers across the country for making such a dog’s dinner of this legislation.

Scottish Liberal Democrats were the only party to oppose the SNP’s power grab from day one. We forced it out of the budget after the SNP had thrown away £30 million – money that could have paid the annual salaries of 1,200 care workers.

Carers deserve better and only the Liberal Democrats will deliver a fair deal. We introduced free personal care in Scotland, enshrined the right to carers leave in employment law and have just won a change that will enable family carers to earn more. Ed Davey put it at the heart of our manifesto and has opened up on his own life as a carer.

Carers – paid and unpaid, young and old – do a critical job. They deserve far more support but are too often forgotten and ignored. It’s why our plans would see care workers properly rewarded, high quality care for everyone who needs it and unpaid carers given the fair deal they deserve.

More than 300 drug deaths in first quarter of 2025

Responding to new figures showing that there were 308 suspected drug deaths in the first three months of 2025, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

100 people a month are dying in Scotland’s drug deaths crisis. It is nothing short of a national tragedy.

Drug misuse casts a long shadow across Scotland. That’s why my party made access to drug and alcohol services a major part of our budget negotiations earlier this year.

As a former youth worker with a charity that focused on parental substance use, I was pleased to secure support for a new facility for mothers and their babies born addicted to drugs. That’s key to getting people on the right path, but there is still a mountain to climb.

Scottish Liberal Democrats would give our country the world-class drug services it deserves. From rolling out a nationwide network of safer consumption rooms to new drug checking facilities, it’s time ministers listened to our calls.

Welsh unemployment rise: Labour must scrap their Jobs Tax

Responding to the latest figures showing unemployment in Wales at 4.7%, up 1.3 percentage points on the year, and that the number of paid employees in Wales has decreased by 5,300; Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said:

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10 June 2025 – today’s Federal press releases

  • Workforce figures: clear the Government must change course
  • Spending Review must deliver progress on social care
  • “Conveyor belt of Trump sycophants” rolls on as David Bull appointed Reform Chairman
  • Spending review: Home Office at risk of £500 million shortfall as Home Secretary on ‘resignation watch’
  • Ben-Gvir and Smotrich: Davey welcomes sanctions and calls for recognition of Palestine
  • £3 Bus cap extension: Labour clearly isn’t listening

Workforce figures: clear the Government must change course

Responding to the latest workforce figures which show unemployment and the number on jobless benefits rising, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

These figures could not be a clearer signal to the Chancellor, ahead of the spending review, that the Government must change course.

The Chancellor’s pig’s ear of a jobs tax is crushing the growth potential of our high-streets and small businesses, pushing people out of work, and ramping up the benefits bill.

This week, instead of pursuing another round of devastating departmental cuts, the Government needs to take the handbrake off our economy and go for growth. That means negotiating a bespoke UK-EU Customs Union to turbocharge our economy and raise billions of pounds to protect public services and struggling families.

Spending Review must deliver progress on social care

Ahead of the spending review today (11th June) Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

People have been left desperately disappointed in the Government’s failure to break clean from years of Conservative neglect and finally start delivering the change that people were promised.

Today’s spending review must deliver progress on social care. The Government’s bid to start reforms has barely progressed since it was announced six-months ago. Yet we all know the simple truth: without solving the social care challenge, putting money into the NHS today will be like pouring water into a leaky bucket.

Ministers should also be slashing the reams of red tape that are holding local businesses back and negotiate a bespoke UK-EU customs union, rather than pursuing painful cuts to already stretched budgets. Until they do, the Chancellor will still be trying to drive the economy forward with the handbrake on.

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9 June 2025 – today’s press releases

  • Davey: Spending review cannot be used to cut social care as number requesting support set to rise by 500,000 a year
  • Winter Fuel Payments: Govt has realised “how disastrous this policy was” but misery caused “cannot be overstated”
  • Nigel Farage Port Talbot speech – Real cheek as Trump threatens remains of Welsh steel industry
  • Liberal Democrat MP Wendy Chamberlain warns the government risks ‘decimating’ rural communities ahead of Spending Review
  • Lee Waters comments – nonsense, that Welsh funding isn’t a party-political issue
  • Farage promising to re-open mines shows he doesn’t understand Wales
  • Jardine comments on winter fuel news

Davey: Spending review cannot be used to cut social care as number requesting support set to rise by 500,000 a year

  • Ed Davey calls on Chancellor to rule out “devastating” cuts to social care in Spending Review
  • An extra 500,000 people a year could need social care support by the time Government reforms come into force in 2036
  • Liberal Democrat Leader calls for named carer and social care worker for every family in need of care

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called on the Chancellor to rule out any cuts to social care funding at this week’s Spending Review warning they would be “devastating” for those in need of care. It comes as research by the party reveals that an additional 500,000 people a year could need social care support by the time the Government’s reforms are expected to finally be completed in 2036.

Ed Davey is also calling for a named carer and social worker to be assigned to each family in need. He made the call in his recent book ‘Why I Care: And Why Care Matters.’ It would mean that for the UK’s 6 million unpaid carers, each of their families would have a professional that would be assigned to focussing on their needs and who they knew by name. This would make for more efficient and better care due to the experience that each of these named carers and social care workers would have with each family.

It comes as it has been reported that social care reforms from the Casey review due to be completed in three years time may not be in place until 2036, more than a decade from now. The Liberal Democrats have previously called for this review to be completed by the end of this year, not the three it is currently scheduled for, and the reforms implemented as soon as possible.

Analysis by the Liberal Democrats has shown that if the number of people requesting social care continues to increase at the same rate as it has historically from 2017/18 until now – 1.79% on average annually – then an additional 495,000 people a year will be requesting support by 2036. It means by 2035/36 the number of those requesting support each year could have risen from 2.1 million to 2.6 million.

Despite the turmoil in social care, the Chancellor has yet to rule out any cuts to the sector. It has been reported that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which provides funding to councils who provide social care, are still yet to reach a funding settlement with the Chancellor.

The crisis in care is already cascading into the NHS. Care England said last year that over 45% of hospital discharge delays were linked to social care, with separate research showing around 16 million bed days lost to bed blocking in the past 3.5 years, an average of 12,772 a day and costing the NHS £2 billion a year.

In recent months, hospitals have experienced bed occupancy levels of 96%, well above the safety limit of 85%. This contributes to long delays in A&Es as people cannot be admitted into hospital, with previous analysis suggesting that there were 16,600 deaths associated with long A&E waits before admission in England last year – a rise of 20% on 2023.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

Any further cuts to social care at the spending review would be devastating for the countless people in desperate need of care. Years of Conservative neglect broke the system, with massive consequences for our health service, but now the Labour government is moving at a snail’s pace in addressing this crisis.

Without fixing social care, we cannot fix the NHS so it beggars belief that ministers seem willing to let the rot continue. We simply cannot wait more than a decade for reforms to be put in place, whilst the number of people suffering grows.

The Government needs to get serious and that starts by completing their review by the end of the year with the reforms to follow as quickly as possible alongside introducing a named carer for each family who needs support.

At this week’s Spending Review, the Chancellor must realise that social care cannot take any more cuts and rule them out. If Rachel Reeves goes ahead the consequences could be catastrophic.

Winter Fuel Payments: Govt has realised “how disastrous this policy was” but misery caused “cannot be overstated”

Responding to the Chancellor’s announcement regarding changes to the eligibility thresholds for Winter Fuel Payments, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

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7-8 June 2025 – the weekend’s press release

Rennie reveals 1,250 teaching posts had to be readvertised in two years

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie has today unveiled new research showing that more than 1,250 teaching posts have gone unfilled and had to be readvertised in the past two years.

The figures uncovered by his party through freedom of information requests also reveal:

  • Moray was the worst hit with 252 roles readvertised in the past two years, Aberdeen has had to readvertise 206, Shetland 90, Argyll & Bute 70, Highland 62 and Dumfries & Galloway 61.
  • Orkney has a teaching post which has been vacant since 2019. Aberdeen,

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6 June 2025 – today’s press releases

  • Lib Dems celebrate Sunshine Bill victory
  • Chamberlain supports constituent’s pancreatic cancer petition
  • David Chadwick MP challenges Lloyds CEO over bank closures

Lib Dems celebrate Sunshine Bill victory

  • Liberal Democrat win as Government accept Max Wilkinson’s campaign for renewable energy technology to be mandated for new homes
  • Mandated solar included in the Government’s Future Homes Standard

Max Wilkinson MP is celebrating victory in his campaign for solar energy generation technology to be included in all new homes as standard.

Following his Private Member’s Bill earlier this year – known as the Sunshine Bill – the Government today announced that all new homes will now include renewable energy generation technology as standard.

Max called for the law change shortly after becoming an MP last July, which means he will have successfully campaigned to change the law within one year of being elected.

His Sunshine Bill was debated in the House of Commons in January and received widespread support from industry figures, the public and MPs from all parties.

As a result of his campaign and negotiations with Ministers, Max secured commitments from the government that they would incorporate the measures set out in the Sunshine Bill into the updated Future Homes Standard.

Next week, the Liberal Democrats will be pushing for a vote in Parliament to ensure all new car parks are built with solar panels, with an amendment (NC7) to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

Commenting Max Wilkinson, MP for Cheltenham, said:

This news will help us fight the cost-of-living crisis by lowering people’s energy bills while reducing carbon emissions too.

Mandatory solar and renewable energy generation for new build homes means the next generation of homes will be better for the planet and less expensive to run.

I’ve been campaigning on this since long before I was an MP and was determined to build on its success after I was elected.

I welcome today’s news from the Government and I’m pleased we can all look forward to a brighter future – but there will be more work to do to ensure solar for new builds begins without delay.

Chamberlain supports constituent’s pancreatic cancer petition

Wendy Chamberlain, MP for North East Fife, has joined constituents to deliver a petition to Downing Street urging the government to fund vital research into pancreatic cancer early detection.

Wendy Chamberlain MP joined Isla Gear and her nephew Max and Alfie Bailey-Bearfield, head of Campaigns, Health Improvement, and Policy at Pancreatic Cancer UK at 10 Downing Street to present their petition, which has now garnered over 200,000 signatures online, as well as an open letter from Pancreatic Cancer UK which has almost 71,000 signatures. The letter urges the Government to invest in rolling out new tests to detect pancreatic cancer earlier. Chamberlain later presented a version of the petition in the House of Commons.

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6 June 2025 – the overnight press releases

  • Lib Dems call on Labour Government to rule out real-terms policing budget cuts as unsolved vehicle theft epidemic continues
  • Water company bonuses: Half baked announcement won’t reform industry
  • Government listens to Liberal Democrat calls to end “corridor care” but cannot lead patients “up the garden path”

Lib Dems call on Labour Government to rule out real-terms policing budget cuts as unsolved vehicle theft epidemic continues

  • Shock new data crunched by the Liberal Democrats reveals that last year, more than 75% of vehicle thefts went unsolved while just 2% of cases resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed.
  • 13 police forces in England and Wales had at least 75% of all vehicle theft cases unsolved in 2024.
  • This follows speculation that police funding will face real-terms cuts in next week’s Spending Review, which has been condemned by police chiefs across the country.
  • The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to keep their promises on neighbourhood policing by ruling out real-terms cuts to policing budgets ahead of the Spending Review.

House of Commons library analysis of official Home Office data on crime outcomes, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, shows a vehicle theft epidemic with the offence becoming ‘effectively decriminalised’. Almost 95,000 cases went unsolved last year.

The City of London force came out worst, with none of its 30 cases last year ending with a suspect being charged. The Metropolitan police followed suit, with only 0.85% of all vehicle theft cases ending with a charge.

Leicestershire police force had a similarly worrying performance last year, with only 1.0% of all cases of vehicle theft ending with a charge. South Yorkshire reported that only 1.2% of cases were charged.

Derbyshire, Gwent and West Yorkshire also all reported that their cases in total had less than a 1.5% of cases ending with a charge.

These shocking figures come after several police chiefs have warned the Labour government that they will not be able to deliver their promises on bolstering neighbourhood policing or halving knife crime and violence against women and girls without proper investment.

The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to rule out any cuts to policing budgets, following speculation that the Home Office will face real-terms cuts at the upcoming Spending Review.

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5 June 2025 – today’s press releases

  • Royal College of Radiologists report: if Government “doesn’t take its head out of the sand” patients will “pay the price”
  • Zia Yusuf resignation: leading UK DOGE by example
  • Lib Dems make final pitch to Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse voters
  • Scotland has worst shortage of oncologists in UK
  • Local MP uncovers rail funding scandal
  • Royal College of Radiologists report: if Government “doesn’t take its head out of the sand” patients will “pay the price”

    Responding to two reports by the Royal College of Radiologists, which revealed that 9 in 10 cancer centre leaders reported delays to patients starting treatment, and 7 in 10 were concerned about staff shortages putting patient safety at risk, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

    This report should be yet another wake up call for Ministers that they cannot ignore the crisis in cancer any longer. We are seeing waiting times grow longer and the rate of early diagnosis stall, with the Government at risk of sleepwalking through a disaster while patients face dangerous delays and overstretched NHS staff are left at breaking point.

    If the Government doesn’t take its head out of the sand and act now, it is patients who will pay the price. The upcoming NHS workforce plan must rapidly expand the number of cancer nurses and modernise treatment before more lives are put at risk.

    The Liberal Democrats have long been campaigning to ensure the conditions are in place to guarantee patients can start their treatment within two months of an urgent referral to get them the care they deserve.

    Zia Yusuf resignation: leading UK DOGE by example

    Responding to Zia Yusuf resigning as Reform UK Chairman, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

    By sacking himself, Zia Yusuf seems to be leading the “UK DOGE” by example. You have to admire his commitment to the cause.

    It’s already clear Reform UK cannot deliver for the communities they are elected to stand up for. Instead, they have copied the Conservative playbook of fighting like rats in a sack.

    Lib Dems make final pitch to Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse voters

    Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Aisha Mir has made her final pitch to voters, pledging a vision of a Scotland that is back to its best.

    Aisha Mir is a businesswoman, Children’s Panel member and carer who has also served as the party’s spokesperson for human rights and older people.

    She has been active in a number of projects & campaigns supporting unpaid carers, welfare for the elderly, human rights, diversity and inequality.

    Aisha Mir, Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, said:

    For too many people, it feels like nothing works anymore.

    The SNP have failed Scotland for eighteen years. The Conservatives are lurching to extremes. Labour are already letting people down. Reform have no real solutions.

    I’m in politics to get things done. I want to be a hard working local champion who will put your priorities first.

    Only the Scottish Liberal Democrats are offering you a vision of a Scotland that is back to its best.

    A Scotland where people can see a GP and an NHS dentist in good time.

    A Scotland that once again gives our children a world-class education.

    A Scotland with a growing economy and growing businesses, where the government looks after your money and works with our neighbours.

    Vote Scottish Liberal Democrat for a candidate who is focused on what really matters to you.

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4 June 2025 – yesterday’s press releases

  • Liberal Democrats call on Government to rule out cuts for frontline policing ahead of spending review
  • Winter Fuel Payments U-turn: a “debacle” causing “needless misery” and the Chancellor should apologise
  • Free school meals expansion: “victory” for campaigners and struggling families
  • Greene comments as cost of replacement ferry charter hits £22m
  • Jardine: Chancellor must apologise to Scottish pensioners for winter fuel mess
  • Lib Dems comment on ferries procurement news for Northern Isles

Liberal Democrats call on Government to rule out cuts for frontline policing ahead of spending review

Sir Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan Police has warned Keir Starmer there will be “far-reaching consequences” if the Government makes cuts to policing in the upcoming spending review.

In response, the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Lisa Smart MP said:

Slashing funding for the police would be a serious mistake and likely worsen the epidemic of unsolved crimes across our country.

The Government must heed the advice of our most senior police officers and rule out any cuts to frontline policing ahead of the Spending Review.

Anything short of this would risk Labour abandoning their pledge to cut crime and keep local our communities safe.

Winter Fuel Payments U-turn: a “debacle” causing “needless misery” and the Chancellor should apologise

Responding to the Chancellor announcing that the changes to the Winter Fuel Payment thresholds will be in place for this winter with the new thresholds to be announced at the Spending Review, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

This whole debacle has caused needless misery for millions of pensioners.

We will look at the details of the changes at the Spending Review next week. In the meantime the Chancellor should apologise to all those pensioners who had to freeze this winter because of this senseless policy.

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3 June 2025 – today’s press releases (part 2)

  • Lib Dems slam Labour’s defence of rail funding injustice as “desperate”
  • Cole-Hamilton: Fix care to fix the NHS
  • Scot Lib Dems comment on road death figures

Lib Dems slam Labour’s defence of rail funding injustice as “desperate”

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have sharply criticised the Labour Government following comments from Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Transport Ken Skates, who appeared to defend the UK Government’s position on rail funding for Wales.

The row was sparked by information uncovered by the Welsh Liberal Democrats, revealing that the new multi-billion-pound Oxford-Cambridge East-West rail line is set to be designated as an “England and Wales” project.

This classification could deprive Wales of an additional £360 million in consequential rail funding for its own network.

In response, Ken Skates claimed the UK Labour Government “acknowledges that it shortchanges Wales” and pointed to an “ambitious pipeline of improvements” for Welsh rail. However, the Welsh Liberal Democrats dismissed his defence as “desperate,” noting that no major rail projects are currently planned for Wales.

The Lib Dems have argued that the current evidence shows that any new funding from the UK Government in the spending review is likely to be minor, and not make up for the large shortfalls caused by the use of the “England and Wales” classification over recent years.

The party also referenced a Freedom of Information request they submitted, which revealed that neither North nor South Wales electrification is being actively considered by Labour.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds stated that the UK Labour Government could immediately reclassify HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail, and East-West Rail as “England-only” projects—freeing up funds for Wales. She also highlighted that the government could easily bring forward legislation to devolve rail powers fully to the Welsh Government if it had the political will to do so.

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3 June 2025 – today’s press releases (part 1)

  • Cancer in the UK report: progress in fighting disease must be “celebrated” but “cannot become complacent”
  • Interim Water Commission: cleaning up water industry will “take more than a hose down”
  • Govt needs to bite the bullet and put Thames Water into special administration
  • Health and social care services face £200 million overspend

Cancer in the UK report: progress in fighting disease must be “celebrated” but “cannot become complacent”

Responding to the Cancer Research UK’s Cancer in the UK report, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

The progress that we have made in fighting cancer in recent decades must be celebrated, but we cannot become complacent. There is still so much more we need to do.

We are seeing waiting times grow longer and the rate of early diagnosis stall, all of which could see us squander these years of progress that have given many people the chance to live long and healthy lives.

To do that, we need to see the Government show real ambition in rebuilding cancer services by investing in more radiology machines and rapidly expanding the number of cancer nurses.

That needs to lead us to a point where patients have a legal right to start their treatment within two months of an urgent referral so they can get the care they deserve and potentially save thousands of lives.

Interim Water Commission: cleaning up water industry will “take more than a hose down”

Responding to Sir John Cunliffe’s interim water commission report, Tim Farron MP, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, said:

This report makes it painfully clear that water companies can pollute and make profit with impunity – all at customers’ expense. At the heart of the sewage scandal is a regulatory system which has failed.

It’s going to take more than a hose down to clean up the water industry. It’s time for Ofwat to go and the Commission must now make this plain.

If Ofwat remains in name or nature, the government will have failed in their aims to improve our waterways and address public outrage with serious regulatory reform.

Liberal Democrats will continue our campaign to replace Ofwat with a new regulator to clean up our waterways for good.

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2 June 2025 – today’s other press releases

  • Cole-Hamilton challenges Farage to pronounce Scottish place names
  • Outrage as Oxford-Cambridge Rail Project classed as “England & Wales”
  • Farage attacks on media are “Trumpian”
  • Lib Dems comment on Farage skipping media

Cole-Hamilton challenges Farage to pronounce Scottish place names

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today accused Nigel Farage of playing a con on the people of Scotland as the Reform UK leader makes his first visit to Scotland since being chased into an Edinburgh pub in 2013.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

Nigel Farage is trying to con Scots.

If you live in Kirkcudbright, Milngavie, Penicuik or Garioch, Nigel Farage has absolutely nothing to offer you. He probably wouldn’t even be able pronounce your town.

He’ll breeze in promising the world but with no actual plan for how to make people’s lives better.

I understand that a lot of people are frustrated that they have been let down by the SNP, Conservatives and Labour but it’s the Liberal Democrats who are offering real change, not Reform. We are passionate local campaigners focused on getting you swift access to local healthcare and ensuring that schools are safe places for our kids.

Last year’s general election and the recent English local elections show that we are winning again. If you want change, come with us.

Outrage as Oxford-Cambridge Rail Project classed as “England & Wales”

Wales Short-Changed Again as £6.6bn Rail Investment Project in the Home Counties Results in No Consequential Funding for Wales

The UK Government has confirmed that Wales will not receive Barnett consequentials from the £6.6 billion East-West Rail project between Oxford and Cambridge — a decision that has been slammed by the Welsh Liberal Democrats as yet another example of Labour short-changing Wales on vital infrastructure funding.

Despite the rail scheme being entirely in England, the Treasury has confirmed Wales will not receive Barnett consequentials from the project. Were Wales to be treated like Scotland, it could have received around £360 million in consequential funding to spend on transport projects in Wales.

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2 June 2025 – today’s Federal press releases

  • Davey on Strategic Defence Review: get to 3% faster and reverse troop cuts
  • Submarine announcement could be “damp squib” without funding ambition – Lib Dems
  • Davey on Starmer interview: “concerning lack of urgency”
  • Starmer’s comments on Winter Fuel U-turn shows “the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing”
  • Revealed: Armed forces have shrunk by 2,000 since Labour Government elected

Davey on Strategic Defence Review: get to 3% faster and reverse troop cuts

  • Ed Davey brands 2034 target for 3% defence spending as “far too late” and urges cross-party talks to “move faster”.
  • Lib Dems press for full reversal of Conservatives’ troop cuts as essential step.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has said that “page one” of the Review must include a cast-iron commitment to “boost defence spending to 3% of GDP as soon as possible”.

He said that the 2034 timeline set out by John Healey was “far too late” and showed “a complete lack of urgency” from the Government. The Liberal Democrats have urged cross-party talks to move faster given the threats faced with war on the continent.

The Liberal Democrats first called for a clear roadmap to 3% in January.

The Liberal Democrats are also calling for the Government to commit to a full reversal of the Conservatives’ cut of 10,000 troops in today’s Strategic Defence Review, adding that this is essential to deliver for Britain’s security in an increasingly unstable world.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

With Putin waging war, Trump undermining NATO and conflicts raging, the Strategic Defence Review must deliver for our armed forces and for Britain’s security in an increasingly unstable world. Anything less would be a dereliction of duty.

Page one of the Review must include a firm commitment to boost defence spending to 3% of GDP as soon as possible. 2034 is far too late given the threats we face, and shows a complete lack of urgency. I urge the Prime Minister to organise cross-party talks to move faster to 3% to keep our nation safe.

Submarine announcement could be “damp squib” without funding ambition – Lib Dems

Responding to the Government’s announcement that the UK will build up to 12 new attack submarines, Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson Helen Maguire said:

This signals absolutely the right intent about the need to bolster the UK’s defences in the face of Putin’s imperialism and Trump’s unreliability.

But this must come with a concrete commitment and detail on full funding. Labour’s mere ‘ambition’ rather than commitment to reach 3% of GDP on defence leaves serious questions about whether the money for these projects will actually be forthcoming. The 2034 timeline suggests a worrying lack of urgency from the Government.

Unless Labour commits to holding cross-party talks on how to reach 3% much more rapidly than the mid-2030s, this announcement risks becoming a damp squib.

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30 May/1 June – a long weekend’s press releases

  • Military housing: high time for Govt to “get out of the slow lane” and apply decent homes standard
  • Lib Dems on Healey comments: Government “dragging its feet” on reversing Army cuts
  • IFS Briefing: Lib Dems say Government ministers will be “bailing water from a sinking boat with a spoon” if they ignore fixing social care
  • Welsh Lib Dems Respond to Mark Drakeford National Insurance Bombshell
  • Scottish Government rebuked by own watchdog over sewage dumping

Military housing: high time for Govt to “get out of the slow lane” and apply decent homes standard

Responding to the Government’s military housing announcement today , Helen Maguire MP, Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson, said:

We’ve been fighting for the Government to get out of the slow lane when it comes to fixing the homes of our military families for years. After years of the Conservatives turning a blind eye, I’m glad to see this Government has finally come to their senses and listened.

Those bravely defending our country deserve proper housing without leaks, mould, floods and freezing temperatures.

But it’s disappointing to see the Government refuse to commit to bring all military homes under the decent homes standard – a change the Lib Dems will continue to champion, so no military family has to suffer in a second-rate home.

Lib Dems on Healey comments: Government “dragging its feet” on reversing Army cuts

Responding to Defence Secretary John Healey confirming that the British Army will not be increased in size this parliament, Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson Helen Maguire said:

From lax recruitment goals to slow spending promises, the Government is simply not addressing our defence issues urgently enough. The previous Conservative governments irresponsibly slashed troop numbers, and it’s desperately disappointing to now see Labour dragging its feet on reversing those reckless cuts.

With a war raging on our continent and the twin dangers of an unreliable Trump and an imperialist Putin, we are presented with a once-in-a-generation threat to the UK’s security.

It’s time the Government committed to urgently reversing the Conservatives’ 10,000 troop cut to address that threat.

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30 May 2025 – today’s press releases

  • More than 90% of standard-rate PIP claimants could be at risk of losing support in some areas
  • UK-Gulf trade deal: Govt must not sell out farmers and undermine high standards
  • Cole-Hamilton: Scottish Water plan must ensure no more disappointments

More than 90% of standard-rate PIP claimants could be at risk of losing support in some areas

55 constituencies in England could see 90% of those claiming the standard rate of Personal Independence Payment for daily living activities lose at least some of the benefit following the Government’s cuts, a Written Parliamentary Question by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

Under the Government’s plans, from November 2026 people on PIP will be required to score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to receive support with everyday tasks such as washing and cooking. Those scoring less will lose access to the “daily living” component, which for some will result in a full withdrawal of the benefit.

In England and Wales, every constituency currently sees at least 80% of those receiving the standard rate of PIP at risk of losing support. A staggering 55 constituencies have at least 90% of claimants that fall into this category.

The constituencies with the highest number of those at risk of having support slashed are in Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney and Tipton and Wednesbury, both with 92% of standard-rate of PIP claimants not scoring four points on all categories of the Government’s test. The worst affected region was Wales where 90% of those on standard-rate PIP did not score four points.

The Liberal Democrats said that it “lays bare the scale of the damage” the cuts could do, adding to people’s worry and “increasing pressure on local areas where these cuts go the deepest”. The party called on the Government to recognise the cuts’ “devastating impact” and “change course”.

Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions spokesperson, Steve Darling MP said:

This lays bare the scale of the damage that the Government’s cuts could do to some of society’s most vulnerable.

Vast swathes of people could be missing out on vital support, not only adding to their suffering but increasing pressure on local areas where these cuts go the deepest.

This is support that helps people with daily tasks that many of us would take for granted, such as staying clean or staying safe and also helps many people stay in work.

The Government must recognise the devastating impact that these cuts could have and change course.

UK-Gulf trade deal: Govt must not sell out farmers and undermine high standards

Responding to reports that the UK Government is set to sign a new trade agreement with the Gulf States, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson and Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

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29 May 2025 – today’s press releases

  • Davey on tariffs: summon the US ambassador as Trump chaos “putting Liz Truss to shame”
  • “Scandal” as 400 military families forced to face emergency housing repairs over VE day anniversary
  • Greene comments on stalemate fears over Ardrossan harbour buyout plan
  • Fiscal forecasts expose SNP financial mismanagement coming home to roost
  • Lib Dems back Presiding Officer in Ross row
  • Cole-Hamilton calls for national RAAC fund

Davey on tariffs: summon the US ambassador as Trump chaos “putting Liz Truss to shame”

Responding to the US Court of International Trade ruling that blocks many of Trump’s tariffs, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The Government must urgently summon the US ambassador to clarify what this court ruling means for Starmer’s recent deal with Donald Trump. The levels of chaos from Trump’s economic policy is putting Liz Truss to shame.

“Scandal” as 400 military families forced to face emergency housing repairs over VE day anniversary

New research obtained by the Liberal Democrats has revealed that 442 military families had to call for urgent repairs on their state-provided housing over the week of VE-day commemorations – with a massive 64,000 requests for urgent repairs clocking up since January 2024.

Parliamentary questions submitted by the Liberal Democrats have revealed that over 440 urgent repair requests were filed by service families in state-provided military homes over the VE-day week.

The party has condemned the Government’s “hypocrisy” as the statistics have come to light. They’ve said it’s “a scandal” that so many serving families had to deal with the fallout of poor accommodation, particularly during a week of celebration for the service of the UK’s Armed Forces personnel and veterans.

The investigation, led by Helen Maguire – the party’s defence spokesperson – also revealed that a massive 64,258 urgent repair requests had been filed by military families since January 2024.

The harsh winter months saw the highest number of callouts by families in military homes, with 5,921 urgent requests submitted in January 2024 and 5,546 in January 2025.

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28 May 2025 – today’s press releases

  • Thames Water must be turned into a public benefit company
  • Prepayment Meters: victims must see compensation before the winter and debts fully written off
  • Defra cuts: Government treating rural communities with “gobsmacking contempt”
  • Police chiefs letter: police and criminal justice systems need “real leadership” say Lib Dems
  • Scot Lib Dems call for new treatment pathways for neurodiversity
  • McArthur writes to MSPs as France backs assisted dying
  • Jardine calls for the scrapping of the Two Child Cap

Thames Water must be turned into a public benefit company

Speaking on the £122.7m fine handed down to Thames Water, Lib Dem Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

This is shocking but hardly surprising. Thames Water has been failing for years; failing to invest, failing to maintain, and failing to deliver, and all the while it has been dumping sewage in our rivers and waterways. It has saddled customers with its debts and provided them with shoddy service in the meantime.

This should be the final nail in the coffin for Thames Water. It needs to be turned into a public benefit company and Ofwat needs to be scrapped and replaced with a real regulator with teeth.

Prepayment Meters: victims must see compensation before the winter and debts fully written off

Responding to the announcement that thousands of energy customers are set to receive payouts of up to £1,000 each in response to the prepayment meters scandal, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and long-time campaigner on this issue Wera Hobhouse said:

It is high-time that the victims of this scandal are recognised and properly compensated after energy companies rode rough-shod over them in this disgraceful way. Those affected have already waited too long for justice. Pay outs now need to be made in time for the winter months, when we know energy costs are higher.

The Conservative Party neglected these victims and ignored Liberal Democrat attempts to prevent more people suffering forced installations. Today they should feel ashamed of their failures.

And to think that some may still not have all their debt written off is simply not right. These companies need to write off the debts they forced upon the people who bore the brunt of this scandal.

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26-27 May 2025 – two days of press releases

  • Nearly 2 million to be hit by £9 billion “stealth tax bombshell” by the end of the decade
  • Labour needs to “learn to u-turn faster” on two-child benefit cap
  • Davey on Farage speech: “Trussonomics on steroids”
  • Triple lock: from privatising the NHS now Farage “wants to come after people’s pensions”
  • Badenoch must rule out Rupert Lowe joining Conservatives
  • 9,523 Scots waiting on social care assessment or care package

Nearly 2 million to be hit by £9 billion “stealth tax bombshell” by the end of the decade

The Labour government’s plans to maintain the income tax threshold freezes introduced by the Conservatives mean that an estimated additional 1.9 million people will be hit, forcing them to shell out close to an estimated £9 billion in additional tax receipts by the end of the decade, House of Commons Library research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, has revealed.

The Labour government has said that income tax threshold freezes for both the Personal Allowance and the higher rate of income tax will be maintained until April 2028. The impact means that between 2025/26 and 2029/30 an estimated 1.9 million people will be forced to pay a higher rate of tax due to these threshold freezes.

It means for those millions impacted, they will be forced to shell out an estimated £8.9 billion in additional tax as a result of the freezes by the end of the decade.

It follows on from the previous Conservatives government’s decision to freeze tax thresholds in April 2021. The House of Commons Library research says the impact of that 2021 freeze combined with the Labour government’s decision to maintain the freeze means that an estimated additional 7.625 million people will have been dragged into higher tax bands by the end of the decade. That is the equivalent to one in nine of the current UK population.

The total additional tax bill since the 2021 freeze will reach roughly £33.2 billion by 2029/30, rising from £24.3 billion this year.

The hardest hit areas will be London and the South East, where people in both regions hit by the stealth tax will pay out an estimated £3 billion in additional tax from now until the end of the decade. In total, London and the South East will have paid out £11.3 billion in additional taxes by the end of the decade since the April 2021 freeze.

The Liberal Democrats said that the “Conservative economic vandalism led us into this mess, but this Labour government has proven clueless in generating the growth needed to break this stagnation”. The party added that the only way to bring down the tax bill was through meaningful growth and that needed to come from the Government scrapping its jobs tax and negotiating a bespoke UK-EU customs union.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP said:

During the midst of the worst cost of living crisis for a generation, people are now set to be hammered once again by this stealth tax bombshell.

People should be rewarded for their hard-work, not seeing earnings ripped away through these punitive measures.

The Conservatives’ economic vandalism led us into this mess, but this Labour government has proven clueless in generating the growth needed to break this stagnation.

The only way we can bring the tax bill down, protect family finances and rebuild public services is through meaningful economic growth. That has to come from scrapping the Government’s jobs tax and negotiating a bespoke UK-EU customs union to free our businesses from a Gordian Knot of red tape.

Labour needs to “learn to u-turn faster” on two-child benefit cap

Responding to Bridget Phillipson telling the Today programme that scrapping the two-child benefit cap is “on the table”, Daisy Cooper MP, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson and Deputy Leader, said:

The heartless two-child limit has to go – no ifs, no buts.

Dangling hope in front of desperate parents is inexcusable. Continuing to punish children just for being born is unforgivable.

The public is fed up of a government failing to deliver change – Labour needs to learn to u-turn faster.

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26 May 2025 – the overnight press releases

  • Patients “left in the lurch” as month long waits for last minute cancelled ops to be rearranged more than double
  • Scot Lib Dems to lead debate calling for immediate teacher workforce plan

Patients “left in the lurch” as month long waits for last minute cancelled ops to be rearranged more than double

Close to 20,000 operations cancelled at the last minute took more than 28-days to rearrange last year, in breach of the NHS’s own standard, research by the House of Commons Library commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

It means that 23% of the 85,400 elective operations cancelled at the last minute in 2024/25 took longer than a month to rearrange. This represents a three-fold increase on 2015/16’s figure of 7%.

The Liberal Democrats said the figures showed patients being “left in the lurch” as they waited for “potentially life altering operations”. The party called on the Government to end its “embrace of dither and delay” and take action on rebuilding crumbling hospitals and end the crisis in social care “so crucial to fixing the underlying problem in the health service”.

The data also shows that the number of last minute cancellations breaching the health service’s 28-day standard has also risen significantly from 9,000 in 2015/16 to 19,400 last year. That represents an 115% increase on the waits for rescheduled last minute cancellations a decade ago. In the past year alone the number of these breaches has jumped by around 1,500, up 8% to the highest level post the pandemic.

The data also revealed a breakdown on NHS Trusts with the most breaches of the 28-day standard. The Trust with the highest number of breaches that had not experienced a recent merger was University Hospitals Leicester with 942 and then followed by Surrey and Sussex Healthcare with 710.

Of the 108 NHS Trusts that reported full data for each year since 2015/16, 73 saw a rise in the number of breaches.

Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson, Helen Morgan MP said:

Patients are being left in the lurch, forced to wait in pain and distress for potentially life altering operations. Each of these delays represents an extra month that someone’s misery is prolonged.

This is the devastating legacy of the Conservatives neglect of this NHS, but the Labour government is proving aimless in how to turn this around with ill-thought through reforms and kicking vital projects into the long-grass.

This embrace of dither and delay on building new hospitals or fixing the crisis in social care, so crucial to fixing the underlying problem in the health service, is failing patients. It is time Ministers realised this and showed real ambition in ending these unacceptable delays and getting patients the care they deserve.

Scot Lib Dems to lead debate calling for immediate teacher workforce plan

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie will lead a Scottish Parliament debate on Wednesday afternoon in which his party will call for an immediate teacher workforce plan to counter declines in key subjects like Maths and Physics and a lack of permanent contracts for teaching staff.

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24-25 May 2025 – the weekend’s press releases

  • Number of lung cancer patients not treated within two-month standard rises by 40% with some waiting more than a year
  • Winter Fuel Payments: Govt needs to complete world’s slowest u-turn
  • Cole-Hamilton reveals constituencies with most sewage spills and those with no monitoring
  • Greene urges government to keep a record of online sextortion offences

Number of lung cancer patients not treated within two-month standard rises by 40% with some waiting more than a year

The number of lung cancer patients not treated within the 62-day standard from a referral has risen by 40% since 2019 to 3,750 last year

One patient waited 481 days to begin treatment following a referral for lung cancer with hundreds waiting longer than four months for care in 2024

Liberal Democrat MP Clive Jones, a cancer campaigner and cancer survivor himself, has now written to the Health Secretary following the closure of the call to evidence for the National Cancer Plan demanding a target for 100% of patients beginning treatment within 62-days

The number of lung cancer patients waiting longer than the 62-day referral to treatment standard has risen by 41% since 2019, with 3,750 patients enduring waits of at least two-months last year, Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) by Lib Dem MP Clive Jones’ office have revealed.

Jones’ office received responses from 65 of the 144 NHS Trusts meaning the true number of lung cancer patients not treated within the 62-day standard is likely far higher. From those Trusts that did respond, it showed that those treated outside of the 62-days rose from 2,660 in 2019, to 3,750 last year, a rise of 41%.

The data also revealed the number of people waiting more than four-months to receive treatment, more than double the time expected for the standard. It showed 717 people last year waiting at least four-months, double 2019’s figure of 356. Trusts also responded with the longest time that someone had waited to begin lung cancer treatment with Bedfordshire Hospitals reporting a wait of 481 days.

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23 May 2025 – today’s press releases

  • Telegraph deal: stake promised to UAE before legislation approved “puts the cart before the horse”
  • With just weeks to go, 125,000 meters still need replaced
  • UK Government admits it doesn’t know how much Welsh Rail electrification would cost

Telegraph deal: stake promised to UAE before legislation approved “puts the cart before the horse”

Responding to reports that the Telegraph has agreed a deal with a US private equity firm but that the UAE will retain a 15% stake, Chris Fox, Liberal Democrat Lords’ Spokesperson for Business and sponsor of the fatal motion to block the legislation allowing foreign state stakes in British papers, said:

Promising a stake in the Telegraph to the UAE before Nandy’s legislation has passed Parliament puts the cart before the horse.

We don’t believe in letting overseas states buy their way in to influencing the news we read. We’ll move to block the law as soon as it reaches the Lords – and can win the vote if the Conservatives do the right thing and stand with us.

The new permissions for foreign ownership of newspapers simply don’t exist yet, and there’s many lawmakers who don’t believe they should.

Of course we want to see our iconic British papers survive, but editorial independence must be shielded from foreign sway – not just in the current case, but for all future deals cut on UK newspaper ownership as the media landscape continues to change beyond recognition.

With just weeks to go, 125,000 meters still need replaced

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for Shetland Beatrice Wishart has called for urgent action to prepare for the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) switch-off as she highlighted figures showing that with just weeks to go there are just under 125,000 meters still to be replaced but just 5,000 per fortnight are being replaced.

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22 May 2025 – today’s press releases

  • Government borrowing figures: “warning lights must be flashing in the Treasury” – Lib Dems
  • Government back Lib Dem campaigns protecting victims of domestic abuse and sexual offence
  • Teachers’ pay award: Government “building castles in the sky” if they think schools can fund rise
  • First Minister misses two-year NHS waiting times target

Government borrowing figures: “warning lights must be flashing in the Treasury” – Lib Dems

Responding to the latest figures showing that Government borrowing in April was at its fourth-highest since records began, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said:

The warning lights must be flashing in the Treasury this morning.

Rachel Reeves has failed to get a grip on the mess left by the Conservatives, making a series of blunders whilst avoiding taking the bold action that would set us on the right path.

It is time for the Labour government to change course. The first steps must be scrapping the damaging jobs tax, reforming business rates and being much more ambitious in negotiations with the EU, pushing for a customs union that would create the growth we desperately need to rebuild public services and protect family finances. Short-sighted red lines will only doom Rachel to failure.

Government back Lib Dem campaigns protecting victims of domestic abuse and sexual offence

Today, the Government has agreed to act on two Lib Dem campaign priorities as part of their response to the Gauke Review.

In response to Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson Josh Babarinde’s campaign to formally recognise domestic abuse crimes in the law, the Government has announced it will create a specific, new categorisation that will enable judges to officially register offences as crimes of domestic abuse.

This would enable the Government to finally be able to exclude domestic abusers from its SDS40 early release scheme – which has so far allowed many domestic abusers to leave prison early in the absence of such a categorisation – putting victims at risk.

It will also mean the Government will now be able to track the number and reoffending rate of domestic abusers offenders. Josh Babarinde uncovered via a Written Parliamentary Question that currently, in the absence of a categorisation, the Government doesn’t know how many domestic abusers are in prison.

Sarah Olney’s longstanding campaign to enable victims of rape and sexual offences to request a transcript of sentencing remarks free of charge has also been included in the Government’s review.

Also posted in News and Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , and | 1 Comment

22 May 2025 – the overnight press releases

  • Accounts Commission report shows councils face “titanic gulf”
  • Welsh Lib Dems Respond to Bevan Foundation Report on Impact of Disability Benefit Reforms on Wales

Accounts Commission report shows councils face “titanic gulf”

Responding to the embargoed Accounts Commission report into Scotland’s council finances, which warns that despite the average council tax rising by 9.6%, local government continues to face recurring pressures in excess of funding uplifts, with councils identifying a difference of £647 million between anticipated expenditure and the funding and income they receive, Scottish Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson Jamie Greene said:

Local authorities have had a raw deal from the SNP over many

Also posted in News, Scotland and Wales | Tagged , , and | 2 Comments
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