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The Voice

COVID inquiry: Strip Johnson of allowance and bar him from future honours

By The Voice | Sun 3rd December 2023 - 7:00 am

The Lib Dems have called on Rishi Sunak to strip Boris Johnson of his £115,000 a year ex-Prime Ministerial allowance and for the disgraced former PM to be barred from receiving future honours or a peerage.

It comes ahead of Johnson’s scheduled appearance at the Covid inquiry next week.

The inquiry has already heard evidence that the response to the pandemic under Johnson’s government was chaotic and filled with a callous disregard for the lives of the elderly. Boris Johnson’s former Chief of Staff, Lord Lister, told the inquiry that the ex-PM said “let the bodies pile high” when presented with the prospect of a circuit breaker lockdown in September 2020.

The Liberal Democrats are putting pressure on Rishi Sunak to strip Johnson of his up to £115,000 a year allowance as a former Prime Minister. The party is also calling on Sunak to rule out giving Johnson an honour or peerage in future honours lists. It comes after Sunak gave a peerage to former Prime Minister David Cameron so he could rejoin the cabinet.

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Mark Valladares

15 June 2023 – yesterday’s press release

By Mark Valladares | Fri 16th June 2023 - 11:45 pm

Privileges Committee report: Sunak must cut off Johnson’s ex-PM allowance

The Liberal Democrats have called on Rishi Sunak to strip Boris Johnson of his ex-PM allowance, following the publication of the Privileges Committee report today which recommended a 90-day suspension for Johnson for deliberately misleading Parliament over partygate.

Former Prime Ministers are entitled to claim up to £115,000 a year to fund office costs for life. The Liberal Democrats said allowing Johnson to continue to take this money would be “an insult to bereaved families who suffered while Boris Johnson lied and partied.”

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said:

This damning report should

…

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Mark Valladares

12 June 2023 – today’s press release

By Mark Valladares | Mon 12th June 2023 - 9:30 pm

Sunak should kick Johnson out of the Conservative Party now

The Liberal Democrats have called on Rishi Sunak to kick Boris Johnson out of the Conservative Party. Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

It was clear from day one that Boris Johnson was never fit to be an MP let alone Prime Minister.

Sunak’s credibility and integrity is in the gutter. If he wants to show he has any backbone left he must finally do the right thing and kick the disgraced Boris Johnson out of the Conservative Party in order to prevent him from ever standing again.

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Mark Valladares

10-11 June 2023 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 12th June 2023 - 9:46 am
  • Sunak must reverse Johnson’s “happy hour honours”
  • Ed Davey to launch Liberal Democrat bid to win Mid-Bedfordshire with sewage visit

Sunak must reverse Johnson’s “happy hour honours”

The Liberal Democrats have called on Rishi Sunak to step in and reverse Boris Johnson’s “happy hour honours” list, and ban him from standing again for the Conservatives.

It comes after Boris Johnson stood down yesterday with an attack on the Privileges Committee.

Ministers are able to cancel an honour after it has been awarded, to preserve the integrity of the honours system.

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said:

Boris Johnson handed out honours to his partygate accomplices before quitting with a Trumpian attack on our Parliament. He is dragging our entire honours system and democracy through the mud.

Rishi Sunak has shown himself to be completely spineless in letting Johnson wreak havoc like this yet again. The least he could do is step in and ensure these happy hour honours are consigned to history along with Johnson himself.

Ed Davey to launch Liberal Democrat bid to win Mid-Bedfordshire with sewage visit

  • Lib Dem Leader makes first full campaign visit to inspect Bedfordshire river at risk from sewage discharges
  • New analysis finds water companies dumped sewage into Bedfordshire rivers for 3,500 hours last year

Today (Monday 12th June) Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey will start the firing gun on his party’s bid to win the Mid-Bedfordshire constituency.

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Mark Valladares

9 June 2023 – today’s press release

By Mark Valladares | Fri 9th June 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • HMICFRS report shows need for return to community policing
  • Softened windfall tax shows Government doesn’t care
  • Government’s mental health plans leave children in 3 in 4 primary schools without NHS support
  • Johnson Honours: Sunak’s so called integrity has been broken
  • Boris Johnson: “Good riddance”

HMICFRS report shows need for return to community policing

Responding to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) State of Policing report, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP:

Sadly, this report confirms what we already knew. The Conservatives have trashed our justice system, from decimating frontline policing to ignoring the courts backlog.

Too many people feel like justice is out of reach when they’re a victim of a crime. Public trust in our very institutions is at stake. The Home Secretary must commit to a return to community policing without delay.

Softened windfall tax shows Government doesn’t care

Responding to the news that Jeremy Hunt will soften the energy windfall, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said:

The families and businesses still suffering so much from high energy bills will not forget the failure of the Conservatives to tax the windfall profits of the oil and gas companies properly.

This out of touch Government has shown yet again that it doesn’t care about people struggling just to get by, or the small business clinging on.

This energy tax failure ranks as one of Rishi Sunak’s biggest personal failures as Chancellor and Prime Minister.

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Mark Valladares

7 June 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 7th June 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • Police using 200-year old legislation to arrest hundreds of children for rough sleeping
  • OECD inflation prediction: This is a damning verdict on the Government’s economic record
  • Bike theft faces being ‘decriminalised’ as nearly 9 in 10 thefts go unsolved
  • Johnson “hosted friend” at Chequers: Public sick of subsidising ex-PM’s legal fund

Police using 200-year old legislation to arrest hundreds of children for rough sleeping

Data uncovered by Layla Moran and the Liberal Democrats through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that police forces across the country have arrested 433 children over the last 5 years using the Vagrancy Act.

The FOI asked police forces how many under 18’s had been arrested and charged under the Vagrancy Act over the last 5 years.

Of the 43 forces in the UK, 20 had arrested children. The worst offender was the Metropolitan Police Force in London, which has arrested 152 children in the last 5 years.

One police force, Derbyshire, arrested a 13 year old.

The Vagrancy Act is a piece of 200-year-old legislation which makes it a criminal offence to sleep rough.

In 2022 campaigners succeeded in repealing the legislation in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, but the repeal is yet to come into force in practice. The government claim they need “appropriate replacement legislation” before the repeal comes into force. A public consultation into replacement measures closed in May 2022, but the findings have not yet been published.

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Mark Valladares

21 March 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 21st March 2023 - 10:30 pm

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.

Instead of

…

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Mark Valladares

6 March 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 6th March 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • Sunak must veto Johnson honours list
  • 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.

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Mark Valladares

3 March 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 3rd March 2023 - 10:35 pm
  • 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:

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Mark Valladares

11-12 February 2023 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 14th February 2023 - 11:12 am
  • Childcare: Conservatives have turned their backs on families
  • Sharpe report: Boris Johnson must now also face the music to answer questions

Childcare: Conservatives have turned their backs on families

Responding to reports that the Treasury is considering expanding its free childcare offer, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson said:

Parents should never be forced out of work by a lack of affordable childcare. If the Treasury wants to help more parents back to work, it should simply implement the Liberal Democrat plan for childcare that is flexible, affordable and fair.

Crucially, that must include raising the rates paid to providers match the actual

…

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Mark Valladares

7 February 2023 – yesterday’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 8th February 2023 - 11:47 am
  • Rudderless reshuffle could cost taxpayers £60m
  • Sharp evidence undermines Johnson’s claims
  • Welsh Agriculture Bill a Once in a Lifetime Chance to Provide a Sustainable and Profitable Future for Welsh Farmers

Rudderless reshuffle could cost taxpayers £60m

The Government is likely to spend an estimated £60 million of taxpayers’ money as it sets up four new Departments.

Liberal Democrat analysis shows that the public money being spent on setting up new departments could pay for almost 25 million free school meals. That would equate to enough for a full year of free school meals for over 127,000 children.

The Liberal Democrats have blasted the move as …

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Mark Valladares

23 January 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 23rd January 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • Strip Boris of ex-PM £115k allowance until he comes clean
  • Welsh Liberal Democrats Respond to Building Safety Announcement

Boris Johnson should be stripped of the ex-PM allowance of up to £115,000 a year until he answers questions about his financial arrangements while he was Prime Minister, the Lib Dems have said.

This comes further to successive reports regarding ‘credit facilities’ which Johnson secured while he was in Downing Street, reportedly facilitated by Richard Sharp who was subsequently appointed as BBC Chair.

The Lib Dems have warned that until Johnson comes clean about these facilities, whether there was any conflict of interest with the …

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Mark Valladares

20-22 January 2023 – the weekend’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Mon 23rd January 2023 - 5:14 pm
  • Zahawi: There must be an independent investigation to get to the bottom of this
  • Cleverly: Dog ate my homework type excuses simply won’t wash with the public
  • Boris loan: He must come to Parliament to explain his murky finances
  • Jane Dodds Responds to Cancelation of Young People’s Village at the Royal Welsh Show

Zahawi: There must be an independent investigation to get to the bottom of this

Responding to the latest statement from Nadhim Zahawi on his tax affairs, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said:

Zahawi and his Conservative Cabinet colleagues are arrogantly trying to brush this under the carpet.

There are facts that still

…

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Mark Valladares

20 October 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 20th October 2022 - 10:30 pm

You don’t expect press releases to become obsolete quite so quickly but the past forty-eight hours have been historic (or hysterical, depending upon your perspective), so these, published in chronological order, perhaps sum up the events of the day…

  • Trevelyan refuses to back Truss: Conservatives way past their sell by date
  • NHS waiting list in Wales hits three-quarters of a million as health service “brought to its knees”
  • Truss resigns: Conservatives must do patriotic duty and back election
  • Welsh Lib Dems – Conservatives must do patriotic duty and back election
  • Conservative MPs must block Boris Johnson’s return
  • Deny Truss the £115k a year taxpayer dividend offered to ex-PMs, say Lib Dems

Trevelyan refuses to back Truss: Conservatives way past their sell by date

Responding to the latest Conservative chaos, with Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan failing to to answer whether Liz Truss will lead the Conservatives into the next election, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain said:

Liz Truss and the Conservatives are way past their sell by date. This is a government that can’t govern, led by a prime minister whose authority has been totally shredded.

People worried sick about how to pay the bills are looking on aghast at this never ending chaos and incompetence. The Conservatives must stop clinging to power and give the country the general election it needs.

NHS waiting list in Wales hits three-quarters of a million as health service “brought to its knees”

Responding to the news that the NHS Wales backlog has now hit 750,000 Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:

Behind these figures are countless human tragedies. In every corner of the country people are frightened, suffering and waiting in pain because our NHS can no longer cope.

Labour is letting the NHS fall to its knees and patients are paying the price. Wales routinely has the worse health figures in Britain despite all nations facing similar challenges. This cannot go on.

The Government must come forward with a proper plan to bring down waiting times and recruit and retain more NHS staff. The Welsh Liberal Democrats will continue to call for greater investment in primary healthcare facilities, GPs and social care.

We must prevent people from getting so ill they require either treatment in A&E or complex treatment paths if we are to reduce pressures on the system, this starts at ensuring people can access their GP easily. We also need to ensure patients can be discharged safely once their treatment is finished.

Truss resigns: Conservatives must do patriotic duty and back election

Responding to Liz Truss resigning as Prime Minister, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

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Mark Valladares

4 April 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 4th April 2022 - 10:30 pm
  • Conservative MPs must rediscover their moral compass and get rid of the PM
  • Conversion Therapy: Chaotic u-turns shredding UK’s reputation
  • Channel 4 privatisation is “trashing a uniquely British legacy”

Conservative MPs must rediscover their moral compass and get rid of the PM

Responding to government minister Simon Hart’s comments this morning that “the world has moved on” from partygate, Liberal Democrat Christine Jardine MP said:

These comments are an insult to every family that suffered in lockdown while Downing Street partied.

Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have got something else coming if they think the public has moved on from this shameful scandal.

Boris Johnson broke the rules he asked us all to obey then repeatedly lied about it. Conservative MPs must rediscover their moral compass and get rid of him.

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Catherine Crosland

The real reason why Boris Johnson should resign

By Catherine Crosland | Mon 17th January 2022 - 1:31 pm

Ed Davey recently called for Boris Johnson’s resignation, as reported by Lib Dem Voice.

Ed spoke of the terrible suffering that many people were enduring as a result of lockdown rules, while at the same time, staff of 10 Downing Street were holding parties.

Millions obeyed the lockdown rules, often at great personal cost. They missed funerals, cancelled weddings and said goodbye to loved ones on video calls – some on the very day that Number Ten illegally hosted a garden party. Boris Johnson has become a threat to the health of our nation, and for the sake of the country still gripped by this awful pandemic, he must resign

I agree with what Ed said. And yet… there is something about Ed’s statement that I feel illustrates what has been wrong with the Lib Dem response to the pandemic. The statement is correct, and yet the emphasis is wrong.

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Mark Valladares

7 October 2020 – today’s press release

By Mark Valladares | Wed 7th October 2020 - 10:30 pm

Liberal Democrats: PM’s speech no more than a pipe dream

Responding to Boris Johnson’s speech to Conservative Party Conference, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

The Prime Minister’s speech utterly failed to deliver a credible plan to beat Coronavirus. With the Government’s tracing system in meltdown, a quarter of the UK in lockdown and millions set to face unemployment, this speech was nothing more than a pipe dream.

People and business need not only reassurance from the Prime Minister, but concrete measures to help them face the next six months of this pandemic. They got neither.

Even when talking of recovery,

…

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Mark Valladares

22-28 August 2020 – the week’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 31st August 2020 - 11:00 pm

It’s summertime, not much happening at Westminster, and most attention on the Liberal Democrats was focussed on the leadership contest. Time to catch up with what you might have missed…

  • Cost of tackling food crime soars more than 1000% due to Brexit, Liberal Democrats reveal
  • Boris Johnson put saving his advisor above the national interest
  • Williamson allowing someone else to take the blame for exam fiasco
  • Liberal Democrats: Missed test and trace targets show need for inquiry

Cost of tackling food crime soars more than 1000% due to Brexit, Liberal Democrats reveal

The Liberal Democrats have revealed the cost of the National Food Crime Unit, vital in making sure food sold in the UK is safe, has seen costs soar by more than 1000% in the past five years as a direct result of Brexit.

Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron warned the cost of Brexit is “increasingly clear” and urged Ministers to uphold high food safety standards and prevent the UK being “flooded with cheap imports that put our health at risk.”

Figures uncovered by a Liberal Democrat freedom of information request have revealed the NFCU budget has gone from a budget of just £420,739 since it’s creation in 2015 to more than £5.7m in 2020/21.

The extra funding comes via the expanded Food Standards Agency budget, in order to facilitate NFCU readiness for “any risks or opportunities presented by the UK’s exit from the EU.”

Liberal Democrat Food and Rural Affairs Spokesperson Tim Farron:

We all want to know what’s in every product we consume, and have faith that it’s correctly labelled.

While it is right the Government provides essential funding to tackle food crime, we cannot ignore the fact that the costs have gone up more than 1000% as a result of Brexit.

The true cost of falling out of the EU is increasingly clear. As Ministers struggle to cut trade deals, we are set to lose access to many protections that will cost millions to replicate here in the UK.

To end the uncertainty and prevent soaring costs, the Government must commit to upholding our high food safety standards, supporting British producers and ensuring our markets are not flooded with cheap imports that put our health at risk in the future.

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Mark Valladares

7 August 2020 – the overnight press release

By Mark Valladares | Fri 7th August 2020 - 7:30 am

Failure to sack Cummings shows PM’s “weakness and incompetence”

Responding to a new report from University College London showing that public confidence in the UK Government’s ability to handle the coronavirus pandemic dropped sharply following news about the travel movements of the Prime Minister’s Chief Adviser Dominic Cummings, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

Millions of people across the UK have made heart-breaking sacrifices to comply with the lockdown and help keep others safe from coronavirus. They were rightly outraged when Boris Johnson’s Chief Adviser thought it was one rule for him and another rule for the rest

…

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Mark Valladares

8 July 2020 – yesterday’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 9th July 2020 - 10:05 am
  • Lib Dems: Yet more lies from PM as he tries to dodge blame for care homes crisis
  • Davey: We must match the scale of the crisis with the courage to invest

Lib Dems: Yet more lies from PM as he tries to dodge blame for care homes crisis

Responding to Boris Johnson’s comments during Prime Minister’s Questions that “no one knew early on in the pandemic that the virus was being passed on asymptomatically”, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Munira Wilson said:

Yet again, we are seeing more lies from the Prime Minister. He and his Ministers knew about the asymptomatic transmission of this virus,

…

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Mark Valladares

28 May 2020 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 28th May 2020 - 11:59 pm
  • Govt have “moral duty” to act given Beijing’s contempt for Joint Declaration
  • Govt must look closely at conflicting guidance on risks of schools reopening
  • Davey: Either PM and Ministers lied or have no understanding of lockdown rules
  • Govt must now give all Hong Kongers BNO Passport
  • Lib Dems: PM reaches new low in attempt to keep Cummings

Govt have “moral duty” to act given Beijing’s contempt for Joint Declaration

Responding to reports that China’s legislature has approved a new security law for Hong Kong, which would make it a crime to undermine Beijing’s authority in the territory, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:

This vote demonstrates Beijing’s contempt for the Joint Declaration. It is an unforgivable move that threatens the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong.

The UK Government must take immediate action. We have a legal and moral duty.

It is time to urgently reopen the BNO Passport offer and extend it to give the people of Hong Kong the right to live in the UK.

Govt must look closely at conflicting guidance on risks of schools reopening

Responding to the Independent Sage Group report suggesting that reopening schools risks pushing the COVID-19 ‘R’ rate above one, Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Layla Moran said:

We all want to see children back in schools as an urgent priority. But not if this risks a new COVID-19 spike. The Government must guarantee that public health will not be put at risk as a result of a premature or rushed effort to get children back into classrooms.

Boris Johnson’s Government has repeatedly claimed to be guided by science. Ministers must now look closely at this Independent report to ascertain why those involved have reached a dramatically different conclusion about the risk of reopening schools next week.

The Government is asking a lot of parents and teachers during this crisis, and parents and teachers deserve clear, honest answers in return. Ministers must provide real clarity around the reasons for their decision in order to ensure that parents and teachers alike can have confidence in their plans.

Any easing of the lockdown – including reopening schools – can only happen once the Government delivers a comprehensive strategy to test, trace and isolate to prevent a new surge.

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Mark Valladares

26 May 2020 – the day’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 28th May 2020 - 11:30 pm

And that brings us back up to date…

  • All Tory MPs must reflect on Govt resignation and call for Cummings to go
  • Govt must invest now in mental health support given impact of COVID-19
  • Govt must scrap Vagrancy Act as part of plan to end rough sleeping for good
  • PM out of touch with public and his own party
  • Govt review into lockdown fines shows one rule for Cummings and one for everyone else
  • Increase in prison staff Covid-19 cases show Govt allowing prisons to become crucible for virus

All Tory MPs must reflect on Govt resignation and call for Cummings to go

Responding to the resignation of a Conservative Minister in protest at the row over Dominic Cummings, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

Countless people have made heartbreaking sacrifices to keep to the Government’s rules, so people are understandably angry about Dominic Cummings’ behaviour.

Douglas Ross recognises it cannot be one rule for senior government officials and one rule for everyone else, so why doesn’t the Prime Minister? Boris Johnson is losing the trust of his own Ministers and his judgement is seriously in question. To tackle this pandemic and save lives, people deserve better.

All Conservative MPs must reflect on this resignation, stop defending the indefensible and put the public health of our country first by calling for the Prime Minister’s scandal-hit spin doctor-in-chief to go.

Govt must invest now in mental health support given impact of COVID-19

Statistics from the ONS show that across Great Britain from 3 April to 3 May 2020, some 80% of adults were worried about the effect that COVID-19 was having on their life. Responding to these figures, Munira Wilson, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Health, Wellbeing and Social Care, said:

The majority of people right across the country have experienced a tangible, detrimental mental health impact as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Ministers must recognise that the mental health scars of COVID-19 will be deep. We need to see investment now to ensure that people – regardless of where they live – can access the support they need, when they need it.

That’s why the Liberal Democrats are calling for the Government to urgently increase funding for and provision of mental health support. We are calling for access to mental health support 24/7 for those working in health and care, many of whom are enduring daily trauma, and better funded, clearly signposted support for every single community.

Given the severity of the COVID-19 crisis in the UK, which has unfolded on his watch, the Prime Minister must act to ensure we provide a world-leading mental health response. The recovery of people across our family of nations requires it.

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Mark Valladares

25 May 2020 – the day’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 28th May 2020 - 11:00 pm

Nearly up to date now…

  • Closure of Weston General Hospital shows critical need for test, trace, isolate system
  • PM must terminate Cummings’ contract
  • PM’s judgement now in question over Cummings

Closure of Weston General Hospital shows critical need for test, trace, isolate system

Responding to news that Weston General Hospital has been forced to close to new patients due to a high number of COVID-19 cases, Liberal Democrat Health, Wellbeing and Social Care spokesperson Munira Wilson said:

This outbreak demonstrates the incredibly urgent need for a comprehensive test, trace and isolate system. That is the only way to keep people safe. Testing at scale and

…

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Mark Valladares

24 May 2020 – the day’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 27th May 2020 - 11:30 pm

And here are Sunday’s press releases. You may be beginning to discern a pattern here…

  • Govt urged to give Hong Kong citizens the right to live in the UK
  • Tory MPs must back calls for Dominic Cummings to go, and put fight against Coronavirus first
  • PM’s own judgement now in question

Govt urged to give Hong Kong citizens the right to live in the UK

The Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to reopen the British National Overseas Passport offer and extend it to give Hong Kong citizens the right to live in the UK following renewed police violence towards protestors in the Hong …

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Mark Valladares

21 May 2020 – today’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Thu 21st May 2020 - 11:00 pm
  • 24,320 EU nationals are stuck in limbo
  • Govt warned Councils are struggling to cope with homelessness
  • Decrease in business turnover demands action with extended transition period
  • PM should face London Assembly after IOPC report

24,320 EU nationals are stuck in limbo

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have reiterated their calls for EU citizens to be given the automatic right to stay in the UK, as new official figures show over 24,000 in Wales have not been given the right to remain.

Of the 57,140 EU nationals in Wales who have applied for permanent residency, only 32,370 have been granted settled status.

5,560 EU nationals in Wales have applied …

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    @Simon Mcgrath: You suggest allowing everyone to choose the sex of the police officer who searches them. So, a hot-blooded 20--something-year-old heterosexua...
  • Nonconformistradical
    "Why is it that those who have more than enough seem to believe that they know how to economise far better than those who have no choice?" Perhaps those who ...
  • Alex Macfie
    @Slamdac: To be fair, the OP does suggest fresh legislation to correct the SC judgement. And hardly anyone is talking about the judges being "enemies of the peo...