Tag Archives: Alistair Carmichael

Mark Valladares

19 March 2025 – yesterday’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 20th March 2025 - 7:30 am
  • US-Russia call: Putin is “stringing Trump along”
  • NICs vote: Labour MPs vote for “health tax” on GPs, pharmacies and care homes
  • Conservative local election launch: “buck stops” with Badenoch
  • “Time for a fair deal for farmers” – Carmichael to introduce Food Supply Chain Fairness Bill
  • Scottish Government admits it failed to conduct safeguarding review
  • Minister visited Skye House just months before cruelty allegations surfaced
  • Severn Estuary Commission Report – Get on with Building the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon
  • Rennie responds to damning evidence session on funding crisis at Dundee University

US-Russia call: Putin is “stringing Trump along”

Responding to Putin’s phone call with Trump, Calum Miller MP, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, said:

Donald Trump’s fawning call with Putin couldn’t be more different to his and JD Vance’s shameful bullying of Zelensky in the Oval Office.

It’s clear Trump is being played by Putin – stringing him along and currying favour even as his savage war machine continues to push deeper into Ukraine.

Now is the time for the UK and our allies in Europe and the Commonwealth to redouble our efforts to support Ukraine’s defence and achieve a lasting peace.

NICs vote: Labour MPs vote for “health tax” on GPs, pharmacies and care homes

Responding to the Government voting to reject a Liberal Democrat amendment which would have exempted health and care providers from the national insurance rise, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

Labour MPs today have voted for a health tax on GPs, dentists, pharmacies, hospices and care homes, and it is patients who will pay the price.

The Liberal Democrats are proud we have led the fight to exempt health and care providers from this misguided tax hike, and we will not give up now.

On April 6th worried social care providers and GP surgeries are going to be hit with bills they simply cannot afford. Rachel Reeves must finally see sense, U-turn on this disastrous policy and exempt health and care providers from this damaging jobs tax.

Conservative local election launch: “buck stops” with Badenoch

Commenting on the Conservatives’ local election launch tomorrow (20th March) a Liberal Democrat spokesperson said:

The buck stops with bungling Badenoch. If she fails to deliver in the local elections, the writing will truly be on the wall for her and for the Conservative Party.

Whilst they compete with Reform and tilt ever further to the right, the Liberal Democrats are focused on delivering for residents on issues including the cost of living, sewage in our rivers and the emergency in our NHS and care.

We’re hearing on the doorsteps that people haven’t forgiven the Conservatives for all the damage they’ve done. If Kemi speaks to voters tomorrow, she will doubtless hear the same. Voters have a clear choice in May, and across the country, including in Buckinghamshire, they are turning to the Liberal Democrats as community champions who will stand up for them.

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Press releases, Scotland and Wales | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , and | 1 Comment
Mark Valladares

11 March 2025 – today’s Scottish press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 11th March 2025 - 11:15 pm
  • Jardine calls for doubling of maternity pay
  • Cole-Hamilton: We cannot fix A&E waits without fixing social care
  • Carmichael calls for government response following shipping collision
  • 1,065 drugs deaths last year
  • Vacancies in majority of care homes and care at home services
  • Rennie responds to Dundee University news

Jardine calls for doubling of maternity pay

Liberal Democrat women and equalities spokesperson Christine Jardine MP has called for the UK Government to do everything possible to tackle economic barriers for women, including by doubling statutory maternity pay and expanding parental leave.

As well as backing parental leave as a day-one right at work, Liberal Democrats are calling on the UK Government to:

  • Double Statutory Maternity Pay to £350 a week.
  • Increase paternity pay to 90% of earnings.
  • Create a new use-it-or-lose-it ‘dad month’, encouraging more fathers to take parental leave.

Currently, low rates of statutory maternity and paternity pay are not high enough to give parents a real choice, while the UK’s two weeks of statutory paternity leave lags far behind most advanced economies. Around a quarter of fathers are not eligible for paternity pay, either because they are self-employed or because they have not been with their employer continuously for six months.

The party argues that encouraging more fathers to take parental leave is critical to closing the gender pay gap. On average, women face a ‘pay penalty’ of 45% lower earnings in the six years after giving birth to their first child.

Ms Jardine said:

As we celebrate the achievements of women and girls across Scotland, we cannot forget about the barriers that stand in the way of progress.

That’s why my party is committed to doubling maternity pay and expanding parental leave.

Doubling maternity pay would help ease the pressure on women to return to work before they are ready.

Meanwhile, encouraging more fathers to take paternity leave will give women greater choice and help new dads to spend time with their child.

Liberal Democrats want to see women given the choice and flexibility they need, backed up by a proper package of support.

Cole-Hamilton: We cannot fix A&E waits without fixing social care

Responding to new figures showing only 63.5% of people attending A&E were seen within the 4 hour target in the week ending 2nd March, while 3,532 people waited over 8 hours and 1,510 waited over 12 hours, Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

For years under the SNP our A&E departments have been left mired in crisis and it’s leading to staff burning out.

The problem at A&E is that there isn’t enough capacity. Too many people are stuck unable to leave hospital because they can’t get the care package they need to leave safely.

We cannot fix these A&E waits without fixing the problems in social care to create the capacity needed to get people seen on time. That’s why Scottish Liberal Democrats fought for more money for social care in the budget and back a new UK-wide minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher.

Carmichael calls for government response following shipping collision

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has said that a shipping collision off the coast of North-East England today must be “a spur for stronger regulation” against unsafe behaviour by tankers, including in the waters around the Northern Isles. Mr Carmichael noted local complaints about tankers sheltering in areas off the coast of Shetland in particular, despite these being marked as “areas to be avoided” for such vessels.

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Press releases and Scotland | Also tagged , , , , , , , and | 3 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Alistair Carmichael on Iain Dale’s All Talk on 75th anniversary of Jo Grimond’s election

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 19th February 2025 - 3:13 pm

Every week I read Iain Dale’s weekly newsletter. Before you rush to judgement, there is always a picture of some very cute dogs at the end even if I often disagree with the political stuff. I often read people whose views are not the same as mine, especially if they are interesting as Iain usually is. When I was growing up, I used to read my Dad’s Telegraph every day. It horrified me so much that it made me a social liberal with a healthy respect for a strong public sector that knocks down the barriers of poverty and inequality  that hold people back.

It was on its pages that I remember reading an article from Jo Grimond lamenting the move to an increasingly litigious society. For me that was very prescient as we so often now see the rich and powerful beat progressive forces without such deep pockets into submission in the courts.

Anyway, going back to Iain’s newsletter, a few weeks ago, he mentioned he was recording an All Talk podcast with Alistair Carmichael. I’ve been waiting to listen to it ever since.

It’s finally come out today, as this week is the 75th anniversary of Jo Grimond’s first election as MP for Orkney and Shetland.  Jo had first fought the seat in 1945 and narrowly lost but was successful five years later.  He held it for 33 years, retiring in the 1983 election. He was succeeded by Jim Wallace who then stood down at the 2001 election as he had been elected as MSP for Orkney in 1999. Alistair tells the story of how he was selected for he seat. He also talks about the coalition years.

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
Ed Fordham

Flick Rea MBE – a 50 year case study in sociable campaigning and creating a sustainable local party.

By Ed Fordham | Sun 2nd February 2025 - 8:30 am

On Thursday night the Liberal Democrats in the London Borough of Camden gathered to celebrate 50 years of Party Membership of Flick Rea, former councillor, Alderwoman of Camden, London Region staffer and much more besides.

My own small role in the Flick Rea story is now a piece of history, reaching back to the halcyon days of 2006 when we were able to take on the Leadership of Camden Council and the two General Election of 2005 and 2010. Those three elections worked well for us and  for the first time we were able to mobilise our members, our resources, our messages, but also critically our enjoyment in the Liberal Democrat campaign to deliver some sensational election results.

As I arrived at The Sherriff Centre on Thursday night  I was greeted by some of the longest serving members in the Camden Local Party. As I took off my coat and looked around the large room, it was clear that this was not just any old party. Lord Mark Pack, Baroness Sue Garden, Lord Chris Rennard and then a catalogue of campaigners: Chris Naylor now of Shropshire, Alexi Sugden now of Lymington, John and Nana Bryant now of Harrow, James King now of Lewes, Mark and Janet Cumins of Queens Park, Bridget Fox of Islington, Terry Stacey from the LGA. The Camden diaspora had truly gathered to celebrate with and honour their friend and colleague Flick Rea.

Now anyone who has run or been involved with a Local Party they will know there are the accounts, the leaflets, the meetings and the minutes and then there are the social events and fundraising. In Camden the emphasis is very firmly placed on the social events being first and foremost. Under the guidance, tutelage and organisational rod of Flick Rea and her team, the priority always appears to be cake and coffee, and this is soon followed up with further cake options, a full platter of savouries and lashings of main course choices. By example, the annual Champagne Breakfast itself indicates that this is not your every day Local Party event.

So why does this socialising matter so much to Flick and her team. In an approach that reaches back to the Camden Liberal Party of the 1960’s, socialising and enjoying the campaign has always been important. Indeed that was clear last night when some of the catering team such as Jill Newbrooke traces their activism to the 1960’s Grimond Revival. Camden has created an important understanding of social affairs that underpins their whole campaign approach. The catering operation is highly sociable and draws people together working in confined kitchen spaces. Catering, as has been long known, is without a doubt the most profitable of all fundraising when done well, indeed good quality food on the campaign trail will often lead to higher gratuitous donations in the bowl in the middle of the leaflet table.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 1 Comment
Mark Valladares

22 January 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 22nd January 2025 - 11:30 pm
  • Borrowing figures: Another sign the Chancellor’s Budget has not worked
  • OBR Report: Farm tax will penalise farmers for practically no benefit
  • Cole-Hamilton: SNP must scrap social care power grab now
  • OBR Report: Farm tax will penalise Welsh farmers for practically no benefit
  • OBR Report: Farm tax will penalise farmers and crofters for little benefit to Exchequer
  • Cross-border healthcare difficulties letting patients down

Borrowing figures: Another sign the Chancellor’s Budget has not worked

Responding to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing UK borrowing has hit its highest December level for four years, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP said:

This is yet another sign that the Chancellor’s Budget has not worked. It’s now putting people’s mortgages at risk and will make it even harder for the Chancellor to meet her borrowing rules.

The answer to this is to turbo-charge growth by scrapping the jobs tax, and raising the necessary revenue for our NHS from the big banks and tech companies instead.

After the Conservative Party’s disastrous legacy of economic vandalism, the Chancellor needs to go for growth through fairer tax measures that can unleash growth through small businesses, not undermine it.

OBR Report: Farm tax will penalise farmers for practically no benefit

Commenting on the latest OBR report on the impact of agricultural and business property relief, Liberal Democrat Environment and Rural Affairs spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

This report confirms that the Government’s misguided family farm tax is mired in problems and will penalise British farmers for practically no benefit.

It is deeply concerning that older farmers will be hit hardest from this tax, with the rug pulled from under them before they can change their plans. And with tax revenue expected to be highly uncertain and unstable for two decades, the Chancellor’s excuses simply don’t stack up.

Farmers are absolutely vital for Britain, putting food on our tables and protecting the British countryside. And they are already battling botched trade deals, declining incomes and high energy prices. The Government must do the right thing and scrap the family farm tax before it’s too late.

Cole-Hamilton: SNP must scrap social care power grab now

Speaking ahead of the ministerial statement on the future of the National Care Service, proposals which would centralise social care services and wrench away control from local communities, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Press releases, Scotland and Wales | Also tagged , , , , , , , and | 8 Comments
Mark Valladares

16 January 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 16th January 2025 - 11:30 pm
  • GDP Figures: Government must see sense and scrap jobs tax
  • Liberal Democrats table motion forcing Government to release analysis of potential Trump trade war
  • Badenoch speech: half-hearted apology does not absolve her from toxic legacy
  • Triple lock: “bungling Badenoch’s” first policy is to slash the state pension
  • Carmichael welcomes RFA vertical launch licence
  • McArthur calls for clarity over BP job losses

GDP Figures: Government must see sense and scrap jobs tax

Responding to GDP growing by 0.1% in November, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

The Chancellor has put the handbrake on the economy with her misguided jobs tax and the consequence is this pitiful rate of growth.

Every month this persists means less money in struggling families pockets and public services without the funding they need.

After years of the Conservatives’ economic vandalism, the public was crying out for change but this new government is falling well short of fixing this mess.

Rachel Reeves needs to see sense and scrap her foolish jobs tax and pursue a real strategy for growth like fixing our broken trade relationship with our European partners and replacing the broken business rates system.

Liberal Democrats table motion forcing Government to release analysis of potential Trump trade war

The Liberal Democrats are tabling a ‘Humble Address’ motion which would force the Government to release its analysis of the potential impact of Trump tariffs on the UK economy.

It follows reports that the Government has conducted internal assessments of how a potential trade war with the US may hit the UK economy, but is refusing to publish them.

The Liberal Democrat motion will call urgently for the publication of all impact assessments conducted by the Government regarding the impact of Trump’s tariffs ahead of his inauguration on 20 January.

Humble Address motions have been successfully used in the past, including in 2017 when the Government was forced to publish an impact assessment of Brexit on the economy.

The new US administration’s purported plans may involve tariffs of up to 20 percent on UK exports, which could hit the UK economy by £22bn according to the research conducted at the University of Sussex.

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Press releases and Scotland | Also tagged , , , , , , , , and | Leave a comment
Mark Valladares

14 January 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 14th January 2025 - 11:45 pm
  • Tulip Siddiq resignation: People expected better from this government
  • Worst 8 hour A&E wait times in 2 years
  • More than 2,000 people stuck in hospital
  • Operations activity stagnating below pre-pandemic levels
  • McArthur comments on assisted dying evidence session
  • Carmichael welcomes protection of coastguard helicopter readiness

Tulip Siddiq resignation: People expected better from this government

Following Tulip Siddiq’s resignation as Treasury Minister, Sarah Olney MP, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson, said:

It’s right Tulip Siddiq resigned, you can’t have an anti-corruption minister mired in a corruption scandal.

After years of Conservative sleaze and scandal, people rightly expected better from this government.

Worst 8 hour A&E wait times in 2 years

Responding to new figures showing only 58.7% of people attending A&E were seen within the 4 hour target in the week ending 5th January, while 18.3% of people waited over 8 hours (the worst since January 2023) and 9.1% waited over 12 hours, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

These figures show almost 1 in 5 waited more than 8 hours at A&E, the worst for nearly 2 years. It is now clear that the SNP’s NHS Recovery Plan has completely failed.

These waits are intolerable for staff and patients alike. The Scottish Government needs to start taking urgent action to address these conditions.

Scottish Liberal Democrats would overhaul the SNP’s failed NHS Recovery Plan, get you fast access to GPs and help people leave hospital on time through a new UK-wide minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher.

More than 2,000 people stuck in hospital

Responding to new Public Health Scotland figures showing 2,020 people were stuck in hospital at the November census due to their discharge being delayed, amongst the worst on record, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

SNP mismanagement has led to eye-watering numbers of people stuck in hospital unnecessarily because they can’t get the care they need at home or in the community.

This creates a backlog right across our NHS, contributing to agonising waits in A&E and ambulances stacking up outside the front door. It goes to show that you can’t save our NHS unless you fix the care crisis.

The Health Secretary needs to re-write the failed NHS Recovery Plan. It’s also essential to drop the doomed takeover of social care that has already seen millions wasted on bureaucracy instead of being spent on services and staff to enable people to leave hospital on time.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , and | Leave a comment
The Voice

Layla Moran asks Urgent Question on Northern Gaza

By The Voice | Wed 8th January 2025 - 3:43 pm

Yesterday, Layla Moran was granted an urgent question in the House of Commons on the humanitarian crisis in Northern Gaza.

She said:

Over 450 days on, we all know the statistics—45,000 Palestinians killed, 100 hostages missing, 2.3 million people desperate—but I want to tell a single human story. I have previously spoken about my friend, consultant surgeon Mohamed, who operated on me when I had sepsis. His family are trapped in the Jabalia refugee camp. They are elderly and sick. One is a three-year-old girl. He has described how there are bodies strewn in the street.

I am sorry to report that death did not come knocking this weekend. Rather, it was dropped by a precision drone as Mohamed’s brother and his son walked 10 metres to get aid. The son died of a brain injury, two 13-year-old girls and their mother have shrapnel wounds, and Mohamed’s elderly father, who was already ill, is in hospital. A three-year-old, her mother and Mohamed’s mother are alone in a house with no one to help them get food.

These were obviously not militants—they were sick. They are not legitimate targets of war. There is no excuse for this. Mohamed told me it feels like they are living in “The Hunger Games,” dodging drones and scavenging for the basics. Even if they wanted to leave, how can they?

What part of international law makes any of this okay? Where is the accountability? Where is the justice? What does the Minister have to say to Mohamed, who spends his days saving lives here in the UK while his family are slaughtered overnight?

And it is not just Mohamed. People in Gaza are trapped in a doom loop of hell—hospitals decimated, and ceasefires promised and never delivered. So I press the Government again: is this really everything the UK has got? Have we deployed everything to make this stop? When will we recognise Palestine? Why have we not stopped the arms trade to Israel? And when will the Government ban trading with illegal settlements?

The frustration is palpable. Our grief is fathomless. People across the UK are looking on in horror, and the horror in Gaza must stop now.

There were nine other Lib Dem contributors:

Our foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller:

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Parliament | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , and | 8 Comments
Mark Valladares

30 October 2024 – yesterday’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 31st October 2024 - 7:30 am
  • Budget: Family farm tax will hit rural communities
  • Welsh Liberal Democrats comment in advance of Budget
  • Scot Lib Dems respond to UK budget
  • Budget: Family farm tax will be utterly devastating for rural Scotland

Budget: Family farm tax will hit rural communities

Responding to the Government’s changes to Agricultural Property Relief, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

This is a family farm tax which risks ringing the death knell for local farmers and the small businesses who rely on them. Small family-owned farms will also be hit by this and will be forced to sell up, with young people robbed of their opportunity to farm.

After years of the Conservatives taking rural communities for granted, it is deeply disappointing to see more of the same from this new government.

We’ll be fighting tooth and nail to protect family farms from these changes. Liberal Democrats backed British farmers by demanding an extra £1bn to support them during the election, and we’ll keep being a strong voice for our rural communities.

Welsh Liberal Democrats comment in advance of Budget

Commenting ahead of the 2024 UK Government budget, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

The UK Government have the perfect opportunity to begin fixing the mess created by their Conservative predecessors.

Sky-high waiting lists are currently preventing thousands from receiving urgently needed healthcare, while out of control business rates are placing unnecessary pressures on our local businesses.

We want more money for our struggling NHS and social care services, so that the people of Wales are able to access healthcare services when and wherever they’re needed.

We want to see burden of any tax rises fall on the big banks, fossil fuel industries and big tech, not on our small local businesses.

By delivering a budget that works for the people of Wales, one which will support our public services and economy, we can begin to rebuild our economy for a brighter future.

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Press releases, Scotland and Wales | Also tagged , , , and | Leave a comment
The Voice

Alistair, Layla and Jamie, our three new Select Committee Chairs

By The Voice | Tue 10th September 2024 - 8:03 pm

So the new Chairs of the three Lib Dem led House of Commons Select Committeeshave been announced They were all elected unopposed.

Alistair Carmichael will chair the Environment, Food and Rural Affaiirs Committee.

Alistair said on his election:

I am honoured to be confirmed today as the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. I look forward to meeting with the EFRA committee team in the coming days and indeed with the different organisations and experts with a role to play in this sector as we begin our work.

Whether on fishing, farming, water quality or pollution, there is no shortage of issues for the committee to tackle in the coming months. It will take some time for the remaining members of the committee to be appointed and our “to do” list is going to be lengthy, but I intend for us to hit the ground running.

Jamie Stone will head the Petitions Committee which holds debates on those Parliament e-petitions which get more than 100,000 signatures.

He said:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , and | 2 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Alistair Carmichael to stand to be Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Chair

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 8th September 2024 - 8:30 pm

As we have previously reported, the Lib Dems have been allocated three Select Committees to chair in the new Parliament. Alistair Carmichael has announced that he is standing to chair the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. He set out his priorities for role:

As the son of Islay hill farmers and having represented a rural constituency for 23 years, the issues on which the EFRA Select Committee works have always been close to my heart. For the Northern Isles and indeed for the entire country, the next few years are going to be critical in determining the future of our rural economy and rural communities, which is why I am standing for election as committee chair.

Being chair of a select committee does not give you the decision-making powers of a minister. Done properly, however, it can give you some influence in scrutinising the work of government and raising the profile of issues that matter to communities such as our own. In that way you can be a vehicle for change.

In a department where most of the incoming Labour ministerial team come from urban backgrounds, there is a danger that the needs and wishes of rural communities will not be properly understood. That is where a strong voice in Parliament with experience in these issues can make a noticeable difference.”

If elected as chair of the EFRA Select Committee, my priorities will be to:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | Leave a comment
The Voice

Lib Dems welcome suspension of some arms sales to Israel

By The Voice | Tue 3rd September 2024 - 9:24 am

Yesterday foreign secretary David Lammy announced a partial suspension of arms sales to Israel.

Our foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran welcomed the move but said it was overdue:

This action should have been taken long ago by the previous government, who failed to take any leadership on the matter. Liberal Democrats welcome this announcement as a step forward from the government.

Liberal Democrat MPs will now carefully scrutinise the details of the Foreign Secretary’s announcement, including those export licences which the Government has not suspended. We are concerned that the decision is made solely on risk of use in Gaza and not the West Bank.

Every day seems to bring new dreadful scenes from the region, and the UK must be doing everything that it can to ensure that an immediate bilateral ceasefire is secured – to put an end to the humanitarian devastation in Gaza, ensure the hostages are brought home, and open the door to a two-state solution.

Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael also welcomed David Lammy ‘s announcement but said that the Government needs to go further to drive peace talks to end the violence in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Alistair said:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 5 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Alistair Carmichael MP Why Musk and Robinson are now threats to democracy

By NewsHound | Tue 13th August 2024 - 11:19 am

Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael had some wise things to say about the riots that have plagued the country over the past two weeks.

He compared what happened here to the events of January 6 when MAGA types invaded the Capitol as some Republicans in Congress tried to steal the 2020 election from its rightful winner, Joe Biden.

Today the man who encouraged and stood to benefit from that political violence, if it had succeeded, is an even bet to be elected as President of the United States.

As the UK faces down our own wave of misinformation-fuelled rioting, albeit less directly targeted at our democratic institutions, we must learn the lesson from our American cousins – and refuse any attempt to normalise political violence.

He warned that we need to tackle the root causes of this violence:

In the short term, the problem may primarily be a matter of policing and the courts, but in the long term, we need political solutions to the issues thrown up by these riots. Violence and threats of violence cannot become normalised in the way that they increasingly have been in the United States.

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged and | 16 Comments
Mark Valladares

24 July 2024 – yesterday’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 25th July 2024 - 7:30 am
  • Crime Stats: Conservative failures mean victims of crime don’t know if they will see justice
  • Conservative Leadership: a group of arsonists asking for a new box of matches
  • Scot Lib Dems issue warning over worst hit rivers for sewage dumps
  • SNP Government dodges question of its backing for Heathrow third runway
  • Welsh Lib Dems call on new Welsh Labour leader to “restore trust in Welsh Politics”
  • Councils agree to seek meeting with Government over pay deals and bin strikes

Crime Stats: Conservative failures mean victims of crime don’t know if they will see justice

Responding to the latest crime statistics showing that an average of 5,829 crimes went unsolved every day in the year ending March 2024, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said:

Years of Conservative neglect and failure to give the police the resources they need and put bobbies on the beat mean that now victims do not know if they will ever see justice after facing these invasive crimes.

The former Home Secretary now wants to run for Conservative party leader, yet he couldn’t even get the basics of his last job right.

Cleverly’s crime catastrophe shows how utterly unfit the Conservatives were for government and why the country voted so decisively for change with a record number of Liberal Democrat MPs elected.

The new Labour government must now address these Conservative failures, put more police on the streets, make communities feel safe again and ensure victims get the justice they deserve.

Conservative Leadership: a group of arsonists asking for a new box of matches

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Press releases, Scotland and Wales | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , and | Leave a comment
Mark Valladares

19-21 July 2024 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Sun 21st July 2024 - 9:15 pm
  • IT outage: Government urged to call COBRA meeting
  • ICJ opinion: UK should recognise the independent state of Palestine
  • Incoming government must recognise Palestine and redouble efforts for peace
  • Rennie files parliamentary motion on schools’ access to Microsoft programs
  • Rennie presses government over implementation date for Children Care and Justice Act provisions
  • Mayor of London questioned over summer preparedness plans

IT outage: Government urged to call COBRA meeting

The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to hold a COBRA meeting to coordinate an urgent response to the IT outage causing major disruption including to airlines, railways and GP surgeries.

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office Spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said:

The government must call an urgent COBRA meeting to address the chaos being caused by these IT outages across the country.

The public needs to be reassured that the disruption to their travel or their desperately needed GP appointments will be minimised.

Getting critical infrastructure up and running again must be priority number one. The National Cyber Security Centre should also be working with small businesses and other organisations to help them deal with the outage.”

This once again lays bare the need to improve our digital infrastructure and truly modernise our economy in order to prevent the incidents from happening again.

ICJ opinion: UK should recognise the independent state of Palestine

Responding to today’s advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Layla Moran MP said:

This decision is a wake-up call. Liberal Democrats have always championed international law and the independence of the courts.

The only way to give Palestinians and Israelis the security and dignity they deserve is through a peace process and a two-state solution.

The UK should lead that push by immediately recognising the independent state of Palestine.

Incoming government must recognise Palestine and redouble efforts for peace

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has backed calls for the incoming Labour government to uphold international law and support efforts towards a lasting peace in Israel and Palestine, including the recognition of a Palestinian state. Signing Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran’s parliamentary motion, Mr Carmichael warned that with the election past, now was the time to renew efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, while welcoming the government’s announcement today of the restoration of funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the agency which supports aid for Palestinians.

Continue reading »
Posted in London, News, Press releases and Scotland | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , and | 14 Comments
Caron Lindsay

The Election rumour mill is buzzing….

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 22nd May 2024 - 12:39 pm

Speculation is growing that the Prime Minister is about to call an election on the back of the inflation figures this morning. Jeremy Hunt certainly seemed very smug as he did the media round.

This is either everyone getting over excited on the basis of a bit of chatter, or something more substantial.  The Sunday Times’ Tim Shipman had this to say on Twitter:

Once again there are snap election rumours. I have been a sceptic every time so far. More importantly, people I trust who are in the loop have told me it’s nonsense. This time, those people are silent

If he asked the King to  dissolve Parliament today, the election would be on 27th June, next week, 4th July. Scottish schools break up in the last week of June and no doubt those children whose schools are polling stations would be delighted with an extra day off. An election in the first week of July would see many Scots away on holiday, though. But he did say at PMQs that the election would be in the second half of the year, so 4th July meets that criteria.

I suspect most of us would be relieved to have the election out of the way so we can enjoy the Summer. Certainly, every held and target seat has been ready for any eventuality for a while. On the other hand, some people will already have booked holidays on the basis that he wasn’t going to call an election till after the Summer recess.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 13 Comments
Mark Valladares

1 May 2024 – yesterday’s Federal press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 2nd May 2024 - 7:30 am
  • Waters containing shellfish suffer from 200,000 hours worth of sewage
  • Conservatives “legalising car theft” as over three in four cases go unsolved
  • Up to 1 million pensioners in Tory seats to be dragged into paying income tax
  • Davey: Time for Sunak to face the music

Waters containing shellfish suffer from 200,000 hours worth of sewage

  • Amount of sewage spilled into shellfish water jumps by a fifth
  • South West Water and Southern Water sewage discharges into shellfish water doubles
  • Liberal Democrats call for urgent action and increased testing

This year saw a large jump in the number of hours sewage was discharged into waters containing shellfish, Liberal Democrat analysis of Environment Agency data shows.

Last year, high levels of E.coli were discovered in oysters and mussels In Cornwall, leading to the closure of 11 shellfish fishing waters, with the Environment Agency blaming sewage discharges.

Now, it has been revealed that water firms in England discharged 192,248 hours worth of sewage into shellfish areas, up 21% from the year before (158,797 hours).

The worst offender was South West Water, which doubled the hours of sewage dumped into shellfish water from 49,863 in 2022, to 98,149 last year. Their total sewage spills into these designated areas also rose to a staggering 12,927.

Southern Water also doubled the hours of sewage discharged into these areas, to 72,943 hours this year.

Since 2020, there have been 108,360 sewage spills into shellfish designated waters.

Some of the country’s best known fishing areas have been hit by these dumps. The longest spills recorded were:

  • Chichester Harbour: A total of 6542 hours of sewage discharged over 286 spills
  • Exe: A total of 4089 hours of sewage discharged over 214 spills
  • Morecambe Bay: A total of 3927 hours of sewage discharged over 223 spills

The Liberal Democrats have called for an urgent investigation into water quality in shellfish habitats, as well as a clampdown of sewage being discharged into waters used by the fishing industry.

Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson, Tim Farron MP said:

This environmental scandal is putting wildlife at risk of unimaginable levels of pollution. The food we eat, and the British fisheries industry, must be protected from raw sewage.

The public will be rightly furious that England’s precious shellfish, including lobsters and crabs, are also being subjected to filthy sewage dumping.

We need the Environment Agency to carry out an emergency investigation into the water quality of shellfish habitat. Ministers need to clampdown on water firms polluting fishing waters. It is a national scandal that this Conservative government is letting water firms destroy shellfish habitat. It is getting worse on their watch and there will be real concerns for the fishing industry if this trend continues.

Conservatives “legalising car theft” as over three in four cases go unsolved

The Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservative Government of “legalising car theft” as new figures reveal that in 2023, three in four car theft cases went unsolved and police took up to 24 hours to respond to calls.

The Home Office’s own latest figures show that in 2023, a whopping 108,934 cases of car theft went unsolved – equivalent to 298 cases a day. This accounted for a staggering 77% of all car thefts recorded. Meanwhile, just 3% of cases resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed.

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged , , , , , , and | 4 Comments
Mark Valladares

30 April 2024 – yesterday’s (Federal) press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 1st May 2024 - 10:00 pm
  • Uber Ambulance: Thousands in need of urgent care making their own way to A&E
  • Homelessness figures: Ban no fault evictions before more families made homeless
  • Ed Davey says voters are fed up with “out of touch Conservatives” on visit to Tunbridge Wells
  • First Rwanda flight is “cynical nonsense”

Uber Ambulance: Thousands in need of urgent care making their own way to A&E

  • Patients in need of “very urgent emergency care” making their own way to A&E increased by nearly 40% since 2019
  • The number of elderly patients in need of emergency care going to A&E not in an ambulance has shot up by more than 20%
  • The Liberal Democrats warn Conservative government is creating an “Uber ambulance crisis”

There has been a near 40% increase in the number of patients in need of “very urgent emergency care” making their own way to A&E over the past five years, Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

NHS Trusts were asked for the number of patients who arrived at their A&E departments not in an ambulance, broken down by the urgency and severity of their condition.

504,276 patients classed as Code 2, meaning they were deemed to be in need of “very urgent emergency care”, arrived at A&E not in an ambulance in 2023. This was up 11,500 (2.4%) compared to the previous year, and up 141,000 (38.9%) compared to 2019.

The Liberal Democrats warned the Conservative government is creating an “Uber ambulance crisis” and called on ministers to urgently invest in ambulance services, staffed hospital beds and social care to reduce delays.

The figures also show there has been a particularly sharp rise in elderly patients making their own way to A&E despite needing urgent care. 96,000 patients aged over 65 in need of “very urgent emergency care” made their own way to A&E last year, up 45.4% since 2019.

53 of 140 NHS Trusts responded with complete data meaning the true numbers of patients needing urgent care making their own way to A&E is likely to be far higher.

Some Trusts saw staggering rises in the number of patients arriving in A&E not in an ambulance with very urgent emergency care needs. In York and Scarborough there was a more than eight-fold rise in Code 2 patients coming to A&E not in an ambulance with the figure last year reaching 7,669, up from just 808 in 2019.

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged , , , , , and | Leave a comment
The Voice

Lib Dem MPs contribute to Commons debate on assisted dying

By The Voice | Wed 1st May 2024 - 9:21 am

On Monday, MPs debated a petition, supported by Esther Rantzen, aimed at changing the law to allow assisted dying. Several Lib Dem MPs contributed to the debate, all making points in favour of changing the law.

Here are their contributions in full:

Christine Jardine

I was thinking today about all those evenings when I was allowed to sit with my parents and watch “That’s Life!”, and how I could never have envisaged this moment. With all the successful campaigns in which Dame Esther Rantzen has been involved in her astonishing career, there can surely be none that has touched a nerve with the British public in so widespread a way as this one. Her involvement with this petition, which 555 people signed in my constituency alone, shows me that there is a momentum among the British public: a desire to see a national debate on the subject and for their Parliament to reflect their view, which we see in so many opinion polls nowadays. It is not a party political issue, but for the record my party, which believes in the freedom, dignity and wellbeing of individuals, has long supported the idea of a free vote in Parliament and would welcome a free vote in the next Parliament for us all to make the choice.

I find myself in the strange position where my colleague Liam McArthur is currently steering a private Member’s Bill on this issue through the Scottish Parliament. If he is successful, I would hypothetically have a choice denied to so many other people in this room—a significant choice. Another Bill that is about to be introduced to the Scottish Parliament by a Conservative MSP is about improving palliative care. Liam and Miles Briggs are working together, because the two are not mutually exclusive. We should see it as a choice between assisted dying or palliative care not for us, but for the individuals affected. They should have the choice.

The time has come when we need to recognise that there is momentum; other parts of the UK will make decisions on this shortly. I must be honest with Members and say that I do not know what decision I would make. I saw my parents die very different deaths: my father suddenly from a heart attack when very young, and my mother very slowly of a horrible asbestos-related disease. I do not know what they would have wanted. I do not know what I would want, but I do know that I want everybody to have the choice that they want. The time has come when we should recognise this petition and what it asks us to do, and look at a very narrow form of agreement to assisted dying when someone has a terminal diagnosis and has made that decision at a time when they were mentally capable of doing it, and when a medical intervention is involved. Ultimately, they get to make the last, perhaps most important and most personal decision that they could make.

Sarah Dyke

It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Latham. I thank the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) for bringing forward this important debate. I also thank the petitioners, including 645 in Somerton and Frome, and everyone who reached out to me ahead of the debate. Your experiences have touched me deeply, as have the experiences of hon. Members here.

One constituent wrote to me about her son, Jonathan, who died in a hospice at the age of 46. His family told me that the tragedy of his death was made so much worse by the lack of provision for assisted dying. Jonathan’s mother, Denise, gave me a quote that I think sums up today’s debate very well:

“It’s not about ending life, it’s about shortening death”.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 2 Comments
Mark Valladares

10 April 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 10th April 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Government amendment on “deeply damaging” non-disclosure agreements does not go far enough to protect victims
  • Shoplifting: Govt continues to let organised gangs off the hook
  • Cole-Hamilton criticises state of sewage monitoring
  • SNP burn through ScotWind cash in record time
  • McArthur responds to opposition to assisted dying bill

Government amendment on “deeply damaging” non-disclosure agreements does not go far enough to protect victims

After tireless campaigning by Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, the Government in the House of Lords has tabled an amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill that ensures non-disclosure agreements preventing victims from disclosing information to the police or other bodies (including confidential support services) cannot be legally enforced.

Responding to the tabling of this amendment, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said:

The Liberal Democrats have long been campaigning to end the deeply damaging practice of non-disclosure agreements. This amendment is a welcome move that will help victims to access the support they need.

But while this is a step in the right direction, the Government is not going far enough in giving victims their voice back.

We need a complete ban of NDAs in cases of sexual misconduct, harassment and bullying to ensure that no victim is silenced.

Shoplifting: Govt continues to let organised gangs off the hook

Responding to the news that assaulting a shop worker will be made a separate criminal offence in England and Wales, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said:

For too long, the Conservative Government have been sitting on their hands while hardworking shopkeepers are left to face the brunt of the shoplifting epidemic alone.

As the majority of shoplifting cases go unsolved, the Conservatives has repeatedly failed to get even the basics right of tackling this issue – something their new gimmicks won’t change.

It is now vital the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary invest in proper community policing and ensure all shoplifting thefts are investigated.

The government is currently letting organised criminal gangs off the hook and leaving shopkeepers hugely vulnerable.

Cole-Hamilton criticises state of sewage monitoring

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has called on the SNP and Greens to get tough with Scottish Water as it was revealed that in three local authorities there is no monitoring of sewage dumping at all and in ten more local authorities just one or two sites are monitored.

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Press releases and Scotland | Also tagged , , , , , , and | Leave a comment
Mark Valladares

4 April 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 4th April 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Police taking up to 28 hours to attend burglaries
  • Sharp decline in STEM teacher numbers
  • Scottish Liberal Democrats respond to Loch Lomond Highland Games cancellation

Police taking up to 28 hours to attend burglaries

Average burglary response times have increased by a shocking 25% in just one year, with some forces taking an average of 28 hours for an officer to arrive at the scene, damning figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

The figures were obtained through a series of Freedom of Information requests to all police forces in England. 26 forces provided responses.

Burglaries are often considered as Grade 2 priority incidents, which most police forces aim to respond to within one hour. The College of Policing defines these as “incidents where a witness or other evidence is likely to be lost”, and “a degree of urgency is still associated with immediate police action.”

But in the 2022/23 financial year, it took an average of 9 hours and 8 minutes across police forces for an officer to turn up to the scene when a burglary was reported. This is an increase of 25% from the previous year, when average wait times across police forces stood at 7 hours and 17 minutes. 20 of the 26 police forces reported longer wait times in 2022/23, compared to 2021/22.

When compared to figures from 2020/21, the deterioration in wait times was even more stark. 11 forces saw their burglary response times more than double in that time period. South Yorkshire experienced the largest deterioration in wait times, which increased by a shocking 443% – up from 2 hours and 21 minutes in 2020/21, to 12 hours and 47 minutes in 2022/23.

The figures also revealed a disturbing postcode lottery, with response times varying significantly depending on the police force. The worst performing force was Northamptonshire, with a staggering average response time of 28 hours and 2 minutes for burglary calls. They were followed closely behind by Durham, where victims were left waiting nearly 26 hours for an officer to arrive. Meanwhile, average response times in Bedfordshire were nearly 15 minutes, while Cumbria response times sat at just a little over one hour.

It comes just months after the latest Home Office statistics revealed that 3 in 4 burglaries went unsolved in the year ending September 2023.

The Liberal Democrats have slammed the Conservative Government for these figures, arguing that years of ineffective resourcing have left local police forces overstretched, under-resourced and unable to effectively respond to local crime. This includes taking more than 4,500 community officers (PCSOs) off the streets since 2015.

The party is calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible and trusted, with the time and resources to focus on tackling neighbourhood crime like burglaries.

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Press releases and Scotland | Also tagged , , , and | 2 Comments
Mark Valladares

29 March 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 29th March 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Travel chaos: 237,000 rush hour trains cancelled since 2019
  • Blue light bill bombshell as emergency services face £144m fuel and insurance costs

Travel chaos: 237,000 rush hour trains cancelled since 2019

  • Average of 130 morning rush hour trains cancelled every day since 2019
  • Most cancelled train in Britain is the 6.40am from Cardiff to Nottingham
  • Lib Dems warn “passengers are having to roll the dice every day” as trains cancelled at short notice

A shocking 237,000 morning rush hour trains have faced cancellations since 2019, figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

This is equivalent to an average of 130 morning service trains being cancelled per day. The data, obtained from Network Rail through a Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats, shows the total number of trains between 6am and 9am that have been either been fully or partly cancelled since 2019.

2023 saw 55,829 morning rush hour train services either fully or partly cancelled, a 10% rise on the previous year and the worst of any year since 2019. The most cancelled service was the 06:40 train from Cardiff Central to Nottingham, with passengers facing a staggering 68 cancellations in 2023, more than once every five days. The train operator with the worst record was Northern Trains with 25,578 morning services cancelled since 2019.

It comes as passengers are hit with painful rail price hikes, with fares rising by 5% in 2024 and 5.9% in 2023. The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to tighten powers to sanction failing train operators, along with a freeze on rail fares.

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Transport, Wera Hobhouse MP said:

The Conservative Government has hammered passengers with rail fare hikes and a train network that simply cannot be relied upon. Passengers are having to roll the dice every day, uncertain as to whether they will get to their final destinations on time, or even at all.

To add insult to injury, instead of sorting out the near unusable network, ministers have punished passengers with ever higher ticket prices.

This Conservative Government has let rail operators fail their customers without any fear of punishment. It’s time for the government to freeze rail fares for passengers, and sanction train companies who are running rail services into the ground.

Blue light bill bombshell as emergency services face £144m fuel and insurance costs

Emergency services are set to pay an “eye-watering” £24.6 million more in fuel and insurance costs compared to costs five years ago.

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged , and | 6 Comments
The Voice

WATCH: Alistair Carmichael’s speech to Conference

By The Voice | Wed 20th March 2024 - 1:30 pm

On Sunday morning, Alistair Carmichael gave his keynote speech to Conference. It was as funny, liberal and hard=hitting as you would think.

Governments and babies’ nappies need changing often, much for the same reason, he said.

Liberal Democrats will have no truck with the demonisation of desperate people. We will crush the people smuggling market by giving people safe and legal routes to get here, he promised.

 

He said that Liberal Democrats mustn’t just tell people what we’re against. We must say what we are for. We champion the rights of the individual to do what they like as long as it doesn’t harm others.  We also understand that meaningful freedom means pooling freedoms to form communities and upwards to nation states.

We are a party of law and order, he said, because we can’t be free if we don’t feel safe to leave our homes as he attacked the Conservative record on community policing.

He highlighted how the Conservatives are upping use of facial recognition technology like that used in China and how that had never been authorised properly by Parliament. Any influence we have in the next Parliament will be used to put the money wasted on this into frontline policing.

He warned that we might be sleepwalking into a surveillance state. He tackled that line much favoured by those who want to lead us down an increasingly authoritarian path “If you’ve nothing to hide, you’ve nothing to fear.” We are all perfectly entitled to hide things. It’s called privacy.

He reminded us of some of Labour’s failings on civil liberties – their “authoritarian streak a mile wide” with DNA databases and 90 day detention. We will not support any of that agenda should they go into power.

Liberal Democrats are not about splitting the difference between the Tories and Labour. We trust the people, they want to control them. We demand a change in the way we are governed. We demand a stronger, greener, fairer and more United Kingdom.

We need to get out there and fight of that door by door and street by street as if the future of our nation depends on it – because it does.

Watch the whole thing here:

The full text is below.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 2 Comments
Mark Valladares

11 March 2024 – today’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Mon 11th March 2024 - 11:41 pm

  • Lee Anderson: PM cannot govern his own party let alone the country
  • David Neal: Home Office in a state of disrepair
  • Frank Hester: Sunak must return donations and rule out peerage
  • “Early childcare the key to fighting poverty” – Welsh Lib Dems push for fully integrated childcare system in Wales

Lee Anderson: PM cannot govern his own party let alone the country

Responding to reports that Lee Anderson will defect from the Conservatives to Reform, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

Rishi Sunak’s authority lies in tatters after the man he personally appointed to be Deputy Chairman of the Conservatives has defected to another party. This is a Prime Minister that cannot govern his own party let alone the country.

Even now Sunak is too weak to rule out Nigel Farage joining the Conservative Party. It just shows that there is now hardly a cigarette paper between the Conservative Party and Reform.

David Neal: Home Office in a state of disrepair

Responding to the comments made by the former Independent Borders Inspector David Neal to the BBC, the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said:

These comments confirm what we already suspected – the Home Office is in a state of total dysfunction and disrepair.

Nothing is working how it should. Now, we don’t even have a Chief Inspector to provide the scrutiny that is so desperately needed.

To think that this Conservative Government can push forward with their failing Rwanda policy while ducking accountability is disgraceful. The Home Office cannot just withhold reports and information that they don’t like.

At the very least, its implementation should be delayed until the Government can get its act together and appoint a Chief Inspector.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , and | Leave a comment
Mark Valladares

7 March 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 7th March 2024 - 11:45 pm
  • Resolution Foundation reveals £8bn pensioner tax bombshell in Budget
  • “All the hallmarks of a backroom deal”- Welsh Lib Dems react to decision to keep new controversial Senedd voting system
  • Donelan scandal: Lib Dems demand ethics advisor probe and Science Minister to step aside whilst investigation ongoing
  • Carmichael calls for UK ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements
  • SNP cancel bus fund after spending less than 6% – Rennie
  • McArthur responds to news that more crimes will not be investigated

Resolution Foundation reveals £8bn pensioner tax bombshell in Budget

Jeremy Hunt’s Budget includes an £8bn tax bombshell for pensioners, analysis from the Resolution Foundation has revealed.

All 8 million tax-paying pensioners will see their taxes increase due to the freezing of income tax thresholds. This will leave the average taxpaying pensioner £1,000 worse off by 2027-28, – or an £8 billion collective hit.

Responding to the analysis, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

Buried in the small print of this Budget is a disgraceful £8 billion pensioner tax bombshell.

People who have worked hard and done the right thing all their lives are being hammered by Jeremy Hunt with years of unfair tax hikes, leaving them an average of £1,000 worse off each.

This Conservative government has shown their true colours, pensioners are not their priority. They would rather cut taxes for the big banks than look after those who have given so much for so long to our society.

“All the hallmarks of a backroom deal”- Welsh Lib Dems react to decision to keep new controversial Senedd voting system

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have described the decision to keep the new Senedd voting system as having “all the hallmarks of a backroom deal”.

From 2026, votes will be cast for parties instead of individual candidates as part of plans to expand the Senedd.

Critics of the new voting system say that it takes power away from the voter and places it in the hands of political party bosses.

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Press releases, Scotland and Wales | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , and | 9 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems react to Budget

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 6th March 2024 - 3:49 pm

Well, there you go. Another Conservative budget served with more invective directed against the Lib Dems than you might expect. You would be forgiven for thinking that they were frightened of us in the Blue Wall. Tim Farron was quick to jump in on Twitter:

The Chancellor wouldn’t waste his breath slagging off the Lib Dems if he wasn’t terrified of losing to us.

A speech carefully crafted into soundbytes for social media. Lots of impressive sounding numbers, but being a big number doesn’t mean it’s an adequate number. It’s so annoying when politicians of all flavours do this. Here’s £xoo million to build y million houses. Why don’t they express themselves in terms that actually reflect the human impact and the scale of the problem?  Because their solution is simply not good enough.

Anyway, what do our leaders make of the electioneering effort put in by Jeremy Hunt today? Ed says that it’s time to just get on with the Election:

This is a bottom-of-the-barrel Budget from a Conservative government that has given up on governing. Rishi’s recession is being followed by Hunt’s hangover, with years of unfair tax hikes while local health services are stretched to breaking point.

This Budget had nothing to offer for people seeing their mortgage soar due to Conservative chaos or being left waiting for months in pain for NHS treatment.

The public will see this for what is: a desperate last throw of the dice by a Conservative government that has neglected the NHS, trashed the economy and overseen a record fall in living standards. It couldn’t be clearer that we need a general election now so voters can finally kick this tired and out-of-touch government out of office.

The thing is, people still feel under a lot of economic pressure. They blame the Government for it and that is bound to affect their vote.

By-election winner Helen Morgan echoed Ed’s message:

Don’t be fooled by the Chancellor’s efforts to pull the wool over people’s eyes. This budget won’t touch the sides for people facing soaring mortgage bills, paying more at the fuel pump, and seeing the cost of going to the shops rise every week. We need a General Election now.

Helen also mentioned a crucial omission:

The Chancellor spent a lot of time listing parts of the country today (notable exception of Shropshire). Yet the Budget itself includes NO mention of rural areas and NO mention of farming. Further proof the Conservatives don’t care about the countryside.

Alistair Carmichael says that voters are past listening to the Conservatives;

The Chancellor has tried to paper over a Tory recession and Tory tax hikes which have hit families across the country. Ministers have searched for election gimmicks but voters are past listening. Few would take this government at its word after years of falling living standards.

Wera Hobhouse was right to point out that the extension of the Household Support Fund for 6 months was far from enough to tackle poverty when the safety net has so many holes in it that it is barely there any more:

I am glad that the Chancellor has heeded my calls to extend the Household Support Fund in today’s Spring Budget. But for the thousands in Bath who rely on its support to put food on their plates and heat their homes – a sixth month extension simply doesn’t cut it.

Wendy Chamberlain did highlight one Lib Dem win, though:

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , , and | 52 Comments
Mark Valladares

18 January 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 18th January 2024 - 11:45 pm
  • Sunak press conference: Out of touch and out of ideas
  • UK Stats Authority criticises Sunak over asylum backlog claim
  • “The Tories have failed Port Talbot” – Welsh Lib Dems

Sunak press conference: Out of touch and out of ideas

Responding to Rishi Sunak’s press conference on the Conservative government’s Rwanda policy, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

This Conservative government crashed the economy, sent mortgage rates spiralling and has made it almost impossible to see a GP.

Instead of tackling these major challenges, Rishi Sunak’s government is too busy fighting over an unworkable and expensive policy that is destined to fail.

It just confirms how desperately out

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged , , , and | 1 Comment
Mark Valladares

10 January 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 10th January 2024 - 10:00 pm
  • PMQs Horizon scandal: It should never have had taken this long to get justice
  • Minister admits Dowden made ‘mistake’ by failing to sack Vennells from £17,500 government job

PMQs Horizon scandal: It should never have had taken this long to get justice

Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement that the government will be setting forward new primary legislation to overturn wrongful convictions during the Horizon scandal, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael MP said:

The announcement is to be welcomed but hundreds of wrongfully convicted postmasters should never have had to live this long with such appalling injustice.

It has taken more than four years since the landmark High Court judgment exposed the Post Office’s lies.

Lives have been ruined and families have been devastated.

It should never have had taken this long to get justice. It is only to the credit of all those brave postmasters who campaigned to right this wrong that we are finally seeing the start of progress.

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged and | 11 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems oppose “moral vacuum” Rwanda Bill

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 13th December 2023 - 10:22 am

When there has been so much discussion around the party’s messaging and whether it showcases our values enough recently, it is a relief to see our parliamentarians speak out so strongly against the bizarrely named Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill as though just writing something down makes it so.

Alistair Carmichael described the Bill as showing a “grim and illiberal mentality” and would replace our asylum system with a moral vacuum. Here’s his whole speech:

I say sincerely that it is a genuine pleasure to follow the right hon. and learned Member for South Swindon (Sir Robert Buckland). He gave a characteristically thoughtful speech for Second Reading and, more interestingly, laid down several markers for future stages, should we get to that point. This is a most interesting and unusual Second Reading debate; we are seeing played out in front of us a tripartite discussion between one side of the Government, another side of the Government and the Treasury Bench. It is a remarkable spectacle to observe, albeit not a particularly seemly one.

I was struck by the reliance that the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert Neill) placed on the references made by the right hon. and learned Member for Torridge and West Devon (Sir Geoffrey Cox) to proceedings in relation to the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc. ) Act 2004. As the right hon. and learned Gentleman observed, that was where the concept of safe countries was introduced. The list of safe countries included all the EU countries except Croatia, plus Norway, Iceland and later Switzerland. It was another piece of legislation that restricted the access of rights to appeal for those whose asylum claims had been unsuccessful. There are perhaps lessons to be learned for us all in how that line of legislation has developed ever since.

The enduring lesson I take is not that that Act was introduced by a Labour Government—a Government that had David Blunkett as Home Secretary—but that the Bill was opposed, with some controversy at the time, by the then Conservative Opposition. They described it as “clumsy and draconian”. They were absolutely right about that and, many years later, we can see exactly where that sort of legislation has taken us. What is it about the Conservative party of 2023 that now finds that sort of legislation so attractive?

Let us not forget that we are dealing with the consequence of the refusal of this Government to prosecute the case for safe and legal routes. Why do we not find people from Ukraine or Hong Kong trying to cross the channel in small boats? It is because we offer them safe and legal routes. The Rwanda scheme is unworkable—we know that because it has never been made to work—and the barriers are well rehearsed, but every time they are thwarted, the response of this Government is to throw a foot-stamping tantrum. Anyone who ever had any doubt about the depth and scale of Tory self-entitlement can see it laid bare here today. The Bill is not about making the system work or providing an effective deterrent; it is simply about trying to bring together a disparate range of forces within their own party.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 13 Comments
Mark Valladares

23 November 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 23rd November 2023 - 11:30 pm
  • Autumn Statement: NHS budget slashed by £5bn next year
  • Net migration figures: Conservatives need to accept that their approach isn’t working
  • Welsh Lib Dems leader calls for funding of the arts in Wales

Autumn Statement: NHS budget slashed by £5bn next year

The Conservative Government is cutting annual NHS spending by almost £5 billion in real-terms, figures buried in the small print of today’s Autumn Statement have revealed.

Jeremy Hunt has cut day-to-day spending in cash terms for NHS England in 2024-25 from £165.9bn in his March Budget to £162.5bn in the Autumn Statement, a cut of £3.4 billion.

In real-terms, that will leave the NHS budget £4.7 billion (2.9%) lower compared to 2022-23. It comes despite the Conservative government handing £3.8bn a year of tax cuts to the banks.

Jeremy Hunt also failed to mention GPs, dentists or ambulances once in his Autumn Statement today, despite the crisis facing patients and local health services across the country.

Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP:

It beggars belief that this Conservative government is slashing funding for the NHS while giving billions of pounds of tax giveaways to the banks. It just shows they have got their priorities completely wrong.

Jeremy Hunt failed to mention GPs, dentists or ambulances once in his Autumn Statement, showing just how out of touch he is.

Patients around the country are waiting months in pain for treatment and weeks to get an appointment with their GP. You can’t fix the damage the Conservative Party has done to our economy without fixing the damage they have done to our NHS.

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged , , , and | 6 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Michael BG
    Simon R, My point was that as rich people ignore their social responsibility there should be no surprise that those who feel excluded from the economic benef...
  • Mary ReidMary Reid
    @Simon R. I think you will find it a fascinating read. The authors set up The Equality Trust https://equalitytrust.org.uk/ - which explores the ideas further....
  • Simon R
    @Mary: Thanks for the link to The Spirit Level. That looks an interesting read, which I have now just added to my Amazon wishlist :-) I do though tend t...
  • Simon R
    I totally agree with Alan's article. There's nothing inconsistent with being liberal and being patriotic, and liberals should feel able to be proud of their cou...
  • Hywel
    I came looking here as I'd not seen the party's response reported anywhere. I'm not sure it was worth the Mbps I used up to get it as it is so vague and could ...