Tag Archives: autumn statement 2015

Tim Farron’s response to the Autumn Statement

Tim Farron writes:

This was a deeply political budget from a deeply political Chancellor.  It looks good in the theatrics of the Commons, with Labour divided, weak and inept, but the budget will unravel.

It will unravel in schools next year when they see funding slashed; it will unravel when local councils have to cut services and increase taxes just to get by; and it will unravel when projects can’t be built because of the skills shortage caused by the attack on further education.

The brighter outlook has given Osborne room for manoeuvre, yet he continues an ideological crusade to slash spending and

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 13 Comments

Your thoughts on Osborne’s Autumn Statement

 

Before George Osborne steps up to the dispatch box today we already know which Government departments will be protected from the cuts and which will have to take the brunt. The Tories have pledged to protect the NHS, education, defence, pensions and foreign aid, so that leaves vulnerable the police, local government (and just think of the huge number of services they provide), social care, further education (apparently not considered ‘real’ education), renewable energy and, of course, welfare.

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Liblink: Tim Farron on the five things Lib Dems want to see in the Spending Review

 

Tim Farron has been writing today in the Huffington Post.

The simple fact is that nearly half of the cuts George Osborne will make aren’t necessary to get spending under control. Instead that are motivated by an ideological drive to shrink the state. That’s a big departure from the decisions Liberal Democrats took in Coalition.

He outlines the five things that he would like to see in the review:

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged , , and | 1 Comment

Ed Davey MP writes…An Autumn Statement for more green energy and more help to keep energy bills down.

Liberal Democrats in Government already have a record of green energy delivery to be proud of.  Renewable electricity generation and investment have both more than doubled since 2010 and our reforms will create 250,000 low carbon jobs by the end of the decade.  Britain is ranked No.1 in the world for offshore wind investment, onshore wind now produces around 5% of the UK’s electricity and solar generating capacity increased by 60% last year.

But is that where the story ends?  No, and our ambition outlined in the Autumn Statement proves it.  The Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project is something I asked my Department to look into some time ago.  We’ve now announced the initial talks we’ve had with the Swansea team will be stepped up a gear and it’s possible formal negotiations could start as early as next month.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 8 Comments
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