Tag Archives: christine jardine

Mark Valladares

19 September 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 19th September 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • OECD Report: UK economy is “stuck in the slow lane”
  • Revealed: Truss taxpayer handouts now reach over £40k
  • Sunak has failed to embrace the industries of the future

OECD Report: UK economy is “stuck in the slow lane”

Responding to the lastest OECD report, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Treasury and Business Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

This damning report shows that under the Conservatives, the UK economy is stuck in the slow lane. We’ve had zero apology from Liz Truss for trashing the economy, and now zero plan from Rishi Sunak to fix it.

It’s time for a proper plan to grow the economy and tackle the cost of living. That means boosting apprenticeships to tackle skills shortages and helping exporters by fixing the government’s botched trade deal with Europe.

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NewsHound

Christine Jardine: Tinker, Tailor, Tartan Trews

By NewsHound | Mon 21st August 2023 - 10:35 am

Christine Jardine’s tongue is stuck firmly in her cheek in her Scotsman column this week. You can tell she’s enjoying making fun of the latest nonsense advanced by a former SNP MSP – that the reason the SNP is doing so badly is that it has been infiltrated by MI5 to discredit the independence cause.

It seems that after 16 years in power, including one term with an outright majority, the failure of the SNP to persuade the Scottish people to jump ship from the UK was all because of unionist subterfuge.

Not because of dissatisfaction with the state of our NHS, anger at failing education standards or frustration at the growing cost of those ferries. Nor the results of realising during the pandemic that the strength and size of the UK Exchequer and the economy were positive reasons for the Union. Nor was it the emotional ties we all have to family in the rest of the UK that swung the argument. No, it was spooks. British spies in the nationalist camp.

A potential new spy novel, she wonders?

A sort of ‘Tinker Tailor Tartan Trews’ expose of a pro-UK cell acting as a conduit for vital information that Holyrood would prefer to keep clear of the clutches of ‘Big Brother’ in Westminster. That, in claiming the Security Service is anti-Scottish, the originator of this particular conspiracy theory – apparently a former MSP called Campbell Martin – is actually laying the groundwork for a piece of fiction.

It might feature a handful of operatives, presumably well-trained in the love of square sausage and Irn-Bru, which has infiltrated the inner sanctum of the SNP. There they have painstakingly won the trust of the leadership and encouraged them down an independence cul-de-sac, for which they will be rewarded with a cottage in the Highlands and a new identity.

The online version of the article is illustrated beautifully with a picture of Claudia Winkleman in full Traitors get up

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NewsHound

Christine Jardine: SNP so caught up in indy fantasies they are almost in Narnia

By NewsHound | Thu 3rd August 2023 - 9:55 am

In her Scotsman column this week, Christine Jardine calls out the SNP/Green Scottish Government for wasting public money and effort on independence rather than tackle the problems people face day to day.

I appreciate we all want familiarity for comfort in difficult times, and there can be no doubt that these are tricky times for the SNP. With internal party squabbles, broken ferries, and an ever-lengthening social care backlog, who can blame them for wanting a distraction? But why should taxpayers have to fork out for the SNP’s therapy for frustrated nationalists? Particularly when public funds are tight and so many people are worried about providing for their families.

Lsst week, the Government published a paper on citizenship in an independent Scotland. Promise heavy but reality light is probably the best that can be said about it. As Christine says:

We would all also have our new passports by ‘independence day’. Oh and the colour of these new passports would be maroon, just in case that’s of any interest. We would also somehow have rejoined the EU without the nuisance of having to meet the criteria.

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Mark Valladares

6 July 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 6th July 2023 - 10:55 pm
  • Sunak must show some backbone & commit to voting to suspend Pincher
  • Horizon deal: Refusing to sign up would be “needless act of self-harm”
  • Layla Moran calls for sanction of Hong Kong officials
  • Covid inquiry court ruling: Victory for transparency and humiliating defeat for Sunak

Sunak must show some backbone & commit to voting to suspend Pincher

Responding to the news that the House of Commons standards committee has said Chris Pincher should be suspended, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP said:

Chris Pincher adds his name to the long list of disgraced former Conservatives caught up in sleaze and scandal.

After missing so many vital votes in Parliament, Rishi Sunak must finally show some backbone and confirm he will vote to suspend Chris Pincher.

Sunak promised to govern with integrity, he must vote with it.

Horizon deal: Refusing to sign up would be “needless act of self-harm”

Responding to reports that the UK and EU have reached a draft deal on Horizon Europe but that Rishi Sunak has not yet signed it off, Liberal Democrat Europe Spokesperson Layla Moran MP commented:

Refusing to sign up to research cooperation with Europe would be a senseless act of self-harm.

We’ve seen too many false dawns over Horizon Europe, every day that is wasted means more scientists deprived of funding.

The Government has trashed our relationship with Europe, put up needless trade barriers and prevented scientists from cooperating on everything from tackling climate change to curing cancer.

It’s vital that Rishi Sunak approves this deal as soon as possible – it’s a no brainer.

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NewsHound

“Lib Dems take aim at Johnson’s entire honours list”

By NewsHound | Wed 21st June 2023 - 2:53 pm

Tortoise Media reports that Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokesperson Christine Jardine has written to the Forfeiture Committee  to ask them to rescind Boris Johnson’s entire Honours list.

In a letter sent to the committee, seen by Tortoise, Jardine said Johnson had “launched deplorable attacks on the Committee and our Parliamentary democracy”. She also raised doubts about the suitability of individuals on the list, including those “implicated in the partygate saga”.

Jardine wrote: “I am therefore urging you to open an investigation into the potential withdrawal of all of Boris Johnson’s honours which fall under the scope of your Committee. Clearly, the circumstances around this list – and the events which have occurred since its release – are unprecedented and have brought the honours system into disrepute. I believe that there are grounds for examining whether Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list can be revoked in its entirety.”

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Caron Lindsay

Is it just abortion law that needs reform after woman handed 28 month sentence?

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 13th June 2023 - 8:29 am

Carla Foster is waking up in prison this morning. Her three children are waking up without their mother for the first time in what will be a 14 month ordeal for them.

Ms Foster was given a 28 month sentence yesterday for inducing an abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy.  There is controversy about whether a custodial sentence was appropriate in this case, particularly as there were so many mitigating factors. Coming just months after a man who repeatedly raped a 13 year old was shown leniency, it seems like yet another instance when women are disadvantaged in the legal system.

You can only imagine how desperate she must have been to take that course of action, under huge pressure in the middle of lockdown.

The Judge, in his sentencing remarks, made clear that she was a good mother to her children, one of whom is described as having “special needs which means he is particularly reliant on your love and support.”

I tend to take the view that you should only imprison people if they are a danger to the public and it is quite clear that Ms Foster is not.  The first step to rehabilitation is to acknowledge and feel remorse for whatever crime you have done and the Judge is clear in his sentencing remarks that she is traumatised by her actions. It’s hard to see what good locking her up does.

What is particularly egregious is the fact that she is actually in prison on a technicality. Had she pled guilty at an earlier stage, her sentence could have been suspended. Surely she would have been taking the advice of her legal team at that time? The consequences of this seem disproportionate. Maybe this aspect of the law needs to be reformed.

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Caron Lindsay

Liberals must speak out against conservative attacks on divorce and same sex marriage

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 21st May 2023 - 6:30 pm

Last week, Conservative MP Danny Kruger made some controversial remarks about marriage at the awful National Conservative Conference in London. He said:

The second truth is that the normative family – held together by marriage, by mother and father sticking together for the sake of the children and the sake of their own parents and for the sake of themselves – this is the only possible basis for a safe and successful society.

“Marriage is not all about you. It’s not just a private arrangement. It’s a public act, by which you undertake to live for someone else, and for wider society; and wider society should recognise and reward this undertaking.

I guess it is good in a way that these comments are now considered controversial. It does show how far we have come in the past few decades. Christine Jardine, our equalities spokesperson said Mr Kruger’s comments

show just how utterly out of touch the Conservative Party is with modern day Britain.

Conservative MPs are happy to lecture families on how to live, while making life harder and harder for millions of families through the cost-of-living crisis and years of unfair tax rises.

East Midlands Lib Dem commentator Mathew Hulbert did a good interview on Peter Cardwell’s Talk TV programme:

Mathew said:

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The Voice

Jardine: People of Scotland want competent, effective Governments

By The Voice | Tue 16th May 2023 - 8:14 pm

It took less than the 14 minutes of Mhairi Black’s opening speech in the SNP Opposition Day debate on the cost of living crisis today for her to reveal what the debate was really about. Independence. I guess we should expect no better from a nationalist party, even one that has the power to do much more than it is doing to alleviate poverty and help those struggling at the moment.

Our Christine Jardine was there to keep them honest. In a blistering speech, she pointed out where both SNP and Conservatives were going wrong.

I have often stood here and criticised the Conservative Government, on their energy price hike; inflation; interest rates; and the situation that faces our young people throughout the UK, where too many of them live with the fear that they will never be able to own the house of their own that they would like or that the ever-increasing rent rates in this country, which in my city of Edinburgh are outrageous, put too many options beyond their reach. We must then consider the fact that the Chancellor did not listen when the Liberal Democrats asked him to cut energy bills by £500 per household, which would have made a significant difference to so many families; that the growth in the economy in the first three months of this year was only 0.1%; that, according to the Office for National Statistics, average pay, after taking inflation into account, fell by 3%; and that the take-home salary fell by more than £1,400.

I was delighted when I saw this motion, because our economy in the UK is on its knees and so are far too many families, and not just in Scotland. My disappointment is that SNP Members do not seem to appreciate that they in a unique position, of which I, like many other Members, are jealous, as their party can do something about it in Scotland. By that, I do not mean independence, which it turns out this debate is actually about after all.

She went on to highlight some of the SNP Govermment’s key shortcomings

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Mark Valladares

25 April 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 25th April 2023 - 11:30 pm
  • ONS debt stats: Voters will never forgive the Conservatives for their economic vandalism
  • Government announces refusal to make misogyny a hate crime
  • Sewage vote: Scandalous that Conservative MPs have blocked the Sewage Discharge Bill

ONS debt stats: Voters will never forgive the Conservatives for their economic vandalism

Responding to new ONS debt statistics which show net borrowing the 4th highest since records began, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

The Government’s shambolic mismanagement added billions to the UK’s borrowing whilst leaving our economy growing at a snail’s pace. Voters will never forgive the Conservative party for the economic vandalism of the

…

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Caron Lindsay

Cole-Hamilton: Reasonable minded people are re-thinking their support for the SNP

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 19th April 2023 - 9:19 am

In a way I feel a bit sorry for Humza Yousaf.  Not because he’s taken over a failing Government that he has been a part of, but because of the way his party is imploding around him in a way that he probably didn’t expect. He definitely knew that he was inheriting a deeply divided party, but maybe didn’t realise that the chalice was so full of poison.

Since his election as First Minister 3 weeks ago, two senior figures in the SNP have been arrested and released without charge in an investigation in to the Party’s finances and he has discovered that the party’s auditors resigned six months ago. You can tell that my husband is getting way too interested in this story because he’s been getting adverts for camper vans on Facebook. Yesterday he faced the press in an encounter that will be shown at media training courses as an example as how not to do it for years to come:

We’ve been very used to Nicola Sturgeon’s very controlled media appearances for the past 8 years, so this was a massive contrast. Journalist Rob Hutton’s critique was brutal:

And let’s be clear, these surely are his thoughts, unmediated by anything as sophisticated as “spin” or “damage control”. The first minister seems to be gripped by a compulsion to speak whatever words have just popped into his brain, without the slightest consideration about what impact this might have on the situation. It’s compulsive viewing, the political equivalent of watching a toddler determinedly trying to work a fork into an electrical socket.

Our Rural Affairs spokesperson Molly Nolan drew another comparison on Twitter:

I know there’s many more pressing things going on at the moment but good grief. Mr Bean himself would surely have given a better interview than this

It was not the best build up to Yousaf’s big moment when he unveiled his programme for Government at Holyrood yesterday. And to be honest it wasn’t so much a programme for Government as a series of screeching U-turns. The deeply flawed deposit return scheme paused till next year, their flagship National Care Service paused. Those are both welcome, but I mean, if the only headlines that come out of such a statement is what you are not doing, you are in trouble.

Scottish Lib Dem Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said that our party will be part of the change that is coming:

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Mark Valladares

17 April 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 17th April 2023 - 10:05 pm
  • Keegan: You don’t need a maths A-level to see that these plans don’t add up
  • Government Pushed to Vote on Banning New Coal Mines
  • Government reported for breaking purdah rules
  • Sunak investigation: Another accusation of a Conservative PM bending the rules
  • Government defeated as Lib Dems win vote to ban new coal mines

Keegan: You don’t need a maths A-level to see that these plans don’t add up

Responding to Gillian Keegan’s morning media round about the Government’s maths announcement, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said:

Gillian Keegan’s empty words are an insult to millions of people who are looking to the Government for

…

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NewsHound

LibLink: Christine Jardine We must not take peace in Northern Ireland for granted

By NewsHound | Wed 12th April 2023 - 9:07 am

As Joe Biden visits Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, Christine Jardine writes in the Scotsman that we should not take the huge step forward to peace for granted.

She started by looking at how we got to the agreement:

Progress towards the Belfast Good Friday agreement had begun shortly before Christmas 1993 with the Downing Street Declaration. The joint statement by Prime Minister John Major and Taoiseach Albert Reynolds stated it was the right of the people of Northern Ireland to decide between the UK or a United Ireland. It also acknowledged the importance of mutual consent in the north and south of the island in resolving issues.

In the following five years, there were ceasefires, cross-party talks and false starts before that historic announcement on April 10, 1998, which in essence contained three basic principles. They are: the parity of esteem of both communities, the principle of consent underpinning Northern Ireland’s constitutional status, and the birth-right of the people of Northern Ireland to identify and be accepted as British or Irish, or both, and to hold both British and Irish citizenship.

And she highlighted the dramatic reduction in loss of life and injury that has followed in the ensuing quarter of a century:

In the 25 years before the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, there were more than 3,000 deaths and 47,000 people were injured as a result of the conflict. Since 1998, there have been fewer than 200 deaths. Still too many, of course, but a reflection of changed times.

Current circumstances, she says, mean that we still have to work to maintain this peace.

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The Voice

Christine Jardine calls for recording of bereaved children

By The Voice | Sun 2nd April 2023 - 5:38 pm

This week in Parliament, Christine Jardine continued her efforts to get the Government to find some way of recording when children are bereaved so that they can get the help and support that they need.

This matters to her. She was an adult when she lost her Dad at the heartbreakingly young age of 20, but her sisters were 13 and 8 respectively. She spoke in the debate about how that experience had affected all three of them to this day. Had they had access to counselling and support to help them navigate through the trauma, it might have made it easier for them.

She is calling for a simple process of recording whether there are children affected when registering a death. The details could then be passed on to organisations who could offer them help. As she said in the debate, there is plenty political will to address this, it’s simply a question of how.

 

Here is the text of her speech in full:

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NewsHound

Christine Jardine – Windsor Framework a hopeful sign for future relations with EU

By NewsHound | Thu 9th March 2023 - 11:15 am

In the Scotsman this week, Christine Jardine pointed out the irony of Rishi Sunak’s pronouncement on Northern Ireland’s special and unique position:

The picture became even more ridiculous when this arch-Brexiteer enthusiastically proclaimed the benefits Northern Ireland could derive from being in both the EU single market and the UK. Is that not what we all used to have?

Are what Rishi Sunak described with a smile as the “exciting prospects” for Northern Ireland not what we all used to take for granted? And yet even as the Tories basked in this self-proclaimed Brexit victory, there was just the slightest hint, a tiny glimmer of hope that our future relationship with the European Union might be salvageable.

It’s good to hear a Lib Dem actually talking about the problems with Brexit:

The reality remains that the Conservatives erected immense barriers to trade between the UK and the EU. Farmers, fishermen and small businesses across Britain remain tied up in red tape and the Conservative government are, as yet, doing nothing to help them. But in recognising the importance of creating a special agreement for Northern Ireland, they may, perhaps, have taken an important step towards reconciliation.

But the SNP saw it as an excuse to get something for Scotland:

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Mark Valladares

8 March 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 8th March 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • Braverman’s dangerous rhetoric trashes Britain’s proud legacy
  • Ed Davey raises deadly ambulance delays at PMQs
  • Suella Braverman: Lib Dems demand inquiry into potential breach of ministerial code
  • Steve Brine must stand down from Health Select Committee amid sleaze scandal

Braverman’s dangerous rhetoric trashes Britain’s proud legacy

Responding to comments made by the Home Secretary this morning on the government’s small boats proposals, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:

Suella Braverman can’t even answer basic questions about her flawed, callous and inhumane policy.

To suggest that those who oppose these divisive plans are somehow betraying Britain is stooping to a new low. It is

…

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Caron Lindsay

Christine Jardine tables Bill to tackle online abuse of women

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 8th March 2023 - 3:15 pm

Christine Jardine tabled a Bill aimed at forcing social media companies to report on the action they are taking to tackle online abuse of women.

From the Edinburgh Reporter:

Ms Jardine called the UK Government’s lack of action on the issue “a dereliction of duty”.

She said: “Social media has made it much easier for people to discuss key issues, but too often debates become toxic, with women bearing the brunt of abusive comments.

“I know from my own experience that social media can turn quickly nasty and have faced waves of personal abuse throughout my time as an MP.

“We must also remember that women from an ethnic minority background, or women with a disability faced much more targeted abuse because of their identity.

“It is outrageous that the Conservative Government’s flagship Bill covering online harms does not mention women even once. This is a total dereliction of their duty to protect all women and girls.

“That is why I have brought this Bill to Parliament, so no woman is left abandoned to the wild west of online abuse any longer.”

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Mark Valladares

1 March 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 1st March 2023 - 11:45 pm
  • PAC NHS report: Targets simply aren’t worth the paper they’re written on
  • Lockdown files: Rees-Mogg got Covid test couriered to own home
  • St. David’s Day – Welsh Liberal Democrats Call on Other Parties to Back Bill to Make St. David’s Day a public holiday
  • Hancock messages “lay bare the chaos at the heart of the Govt”
  • PMQs: Sunak refuses to cut energy bills
  • Hancock messages: How many more ministers received priority tests?
  • Williamson’s text solidifies his place as one of the worst Ministers to grace Government

PAC NHS report: Targets simply aren’t worth the paper they’re written on

Responding to the embargoed Public Accounts Committee report which finds the first year of NHS England’s three-year recovery programme is already falling short of expectations, Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Daisy Cooper said:

It‘s broken promise after broken promise when it comes to this government and the NHS.

The public has lost all faith in the Conservative government and can now see that its targets simply aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.

Lockdown files: Rees-Mogg got Covid test couriered to own home

Responding to reports in the Telegraph that Jacob Rees-Mogg had a Covid test couriered to his home by health officials during a national shortage, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said:

This is yet more evidence that it’s one rule for Conservative ministers and another for everyone else.

The Covid inquiry must look into reports Conservative ministers were able to get priority access to tests at a time of national shortage. Rishi Sunak must also confirm what he knew about this scandal. The public deserves to know the truth.

St. David’s Day – Welsh Liberal Democrats Call on Other Parties to Back Bill to Make St. David’s Day a public holiday

This St David’s Day, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have reiterated their calls for the day to become a public holiday in Wales urging other political parties to back a Bill they have put to parliament that would allow the Senedd to designate the day as such.

St David’s Day is currently only a patron saint day and does not have any legal standing. Meanwhile, in Scotland and Ireland St Andrew’s Day and St Patrick’s Day respectively are already public holidays.

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NewsHound

LibLink: Christine Jardine – Sturgeon’s dead cat distracts from multiple failures

By NewsHound | Wed 15th February 2023 - 9:25 am

In her Scotsman column this week, Christine Jardine highlights 3 major SNP Government failures and suggests Nicola Sturgeon’s publication of her tax returns is merely a dead cat to distract from them.

The first failing is the lack of dualling the main route to the north of Scotland, the A9. It was supposed to be one by 2025 but that is not going to happen and fatalities on this road are going up.

Failure to make the promised improvements will impact the economy as well as the health and well-being of isolated communities with poor access to vital services. But most of all it is a failure to make the main route north safe for all of us. Safety was a major factor in the decision to upgrade a road on which the number of deaths still managed to record a heart-breaking 20-year high in 2022.

Thirteen people lost their lives on the stretch from Inverness to Perth of which approximately 77 miles remain to be dualled and the tender for the latest stretch – Tomatin to Moy – was announced this week to have been delayed. Promised improvements now will have to wait while thousands continue to face the real fear of driving on a road which switches intermittently from dual to single carriage and on which you can meet a tractor or road works at any moment.

And then there is the unbelievable capacity to make a mess of a good idea that is the proposed Deposit Return Scheme. Anyone who wants to sell drinks in bottles, or cans, in Scotland after August is supposed to sign up for the new scheme by the end of this month, but businesses are saying they may not bother because of the additional costs they will incur. This weekend no Scottish Government Minister would appear on the main Sunday morning shows to defend the scheme which has even been criticised by SNP MPs.

On a practical level, retailers are unhappy that the vending machines will cost around £20,000 to install and take up valuable retail space. Producers are also beginning to ask questions, and then there are the problems of different pricing for different parts of the UK. Which raises another not insignificant problem: the Internal Markets Bill.

A leading lawyer this week claimed that Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme could create an unlawful trade barrier with the rest of the UK where a similar scheme will be introduced in 2025.

Finally, the Government is yet again delaying the full implementation of welfare powers.

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The Voice

Another hat-trick of Lib Dems question the Prime Minister

By The Voice | Wed 8th February 2023 - 7:38 pm

Three Lib Dem MPs questioned Rishi Sunak today. In addition to Ed’s semi-regular slot, Wera Hobhouse and Richard Foord got places in the weekly ballot. Watch each of them here, with the text of the exchanges below the tweets.

First up, Ed asked the PM to do more to classify Russia as a terrorist state:

I associate my party with the comments on the unfolding human tragedy in Turkey and Syria and with the warm words to welcome our ally President Zelensky. He will know that this country and this House totally support Ukraine’s resistance to Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion, and it is a source of great pride that the British people have stood firm, united and unwavering in supporting the brave heroes of Ukraine.

When President Zelensky addressed this House last year, he asked that we treat Russia as a terrorist state. Since then, the Liberal Democrats have urged the Government to fulfil that request by proscribing the mercenary Wagner Group, which is doing Putin’s bidding and carrying out atrocities against Ukrainians daily. On this symbolic day, will the Prime Minister finally commit to proscribing the Wagner Group, which would be a crucial part of treating Russia as the rogue state it is?

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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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NewsHound

LibLink Christine Jardine: Sorry just isn’t enough

By NewsHound | Wed 8th February 2023 - 9:24 am

Christine Jardine has long been fighting for justice for those affected by the Infected Blood scandal and used her Scotsman column to say that Government needs to get much better at accepting its own failings so that victims and their families do not have to wait decades for acknowledgement of mistakes and compensation.

She outlined the tragedy and heartbreak the scandal caused.

One woman told how she had discovered that she and both of her daughters have been infected with HIV by a blood transfusion she had been given before either child was conceived. It had been passed on to them during their birth.

A father told of the pain he and his family had gone through over his son’s death. He had been given blood products contaminated by HIV in the early 1980s when there was little understanding of the condition and public fear was at its zenith. Already distraught at what had happened to their son, the family then had to deal with the lack of understanding and stigma which then surrounded HIV.

I thought about friends of my own family who had gone through the grief of losing their father to hepatitis after what had seemed like a life-saving kidney transplant. He had been given a contaminated blood transfusion during the transplant which eventually claimed his life. In a way, the system had let them both he and the donor down as he never enjoyed the full, long life that should have been the result of that amazing, selfless gift.

All of those families and thousands more have lived with pain, confusion and, in many cases, financial hardship for what is now approaching four decades.

She then looked at the failures of Government to act to help, not just on this, but on Grenfell and Hillsborough too.

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Caron Lindsay

Jardine challenges Scottish Secretary over Gender Reform

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 17th January 2023 - 7:58 pm

Women and Equalities spokesperson Christine Jardine challenged Scottish Secretary Alister Jack to come up with a single clause in Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill which undermined the provisions of the Equality Act. Spoiler, he couldn’t. She accused him of playing fast and loose by the Union by attempting to block the Bill.  Watch her comments here.

Later he issued a flimsy Statement of Reasons for issuing the Section 35 Order. In a later speech, Christine said that to call it weak would be to flatter it. There certainly is much in the way of conjecture within it and absolutely zero evidence to back that up.

At this point it is worth remembering that, not only was a Labour amendment stating the primacy of the Equality Act on the face of the Bill, but even before that every major feminist organisation in Scotland supported it. I can’t see how they would have done if they had thought for a second that it would harm women’s rights. They have certainly not held back in criticising government legislation before. This is one of the most scrutinised pieces of legislation ever, with several consultations, a draft Bill and, finally, the Bill that has been passed.

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Mark Valladares

15 January 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Sun 15th January 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • Harper: Govt could have stopped strike misery months ago
  • Lib Dems call for Partygate conduct inquiry in ethics advisor’s ‘first test’ in post

Harper: Govt could have stopped strike misery months ago

Responding to Mark Harper on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg indicating he is hopeful for a deal to resolve the rail strikes, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office Spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said:

This Government has spent months dithering, delaying and refusing to get around the table to resolve strike action. Millions of people have suffered upheaval and still, the Government won’t set out a timetable for resolution.

All of these strikes are

…

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Mark Valladares

5 December 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 5th December 2022 - 11:05 pm
  • Lib Dems Slam Unacceptable Delay in Support for Off-Grid Homes
  • Gordon Brown Review Shows a Lack of Ambition for Wales
  • Michelle Mone: Lib Dems demand publication of PPE contract

Lib Dems Slam Unacceptable Delay in Support for Off-Grid Homes

Government delays support for off-grid homes until 2023

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have slammed delays by the UK Government in rolling out a scheme designed to support people living in off-grid homes.

The Conservative minister responsible for energy bill support has announced that off-grid households will not receive any help with their spiraling bills until at least 2023, despite MPs from all parties calling for urgent action throughout 2022.

The UK Government is also yet to establish the full details of how hard-hit residents will be able to access the help they need due to taking months to develop what has been described as an “over-complicated and under-generous” scheme.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for a price cap on heating oil and LPG to ease the pressure on the many families in rural Wales living off the national gas grid.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS represents Mid & West Wales which contains areas such as Ceredigion where 74% of properties are estimated to not be connected to the gas grid. In Powys the figure is 55% while in Pembrokeshire it is 41%.

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NewsHound

Christine Jardine: Donald Trump is a warning, not an inspiration

By NewsHound | Tue 29th November 2022 - 11:00 am

Christine Jardine has been sharing her dream in her Scotsman column this week. And it isn’t pretty:

In this sleep-induced scenario, some Donald Trump sound-alike was holding court in Edinburgh, draped in tartan, surrounded by saltires and spouting endless meaningless slogans. Fortunately, they had stopped short of wearing a bright blue Tam O’Shanter bearing the motif “Make Alba Great Again”.

And people in the crowd which had gathered were not all there to cheer and applaud the separatist dream being espoused at the flag-laden centre of events. No. Many of those in the imaginary demonstration were instead calling for help for the nurses and other health workers who have to cope with long shifts looking after wards with too many patients and too few staff.

This echoes the feeling of many Scots that the Scottish Government needs to sort out the crisis in its public services instead of looking to populism to stoke up division over the constitution.

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The Voice

Wera Hobhouse’s bill to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace passes Committee stage

By The Voice | Sun 27th November 2022 - 11:14 am

We’re now into the annual 16 days of activism against gender based violence which runs from the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November through to International Human Rights Day on 10th December.

We will be bringing you a series of articles to mark this important annual event, including a horrific story of the death of a young woman in Scotland after she was let own by all of the services who should have been there to protect her.

Today we report on the Committee Stage of Wera Hobhouse’s Bill to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace, which took place on Wednesday. It would make employers liable for sexual harassment of their employers by third parties, eg contractors, as well as their co-workers.

Introducing the Bill, Wera said:

Workplace sexual harassment is a blight on our society. It remains widespread and vastly under-reported. Half of British women and a fifth of men have been sexually harassed at work or a place of study. Too many people have been left to suffer for too long. The question of whether employers have taken adequate steps to prevent sexual harassment arises only as a defence if an incident of sexual harassment has already occurred. Employers are therefore not required to take actions to prevent sexual harassment. That leaves individuals with the burden of challenging it.

The Bill, which passed its Second Reading last month, introduces two new measures to strengthen protections for employees against harassment. The first is the introduction of explicit protections for employees from workplace harassment by third parties, such as customers and clients. The second is the introduction of a duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent their employees from experiencing sexual harassment.

Fellow Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine emphasised why the Bill was needed:

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Mark Valladares

24 November 2022 – today’s press release

By Mark Valladares | Thu 24th November 2022 - 10:30 pm
  • Government ‘must get a grip’ as asylum backlog soars to 143,000
  • Raab emails: Lib Dems write to Cabinet Secretary demanding investigation
  • Michelle Mone: Lib Dems table amendment to scrap VIP lanes
  • Richard Foord MP raises sewage report in Parliament after his son fell sick swimming in Devon river
  • Full Review in Social Services in Wales Needed After Logan Mwangi Report

Government ‘must get a grip’ as asylum backlog soars to 143,000

Responding to new official figures showing that the asylum backlog has risen to 143,377, with 97,717 waiting more than six months, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:

The Home Office is a disaster zone, and it’s clear who is to blame. By their own admission, the Conservatives have broken our asylum system and shattered public trust in it.

Tens of thousands of refugees have been waiting months for a decision, banned from working or renting their own home. The Conservative chaos at the Home Office is wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money every day.

The Government must finally get a grip. It should take asylum cases away from the discredited Home Office and set up a new independent unit to make decisions quickly and correctly.

We need a fair, effective asylum system that treats everyone with dignity, and that everyone can have confidence in.

Raab emails: Lib Dems write to Cabinet Secretary demanding investigation

The Liberal Democrats have written to the Cabinet Secretary asking for an investigation into reports that Dominic Raab has been using his personal email for Government business.

Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain, who wrote the letter, commented:

The public deserve answers, not more cover-ups.

The drumbeat of allegations against Dominic Raab is relentless. From reports of bullying to allegations he has followed in the footsteps of Suella Braverman by using his personal email for government business, it is obvious that investigations are needed.

The Deputy Prime Minister cannot be relaxed about national security, especially at a time when Britain’s enemies are stepping up their cyber attacks. It is only right and proper the Cabinet Office investigate these reports and determine immediately if overseas enemies could have seen national secrets sent by Dominic Raab.

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Mary Reid

Sarah Olney (and other Lib Dems) on the problem of night flights

By Mary Reid | Wed 9th November 2022 - 12:08 pm

Sarah Olney was granted an adjournment debate yesterday, so took the opportunity to visit an issue that plagues her constituency – aircraft noise, especially at night. She was joined by her neighbouring MP, Munira Wilson, whose Twickenham constituency is affected even more. Christine Jardine and Wera Hobhouse also chipped in. Who knew so many Lib Dem constituencies had this problem?

You can read the full debate in Hansard, but here are some highlights.

Sarah Olney:

Night flights are the most intrusive form of aircraft noise and there is clear evidence that they harm both the physical and mental health of residents who live under flightpaths. This summer, the delays and chaos at Heathrow airport resulted in an increased number of flights landing through the night. For my constituents and for many others across west and south-west London, that disturbance resulted in countless sleepless nights.

This disturbance is completely avoidable. Night flights are by no means essential for airport operations. These flights can and should be moved and it is within the Government’s remit to ensure that that happens.

I therefore have two asks of the Department for Transport. My primary call is for a ban on scheduled flights at Heathrow airport between 11 pm and 6 am.  That is the only way we can be sure that residents will not continue to suffer from noise disruption. If the Government will not commit to that, they must commission a full independent analysis of the impact of night flights on the health of local communities, the environment and the UK economy to inform future policy development.

Munira Wilson:

My constituency of Twickenham is, of course, that bit closer to Heathrow and further along the flightpath, so I wholeheartedly welcome and support the two asks that she is making of the Minister today about trying to balance the economic benefits of night flights against the health risks and the distress that they cause to constituents. Does she agree that the Government could start by looking at extending the night-time restriction to 10 pm, from 11.30 pm, given the large number of frequent late-night departures that are blighting my constituents’ sleep?

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Mark Valladares

8 November 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 8th November 2022 - 11:20 pm

It’s been another day in which the apparent total lack of understanding of governance has been the undoing of another Conservative minister, and today’s press releases reflect how quickly that can play out…

  • Williamson comments: Independent Cabinet Office investigation needed now
  • Welsh Liberal Democrats Only Party in the Senedd Making a Stand on Human Rights
  • Gavin Williamson resigns: Sunak’s integrity left in tatters

Williamson comments: Independent Cabinet Office investigation needed now

The Liberal Democrats have demanded an immediate independent Cabinet Office inquiry into remarks made by Gavin Williamson, in which he told a senior civil servant to “slit his throat.”

It comes after Number 10 confirmed today Rishi Sunak has full confidence in Gavin Williamson.

The Liberal Democrats said a full and independent inquiry must be carried out immediately by the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics team, and the findings must be made public.

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office Spokesperson Christine Jardine said:

The Conservatives must not be allowed to mark their own homework. We need an independent inquiry now to address these damning allegations about Gavin Williamson’s conduct.

Anything less would be an abdication of leadership from Number 10, and make a mockery of Sunak’s promise to govern with integrity.

The findings must be made public – if the Conservatives have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear.

Every day this scandal drags on means more endless infighting while the Conservatives fail to tackle the pressing issues facing the country.

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Mark Valladares

1 November 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 1st November 2022 - 10:30 pm
  • BP profits demonstrate utter incompetence of government
  • Hotels for migrants in non-Tory areas is “party first, country last” approach
  • Matt Hancock should lose his MP salary while he’s in the jungle

BP profits demonstrate utter incompetence of government

Responding to the news this morning that BP has announced £7.1bn in underlying profit, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney said:

These profits demonstrate the complete and utter incompetence of this Conservative government. As families and pensioners across the country struggle to pay their energy bills, BP are posting unimaginable profits raking off the backs of hard-working people.

Liberal Democrats proposed a strong windfall tax over a year ago, yet the Conservatives have only attempted an incredibly weak version. Clearly, they’ve been too busy with their own chaos to act.

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