Tag Archives: ed davey

Mark Valladares

17-19 February – the weekend’s press release

By Mark Valladares | Mon 20th February 2023 - 1:16 pm

Hundreds of sewage leaks in England’s hospitals over the last year

  • Shocking reports of patients slipping over on sewage, staff becoming ill and urine & faeces leaking into offices and wards
  • Sewage flows in A&E departments, cancer wards and maternity centres amongst other critical hospital buildings
  • Liberal Democrat Leader demands urgent funds to fix hospitals before more patients and staff suffer from disgusting conditions

Freedom of Information Requests by the Liberal Democrats to NHS Trusts has revealed in the past twelve months there has been a staggering 456 sewage leaks in England’s hospitals. 55 NHS Trusts provided responses which reveal the shocking state of …

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Mark Valladares

15-16 February 2023 – two day’s worth of press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 16th February 2023 - 11:10 pm
  • Welsh Lib Dems Respond to Welsh Dental Report
  • Inflation Stats: Hard-working people are paying the price for Conservative incompetence
  • British Gas profits: A betrayal for customers across the country

Welsh Lib Dems Respond to Welsh Dental Report

Responding to the publication of the Health and Social Care Committee report on dentistry in Wales, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:

I welcome the publication of this report and its recommendations. Since being elected I have made securing access to NHS dentistry one of my top priorities and the issue regularly fills my inbox.

NHS dental provision in Wales is not good enough, and this report raises really important questions about the reasons why Labour has allowed a two-tier dental system in Wales to develop, where the rich can go private and everyone else is left languishing on waiting lists.

I am also disappointed to hear that relations between Welsh Government and the dental profession are at a low point when, to deal with both the effects of the pandemic and the longer-term structural problems in NHS dentistry, we need Government and dentists to work together.

Ultimately we need to ensure the resources are in place to fix this problem, including raising spend on dentistry per head to similar levels as Scotland or Northern Ireland as I argued for in the most recent Welsh Government budget debate. By failing to address this issue now Labour is potentially creating a longer-term problem.

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Mark Valladares

10 February 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 10th February 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • Economic vandalism leaves Britain on the edge of recession
  • Lack of further energy bill support “heartless” – Davey
  • One in 20 waiting five minutes or more for 999 calls to be answered

Economic vandalism leaves Britain on the edge of recession

Responding to the latest ONS figures which see the UK economy narrowly avoiding recession, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

Britain is dangling on over the edge of a recession after months of economic vandalism and chaos in Government. The blame for these gloomy figures lies squarely with the Government, who have botched budgets, failed to tackle inflation and have no plan for growth.

The Conservative party hasn’t a shred of economic competence left. This Government has hiked taxes to record levels and done nothing to stimulate economic growth. Businesses are now drowning in mountains of red-tape because of failed trade deals which has stifled all hope of an economic recovery after the pandemic. Gross incompetence and mismanagement of the country’s finances has led to this point.

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News Meerkat

‘Rishi Sunak has failed the people by ignoring calls for a windfall tax’

By News Meerkat | Tue 7th February 2023 - 9:46 am

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license. Attribution: Stan ShebsThe Guardian reports:

BP has scaled back its climate ambitions as it announced that annual profits more than doubled to $28bn (£23bn) in 2022 after a sharp increase in gas prices linked to the Ukraine war boosted its earnings.

In a move that will anger campaigners, the oil and gas giant cut its emissions pledge and plans a greater production of oil and gas over the next seven years compared with previous targets.

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NewsHound

Ed Davey: Tax the gambling industry to solve the NHS crisis

By NewsHound | Tue 7th February 2023 - 8:14 am

Mark’s Monday press release round-up covered this story:

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey is today announcing proposals for a new Carer’s Minimum Wage, to tackle the huge staff shortages in the social care sector. Under the Liberal Democrat plans, social care workers would be paid at least £2 an hour more than the current minimum wage, bringing their pay up to at least £11.50 an hour today – and £12.42 from this April. The proposals would benefit 850,000 workers, making up more than half of all people working in frontline care.

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Mark Valladares

3-5 February 2023 – the weekend’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Mon 6th February 2023 - 4:25 pm
  • One in seven have stayed at home to look after a relative due to lack of care staff
  • Truss Piece: Withdraw the £115,000 Ex-PM Allowance

One in seven have stayed at home to look after a relative due to lack of care staff

  • One in seven had to stay at home to look after a relative because of lack of care workers
  • Lib Dem Leader calls for new ‘Carer’s Minimum Wage’ to tackle chronic staff shortages in social care
  • New figures reveal care workers paid less than those in retail, hospitality and supermarkets

A staggering one in seven UK adults say they’ve had to stay at home to look after a relative over the last 12 months due to a lack of care workers, a new poll has revealed.

The survey, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, reveals millions of Brits have had to step in to look after a loved one due to a lack of professional carers in their area. A further one in five (22%) UK adults say either they or someone else they know have paid for a private carer to look after a relative.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey is today announcing proposals for a new Carer’s Minimum Wage, to tackle the huge staff shortages in the social care sector. Under the Liberal Democrat plans, social care workers would be paid at least £2 an hour more than the current minimum wage, bringing their pay up to at least £11.50 an hour today – and £12.42 from this April. The proposals would benefit 850,000 workers, making up more than half of all people working in frontline care.

The Liberal Democrats have said that the Government must give councils an extra £1bn a year to cover the higher staff costs, and say ministers must always take account of minimum wage rises when setting social care budgets. The party says its policy would be funded by increasing the tax on online gambling providers’ profits, known as Remote Gaming Duty, to 42%. Research by Public Health England has revealed gambling’s negative health impact and the pressures that it puts on the healthcare system.

The proposals would tackle soaring staff vacancies in the care sector. There are currently a staggering 165,000 vacancies in social care, up 55,000 since last year, with one in nine frontline care jobs vacant. These chronic staff shortages are leading to patients being left stuck in hospital waiting for social care, contributing to record-breaking waits in A&E and dangerous ambulance handover delays.

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The Voice

Ed Davey calls for higher pay for health and social care workers

By The Voice | Sun 5th February 2023 - 12:00 pm

Ed Davey used his first interview of the year on Laura Kuenssberg’s Sunday show to call for an increase in pay for health and social care workers to keep people working in the sector, which is currently in crisis. He is calling for at least an extra £2 per hour to be added to the minimum wage for care workers. This would be paid for by asking the gambling industry to pay more tax.

Lib Dem research found that a staggering 1 in 7 UK adults say they’ve had to stay at home to look after a relative over the last 12 months due to a lack of care workers.

The survey reveals millions have had to step in to look after a loved one due to a lack of professional carers in their area. A further 1 in 5 (22%)  of UK adults say either they or someone else they know have paid for a private carer to look after a relative.

The party says that the proposals would tackle soaring staff vacancies in the care sector. There are currently a staggering 165,000 vacancies in social care, up 55,000 since last year, with 1 in 9 frontline care jobs vacant. These chronic staff shortages are leading to patients being left stuck in hospital waiting for social care, contributing to record-breaking waits in A&E and dangerous ambulance handover delays.

The crisis has been worsened by many care home workers leaving for better paid jobs in other sectors. New analysis from the House of Commons Library shows that the typical weekly salary of care and home workers is currently £447, compared to £468 for those working in hospitality, £477 for supermarket workers and £485 for those working in retail.

Ed said:

Thousands of people are stranded in hospital beds because there simply aren’t enough care workers to look after them at home or in a care home.

The first step to fixing this mess is to pay those working in social care more, to prevent the exodus of workers to supermarkets and other better paid jobs.

This is a skilled and crucial job and it should be paid more.

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Mark Valladares

2 February 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 2nd February 2023 - 11:50 pm
  • Shell Profits: Sunak has failed to take action with a proper Windfall Tax
  • Lib Dem Bill to ban prepayment meters seeks to protect vulnerable from exploitation
  • Interest rates: A hammer blow and the blame lies squarely with the Government

Shell Profits: Sunak has failed to take action with a proper Windfall Tax

Responding the energy giant Shell making record profits of over £68 billion in 2022, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said:

No company should be making these kind of outrageous profits out of Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukra ine.

Rishi Sunak was warned as chancellor and now as Prime Minister that we need a

…

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Mark Valladares

Rishi Sunak’s first 100 days have left typical family £1,200 poorer

By Mark Valladares | Thu 2nd February 2023 - 7:30 am

A typical family has been left almost £1,200 poorer in the 100 days since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, new analysis by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

The party warned that families across the country are suffering from the “cost of Conservative chaos”, as housing costs, taxes and rising energy and food bills all eat into their incomes.

The research shows that a typical squeezed middle household with a mortgage will have seen extra costs of £1,170 in the 100 days since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister on 25th October. This is made up of £822 in extra mortgage interest payments, £132 …

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The Voice

Record 350,000 patients waited over 12 hours at A&E last year

By The Voice | Mon 23rd January 2023 - 10:50 am

  • Figures reveal 1,000 patients left waiting 12 hours or more in A&E every day in 2022
  • Analysis shows shocking rise in long A&E delays since 2015, when just 1,300 people waited 12 hours or more
  • Lib Dems set out plan to tackle NHS crisis including recruiting more GPs and allowing pharmacists to prescribe more medicines

A record 350,000 patients, equivalent to the population of Leicester, waited more than 12 hours to be admitted to hospital from A&E in 2022.

The figures were uncovered in new analysis by the Liberal Democrats showing a staggering rise in 12 hour delays at A&E since 2015.

Liberal …

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Mark Valladares

16 January 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 16th January 2023 - 11:40 pm
  • It’s Blue Wall Monday and families are paying the price
  • PC David Carrick: Lib Dems call for immediate investigation

It’s Blue Wall Monday and families are paying the price

Today marks Blue Monday when Brits are left counting up their Christmas bills.

For families in the Blue Wall, there is an additional hit to their finances: The Conservative Government.

New analysis by the Liberal Democrats reveals the typical family in the South East will be £760 worse off this January compared to last year – including paying an extra £620 more a month in mortgage …

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Caron Lindsay

Davey: Sunak asleep at the wheel

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 4th January 2023 - 9:56 pm

Listening to Rishi Sunak speak today, you wouldn’t think that the country is in the grip of economic turmoil and crisis in the NHS. You don’t have to go far to read of NHS trusts and boards calling major incidents, or London Ambulance saying they will only wait 45 minutes before leaving patients in hospital corridors. Everywhere there are accounts of traumatised, stressed nurses, doctors and patients in A and E departments up and down the country.

It is all very grim.

Sunak’s five priorities would fail the SMART objective test on any work training day.

He could claim he had done them without alleviating much suffering. I mean what does “NHS waiting lists will fall” actually mean for someone who has been told that they can have an appointment for their hernia in mid 2024? What does “the economy will grow” mean? A tiny decimal point which makes no measurable difference? Reduce national debt – to what, how and what will that mean for public services? And a piece of red meat for the xenophobic right about getting rid of asylum seekers. The one specific pledge, to halve inflation, seems to be going to happen anyway according to the Bank of England forecasts.

It’s all very cynical.

Ed Davey was unimpressed, saying:

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The Voice

Lib Dem Hat-Trick at PMQs

By The Voice | Wed 14th December 2022 - 2:17 pm

Rishi Sunak faced questions from 3 Lib Dem MPs today.

First up as Ed Davey, giving voice to so many people’s fears as Cancer waiting times soar:

Next came Sarah Olney, who asked for a ban on evictions over the festive period:

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Mark Valladares

18 November 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 18th November 2022 - 10:45 pm
  • Squeezed middled pushed to the brink by Conservative’s Cost of Chaos budget
  • IFS analysis: Conservative ministers are economic vandals

Squeezed middled pushed to the brink by Conservative’s Cost of Chaos budget

In response to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s morning round following yesterday’s Autumn Statement, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said:

Struggling families who have worked hard for years have had their security stolen by this Conservative Government. While non-doms and big banks got off lightly, the already squeezed middle are being pushed to the brink.

Those working day-in, day-out are having to choose between food or heating, mortgage payments or fuel for

…

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Luke Allan

The Lib Dems’ Role in the repeal of Section 28 – 19 years on

By Luke Allan | Fri 18th November 2022 - 8:51 pm

This week marks 19 years since the repeal of Section 28 of the Local Government Act in England and Wales, a landmark date for LGBTQ+ equality ensured by the Liberal Democrats.

Introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in 1988, Section 28 (or Clause 2a in Scotland) was a controversial and dangerous legislative amendment to the Local Government Act, which sought to ‘prohibit the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities.’

The introduction of Section 28 was of little surprise to many campaigners following Thatcher’s address at the 1987 Conservative party Conference where she stated:

Too often, our children don’t get the education they need—the education they deserve. Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay. And children who need encouragement—and children do so much need encouragement—so many children—they are being taught that our society offers them no future. All of those children are being cheated of a sound start in life—yes cheated.

Once enacted, Section 28 prevented any form of positive depiction of LGBTQ+ life in schools. Teachers were banned from teaching or discussing LGBTQ+-related items, LGBTQ+ literature, or books containing a depiction of positive LGBTQ+ relationships, and additional resources were removed by schools. This was in addition to the disbandment of LGBTQ+ groups and clubs both within schools and those facilitated by local authority services in the community.

Upon its introduction, the Liberal Democrats were the first party to openly oppose the legislation. As a party, we were clear that teachers must be allowed to support pupils who come out to them, and schools must be allowed to provide information that presents LGBTQ+ attraction and relationships as valid and normal.

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Mark Valladares

17 November 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 17th November 2022 - 11:00 pm
  • Wales Ambulance Waiting Times – Emergency Lights Should be Flashing for Labour
  • Budget: Everyone being forced to pay the price for Conservative chaos
  • Cancer Treatment Waiting Times Intolerable
  • Conservative giveaway to big banks set to cost taxpayers £18 billion
  • 5 Hidden Horrors in the Autumn Statement

Wales Ambulance Waiting Times – Emergency Lights Should be Flashing for Labour

Responding to the news that Welsh ambulance response times have hit their slowest on record ever for red calls Jane Dodds MS said:

When someone is in a moment of crisis and chooses to call 999, they want to know that there will be someone at the other

…

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Mark Valladares

7 November 2022 – the overnight press release

By Mark Valladares | Mon 7th November 2022 - 7:00 am

One in four mortgage borrowers fear losing their homes due to unpaid bills

  • New poll reveals homeowners expect their mortgage bills to rise and are worried about losing their home, defaulting on a payment or cutting down on food bills
  • Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called for a Mortgage Protection Fund, to offer grants to struggling homeowners who risk financial ruin whilst interest rates soar

New polling commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has found over one in four mortgage holders (27%) are worried about losing their home due to unpaid bills as interest rates rise. Almost half of mortgage holders (47%) …

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Mark Valladares

4-6 November 2022 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Sun 6th November 2022 - 6:30 pm
  • Philp’s refusal to apologise shows contempt for the public
  • Lib Dems call for legal right to see a GP within 7 days as millions of patients face delays
  • Philp’s Manston comments show “shocking and callous complacency”
  • Liberal Democrats to Back Bill to Protect Powers of the Senedd
  • PM must sack Williamson

Philp’s refusal to apologise shows contempt for the public

Responding to Chris Philp’s refusal to apologise for his role in the mini-budget this morning, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney said:

Chris Philp has shown huge arrogance by refusing to recognise his role in crashing the economy while second in command at the treasury. His legacy will be higher taxes and cuts to public services for years to come.

The British public deserve an apology for the pain he and his colleagues put them through. That he refuses to give one shows the contempt with which he holds us all.

Lib Dems call for legal right to see a GP within 7 days as millions of patients face delays

  • Ed Davey announces plans to give patients a legal right to see their GP within a week, or within 24 hours if in urgent need.
  • New figures reveal a stark postcode lottery with one in four people in some areas waiting over two weeks for a GP appointment
  • Lib Dem Leader says the Govt must increase recruitment and retention of GPs, introduce a 24/7 booking line and cut bureaucracy to free up appointments

The Liberal Democrats have set out plans to give patients a legal right to see a GP within seven days, or within 24 hours if in urgent need.

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Mary Reid

Ed Davey’s Autumn Speech in full

By Mary Reid | Sun 6th November 2022 - 1:46 pm

Here is the full text of Ed Davey’s speech, given at 1pm today.

Good afternoon friends.

It was an enormous privilege to represent our party, and my Kingston and Surbiton constituents, at the funeral of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Beneath the splendour of Westminster Abbey, surrounded by dignitaries from nations around the world – It was a beautiful memorial to a life of faith, devoted to our country and our Commonwealth. And a poignant celebration of values we all hold dear:

Patriotism. Compassion. Service. Values embodied by Her Majesty.

We thank her again. And we welcome her son, King Charles III, to the

…

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Mary Reid

Watch Ed Davey’s Autumn speech

By Mary Reid | Sun 6th November 2022 - 11:48 am

This post has been deleted.

For Ed Davey’s speech go to www.libdemvoice.org/ed-daveys-autumn-speech-71887.html

 

 

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Mary Reid

Autumn Leader’s Speech

By Mary Reid | Sat 5th November 2022 - 3:17 pm

We missed our usual Leader’s Speech in September when conference was cancelled following the death of the Queen. So instead Ed Davey will be delivering a major speech tomorrow (Sunday 6th November) from 12.50pm.

You can watch the speech live here.

Whilst most of the speech is under wraps until tomorrow, we have had some trailers, most notably in his proposal to make it a legal right for patients to see a GP within a week.

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Mary Reid

Ed Davey calls for legal right to see GP within 7 days

By Mary Reid | Fri 4th November 2022 - 3:37 pm

Getting a doctor’s appointment is becoming more and more of a challenge. Whether it means explaining in detail to a non-qualified receptionist who triages requests, or having to grapple with an inflexible online booking system, or having to join a phone queue at 8am exactly, or even filling in an online form just to be put in another triage queue – the processes seem designed to make you think it’s not worth it. They are particularly trying for anyone who is elderly, sick or in pain, or who has a chronic medical condition, and these, after all, take up a large proportion of appointments.

During the pandemic we got used to phone and video consultations, but we all knew these were not the most effective way to make a diagnosis, and there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that serious conditions were missed. It may still make sense for a doctor to hold an initial remote conversation, but only if an in-person appointment can be made speedily if needed.

But the delays in getting appointments is very real. Years ago no-one would have been offered a GP appointment in two weeks’ time for a new condition, and yet that is what is happening now.

Ed Davey is announcing plans to give us all the legal right to see a GP within a week (or 24 hours if urgent). It is certainly an indicator of the stresses within the NHS if a week’s delay is seen as an improvement. He has unearthed data which shows that 25% of people in some areas have to wait over two weeks for an appointment.  This is in the context of the two week target for suspected cancer cases to be seen by a specialist, where the clock only starts once someone has actually seen their GP. That wait could be doubled if they can’t get a GP appointment immediately.

The proposal is that this right would be enshrined in law, thus putting a duty on the Government to ensure that it happens.  Of course, it can only be achieved if the recruitment and retention of GPs is improved, and that requires action at the highest level.

So watch out for the announcement in Ed’s major speech at the weekend – designed to replace the missed Conference speech. Ahead of that he has said:

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Mark Valladares

3 November 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 3rd November 2022 - 10:30 pm
  • Bank of England rate rise: Chancellor must address the country
  • Asylum seekers abandoned – Braverman failing in her duty as Home Secretary
  • Elin Jones Wrong to Defend Mark Drakeford’s Qatar Trip Say Lib Dems
  • Number of GPs and GP Practices in Wales Fall
  • Interest rates: Chancellor must address the country with a plan to save homeowners
  • Davey: Recession warning a “badge of shame” for Rishi Sunak and Conservative government

Bank of England rate rise: Chancellor must address the country

Commenting ahead of today’s interest rate decision from the Bank of England, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

The Chancellor must address the country immediately after the rate rise decision to spell out a plan to save homeowners on the brink. He should either come to Parliament or hold a press conference to announce support for families facing mortgage bill rises worth hundreds of pounds a month.

Hardworking families are being left to pay the price for weeks of Conservative chaos. People are desperately worried about how they are going to pay these frightening mortgage payments after tomorrow.

The Government cannot hide away, especially after their long list of economic failures.

Asylum seekers abandoned – Braverman failing in her duty as Home Secretary

The Liberal Democrats have warned that Home Secretary Suella Braverman is “failing in her duty” as Home Secretary, after reports asylum seekers have been left stranded in central London by the Home Office.

It comes after Robert Jenrick emphasised last night on ITV’s Peston that the Home Secretary has a duty not to release asylum seekers into destitution.

Suella Braverman also assured Parliament on Monday that she had refused to release people into local communities “without having anywhere for them to stay”.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:

Asylum seekers being abandoned with no place to stay in central London is the most blatant sign that the system is completely broken.

Suella Braverman is failing in her basic duty as Home Secretary. She needs to urgently explain how this has been allowed to happen, despite the assurances given to Parliament earlier this week.

It’s intolerable that vulnerable people are being left without help because of the endless chaos and incompetence of this government.

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NewsHound

Ed Davey on Peston: Braverman, carer support and getting elected

By NewsHound | Thu 3rd November 2022 - 9:47 am

Sir Ed Davey appeared on ITV’s Peston last night.

Peston suggested that since Rishi Sunak had arrived in No 10, the Lib Dems had been in reverse in the polls. Rejecting that and talking about the three by-election wins in Chesham and Amersham, Tiverton and Honiton and North Shropshire, Ed said:

A lot of people said we won because people were turning away from Boris Johnson… I knocked on doors. I talked to people. What we found that they were rejecting the Conservative Party. They were doing it because of health matters, like ambulances, huge delays in getting access to GPs or NHS dentists. They felt the Conservatives had taken them for granted and were just out of touch… We found lifelong Conservatives rejecting the Conservative Party. Whether its Sunak or Johnson it doesn’t really matter.

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The Voice

Emily Davey talks to the Guardian about living with Multiple Sclerosis

By The Voice | Tue 1st November 2022 - 7:32 pm

The Guardian has just published an interview with Ed Davey and his wife Emily in which they talk to political editor Pippa Crerar about Emily’s Multiple Sclerosis. They have decided to do so now so that they can use their platforms as an MP and Councillor to advocate further for disabled people and their carers.

Emily was diagnosed with the condition in 2012, but she has noticed a deterioration since lockdown, when she was  not able to be as active. She and Ed have decided to talk about this now to highlight how this is affecting other people:

 (Emily) Davey, who ran Kingston council’s public health portfolio during the pandemic, said: “We’ve got a problem here, we have people with mobility problems, including the elderly, who aren’t suddenly going to recover and get better. How do you manage to get people active again on that scale?”

Her husband added: “Here is just another example of the impact Covid had on the nation’s health which is probably not well recognised. We know both from our own personal experience, but also from our constituents and from talking to doctors, there’s a massive issue out there across the country.”

Emily talked about how she her condition is changing:

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Mark Valladares

27 October 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 27th October 2022 - 10:30 pm
  • Shell profits: Lack of proper windfall tax an insult to families struggling to pay bills
  • Suella Braverman: Sunak must correct record if he misled Parliament
  • Shell rebate shows government’s windfall tax is failing
  • COP27: Rishi Sunak must not turn his back on progress

Shell profits: Lack of proper windfall tax an insult to families struggling to pay bills

Responding to Shell announcing £8.2bn ($9.5bn) in the third quarter, around double last year’s, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The Conservative government’s refusal to properly tax these eye-watering profits is an insult to families struggling to pay their energy bills.

Even the CEO of Shell has admitted that oil and gas companies should be taxed more to help protect vulnerable households.

It’s time Rishi Sunak introduced a proper windfall tax and used the extra money to support people facing heart-breaking choices this winter.

Innocent families and pensioners should not be left to pick up the bill for this Conservative government wrecking the economy.

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Mark Valladares

25 October 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 25th October 2022 - 10:30 pm
  • Liz Truss’s legacy: Dossier reveals damage done in 50 days of failure
  • Sunak speech fails to reassure public worried about winter ahead
  • Reshuffle: Stop “revolving door” payouts to Conservative ministers

Liz Truss’s legacy: Dossier reveals damage done in 50 days of failure

  • 932,000 people seeing their mortgage rise
  • 176,000 more people on NHS waiting lists
  • 365,000 hours of sewage discharges

The Liberal Democrats have published a dossier on Liz Truss’ legacy, showing the damage done to the country during her 50-day premiership.

The analysis shows over 930,000 people saw their mortgage rise due to the Government’s botched mini-budget, the number of people on NHS waiting lists grew by 170,000 and 6.2 million people waited over two weeks for a doctor’s appointment.

A shambolic Home Office oversaw 27,000 unsolved burglaries, 492,000 more victims of fraud and 1,100 police officers leaving the force. The Government also oversaw sewage being dumped a staggering 51,000 times into rivers and waterways across the country, for a total of 365,000 hours.

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Paul Walter

Reaction to Sunak as PM

By Paul Walter | Tue 25th October 2022 - 9:34 am


Embed from Getty Images

Rishi Sunak will (not) be kissing the King’s hand this morning.

Here’s some of the Lib Dem reaction to Sunak’s elevation:

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Mark Valladares

24 October 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 24th October 2022 - 10:45 pm
  • Lib Dems table Bill calling for general election by December
  • Sunak: Another out of touch Conservative PM with no plan
  • Sunak statement: Keeping public in the dark while celebrating behind closed doors
  • First Minister Must Not Contribute to the Whitewashing of Qatar

Lib Dems table Bill calling for general election by December

The Liberal Democrats have tabled a Bill in Parliament today calling for an early general election by 1st December 2022.

The Bill will be tabled in Parliament today (Monday 24th October) and will be given its First Reading on Wednesday after Prime Minister’s Questions.

The Liberal Democrats are urging Conservative MPs to back the …

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Mary Reid

The fallout

By Mary Reid | Fri 21st October 2022 - 3:43 pm

Lib Dems have been busy today dealing with the fallout from the resignation of Britain’s shortest ever Prime Minister. I’ll rephrase that – the British Prime Minister who served for the shortest time in office EVER (although the original version is probably also true, if of no political significance).

First, all departing Prime Ministers are entitled to an annual allowance for the rest of their lives of £115,000 to cover office costs. This was covered in a press release yesterday, where Christine Jardine is urging her not to take it. Today Ed Davey told LBC radio:

Most people have to work at least 35 years to get a full state pension. I think working 45 days shouldn’t give you a pension that is many many times what ordinary people out there get after a lifetime of work.

Second, traditionally Prime Ministers can hand out peerages and other honours in a resignation list. Boris Johnson has only just honoured 29 people in that way. Another tranche following so soon from Liz Truss would be completely inappropriate. Wendy Chamberlain, Lib Dem Chief Whip, has written to the Chair of Parliamentary and Political Service Committee:

As you know, it is traditional upon a Prime Minister’s departure from office for them to issue a ‘Resignation Honours’ list. This list signifies individuals who are to be rewarded with an honour from the King which, in turn, would be considered by your committee.

However, because of the unprecedented circumstances surrounding Liz Truss’s tenure and resignation, I am writing to urge you and the committee to reject any Resignation Honours list put forward by her.

Liz Truss will be the shortest serving Prime Minister in British political history. It is possible that by the time she formally resigns, she will not have held office for more than 50 days.

I do not believe that it would be appropriate for Liz Truss to be permitted to issue a resignation honours list, given the extremely short length of her tenure.

I urge you to make it clear that you and your fellow committee members would not sign off on any such honours, which would be the second list in a matter of months.

Third, there is a lot of concern that Boris Johnson is thinking of entering the leadership contest. This was, of course, the Prime Minister who was only persuaded to stand down after 50 ministers resigned. As also mentioned in press releases our MPs have now tabled a motion to stop anyone who has broken the law while in Government from ever becoming Prime Minister. It reads:

That this House believes that the upholding of standards by its Members is of vital importance to the functioning of UK democracy; believes that it is vital that the Prime Minister and Ministers uphold these standards; and therefore resolves that any honourable or right honourable member that is found to have broken the law whilst in Government should be barred from holding Prime Ministerial Office.

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