- Lib Dems propose support package for employers to keep workers safe as lockdown eases (to be published here tomorrow)
- Davey: UK needs Green Recovery Plan to counter COVID-19 economic damage
- PM must take charge and ensure deprived children aren’t left behind
- Davey: PM must abolish suspicion-less stop and search
- Davey statement after call with the PM
- Govt must commit to inquiry into handling of COVID-19
Davey: UK needs Green Recovery Plan to counter COVID-19 economic damage
Responding to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report that predicts the UK economy will shrink by 11.5% and experience the worst economic contraction among developed countries due to the coronavirus, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:
Coronavirus has proven to be a bigger threat to people’s jobs and livelihoods than even the financial crash. People are rightly worried about their jobs, their families and their communities. We must ensure no one is left behind.
The UK desperately needs a Green Recovery Plan. We can rebuild the economy and protect the environment by creating jobs through embracing new, green technologies.
The Prime Minister must also stop the double-whammy of a no-deal by ending the uncertainly and extend the Brexit transition period, protecting access to markets across Europe.
We can also now see, by international standards, the Government failed to prepare properly for a pandemic and has been slow to act. There must be an independent inquiry to review the Government’s actions.
PM must take charge and ensure deprived children aren’t left behind
The Liberal Democrats have called on Boris Johnson to take charge of the crisis facing schools and ensure disadvantaged children are not left behind, accusing Gavin Williamson of having “dropped the ball.”
It comes after the former Head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, this morning said the Government’s failure to consult with teachers over its plans was “absolutely astonishing.”
Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Layla Moran said
Parents and teachers have raised concerns from the outset about how to get pupils safely back into school, but Gavin Williamson has refused to listen. It’s no surprise this whole process has descended into a complete shambles.
Time and again the Education Secretary has dropped the ball, from refusing to extend free school meals over the summer to leaving thousands of disadvantaged children without laptops.
Boris Johnson must take charge and end the stubborn refusal to extend free school meals over the summer and provide laptops to all disadvantaged children who need them.