Tag Archives: helen morgan

Caron Lindsay

Government bows to Lib Dem pressure on Andrew files

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 25th February 2026 - 9:49 am

The Government agreed to a Lib Dem motion to release the files relating to the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a trade envoy back in 2001.

The commitment came during a Lib Dem opposition debate yesterday. The debate obviously couldn’t focus on any of the legal issues surrounding anyone at the moment, but MPs from most parties took the opportunity to raise their concerns. It’s good that the victims and the disgusting misogynist culture came in for criticism, but will this lead to meaningful change?

Here are some of the highlights of the debate.

It is highly unusual to hear the Royal Family spoken about in less than deferential terms in Parliament, and Ed referenced this in his speech and apologised for his own previous glowing appraisal of Andrew:

I encountered this at first hand back in 2011, when I was asked to respond to an Adjournment debate on behalf of Lord Green, who was then the Minister for Trade and Investment. The debate was led by the late Paul Flynn, but even he—an ardent and outspoken republican, as I am sure many of us remember, was not allowed to raise any actual concerns about Andrew himself. Paul called it “negative privilege”, and that is what it was. He said his mouth was “bandaged by archaic rules”, and that had very real and damaging consequences. I am pleased to see the Minister in his place, because I know he was also constrained by those rules when he raised similar issues. In that debate, Epstein’s name was not mentioned once, and there was no chance to debate the substance. Standing in for the responsible Minister, I set out the Government’s position, as it had been for a decade, in support of the prince’s role as trade envoy. Looking back and knowing what we all know now, I am horrified by it. I cannot imagine what it must have been like for the survivors and their families to hear Andrew praised like that, as they did so often all around the world, so I apologise to them, and I am determined to change things.

Minister Chris Bryant, never a fan of the Lib Dems, had a go at him later in the debate despite him being upfront about it.

Let me say gently to the right hon. Gentleman that if he had followed the debates in the public domain at the time he would, I think, have known better than to make those comments.

Ed replied:

The Minister knows that I apologised for making that comment, having taken a brief from someone else. I really wish that I had not uttered those words, because I am thinking about the victims, and I have praised the Minister for the role that he took. I hope he will acknowledge that two months after that debate Andrew left the role, and it was right that he did. I was not privy to those discussions, but the Government did get rid of him.

Monica Harding described an encounter with Andrew where he’d had a go at Dolly the Sheep:

Andrew came to an exhibition I had put on about Dolly the sheep. At the time, it was the pinnacle of British innovation, and we were rightly proud of it as an example of UK scientific excellence. One of my team was a young Japanese woman who worked for the British Government as a member of British Council staff. Her job—we paid her—was to promote the UK. She showed the then prince around with some Japanese dignitaries. “Dolly the sheep,” he sneered, “It’s rubbish. Frankenstein sheep”. My team member was deflated and did not understand why this representative of the British state diminished what she was rightly proud of.

Wendy Chamberlain made a vary pertinent point on the use of language:

Does he agree that we still have a degree of that problem now, because often in the media we talk about “under-age girls” when actually we are talking about children, and we should ensure that when we talk about Epstein’s crimes, we talk about the children who were involved?

Tessa Munt pushed the Government to increase transparency measures:

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Mark Valladares

8 January 2026 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 8th January 2026 - 10:30 pm
  • Corridor care: Govt has to treat this as a national emergency
  • Davey calls on PM to rule out use of UK bases to attack Greenland
  • Met vetting scandal: Lib Dems call on Conservatives to apologise for putting targets over public safety
  • Business rates change “last chance” for “treasured” pubs
  • Cole-Hamilton: £440m delayed discharge cost “utterly astonishing”
  • Woman in Far North stuck in hospital for over 400 days waiting for care

Corridor care: Govt has to treat this as a national emergency

Responding to reports that corridor care has become so normalised hospitals are fitting plugs in hallways, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

Corridor care is a disgraceful symptom of years of neglect in our NHS. It is completely scandalous that treatment on crammed corridors is now normalised with thousands of patients left on trolleys for hours or even days on end.

Enough. This horrific practice must end. The Government has to treat this as a national emergency. That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for an Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, which includes a rapid expansion of hospital beds and fixes our broken GP and social care services, to finally bring an end to this shameful chapter.

Davey calls on PM to rule out use of UK bases to attack Greenland

Ed Davey has today called on Keir Starmer to categorically rule out the US using British military bases to support a US attack on Greenland, just hours after UK airfields supported the American operation to seize a shadow fleet vessel in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Liberal Democrat leader has demanded today UK soil must “never” host aggressors against a NATO ally, including Greenland.

The Government has so far failed to rule out that such an operation could be launched from British bases.

Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Leader, said:

The UK must never play midwife to American aggression directed against our NATO allies.

I’m deeply concerned that our Prime Minister is yet to rule out the use of British bases to propel American troops onto the ground in Greenland – to take the territory by force.

Starmer must spell out to Trump and his lawless cabinet that the UK will never support such a dangerous act, and will abide by NATO and international law – even if they won’t.

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Mark Valladares

17 October 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 17th October 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • Number of serious childbirth injuries spikes by over a fifth
  • Lib Dems winners of by-elections Super Thursday, sweeping the board in once true blue Surrey as Conservative council tries to delay elections again
  • Farron: No Govt change on family farm tax is a “kick in the teeth” to farmers
  • Chamberlain to set out plans to tackle violence against women and girls

Number of serious childbirth injuries spikes by over a fifth

The number of third and fourth degree perineal tears following child birth has spiked dramatically since 2021 with the injuries now affecting almost 3% of all births.

The data found that, as of 2024, almost 29 in every 1,000 births now results in a serious perineal tear, up from 23.5 in 2021, the first full year of comparable data. That is a rise of more than a fifth. The number has risen every year between the comparable years since that data began to be recorded. Throughout 2024 there were 7,995 third or fourth degree tears reported.

The research also revealed that the number of readmissions following childbirth has risen on last year, with more than 5% of all childbirths resulting in one with more than 14,000 reported in 2024.

It comes as previous Liberal Democrat research has also found that the number of maternal deaths has also risen from 209 in 2015-17 to 254 in 2021-23. The NHS has faced a £27 billion bill for maternity failings over recent years, far more than the health service’s £18 billion budget for newborns over that period.

In April the government announced cuts to the national Service Development Funding (SDF) for maternity services from £95m in 2024-25 to just £2m in 2025-26. The fund had been introduced following the Ockenden Review into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford to improve the quality of maternity care.

The Liberal Democrats said the figures were “heartbreaking” as more mothers had to endure these traumatic births. The party has called on the Government to immediately implement all of the actions from the Ockenden report into maternity care and to reverse the cuts to the SDF.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

Behind these figures are heartbreaking stories of women suffering unimaginable trauma at a moment that should be full of joy.

The Conservatives neglect of maternity services was unforgivable, putting mothers and babies under threat, but Labour risks kicking action on this problem into the long grass. We of course need to understand why these awful injuries are on the rise but the Government’s inquiry cannot be used as a shield against taking meaningful action now.

It is unacceptable that, while so many women die or are injured by poor maternity care, the Government raided the key ring-fenced fund for improving maternity services. Their promises to improve safety will ring hollow until they change course.

If the Government is serious about ending the disaster unfolding on our maternity wards, they must reverse these cuts at once, support our hard-working NHS teams, and implement every measure in the Ockenden Review without delay.

Lib Dems winners of by-elections Super Thursday, sweeping the board in once true blue Surrey as Conservative council tries to delay elections again

  • Party wins 7 out of 10 council by-elections this week, including all 6 out of 6 in Surrey.
  • Wins include Caterham in East Surrey constituency, held by Claire Coutinho, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, as Ed Davey says “what remains of the Blue Wall is crumbling away.”
  • ⁠Lib Dems also gain from Labour in Preston, beating Reform to the win.
  • ⁠Conservatives in Surrey looking to delay elections again in bid to remain in power for another year.

The Liberal Democrats have won the most by-elections on what has been dubbed ‘Super Thursday’, winning 7 out of the 10 council seats up. The wins came in Surrey but also in Preston, Lancashire, where the party gained from Labour, beating Reform to the win.

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Mark Valladares

9 October 2025 – today’s Federal press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 9th October 2025 - 11:25 pm
  • Davey: Gaza ceasefire deal must be first step
  • Tim Farron: Govt must protect customers and replace Ofwat
  • Lib Dems: Religious hate crime on the rise “demands response”
  • 12 hour waits in A&E surge by 25% to worst September on record as Lib Dems call on Govt to protect NHS against winter “cliff edge”

Davey: Gaza ceasefire deal must be first step

Responding to news of a ceasefire deal in Gaza, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said on X:

News of a ceasefire deal in Gaza brings real hope.

The UK and our allies must do all we can to get the hostages home, get aid in to starving people, and finally end this horrific violence.

This must be the first step towards a two-state solution and a lasting peace.

Tim Farron: Govt must protect customers and replace Ofwat

Responding to the news that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has allowed five water companies to increase bills by a higher amount than Ofwat had originally allowed, Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, said:

This is not a functioning market; it is a rigged racket. Customers are seeing their water bills rocket, whilst leaky infrastructure further deteriorates and gallons of disgusting sewage is pumped into British rivers and seas.

These increases are disgraceful and insulting to customers. They shouldn’t have to foot the bill for the failures of private water companies to clean up the mess they themselves created. And we shouldn’t have a regulator that can simply be ignored.

Enough is enough. The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to get on with replacing Ofwat with a new, powerful regulator and implement a single social tariff to better protect the most vulnerable customers.

Lib Dems: Religious hate crime on the rise “demands response”

Responding to the latest hate crime statistics, which show a 3% increase in religious hate crime over the year, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Women and Equalities Marie Goldman said:

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Mark Valladares

8 October 2025 – today’s Federal press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 8th October 2025 - 9:30 pm
  • Kemi Badenoch Speech: Lib Dems blast Tory economics as “laughable”
  • China spies case: Investigation needed on if Govt is doing enough to protect our democracy and national security
  • NHS/US Drug Price Increases: Ministers must come clean
  • Ed Davey urges One Nation Conservatives to join Lib Dems after Kemi Badenoch’s conference speech
  • Badenoch Speech: “Liz Truss on steroids”

Kemi Badenoch Speech: Lib Dems blast Tory economics as “laughable”

Responding to the Conservatives’ unveiling a new set of economic plans, announced by Party Leader Kemi Badenoch in her keynote speech today, a Liberal Democrat Spokesperson said:

The idea that the public would now trust the Conservative party with the economy is laughable. From almost crashing our economy to leaving public services on their knees, the Conservatives have shown their economics is almost as bad as their spelling.

Only the Liberal Democrats have a clear plan to make our economy thrive again, from halving energy bills to striking an ambitious trade deal with our European neighbours which would boost business and raise revenue.

China spies case: Investigation needed on if Govt is doing enough to protect our democracy and national security

Responding to reports that a case involving two men accused of spying for China collapsed because evidence could not be obtained from the Government referring to China as a national security threat, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Calum Miller said:

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Mark Valladares

11 September 2025 – today’s Federal press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 11th September 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • NHS waiting lists: Govt must tackle social care to end era of sky-high waiting lists
  • Davey on Mandelson sacking: Starmer must come before Parliament
  • NHS maternity payouts rise to £1.3bn as Ed Davey visits South West to discuss crisis
  • Farage stamp duty: Reform leader has “serious questions to answer”
  • Mandelson: PM must carry out full review of vetting procedures

NHS waiting lists: Govt must tackle social care to end era of sky-high waiting lists

Responding to the number of people on NHS waiting lists rising for the second month in a row to 7.4 million in July, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

The Government promised to go full throttle when it comes to cutting NHS waiting lists, instead they’ve gone into reverse.

The Conservatives brought the NHS to its knees, with patients often suffering tragic consequences, but far from bringing the change people are crying out for, this Labour government is just treading water.

Without fixing the underlying issues in our health service this situation will persist and patients will suffer. Only by urgently tackling the crisis in social care can we unclog the system and bring and end to this era of sky-high waiting lists.

Davey on Mandelson sacking: Starmer must come before Parliament

Responding to the news that Peter Mandelson has been sacked as the UK Ambassador to the United States, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The Prime Minister now needs to appoint an ambassador who will stand up to Trump, not cosy up to him and his cronies.

He also needs to come before Parliament and explain why Lord Mandelson was appointed in the first place, given everything the Government knew then.

This Government seems to be lurching from one crisis to another. It desperately needs to get a grip on fixing the economy and public services so badly damaged by the Conservatives.

NHS maternity payouts rise to £1.3bn as Ed Davey visits South West to discuss crisis

NHS figures show that clinical negligence payouts for maternity rose to £1.3 billion last year, up 13% on 2023/24’s figure of £1.15 billion with total payouts hitting a record high in 2024/25.

It comes as Ed Davey visits the South West today (12th September) to discuss issues with local maternity services.

The 2024/25 NHS compensation figures found that maternity clinical negligence payouts had risen £150 million on the previous year to £1.3 billion, a 13% rise. Maternity clinical negligence payments account for 42% of all clinical negligence payments.

NHS clinical negligence payouts generally rose to a record £3.1 billion, up from £2.8 billion in 2023/24 which was also a record. It represents an 11% increase.

In April the Government announced cuts to the national Service Development Funding (SDF) for maternity services from £95m in 2024-25 to just £2m in 2025-26. The fund had been introduced following the Ockenden Review into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford to improve the quality of maternity care.

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Mark Valladares

27 August 2025 – today’s Federal press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 27th August 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • Energy price cap: Government must cancel rise and take up plan to halve bills
  • Mounjaro supply chaos: Lib Dems call for CMA investigation
  • Farage u-turn shows he “has taken as much time reading his own plan as he does his constituents’ emails”
  • Thames Water fines: Govt should stop “wheeling and dealing” and finally put customers first
  • Ed Davey to boycott Trump state banquet in push to end Gaza’s humanitarian disaster

Energy price cap: Government must cancel rise and take up plan to halve bills

Responding to Ofgem announcing that the energy price cap will rise by 2%, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The last thing struggling

…

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Mark Valladares

18 August 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 18th August 2025 - 11:00 pm

To quote Granny Weatherwax, I aten’t dead, merely returned from some family time. And so, to pick up where I left off…

  • Uber ambulance: 2.7 million did not take an ambulance to A&E last year – up 340,000 on 2019
  • Jardine welcomes children’s evacuation

Uber ambulance: 2.7 million did not take an ambulance to A&E last year – up 340,000 on 2019

There were at least 2.7 million attendances at A&E where someone did not use an ambulance to get there, with over a quarter-of-a-million in need of very urgent medical attention opting not to use one, Liberal Democrat Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) have revealed.

It has led to the party saying that there is an “Uber ambulance crisis” and that the Government should create a new £50 million-a-year emergency fund to allow ambulance trusts to reverse closures of community ambulance stations, as well as launching a campaign to retain, recruit and train paramedics and other ambulance staff.

The FOIs found that the number of A&E attendances from not arriving in an ambulance had risen by 14% since 2019, from 2.36 million to 2.7 million. Only 30 of the 144 NHS Trusts responded with full data so these figures are likely to be far higher in reality.

The data also revealed the severity of injury of those attending, which is broken down into five codes. Code 1 is those in need of immediate medical attention including those in need of immediate resuscitation. There were 10,600 Code 1 incidents last year, up by 1,600 on 2023’s figure of 9,000. Code 2 represents those in need of very urgent medical attention. Across 2024 there were 256,000 attendances of this type with a massive spike of 55% on 2019’s figure of 165,000.

The Trust that saw the largest rise in non-ambulance A&E attendances was Sandwell and West Birmingham, where there was a 320% rise since 2019 with the figures jumping from 3,900 to 16,500 last year. Mid and South Essex has the highest number of attendances through not arriving in an ambulance with 322,000 last year, up on 2019’s figure of 263,000.

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Mark Valladares

6 June 2025 – the overnight press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 6th June 2025 - 7:30 am
  • Lib Dems call on Labour Government to rule out real-terms policing budget cuts as unsolved vehicle theft epidemic continues
  • Water company bonuses: Half baked announcement won’t reform industry
  • Government listens to Liberal Democrat calls to end “corridor care” but cannot lead patients “up the garden path”

Lib Dems call on Labour Government to rule out real-terms policing budget cuts as unsolved vehicle theft epidemic continues

  • Shock new data crunched by the Liberal Democrats reveals that last year, more than 75% of vehicle thefts went unsolved while just 2% of cases resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed.
  • 13 police forces in England and Wales had at least 75% of all vehicle theft cases unsolved in 2024.
  • This follows speculation that police funding will face real-terms cuts in next week’s Spending Review, which has been condemned by police chiefs across the country.
  • The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to keep their promises on neighbourhood policing by ruling out real-terms cuts to policing budgets ahead of the Spending Review.

House of Commons library analysis of official Home Office data on crime outcomes, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, shows a vehicle theft epidemic with the offence becoming ‘effectively decriminalised’. Almost 95,000 cases went unsolved last year.

The City of London force came out worst, with none of its 30 cases last year ending with a suspect being charged. The Metropolitan police followed suit, with only 0.85% of all vehicle theft cases ending with a charge.

Leicestershire police force had a similarly worrying performance last year, with only 1.0% of all cases of vehicle theft ending with a charge. South Yorkshire reported that only 1.2% of cases were charged.

Derbyshire, Gwent and West Yorkshire also all reported that their cases in total had less than a 1.5% of cases ending with a charge.

These shocking figures come after several police chiefs have warned the Labour government that they will not be able to deliver their promises on bolstering neighbourhood policing or halving knife crime and violence against women and girls without proper investment.

The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to rule out any cuts to policing budgets, following speculation that the Home Office will face real-terms cuts at the upcoming Spending Review.

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Mark Valladares

5 June 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 5th June 2025 - 11:45 pm
  • Royal College of Radiologists report: if Government “doesn’t take its head out of the sand” patients will “pay the price”
  • Zia Yusuf resignation: leading UK DOGE by example
  • Lib Dems make final pitch to Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse voters
  • Scotland has worst shortage of oncologists in UK
  • Local MP uncovers rail funding scandal

  • Royal College of Radiologists report: if Government “doesn’t take its head out of the sand” patients will “pay the price”

    Responding to two reports by the Royal College of Radiologists, which revealed that 9 in 10 cancer centre leaders reported delays to patients starting treatment, and 7 in 10 were concerned about staff shortages putting patient safety at risk, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

    This report should be yet another wake up call for Ministers that they cannot ignore the crisis in cancer any longer. We are seeing waiting times grow longer and the rate of early diagnosis stall, with the Government at risk of sleepwalking through a disaster while patients face dangerous delays and overstretched NHS staff are left at breaking point.

    If the Government doesn’t take its head out of the sand and act now, it is patients who will pay the price. The upcoming NHS workforce plan must rapidly expand the number of cancer nurses and modernise treatment before more lives are put at risk.

    The Liberal Democrats have long been campaigning to ensure the conditions are in place to guarantee patients can start their treatment within two months of an urgent referral to get them the care they deserve.

    Zia Yusuf resignation: leading UK DOGE by example

    Responding to Zia Yusuf resigning as Reform UK Chairman, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

    By sacking himself, Zia Yusuf seems to be leading the “UK DOGE” by example. You have to admire his commitment to the cause.

    It’s already clear Reform UK cannot deliver for the communities they are elected to stand up for. Instead, they have copied the Conservative playbook of fighting like rats in a sack.

    Lib Dems make final pitch to Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse voters

    Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Aisha Mir has made her final pitch to voters, pledging a vision of a Scotland that is back to its best.

    Aisha Mir is a businesswoman, Children’s Panel member and carer who has also served as the party’s spokesperson for human rights and older people.

    She has been active in a number of projects & campaigns supporting unpaid carers, welfare for the elderly, human rights, diversity and inequality.

    Aisha Mir, Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, said:

    For too many people, it feels like nothing works anymore.

    The SNP have failed Scotland for eighteen years. The Conservatives are lurching to extremes. Labour are already letting people down. Reform have no real solutions.

    I’m in politics to get things done. I want to be a hard working local champion who will put your priorities first.

    Only the Scottish Liberal Democrats are offering you a vision of a Scotland that is back to its best.

    A Scotland where people can see a GP and an NHS dentist in good time.

    A Scotland that once again gives our children a world-class education.

    A Scotland with a growing economy and growing businesses, where the government looks after your money and works with our neighbours.

    Vote Scottish Liberal Democrat for a candidate who is focused on what really matters to you.

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Mark Valladares

3 June 2025 – today’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Tue 3rd June 2025 - 9:30 pm
  • Cancer in the UK report: progress in fighting disease must be “celebrated” but “cannot become complacent”
  • Interim Water Commission: cleaning up water industry will “take more than a hose down”
  • Govt needs to bite the bullet and put Thames Water into special administration
  • Health and social care services face £200 million overspend

Cancer in the UK report: progress in fighting disease must be “celebrated” but “cannot become complacent”

Responding to the Cancer Research UK’s Cancer in the UK report, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

The progress that we have made in fighting cancer in recent decades must be celebrated, but we cannot become complacent. There is still so much more we need to do.

We are seeing waiting times grow longer and the rate of early diagnosis stall, all of which could see us squander these years of progress that have given many people the chance to live long and healthy lives.

To do that, we need to see the Government show real ambition in rebuilding cancer services by investing in more radiology machines and rapidly expanding the number of cancer nurses.

That needs to lead us to a point where patients have a legal right to start their treatment within two months of an urgent referral so they can get the care they deserve and potentially save thousands of lives.

Interim Water Commission: cleaning up water industry will “take more than a hose down”

Responding to Sir John Cunliffe’s interim water commission report, Tim Farron MP, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, said:

This report makes it painfully clear that water companies can pollute and make profit with impunity – all at customers’ expense. At the heart of the sewage scandal is a regulatory system which has failed.

It’s going to take more than a hose down to clean up the water industry. It’s time for Ofwat to go and the Commission must now make this plain.

If Ofwat remains in name or nature, the government will have failed in their aims to improve our waterways and address public outrage with serious regulatory reform.

Liberal Democrats will continue our campaign to replace Ofwat with a new regulator to clean up our waterways for good.

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Mark Valladares

26 May 2025 – the overnight press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 26th May 2025 - 10:24 am
  • Patients “left in the lurch” as month long waits for last minute cancelled ops to be rearranged more than double
  • Scot Lib Dems to lead debate calling for immediate teacher workforce plan

Patients “left in the lurch” as month long waits for last minute cancelled ops to be rearranged more than double

Close to 20,000 operations cancelled at the last minute took more than 28-days to rearrange last year, in breach of the NHS’s own standard, research by the House of Commons Library commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

It means that 23% of the 85,400 elective operations cancelled at the last minute in 2024/25 took longer than a month to rearrange. This represents a three-fold increase on 2015/16’s figure of 7%.

The Liberal Democrats said the figures showed patients being “left in the lurch” as they waited for “potentially life altering operations”. The party called on the Government to end its “embrace of dither and delay” and take action on rebuilding crumbling hospitals and end the crisis in social care “so crucial to fixing the underlying problem in the health service”.

The data also shows that the number of last minute cancellations breaching the health service’s 28-day standard has also risen significantly from 9,000 in 2015/16 to 19,400 last year. That represents an 115% increase on the waits for rescheduled last minute cancellations a decade ago. In the past year alone the number of these breaches has jumped by around 1,500, up 8% to the highest level post the pandemic.

The data also revealed a breakdown on NHS Trusts with the most breaches of the 28-day standard. The Trust with the highest number of breaches that had not experienced a recent merger was University Hospitals Leicester with 942 and then followed by Surrey and Sussex Healthcare with 710.

Of the 108 NHS Trusts that reported full data for each year since 2015/16, 73 saw a rise in the number of breaches.

Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson, Helen Morgan MP said:

Patients are being left in the lurch, forced to wait in pain and distress for potentially life altering operations. Each of these delays represents an extra month that someone’s misery is prolonged.

This is the devastating legacy of the Conservatives neglect of this NHS, but the Labour government is proving aimless in how to turn this around with ill-thought through reforms and kicking vital projects into the long-grass.

This embrace of dither and delay on building new hospitals or fixing the crisis in social care, so crucial to fixing the underlying problem in the health service, is failing patients. It is time Ministers realised this and showed real ambition in ending these unacceptable delays and getting patients the care they deserve.

Scot Lib Dems to lead debate calling for immediate teacher workforce plan

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie will lead a Scottish Parliament debate on Wednesday afternoon in which his party will call for an immediate teacher workforce plan to counter declines in key subjects like Maths and Physics and a lack of permanent contracts for teaching staff.

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Mark Valladares

20 May 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 20th May 2025 - 11:20 pm
  • Health Foundation mortality report: must be a “wake-up call” for Government to turnaround these “unacceptable statistics”
  • Winter Fuel Payment: u-turn taking so long it puts “turning an oil tanker around to shame”
  • Jamie Greene taking on additional role as transport spokesperson
  • Lib Dems: UK Govt must ensure households compensated if worse off after RTS shutdown
  • Rennie: Decline in college staff shows SNP neglect of further education
  • McArthur comments on young offender death inquiry
  • Greene responds to Liberty Steel news
  • Cole-Hamilton presses SNP over failure to deliver Erasmus replacement

Health Foundation mortality report: must be a “wake-up call” for Government to turnaround these “unacceptable statistics”

Responding to a report by The Health Foundation, which revealed that by 2023, female mortality rates in the UK were 14% higher when compared with the median of 21 other high-income countries, with male mortality rates 9% higher, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

Preventing avoidable deaths and protecting the public’s health should be at the top of any Government’s priorities and to see it neglected in this way, bringing immeasurable suffering to people and their loved ones, should be a wake-up call to us all.

The Conservatives’ catastrophic mismanagement of the NHS and their savage cuts to public health support have brought us to this point but the Labour government has shown nowhere near the ambition required to repair these unacceptable statistics.

It is not good enough for ministers to sit on their hands and watch the NHS and the opportunity to live a healthy life decay in this way. We need to see the Government step in as a matter of urgency, to reverse the cuts to the public health grant and bring an end to these devastating deaths.

Winter Fuel Payment: u-turn taking so long it puts “turning an oil tanker around to shame”

Responding to the Chancellor’s comments that she will listen to concerns over the Government’s decision to cut winter fuel payments, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

This U-turn is taking so long it puts turning an oil tanker around to shame.

The Government should feel embarrassed that it has taken a dire set of a local election results to realise what everyone has known from the start: this policy was doomed to fail and punished some of the most vulnerable.

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Mark Valladares

16-18 May 2025 – the (long) weekend’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Sun 18th May 2025 - 11:00 pm
  • Lib Dems urge Labour MPs to back closer trade with EU which could raise £25 billion a year and avoid welfare cuts
  • Record low number of frontline NHS staff receive flu jabs this winter as some areas see less than one in 10 vaccinated
  • Youth Mobility Scheme news a ‘glimmer of hope’
  • Scottish Water urged to get a grip as bills and bonuses rise

Lib Dems urge Labour MPs to back closer trade with EU which could raise £25 billion a year and avoid welfare cuts

The Liberal Democrats have sent a letter to Labour MPs urging them to back closer trade ties with the EU to boost the public finances and avoid “savage” cuts to support for vulnerable families and pensioners.

It comes as House of Commons Library analysis, commissioned by the party, has estimated that if GDP was 2.2% higher, that could mean roughly £25 billion in extra tax revenues a year. The 2.2% figure is from independent analysis by Frontier Economics commissioned by Best for Britain and is for GDP in the long-run based on a new trade deal with the EU that secured deep alignment on goods and services.

This would easily be enough for the Government to U-turn on its cuts to winter fuel payments (£1.5 billion) and disability benefits (£5 billion), along with future cuts to public spending expected to be announced by the Chancellor in the Spending Review next month.

In the letter sent to Labour MPs, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Calum Miller will say his party would be willing to work constructively on securing a new trade deal with Europe, providing the boost to public finances needed to reverse cuts to disability benefits and the winter fuel payment. The Liberal Democrats’ 72-strong group of MPs is the largest third party in 100 years. Over 100 Labour MPs have reportedly signed a letter calling on the Government to back down from the welfare cuts.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a new trade deal with the EU including a new UK-EU customs union, which would significantly reduce red tape for British businesses exporting to the continent. Previous independent analysis has found that close alignment with the EU on goods and services could boost GDP by 2.2%. The House of Commons Library has estimated that if GDP was 2.2% higher, this could boost annual tax revenues by roughly £25 billion.

Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Calum Miller MP said:

A far more ambitious trade deal with Europe, including a new UK-EU customs union, would be the single biggest thing ministers could do to boost growth and fix the public finances.

The Liberal Democrats stand ready to work constructively with Labour MPs to boost trade with Europe and avoid savage cuts for vulnerable families and pensioners.

The local elections showed the Government is facing a massive backlash for failing to deliver the change the country was promised. Ministers now face a stark choice: be bold enough to change course or continue with policies that are harming people and our economy.

Record low number of frontline NHS staff receive flu jabs this winter as some areas see less than one in 10 vaccinated

A record low of 37% of frontline health service staff took up flu jabs this winter, with some areas seeing less than one in 10 receive the vaccine. This came as hospitals battled a surge in those admitted due to the disease, House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

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Mark Valladares

15 May 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 15th May 2025 - 10:55 pm
  • Lib Dems say shocking hospital wait stats should “shake us to our core”
  • GDP: Govt must now use UK-EU summit to boost growth
  • Sneaky Kemi needs to “take head out of the sand” on EU
  • Lib Dems move to quash sell-out law allowing foreign stakes in UK newspapers
  • Cole-Hamilton to First Minister: SNP have failed social care and NHS

Lib Dems say shocking hospital wait stats should “shake us to our core”

Responding to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimating that there were more than 16,600 deaths of patients linked to long waits in A&E for hospital beds last year, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

These figures should shake us to our core. People are dying needlessly in corridors and glorified cupboards as staff are stretched to breaking point, working in conditions that resembling the stuff on nightmares.

This is where we must draw a line in the sand. The Conservatives led us to this point – an NHS on its knees and countless preventable deaths – but it is up to this Government to make sure that this never happens again.

The Health Secretary must step up, free up much-needed hospital beds by overhauling social care as he has pledged to do and back our campaign to end corridor care by the end of this Parliament. That is what the public deserves.

GDP: Govt must now use UK-EU summit to boost growth

Responding to GDP growth of 0.2% for March and 0.7% over Q1 of 2025, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

This is positive news for the economy but this is no time for complacency.

These figures are from before the Chancellor’s jobs tax came into force and Trump’s trade war began.

The government needs to use the UK-EU summit on Monday to boost businesses and cut red tape, including by immediately starting talks on a bespoke customs union.

Sneaky Kemi needs to “take head out of the sand” on EU

Following Kemi Badenoch’s speech to the International Democracy Union, James MacCleary MP, Liberal Democrat Europe Spokesperson, said:

Kemi sneaking off to Brussels to talk down Britain: I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. It’s a well-rehearsed act.

She’s wrong on Europe: standing stronger together with our EU allies makes us stronger at home, not weaker.

It’s time for Badenoch to take her head out of the sand and wake up to the huge potential for growth that a proper deal with the EU could unlock.

Lib Dems move to quash sell-out law allowing foreign stakes in UK newspapers

Following the revelation that the Labour Government will legislate to allow foreign states to own up to 15% of British newspapers, the Liberal Democrats will move to dismantle the new rules via a Fatal Motion – a rare parliamentary device that would permanently halt the law’s progression.

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Mark Valladares

10-11 May 2025 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 12th May 2025 - 11:50 pm
  • Davey creates ‘Reform Watch’ team to keep Trumpian councils honest
  • Lib Dems call on Government to ‘step up’ and pay care workers properly
  • Cole-Hamilton comments on Edinburgh cyberattack

Davey creates ‘Reform Watch’ team to keep Trumpian councils honest

Ed Davey has established a new national “Reform Watch’ scrutiny board, bringing together local Liberal Democrat leaders in areas where Reform has taken control to take a coordinated approach to opposition and holding them to account.

The Liberal Democrats came second to Reform at last week’s local elections, winning more councillors than both Labour and the Conservatives for the first time ever.

The Board will be chaired …

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The Voice

WATCH: Helen Morgan’s speech to #ldconf

By The Voice | Fri 28th March 2025 - 9:47 am

Our Health and social care spokesperson Helen Morgan made a keynote speech to Conference this weekend.

Watch here.

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Mark Valladares

18 March 2025 – the overnight press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 18th March 2025 - 7:30 am
  • Lib Dems force crunch vote on free school meals as 200,000 children miss out
  • Pharmacies: Government has left a “question mark” over support and now consequences “painfully apparent”
  • 51,100 violent incidents directed at NHS staff since 2019
  • New Social Attitudes Survey shows overwhelming support for assisted dying

Lib Dems force crunch vote on free school meals as 200,000 children miss out

New Liberal Democrat analysis estimates that over 230,000 children eligible for free school meals are not receiving the food they’re entitled to, though the true figure could be much higher – as the party prepares to push a key vote in Parliament to bring free school meals to over a million children.

New analysis by the Liberal Democrats has suggested that at least 230,000 children eligible for school meals may not be enrolled to receive the benefit. Combined with the Child Poverty Action Group’s estimate that 900,000 children in poverty are not eligible for free school meals, this figure would bring the number of total vulnerable children in England not receiving free lunches to over 1 million.

On Tuesday, Liberal Democrats will force MPs to vote on auto-enrolling eligible children for free school meals. They will also table a vote on raising the income threshold for free school meal eligibility to £20,000.

The number of eligible children not claiming meals could be far higher than the 230,000 estimated figure. Shockingly, the last Government analysis of the issue took place in 2013. That study suggested 89% of those entitled to free lunches were claiming them, leaving 1 in 10 eligible children missing out. If those numbers hold true today, that would mean over 230,000 young people are going without the meals to which they’re entitled – with the Lib Dems slamming the Government for “flying blind” on this crucial issue.

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Mark Valladares

15-16 March 2025 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Sun 16th March 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • Davey on PM’s virtual summit: only way to achieve peace is to strengthen Ukraine’s hand by seizing frozen Russian assets
  • NHS England: Same urgency must now be shown for social care
  • SNP RAAC response non-existent compared to England
  • Rennie responds to Gilruth Dundee University comments

Davey on PM’s virtual summit: only way to achieve peace is to strengthen Ukraine’s hand by seizing frozen Russian assets

Responding to the Prime Minister’s virtual meeting with world leaders to discuss Ukraine, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

Putin could end this war today if he wanted peace, but it’s clear he’s only interested in destroying Ukraine’s sovereignty and turning it into a vassal state of Russia.

The only way to achieve a just and lasting peace is to strengthen Ukraine. We must redouble our efforts to support their defence in the face of Putin’s barbarism. If Ukraine loses, all of Europe will be less secure.

The PM must now commit to seizing the frozen Russian assets in the UK, and forge an agreement to do the same across Europe, to help strengthen Ukraine’s hand and ensure we can achieve real peace.

NHS England: Same urgency must now be shown for social care

Responding to the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, speaking this morning on scrapping NHS England, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care Spokesperson, Helen Morgan said:

The Health Secretary is right that the NHS is broken and in need of major reform after years of Conservative failure. The focus must now be on ensuring that scrapping NHS England, and any further cuts, do not have negative impacts on the quality of care for patients.

The Government must also take the same sense of urgency shown here to social care, and complete their review by the end of the year rather than continuing to kick the can down the road.

SNP RAAC response non-existent compared to England

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has criticised the SNP for doing nothing to support health boards in dealing with RAAC, after research by his party found that the dangerous building material has been removed in scores of NHS buildings across England.

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Mark Valladares

13 March 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 13th March 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • Davey on PM speech: “we’ll never fix the NHS unless we fix social care”
  • NHS England: welcome steps but won’t matter unless Streeting “stops ignoring the elephant in the room”
  • Findlay should say if he agrees with Badenoch on maternity pay

Davey on PM speech: “we’ll never fix the NHS unless we fix social care”

Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech this morning, Ed Davey, who is also in Hull and East Yorkshire today, said:

There’s no doubt we need big changes like this to fix the NHS after the Conservatives left it on its knees. Now we need to see the Government take the action patients desperately need: making sure everyone can see a GP when they need one, cutting waiting lists, and fixing our crumbling hospitals.

We’ll never fix the NHS unless we fix social care – and I’m afraid the Government still isn’t treating that seriously or urgently enough. Liberal Democrats will keep pushing for the cross-party talks to finish this year, so the Government can get on with it.

The Prime Minister badly needs to read the room. People don’t want more speeches about civil service reform and government machinery, they want bold action that will turn things around for them now.

NHS England: welcome steps but won’t matter unless Streeting “stops ignoring the elephant in the room”

Responding to Wes Streeting’s statement in the Commons on scrapping NHS England, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

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Mark Valladares

30 January 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 30th January 2025 - 11:00 pm
  • Water bills: bill payers fronting up the costs for these firms failings is “scandalous”
  • Ed Davey on Brexit 5 years on: Trump Presidency shows UK must lead in Europe to boost security and unlock growth
  • NHS 2025 mandate: lack of ambition “falls so far short of the mark”
  • Nearly 6,000 crimes still going unsolved every day
  • £56m lost to online shopping fraud up 20% compared to last year
  • Welsh Water price rise – customers paying the price for Government incompetence
  • Cole-Hamilton highlights SNP failure on fuel poverty

Water bills: bill payers fronting up the costs for these firms failings is “scandalous”

Responding to water bills rising by £123 a year on average, Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

It is absolutely scandalous that customers will now have to pay through the nose for the shocking failings of water companies. The whole thing stinks.

The government has gone nowhere near far enough in clamping down on these greedy firms and protecting people’s pockets from them.

Their Water Bill has a gaping hole in it after failing to back a Liberal Democrat amendment which would have ensured that creditors, not bill payers would front up the cost of bailing out these broken companies.

Ministers have to realise this endless cycle of failure and customers paying for it will continue until Ofwat is ripped up and replaced by a new regulator that will clamp down on these firms once and for all.

Ed Davey on Brexit 5 years on: Trump Presidency shows UK must lead in Europe to boost security and unlock growth

Commenting on the fifth anniversary of the UK leaving the EU, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The UK needs to lead in Europe and the world. It’s clear we cannot rely on Donald Trump – a man who has threatened to invade a NATO ally – to secure our continent. Strengthening ties of diplomacy and security with the EU is urgent.

We must repair the trading relationship with our neighbours that was so badly ruined under the Conservatives. Their deal has been an utter disaster for our country – for farmers, fishers and small businesses – caught up in red tape.

So far the Labour Government has failed to show the urgency and ambition needed to fix our relationship with Europe. Ministers must be in a parallel universe if they think we can grow the economy without boosting trade with our nearest neighbours.

A new UK-EU customs union deal will unlock growth, demonstrate British leadership and give us the best possible hand to play against President Trump.

NHS 2025 mandate: lack of ambition “falls so far short of the mark”

Responding to the Government’s 2025 mandate to NHS England, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

This should have been a line in the sand for our NHS. The normalisation of patients dying in corridors and people waiting endlessly for desperately needed care must end.

The previous Conservative Government’s shameful neglect brought us to this point but it is so disappointing to see this latest mandate from the Labour Government fall so far short of the mark.

There is no mention of the crisis in maternity or giving patients a legal right to see their GP within a week, as the Liberal Democrats have been calling for for years now.

It appears the Government has accepted a managed decline of our NHS, not rebuilding it to be the envy of the world as it once was. It is only patients who will bear the brunt of the Government’s refusal to step up properly.

Nearly 6,000 crimes still going unsolved every day

The Liberal Democrats are renewing calls for the government to implement proper community policing as new statistics reveal the extent of unsolved crime in the year ending September 2024.

The figures were revealed by the Home Office’s own statistics on crime outcomes, released earlier this morning.

2,136,252 crimes went unsolved across England and Wales in the year ending September 2024 – equivalent to 5,852 crimes going unsolved every day. This accounted for nearly 40% of all crimes recorded that year.

Meanwhile, just 363,843 crimes resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed – accounting for less than 7% of all cases.

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Mark Valladares

25-26 January 2025 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Sun 26th January 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • NHS: “bonfire” of targets shows shocking lack of ambition for patients
  • Over 500 infrastructure incidents at delayed hospitals last year which now are “hanging by a thread”
  • Councils paying £24,000 more a year per pensioner in nursing costs as Lib Dems call on govt to reverse “foolish” NICs hike
  • Reeves on Kuenssberg: Chancellor’s approach to growth “does not survive contact with reality”
  • Badenoch on Kuenssberg: “Bungling Badenoch” still has no idea how angry people are at the damage the Conservatives did
  • Scottish Conservative leader urged to explain whether he believes triple lock should be means tested
  • Almost 1 in 5 senior mental health roles missing a permanent appointee

NHS: “bonfire” of targets shows shocking lack of ambition for patients

Responding to a report in the Times that the government is set to scrap half of NHS targets, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

Patients have put up with a health service that has been run into the ground and caused unnecessary suffering for millions.

The new government cannot claim to have broken with years of Conservative neglect simply by moving the goalposts in this way.

That is not delivering for patients, instead it is a sly attempt to give themselves an undeserved pat on the back.

From delays to reforms of social care, new hospitals being kicked into the longgrass and now this reported bonfire of NHS targets, this new government is showing a staggering lack of ambition for patients.

Over 500 infrastructure incidents at delayed hospitals last year which now are “hanging by a thread”

  • At hospitals in the New Hospital Programme which have seen their construction dates pushed back there were 506 infrastructure incidents – causing 32 days of clinical time to be lost
  • These sites also saw close to 100 floods last year – a quarter of all floods on the NHS England estate despite accounting for less than 1% of the buildings
  • Delayed hospitals have already had to shut all toilets on the estate following sewage leaks and burst water pipes mean patients warned off going to A&E
  • The Liberal Democrats said that the figures revealed that the delayed hospitals are “hanging on by a thread” and called on the Health Secretary to publish a full impact assessment into the risks to patient safety

There were more than 500 infrastructure and estate incidents last year at hospitals where construction as part of the New Hospital Programme will be delayed, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

They resulted in significant impact for patients with 759 hours of clinical time lost as a result of these incidents, the equivalent of 32 days.

241 of these infrastructure and estate incidents were judged to be caused by or related to critical infrastructure risk at these sites, equating to almost half. These issues can include crumbling roofs at risk of collapse, water leaks, broken-down lifts or ventilation and heating systems not working properly.

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Mark Valladares

24 January 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 24th January 2025 - 11:20 pm
  • US trade tariffs: Trump doesn’t listen to “please”
  • A&E deaths: “Sickening” new analysis reveals deadly consequences of broken NHS as Lib Dems call for inquiry
  • Wendy Chamberlain MP’s Bill bids to remove charity lottery fundraising cap

US trade tariffs: Trump doesn’t listen to “please”

Responding to the the Business Secretary’s comments about Trump trade tariffs this morning, Daisy Cooper MP, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson, said:

Government ministers going cap in hand to Trump, pleading with him not to tax our goods, simply won’t work.

Trump doesn’t listen to “please”. He’s an unpredictable trading partner who’s shown he’ll slap massive tariffs on the UK at the drop of a hat.

Instead, we’ve got to negotiate with him from a position of strength – from within a new and bespoke customs partnership with the EU, that will unleash the potential of many British businesses to drive up trade with our biggest and closest trading partner.

A&E deaths: “Sickening” new analysis reveals deadly consequences of broken NHS as Lib Dems call for inquiry

Responding to new analysis of ONS data which suggests that more than 50,000 people died last year after long A&E waits, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

This new analysis is sickening. It lays bare the deadly consequences of a health service that has been run into the ground with patients and their loved ones often paying the ultimate price.

The Conservative Party should never be forgiven for what it did to our NHS and the tragedy their neglect has left it in its wake, but it is simply not good enough for this new government to sit on its hands any longer.

We need to see immediate action to get to the bottom of these deadly delays.

The government must urgently launch a CQC inquiry into the chaos in our A&Es and ensure patients never have to suffer through something like this ever again.

Wendy Chamberlain MP’s Bill bids to remove charity lottery fundraising cap

Wendy Chamberlain, MP for North East Fife, will have the second reading of her Bill to remove the outdated caps on charity lottery fundraising on Friday .

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Mark Valladares

23 January 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 23rd January 2025 - 10:45 pm
  • Government ruling out customs scheme with EU is an “act of economic negligence”
  • NHS stats: government must convene COBRA amid surge in norovirus cases
  • Lib Dems reveal private company overseeing hundreds of sewage dumps
  • Scot Lib Dems push for prison suicide and fatal accident inquiry reform
  • Cole-Hamilton comments on scrapping of doomed social care centralisation

Government ruling out customs scheme with EU is an “act of economic negligence”

Responding to the Government appearing to rule out the EU’s proposal of the UK joining a European customs area this morning, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

It is alarming that the Government is happy to negotiate with China but won’t even look at a better trading arrangement with our closest neighbours in Europe. This is an act of economic negligence.

If the Government thinks it will get growth back in the economy by borrowing Boris Johnson’s playbook on European negotiations it is going to end up being sorely disappointed.

It is time for a proper UK-EU customs arrangement so we can strengthen our negotiations with Donald Trump, cut the red tape on our businesses and grow the economy.

NHS stats: government must convene COBRA amid surge in norovirus cases

Responding to the latest NHS stats showing norovirus levels in hospitals to be 80% higher than last year with bed occupancy standing at 96%, well above the 85% that is considered safe, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

The situation for patients and our NHS could not be more stark. People are dying on trolleys in corridors and staff are at breaking point. It cannot be overstated just how grim things are in A&Es across the country.

This is one of the most brutal winters on record following years of shameful Conservative neglect and the current government is now at risk of losing control of this crisis. Any more delay in action has the potential to be deadly for patients.

COBRA must be convened immediately with an emergency plan brought forward to protect patients from this ongoing disaster.

It is time for the government to step up and grip this crisis in a way that they have so far failed to do.

Lib Dems reveal private company overseeing hundreds of sewage dumps

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today revealed that more than 500 sewage overspills took place at sites managed by private firms in just twelve months, including more than 100 at the Edinburgh Waste Water treatment work at Seafield, run by Veolia.

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Mark Valladares

20 January 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 20th January 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • 40 new hospitals: Shoddy attempt to bury bad news on day of Trump’s inauguration
  • Farm incomes in Wales fall by 34% – Liberal Democrats call for Government reset
  • Trump inauguration shows importance of close ties with Europe

40 new hospitals: Shoddy attempt to bury bad news on day of Trump’s inauguration

Responding to the Health Secretary’s announcement that there will be significant delays to the completion of the New Hospital Programme, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

This is a double betrayal. The Conservatives shamelessly made promises they never intended to keep to countless communities served by crumbling hospitals.

Now this government uses the day of Trump’s inauguration in a shoddy attempt to bury bad news, showing an outrageous disregard for patients.

Instead of ducking scrutiny, the Health Secretary needs to publish the full impact assessment of these delays.

Patients have a right to know just how at risk they are, and how many more delays they will have to suffer as a result of the government’s decision.

Farm incomes in Wales fall by 34% – Liberal Democrats call for Government reset

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on Labour to reset their relationship with farming and the countryside following the release of statistics showing farming incomes in Wales have fallen by 34% for the period April 2023 to March 2024.

David Chadwick MP, the Liberal Democrats Wales spokesperson in Westminster has said that recent policy failures by both the Welsh Labour Government in Cardiff Bay and the UK Government are damaging agriculture and the wider rural economy in Wales and risk making the situation even worse.

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Mark Valladares

17 January 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 17th January 2025 - 11:10 pm
  • Triple lock: Lib Dems launching new attack ad following Badenoch’s plans to cut the state pension
  • Badenoch’s triple lock comments: Lib Dems launch new poster van attack ad outside CCHQ
  • ONS health data: “sickening” research damning for government’s lack of action
  • McArthur responds to Polmont FAI determination
  • Lib Dems call on new Welsh Conservative Leader to disown Badenoch’s plans to cut state pension

Triple lock: Lib Dems launching new attack ad following Badenoch’s plans to cut the state pension

The Liberal Democrats will be launching a new attack ad following Kemi Badenoch’s comments yesterday that she will consider means testing the triple lock.

The ad will highlight Kemi Badenoch’s three major announcements so far, cutting maternity pay which she described as ‘excessive’, slashing the state pension and putting UK interests at risk by sucking up to Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

A Liberal Democrat source said:

First Kemi Badenoch came for the mothers and now she has set her sights on the grandmothers.

Millions of pensioners felt betrayed by Labour’s cut to the Winter Fuel Payment, now it’s clear their pensions wouldn’t be safe with the Conservatives.

We will be reminding pensioners at every opportunity that Kemi Badenoch wants to take an axe to the triple lock.

Badenoch’s triple lock comments: Lib Dems launch new poster van attack ad outside CCHQ

The Liberal Democrats have today launched a new attack ad with a poster van outside CCHQ after Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch said that she would look at means testing the triple lock.

The Liberal Democrats have said Badenoch’s comments will “send a shiver down the spine of pensioners” and that the Conservatives “want to come after their state pension”.

The poster pictures Kemi Badenoch and an elderly woman with the warning: “don’t let the Conservatives wreck your pension”.

Liberal Democrat Care and Carers spokesperson Alison Bennett MP, who launched the poster van outside CCHQ today, said:

Kemi Badenoch’s comments will have sent a shiver down the spine of millions of pensioners across the country.

Older people have already seen Winter Fuel Payments ripped away by the Labour government and now the Conservatives want to come after their state pension.

The Liberal Democrats are proud we introduced the triple lock to protect people’s pensions. We will fight to protect pensioners from Conservative attempts to scrap it every step of the way.

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Mark Valladares

16 January 2025 – the overnight press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 16th January 2025 - 7:27 am
  • RCN survey: “Harrowing” corridor care testimony reveals a government leaving staff with “hands tied behind their backs”
  • Cole-Hamilton comments on embargoed RCN report on overcrowding

RCN survey: “Harrowing” corridor care testimony reveals a government leaving staff with “hands tied behind their backs”

Responding to a Royal College of Nursing survey which shows that two-thirds of NHS nursing staff are saying they are delivering care in over-crowded or unsuitable places such as corridors, converted cupboards and even car parks on a daily basis, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

This report is harrowing. To think that patients are receiving desperately

…

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Mark Valladares

13 January 2025 – the overnight press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 13th January 2025 - 9:00 am
  • Record 518,000 trolley waits of 12 hours or more last year – up 400-fold in less than a decade
  • Rennie comments ahead of Glen Sannox first crossing

Record 518,000 trolley waits of 12 hours or more last year – up 400-fold in less than a decade

Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP has urged Wes Streeting to produce an emergency plan to tackle “shocking and dangerous” A&E wait times as the government “looks to be asleep at the wheel”.

Last year there were a record 518,000 waits of 12 hours or longer in A&E from a decision to admit, research by the Liberal Democrat has revealed. Staggeringly, that is nearly 400-times more 12 hour waits than 2015’s figure of 1,306.

The figures also revealed a sharp rise of more than 100,000 12 hour trolley waits on 2023’s figure of 415,000, a jump of 25%. Prior to the pandemic in 2019 there were just 8,272 trolley waits of 12 hours or longer. Last year that figure rose 63-fold to 518,000.

In December alone, 54,000 patients waited 12 hours or longer in A&E from a decision to admit, up 23-fold on the December 2019’s figure of just 2,356.

Long waits at A&E are extremely dangerous and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimates that in 2023 14,000 deaths were associated with long waits in A&E.

Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care Spokesperson Helen Morgan MP called the figures “shocking” and said the new government “looks to be asleep at the wheel”. The Party is calling on the Health Secretary to come forward with an emergency plan to tackle this crisis to protect patients from this ongoing crisis.

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Mark Valladares

9 January 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 9th January 2025 - 11:20 pm
  • Food prices set to rise: news will be hammer blow for millions already choosing between heating and eating
  • NHS stats: winter “one of the most brutal on record” as Lib Dems call on Streeting to bring forward emergency plan to protect patients
  • ‘Bed blocking’ has already cost NHS £165 million this winter as Davey calls on govt to finish social care review this year
  • Market turmoil: Chancellor should cancel China trip for emergency growth statement
  • Oxford Farming Conference: Reed’s “regret” not good enough – Starmer must reverse family farm tax
  • More than 440,000 police officer and staff days lost to mental health since 2019

Food prices set to rise: news will be hammer blow for millions already choosing between heating and eating

Responding to the British Retail Consortium saying that food prices will rise by 4.2% in the latter half of this year as “retailers battle the £7 billion of increased costs in 2025 from the Budget”, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

This news will come as a hammer blow to families across the country. Millions of people are already having to choose between heating and eating and the prospect of even more pressure on stretched budgets will be incredibly worrying.

The new government is faced with the enormous challenge of cleaning up the Conservative Party’s economic vandalism, but their approach so far risks repeating more mistakes.

It’s now clear as day that the Chancellor’s misguided national insurance hike is only going to hammer household budgets further by forcing up prices. Ministers must recognise their error and scrap this tax hike immediately.

NHS stats: winter “one of the most brutal on record” as Lib Dems call on Streeting to bring forward emergency plan to protect patients

Responding to NHS England saying that this is the busiest year on record for emergency services, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

This winter threatens to be one of the most brutal on record. Patients are suffering through deadly delays and staff are already at breaking point.

There can be no overstating just dangerous this situation is after years of the previous Conservative government’s shameful neglect of our NHS.

It is of paramount importance that the new government grips this crisis urgently. That must start with the Health Secretary producing an emergency plan in the coming days to protect patients from this ongoing disaster.

‘Bed blocking’ has already cost NHS £165 million this winter as Davey calls on govt to finish social care review this year

  • This winter has already seen 417,220 bed days taken up by patients that were well enough to be discharged – costing the NHS £165 million or £4.8 million a day
  • 12,271 of England’s 103,277 hospital beds have been taken up by people who are fit to be discharged everyday this winter – the equivalent of just under one in eight
  • Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey has called on the government to complete its social care review by the end of the year to take pressure off hospitals

This winter has already seen 417,220 bed days taken up by patients that were fit enough to be discharged, the equivalent of 1 in 8, costing the NHS £165 million in just over a month research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

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Mark Valladares

4-5 January 2025 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 6th January 2025 - 9:45 am
  • Starmer NHS speech: Government risks “putting hip replacements over heart attacks” as 12-hour A&E waits soar
  • Just 38 upskirting cases a year being passed to Crown Office
  • 4 in 10 Scots go without recent dentist check-up

Starmer NHS speech: Government risks “putting hip replacements over heart attacks” as 12-hour A&E waits soar

  • Lib Dems warn that Government risks “putting hip replacements over heart attacks” by neglecting the crisis in emergency care and ‘bed blocking’ caused by the social care crisis.
  • Figures reveal almost 200,000 12-hour “trolley waits” in A&E since Labour took office last July.
  • Average of 1,330 patients a day are facing waits of 12 hours or more before being admitted to hospital from A&E.
  • Lib Dems have urged the Government to complete social care review by end of year rather than 2028.

The Liberal Democrats have warned that the Government’s plan for NHS waiting lists due to be announced today risks “putting hip replacements over heart attacks” unless it also tackles the crises in both emergency care and social care that are backing up A&E.

It comes as analysis by the party of NHS estimates has revealed there have been almost 200,000 12-hour “trolley waits” in A&E since the start of July, when the Labour government took office. That means that an average of 1,330 people a day had to wait more than 12 hours to be admitted to hospital from A&E between July and November.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has predicted that there will be at least 14,000 unnecessary deaths due to delays in A&E this winter.

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