Tag Archives: india trade deal

Mark Valladares

24 July 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 24th July 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • Unsolved crime epidemic continues as shoplifting cases soar by 20%
  • UK/India Trade Deal: Only a fraction of what we could get from the EU
  • Ed Davey calls for UK airdrops to get aid to Gazans
  • Welsh Lib Dems comment as waiting lists rise again

Unsolved crime epidemic continues as shoplifting cases soar by 20%

Following the release of new crime statistics, the Liberal Democrats have accused the Labour Government of not doing enough to tackle the “unsolved crime epidemic” left behind by the previous Conservative government.

The statistics revealed that in the year ending March 2025, shoplifting offences soared by 20% to the highest figure on record since current police recording practices began in 2003. 530,643 shoplifting offences were recorded across England and Wales, compared to 444,022 in the previous year.

56% of these cases went unsolved, while just 20% resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed.

The statistics also uncover the shocking extent of unsolved crime in England and Wales. 2,071,156 crimes went unsolved in the year ending March 2025. This is equivalent to 5,674 crimes going unsolved every single day.

Meanwhile, just 387,891 crimes resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed – accounting for less than 7.3% of cases.

In the wake of these new statistics, the party has renewed their call on the Government to scrap Police and Crime Commissioners and invest the savings in frontline policing, enabling a return to proper community policing with more bobbies on the beat.

The party would replace PCCs with local Police Boards made up of councillors and representatives from relevant local groups, which would be properly accountable to the communities they serve, at a fraction of the cost of PCCs.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Lisa Smart MP said:

Every day, thousands of innocent victims are being left without the justice they deserve after falling victim to heartless criminals. It is an absolute scandal.

The previous Conservative government left behind a legacy of failure, but the Labour government has not been quick enough to address the unsolved crime epidemic – particularly as shoplifting spirals out of control.

This neglect of victims cannot be allowed to continue. Our high streets and communities deserve better than this. If the Government wants to deliver safer streets, cracking down on the unsolved shoplifting epidemic must take priority.

Scrapping wasteful Police and Crime Commissioners is the first step towards returning to real community policing and getting more bobbies on the beat.

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Posted in News, Press releases and Wales | Also tagged , , , , , , , and | 1 Comment
Mo Waqas

National Insurance exemption in UK-India deal is a gift to populism

By Mo Waqas | Wed 7th May 2025 - 9:30 am

The recently finalised UK-India Free Trade Agreement is being sold as a triumph —promising billions in new trade and a “win-win” for both economies. But beneath the headlines lies a provision that risks inflaming division, undermining fairness, and feeding the very populism we as Liberal Democrats stand against.

Under this agreement, Indian workers on temporary assignment in the UK will be exempt from paying National Insurance contributions for up to three years. Crucially, their employers will also be exempt. In practical terms, this means a British worker earning £15 an hour, and their employer, will both be paying into our social safety net—the NHS, pensions, sick pay—while an Indian worker earning the same wage and their employer will not. That is not just a loophole; it’s a loaded gun in the hands of populists.

Unfairness that will not go unnoticed

Let’s be frank: this arrangement is grossly unfair. It creates a two-tier workforce, and British workers will feel it acutely. We already ask our citizens to contribute through National Insurance so we can collectively fund services like the NHS and social care. If they see others working here, earning the same wage, using the same roads, hospitals, and infrastructure—yet contributing nothing to the pot—they will rightly question why.

And it won’t take long for populist voices to weaponise this. “Foreign workers don’t pay into the system.” “British jobs undercut.” This isn’t dog-whistle politics—it’s a klaxon, and the government is ringing it. The Liberal Democrats have long championed internationalism, but we cannot let that blind us to how policies land on the ground in working-class communities.

This isn’t about being anti-India. It’s about ensuring that when you live and work her, whether for three months or three year, you contribute like everyone else. Anything less breaks the basic contract of fairness that holds our society together.

A direct undercut to British workers

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 17 Comments
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