Tag Archives: richard foord

The Voice

Doctor Who actor endorses Lib Dem candidates and compliments Ed Davey

By The Voice | Sun 23rd June 2024 - 9:17 am

There were some bleary eyes in many campaign headquarters yesterday after many of our campaigners had stayed up beyond midnight to see the finale of this year’s all too short series of Doctor Who. There are a lot of Doctor Who fans in this party.

They will be interested to know that actor, writer and director Nicholas Pegg, who has spent much of the past 20 years as a dalek operator on the series, has endorsed two Lib Dem candidates in Devon, where he lives. He also had some very positive things to say on Twitter about Ed Davey’s performance on Question Time this week.

He said:

I continue to be impressed by Ed Davey. He’s not a sensation-seeking populist quote machine. He’s not rising to the bait thrown by a patently partisan presenter, and he’s dealing superbly with her pugnacious interruptions. He’s a grown-up. He’s a proper politician.

His own vote in this election is going to Lib Dem Paul Arnott in order to beat the Conservative in Exmouth and Exeter East:

In the new constituency of Exmouth & Exeter East, I shall be voting for the Lib Dem candidate @paularnottLd, a well-known and well-liked Devon councillor with years of local experience. The Electoral Calculus website predicts a close run, but only Paul Arnott can beat the Tory.

He is also supporting our by-election winner Richard Foord to win in the new constituency of Honiton and Sidmouth:

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Mark Valladares

12 June 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 12th June 2024 - 11:20 pm
  • GDP: Conservatives have utterly failed to deliver the growth promised
  • Ed Davey calls for young carers to receive education support as latest TV broadcast released
  • Thames Triathletes sickness: Environment Agency investigation needed
  • Craig Williams bet on election date: Sunak must suspend him
  • Conservatives: Record of failure on defence
  • Sky Leaders’ Debate: Sunak “out of touch” on NHS waiting lists

GDP: Conservatives have utterly failed to deliver the growth promised

Commenting on the latest GDP estimates, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney said:

As Rishi Sunak’s time as Prime Minister peters out, so does the UK’s economic growth.

The Conservatives have utterly failed to deliver the growth they repeatedly promised, instead presiding over stagnation and economic misery for hardworking families across the country.

The Conservatives’ manifesto shows they simply lack the ambition and vision to get the economy moving again. It’s clear for voters across the country that the only way to make it happen is to vote them out of office on 4 July.

Ed Davey calls for young carers to receive education support as latest TV broadcast released

  • Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey speaks to carers in latest TV broadcast airing later tonight
  • Liberal Democrats propose Young Carers Pupil Premium, ensuring carers keep up with their learning
  • Ed Davey, who cared for his mother as a child, says the plans will help young carers fulfil their potential
  • Up to three in 10 (27%) of young carers are missing school

The Liberal Democrats will announce plans for young carers in England to receive extra funding for their education as part of a major expansion of the pupil premium. The policy would support over 50,000 children with caring responsibilities to catch up on their learning.

The latest policy announcement comes as Ed Davey’s new Party Election Broadcast airs tonight on BBC and ITV, with the party leader hearing from carers.

In the film, Ed Davey, who cared for his mother as a child and now cares for his disabled son, hears from a young carer who struggles to balance their learning with caring responsibilities.

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Mark Valladares

7 June 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 7th June 2024 - 11:30 pm
  • Davey: Sunak leaving D-Day early a “dereliction of duty”
  • Lib Dems pledge to create new National Parks
  • D-Day: Lib Dems call on Sunak to donate Hester £5 million to a veterans’ charity
  • Scottish Liberal Democrats commit to returning UK to Erasmus
  • Lib Dems call for new protections for rivers and coastlines as sewage dumped over 83,000 times in Welsh waters last year

Davey: Sunak leaving D-Day early a “dereliction of duty”

Responding to reports that Rishi Sunak left D-Day commemorations in Normandy early, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

One of the greatest privileges of the office of Prime Minister is to be there to honour those who served, yet Rishi Sunak abandoned them on the beaches of Normandy. He has brought shame to that office and let down our country.

I am thinking right now of all those veterans and their families he left behind and the hurt they must be feeling. It is a total dereliction of duty and shows why this Conservative government just has to go.

Lib Dems pledge to create new National Parks

  • The Liberal Democrat manifesto will include a pledge to create at least three new National Parks, with additional funding to boost the National Parks budget
  • Ed Davey said that the proposals would help “protect our beautiful countryside for the next generation” and make good on the “broken promises of the Conservative Party”
  • The party sets out plans where the Chilterns, Surrey Hills, and North Downs could be among the first new National Parks created in 14 years

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to create new National Parks across England, Ed Davey will announce today.

The policy would lead to an expansion of National Parks by adding at least three new parks to the existing ten in England, with new funding of £50m a year for new and existing National Parks.

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Mark Valladares

15 January 2024 – today’s press release

By Mark Valladares | Mon 15th January 2024 - 10:02 pm

Houthi strikes: Lib Dems to table Bill giving MPs a vote over UK military action

The Liberal Democrats are set to table a Bill which will give Parliament a vote over military action. The Lib Dem legislation – dubbed the ‘War Powers Bill’ – will enshrine the right for MPs to approve military action into law.

It comes following criticism levelled at Rishi Sunak, who has failed to grant MPs a vote on the UK’s strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

From the 2000s onwards, MPs were frequently given the opportunity to vote on military action and intervention. In emergency cases, …

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Mark Valladares

20 September 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 20th September 2023 - 10:45 pm
  • Latest inflation figures will be “of cold comfort”
  • Liberal Democrats call for increase to apprenticeship pay as dropout rates soar
  • Davey: Sunak is trashing the economy of the future
  • Over 1,000 sewage leaks in armed forces’ accommodation
  • Davey: This is not leadership from Rishi Sunak, this is putting the UK at the back of the queue

Latest inflation figures will be “of cold comfort”

The latest inflation figures show that inflation has fallen slightly to 6.7% from 6.8% in August. Responding to the news Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, Sarah Olney MP said:

This news will be of cold comfort for families across the country still struggling with sky high prices and mortgages because the Conservatives have crashed the economy.

Ministers still simply haven’t got a clue how to protect hardworking people’s wallets during the cost of living crisis.

Rishi Sunak should not pat himself on the back whilst this crisis carries on, the Government must do more.

Liberal Democrats call for increase to apprenticeship pay as dropout rates soar

Apprenticeships in shortage occupations have fallen by up to 73%, research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats reveal, while in some sectors three in four apprentices are dropping out before completing their course.

It comes as the party is set to adopt proposals to increase pay for apprenticeships to at least the minimum wage, as part of a new industrial strategy being unveiled at its Autumn Conference this weekend.

A collapse in new apprenticeships is contributing to the crippling skills shortages affecting British businesses, making it even harder for them to fill vacancies. House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats shows that sectors listed in the Government’s official “shortage occupation list” have seen particularly stark falls in apprenticeships.

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The Voice

Hat-trick of Lib Dems hammer Tories on broken health pledges

By The Voice | Thu 23rd February 2023 - 9:47 am

There was another hat-trick of Lib Dems at PMQs yesterday, and this time they tag-teamed to show the Conservatives up for failing to keep key health pledges in their manifesto.

Watch here, with the text exchange after the video.

First up, Ed Davey on the missing 40 hospitals.

It was a pleasure to meet the delegation from Kyiv before Question Time and to confirm that hon. Members across the House are united in our support for Ukraine and its brave heroes. The Conservative manifesto promised 40 new hospitals, but after three years most do not even have planning permission yet. Communities feel betrayed and taken for granted. As ITV showed yesterday, St Helier Hospital in south London is literally crumbling, but there is still no plan to save it, and Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire has sewage leaking into its wards and a roof that could collapse at any moment. Does the Prime Minister agree that no patients, doctors or nurses should have to put up with those conditions?

The Prime Minister
I am proud that we are investing record sums into the NHS under this Government, including record sums into NHS capital, which are going on not only upgrading almost 100 hospitals and developing 40 large-scale developments, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, but investing in more scanners and more ambulances across the board so that we can deliver vital care to people. I am very pleased that the most recent statistics on urgent emergency care show considerable improvement from the challenges we faced in December, and we are now on a clear path to getting people the treatment they need in the time they need it.

Next up was by-election winner Richard Foord, who quizzed the PM on what was going on in the south west:

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The Voice

Another hat-trick of Lib Dems question the Prime Minister

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

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

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

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

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

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Mark Valladares

1 February 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 1st February 2023 - 10:30 pm
  • Lib Dems plan to block taxpayer money for water companies unless they commit to end sewage discharges
  • Raab: PM should publish Cabinet Office advice and give evidence to the inquiry
  • Raab denial: Prime Minister is taking the public for fools

Lib Dems plan to block taxpayer money for water companies unless they commit to end sewage discharges

Liberal Democrat MP slams “a blank cheque written with taxpayers’ money to fund polluting, profiteering firms”.

Today, the Liberal Democrats are seeking to ensure the Government’s new Infrastructure Bank does not invest in water companies unless they produce a costed and time-limited plan to end sewage discharges into local rivers.

MPs will vote on a new Bill which would enshrine into law the UK Infrastructure Bank. Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord has tabled an amendment to ensure strict sewage discharge conditions are placed on water companies before they can receive funds from the proposed Infrastructure Bank.

The Liberal Democrat MP slammed taxpayers’ funds going to water companies as “scandalous”, amid water companies paying their executives millions of pounds in bonuses, while permitting voluminous sewage discharges.

Analysis of Companies House records by the Liberal Democrats found that the twenty-two water bosses paid themselves £24.8 million, including £14.7 million in bonuses, benefits and incentives in 2021/2022. This is despite destructive sewage discharges in rivers and on seafronts, harming both wildlife and swimmers.

Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton & Honiton Richard Foord said:

It would be a scandal if taxpayers’ money was given to the same firms that continue to poison our rivers and coastlines.

Without adding strict sewage conditions to the bill, it will be a blank cheque for taxpayers’ money to fund these polluting, profiteering firms.

These are the very same water companies that line their executives’ pockets with bonuses worth millions of pounds. Now they expect public money to bail out the companies and patch up the leaking pipes they’ve long neglected.

My own constituency has suffered from regular sewage gushing onto beaches and into our rivers. Until that stops, the Government shouldn’t be throwing taxpayers’ money at water companies.

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The Voice

++ Breaking news ++ Commons backs Lib Dem amendment on sewage dumping

By The Voice | Wed 1st February 2023 - 6:56 pm

In a rare Lib Dem success, Richard Foord’s amendment to the Infrastructure Bank Bill has been passed by MPs. It’s actually about sewage, as he explains.

A more detailed analysis to follow tomorrow.

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Mark Valladares

24 November 2022 – today’s press release

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Raab emails: Lib Dems write to Cabinet Secretary demanding investigation

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

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

The public deserve answers, not more cover-ups.

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

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

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Mark Valladares

Farron & Foord: Water executives get bonuses despite sewerage scandal

By Mark Valladares | Fri 19th August 2022 - 7:30 am

In a press release that is receiving widespread coverage in this morning’s media, Tim Farron and Richard Foord attacked the huge bonuses received by water bosses while sewerage pours into our rivers and seas.

  • Average water company executive pay and bonuses rose by a fifth compared to last year despite 2.7 million hours of sewage being pumped into rivers and swimming spots
  • Average water company executives paid themselves £100,000 more in bonuses alone. Their average annual bonus now stands at over £600,000
  • New Lib Dem figures revealed as hosepipe ban is announced for Thames Water who lose a quarter of all their water due due to leaking pipes going unfixed.

In the week that sewage flowed into Britain’s treasured seaside swimming spots, new analysis of water companies’ Annual Reports by the Liberal Democrats has found that executive pay packets have spiralled out of control.

Next week, millions of Thames Water customers will also suffer from a hosepipe ban despite the company leaking a quarter of all its water from leaking pipes. The firm failed to invest in fixing the leaks, but found over £3 million to pay their execs, an increase on last year’s executive payout.

Combined bonuses and salaries pay packets per water company executive rose by a fifth (21%) from 2020/2021 to 2021/2022. This is a year-on-year average rise per executive of nearly £200,000.

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The Voice

Richard Foord: Sunak and Truss have learned nothing from Tiverton and Honiton

By The Voice | Tue 2nd August 2022 - 11:45 am

It’s just over a month since Richard Foord achieved one of the best results in by-election history. Last night the Conservative leadership candidates continued their race to the bottom at a hustings in Exeter.

Richard reflected on their performance, saying that they had learned nothing from his win:

Tonight’s debate showed that Sunak and Truss have learned absolutely nothing from their Tiverton and Honiton by-election defeat.

This is a dismal contest between the former Chancellor who repeatedly hiked taxes and a Foreign Secretary who sold out West Country farmers with botched trade deals.

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Mark Valladares

29 June 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 29th June 2022 - 10:45 pm
  • Fraud industry booming on the Conservatives’ watch
  • Independence Isn’t the Answer to Westminster Overreach
  • Defence spending facing £1.7 billion cut by 2025

Fraud industry booming on the Conservatives’ watch

Responding to UK Finance’s Annual Fraud Report, showing total fraud losses up 8% to £1.3bn in 2021, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said:

On the Conservatives’ watch, the fraud industry is booming. Criminal gangs are lining their pockets at the expense of innocent, often vulnerable people.

People need far better protection from these vile fraudsters, but the Government is leaving them to fend for themselves. Boris Johnson and Priti Patel want to simply pretend

…

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Mary Reid

Victory Rally in Tiverton

By Mary Reid | Fri 24th June 2022 - 10:58 am

You can watch this live (or on catchup) from 11am today on BBC News or Sky News.

“It’s time to show Boris the door”

 

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Two weeks to go in Tiverton and Honiton – we can get there, if you get there (or on the phone)

By Andy Boddington | Thu 9th June 2022 - 11:46 am

Local people are crying out for help but Boris Johnson simply isn’t listening. He’s more focused on trying to cling to power that helping struggling families.

That’s the message from Richard Foord, our Lib Dem candidate for Tiverton and Honiton. He said the Conservatives had taken the area for granted for decades and the party’s current infighting would mean further neglect.

The Telegraph today says: “This month’s vote takes place amid fears Sir Ed Davey’s Liberal Democrats are parking their tanks on the lawn of Boris Johnson’s party as they seek a third by-election scalp in the space of a year.” We should take that scalp (to use the Telegraph’s primitive language) and we can do so with a push over the final two weeks of our campaign. There are volunteer activities in the constituency and regular Maraphone sessions for those that can’t get there.

Please note that significant rail disruption is expected from 21 June until after the by-election.

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The Voice

Lib Dems head to Tiverton and Honiton

By The Voice | Sat 28th May 2022 - 9:43 am

With just 26 days to go before polling day, Lib Dems are heading to Devon this weekend to support Richard Foord’s campaign to overturn a 24,000 Conservative majority. Activists have come from as far away as Fife, 600 miles away, to help.

The Young Liberals are turning up in force to help, just as they did in Chesham and Amersham and North Shropshire. They also produced an excellent guide to campaigning in by-elections which you can find here in the Members’ area of the ALDC website.

It’s looking busy and positive on the campaign trail and voters are well aware that we are the challengers to the Tories:

 

While Richard Foord has been impressing in the media, the Independent reports that the Conservatives are keeping their candidate well out of sight of journalists so she doesn’t have to face questions about Partygate:

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NewsHound

WATCH: Lib Dem campaign launch in Tiverton and Honiton

By NewsHound | Sat 21st May 2022 - 12:50 pm

Yesterday, Ed Davey went to Honiton to eat ice cream, wield some oranges and launch Richard Foord’s campaign to win the Tiverton and Honiton by-election. There were lots of activists there to help.

Local Devon Live reporter Lewis Clarke posted a long video including chats with Ed, Richard and Lib Dem activists on the doorsteps. It’s a lovely watch. And there is a cute dog. What more encouragement could you want to help Richard?

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The Voice

Tory source: Tiverton “likely to fall to the Liberal Democrats”

By The Voice | Sat 21st May 2022 - 10:55 am

The announcement of Richard Foord as our candidate for the Tiverton and Honiton by-election was a very clever piece of work by the press team at  LDHQ.

An article in the Telegraph not only had many of our key messages about the by-election, but quoted a Conservative source as saying that the seat was likely to fall to us:

The Liberal Democrat campaign in the constituency is expected to focus on policy areas on which the Conservatives are weak in southern seats, including tax increases and protections for “the rural way of life”.

A Conservative Party source told The Telegraph the seat is likely to fall to the Liberal Democrats, piling pressure on Boris Johnson to shore up support in “blue wall” areas rather than focussing solely on “red wall” seats in the north of England.

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