Tag Archives: rural economy

Mark Valladares

12 September 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 12th September 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • GDP: Govt must scrap their growth-crashing jobs tax
  • Mandelson: Lib Dems call for Parliament to vet next US Ambassador
  • Lib Dems reveal rate of agricultural, forestry and fishing business closures is increasing

GDP: Govt must scrap their growth-crashing jobs tax

Responding to the latest GDP figures showing 0% growth for July, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

The Government talks of going full throttle on growth but the reality is they have left the handbrake on.

Their growth-crushing jobs tax risks hollowing out our high-streets and ministers’ refusal to jettison their short-sighted red lines on cutting red tape with Europe is holding back our

…

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Mark Tufnell

Independent View: Lib Dems are turning heads in the Tories’ rural heartlands. Here’s how they can win over countryside voters for good

By Mark Tufnell | Thu 26th May 2022 - 7:30 pm

The recent local election results continue to demonstrate that rural support for the Conservatives is dwindling.

Their loss was, by all appearances, the Liberal Democrats’ gain. Where the Conservatives faltered, the Lib Dems thrived: in newly created council Westmorland and Furness, they took 36 seats compared to just 11 for the Tories, and in the Conservative stronghold of Somerset, they won 65 seats compared to a meagre 36.

Our recent opinion poll could well have predicted this Conservative downfall in the countryside. Published just weeks before locals took to the ballots, it indicated a 7.5% drop in support for the Conservatives.

Should the governing party continue on this downward trajectory, the results could be an indication of more big wins to come for the Lib Dems.

This is by no means a foregone conclusion, however. To ensure local election wins are converted into seats at the next General Election, there is no room for complacency.

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Mark Valladares

18-19 January 2020 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Sun 19th January 2020 - 9:32 pm
  • Lib Dems launch campaign to scrap cash machine fees
  • Chancellor must take blinkers off and pay attention to industry
  • Johnson cannot be trusted to fix broken politics

Lib Dems launch campaign to scrap cash machine fees

The Brecon & Radnorshire Liberal Democrats have launched a campaign calling on the UK Government to provide the funding necessary to scrap transaction fees at local cash machines. With the number of bank branches across Powys dwindling, a growing number of residents are forced to reply upon Post Offices and local cash machines to access their money.

Last year Jane Dodds, then MP for Brecon & Radnorshire, led …

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Mark Valladares

13 January 2020 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 13th January 2020 - 9:59 pm
  • Treasury must act on rural ATM charges
  • UK facing worst slowdown since aftermath of financial crisis

Treasury must act on rural ATM charges

Jane Dodds has joined Kirsty Williams AM and Cllr James Gibson-Watt in calling for the UK Treasury to take action to abolish transaction charges at rural ATMs.

Transactional charges are becoming increasingly common across Wales as more and more banks cut back on support to ATM providers, meaning the running costs are being passed onto the customers. The ATM at Hay Post Office is the most recent local example of this, with customers now being charged 99p per transaction.

Jane Dodds, Leader …

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  • Tristan Ward
    “Let’s start by arguing that the economic benefits of the Single Market far exceed having to accept freedom of movement into the UK, and take it from there....
  • Chloe
    'Needless to say the poorest in British society paid the price for this' I remember canvassing , the poorer the area the less interested they were. Membership ...
  • GWYN WILLIAMS
    A balanced and fair assessment of the Senedd campaign. Unlike in Scotland, Wales has not as yet polarised into for and against Independence camps. The Welsh Lib...
  • Jana
    The logic of this article is that we should be rejoining the Single Market. That is different from signing up to complete political Union by joining the EU. ...
  • Pawel Urbanski
    Good piece, Tom. I would just split it into two things 1/ The principle: someone living off their assets should not pay less tax than someone living off a wage...