Tag Archives: tom brake mp

Paul Walter

Closing Parliament to force no deal would be an outrage

By Paul Walter | Mon 26th August 2019 - 12:00 pm

You may have seen reports that Boris Johnson is considering closing Parliament for six weeks in order to block MPs from extending Article 50 for a further period.

Our Shadow Brexit Secretary Tom Brake remarked on this yesterday:

If Boris Johnson can find a kooky or irregular way to shut Parliament out of the Brexit process it will be an outrage.

No deal will destroy our economy, it will have a dramatic impact on the cost of living and it will mean less access to medicines that keep people alive. Parliament must be able to challenge Ministers on the damage it will cause.

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Posted in News | Also tagged and | 36 Comments
NewsHound

Collapse of EU-Canada trade pact a “stark warning” against hard Brexit – Tom Brake MP

By NewsHound | Tue 25th October 2016 - 10:37 am

Commenting on the blocking of the EU-Canada CETA trade deal by the Wallonia region of Belgium, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Tom Brake said:

This is a stark warning against a hard Brexit that takes us out of the Single Market.

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Posted in News | Also tagged and | 22 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: There’s no way to deny it, the Lib Dems are on the rise again

By NewsHound | Sat 14th May 2016 - 1:15 pm

Last week’s election results show that, overall, the Liberal Democrats are fighting back argues Tom Brake in an article for the Huffington Post.

Our party made the most gains in the English local elections, increasing our share of seats more than any other party, now having 45 more, passionate Councillors working hard for their communities.

We strengthened our support in the liberal heartlands of Eastleigh and Cheltenham. We dominated the results in Southport, Cumbria and in Watford, where we took control of the council. And we gained seats in cities like Hull, Rochdale and Manchester thanks to my fantastic former colleague John Leech, who will provide the only opposition to Labour there.

Up and down the country we’ve seen the green shoots of liberalism grow up in communities disillusioned with an impotent Labour party dubbed as the worst ever Government opposition, and a heartless Conservative Government imposing ideological cuts to valued public services.

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged , , and | 15 Comments
Tom Brake

Tom Brake MP writes…It’s time to reform renting

By Tom Brake | Fri 29th April 2016 - 7:40 pm

Recently at my surgery I met a distressed young woman who came to see me with her mother. Repairs are outstanding on their rented property. The landlord is refusing to sort them out while at the same time putting pressure on them to leave their flat. She didn’t know where to go or what to do.

This is a familiar story and it is no exaggeration to say that we have a national emergency in housing. There are vast numbers of people living in fear and uncertainty and in 2016 that is simply unacceptable.

We clearly have a rental sector which is broken. Many people are spending over half their disposable income on rent and yet a third of homes fail to meet the Government’s decent homes standard, with over 60% of renters having experienced either damp, mould, leaking roofs or windows, electrical hazards, animal infestation or gas leaks, according to a recent survey commissioned by Shelter.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , and | 13 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Tim
    So glad you are a councillor again. Still miss you here....
  • Chris Webb
    Excellent piece. I really like the "I'm a Liberal because..." idea, and will prod my local association along just those lines....
  • Mick Taylor
    Hi Chris. A brave man to take on a seat on Lambeth. I suspect that the great increase in casework is at least partly caused by the huge cutbacks in Local Govern...
  • David Raw
    @ William Wallace William, what's happened to the party's old policy of partnership and co-ownership ? If I remember correctly, our mutual friend Donald Wad...
  • William Wallace
    Roz: This is exactly what we need to get us all thinking. I would add that we need to rethink our approach to political economy. Liberal democracy is easiest t...