Tag Archives: trade deals

Mark Valladares

30 May 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 30th May 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • More than 90% of standard-rate PIP claimants could be at risk of losing support in some areas
  • UK-Gulf trade deal: Govt must not sell out farmers and undermine high standards
  • Cole-Hamilton: Scottish Water plan must ensure no more disappointments

More than 90% of standard-rate PIP claimants could be at risk of losing support in some areas

55 constituencies in England could see 90% of those claiming the standard rate of Personal Independence Payment for daily living activities lose at least some of the benefit following the Government’s cuts, a Written Parliamentary Question by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

Under the Government’s plans, from November 2026 people on PIP will be required to score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to receive support with everyday tasks such as washing and cooking. Those scoring less will lose access to the “daily living” component, which for some will result in a full withdrawal of the benefit.

In England and Wales, every constituency currently sees at least 80% of those receiving the standard rate of PIP at risk of losing support. A staggering 55 constituencies have at least 90% of claimants that fall into this category.

The constituencies with the highest number of those at risk of having support slashed are in Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney and Tipton and Wednesbury, both with 92% of standard-rate of PIP claimants not scoring four points on all categories of the Government’s test. The worst affected region was Wales where 90% of those on standard-rate PIP did not score four points.

The Liberal Democrats said that it “lays bare the scale of the damage” the cuts could do, adding to people’s worry and “increasing pressure on local areas where these cuts go the deepest”. The party called on the Government to recognise the cuts’ “devastating impact” and “change course”.

Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions spokesperson, Steve Darling MP said:

This lays bare the scale of the damage that the Government’s cuts could do to some of society’s most vulnerable.

Vast swathes of people could be missing out on vital support, not only adding to their suffering but increasing pressure on local areas where these cuts go the deepest.

This is support that helps people with daily tasks that many of us would take for granted, such as staying clean or staying safe and also helps many people stay in work.

The Government must recognise the devastating impact that these cuts could have and change course.

UK-Gulf trade deal: Govt must not sell out farmers and undermine high standards

Responding to reports that the UK Government is set to sign a new trade agreement with the Gulf States, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson and Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

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The Voice

Jane Dodds: Conservatives betray Welsh farmers in Australia/New Zealand trade deal

By The Voice | Tue 12th July 2022 - 11:15 am

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservatives of allowing themselves to be “trampled over” during trade negotiations with New Zealand and Australia when it comes to agricultural interests.

The Welsh Lib Dems have argued that despite Australia having an economy less than 40 per cent the size of the UK’s and New Zealand’s economy being 30 times smaller than the UK, the Conservatives have capitulated to their demands for agricultural access to the UK market, placing Welsh farmers at significant risk.

The Farmer’s Union for Wales (FUW) reported that the increase in New Zealand’s import quota for sheep meat in year one of new trade agreements signed by the UK and EU is more than 40 times higher per head of population in the UK compared with the European Union. The Union has stated this “demonstrates a failure of the UK Government to protect UK agriculture in trade negotiations.”

The warning comes after it has been reported that Australian food imports to the UK will not be required to meet UK food production standards as part of the trade deal. The move has caused some to accuse the Conservatives of merely offshoring pesticide use that UK farmers are prevented from using.

Welsh Lib Dem Leader Jane Dodds said:

The more we hear about these trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, the more evident it becomes that the UK Conservative Government has been walked over by both countries.

The Australian trade deal is set to provide only a 0.08% boost to our economy, yet due to incompetence by Conservative Ministers it could have a devastating effect on Welsh farming communities and in turn, the Welsh language.

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Trade deal with Australia will hit our farmers

By Andy Boddington | Wed 22nd December 2021 - 10:54 am

Tim Farron has warned that farmers are being “sold down the river” by the Conservatives, after it emerged the government’s own impact assessment found the Australia deal will cause a £94m hit to the farming, forestry and fishing industries. There is also an expected £225 million hit to the semi-processed food sector, such as tinned foods.

The Liberal Democrats are demanding that MPs are given a vote on the Australia deal so they can stand up for the interests of British farmers. It comes following the party’s by-election win in North Shropshire during which concerns over the impacts of government’s trade deals on local farmers were a significant issue. The deal is likely to hit small farmers, especially hill farmers hardest.

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NewsHound

Tim Farron proposes bill to protect farmers from poor trade deals

By NewsHound | Sat 4th December 2021 - 2:31 pm

The Lib Dems have proposed new legislation to protect Welsh farmers from being undercut by food trade deals that do not meet the UK’s environment and animal welfare standards.

A private member’s bill from Spokesperson for Rural Affairs Tim Farron MP would require the government’s Trade and Agriculture Commission to assess the impact of any new trade deal on UK farmers, and guarantee that MPs had the final say on trade deals initiated by the government. This would include an assessment of the impact of new trade deals on farming communities in each region and nation of the UK.

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NewsHound

Dodds slams New Zealand trade deal

By NewsHound | Fri 22nd October 2021 - 4:24 pm

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservatives of dealing a hammer blow to Welsh sheep farmers after news broke that the UK and New Zealand have signed a trade deal. They are worried that lower standard and cheap meat from New Zealand could flood the UK markets and leave the British and Welsh farming industry unable to compete.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said:

I am extremely disappointed that the Conservative Government has decided to toss Welsh sheep farmers aside in this manner, completely ignoring their concerns and breaking previous commitments to the farming community made by the Party.

The NFU has also criticised the deal saying it had heard next to nothing from the government on how British agriculture is expected to compete with either Australia or New Zealand which both face less regulation than their British counterparts.

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Mark Valladares

20 July 2020 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 20th July 2020 - 10:45 pm
  • Test and trace privacy fiasco yet another blunder by Ministers
  • Government’s school funding plan shows no understanding of challenges facing schools
  • Government must set up lifeboat system to ensure safe passage for Hong Kongers
  • Government silencing those who get in the way of their own political interests
  • Tories’ plan to “take back control” proves to be empty words when it comes to trade

Test and trace privacy fiasco yet another blunder by Ministers

Responding to reports that privacy campaigners have accused the Government’s test and trace programme of breaking data protection laws, Liberal Democrat Health, Wellbeing and Social Care spokesperson Munira Wilson said:

The fact that the Government have potentially broken the law is just another example of Ministers’ disastrous handling of test and trace. For the Department of Health to admit there was no consideration on the impact this would have on our privacy shows that this Government is simply walking into blunder after blunder, failing to get a grip on this crisis.

Of course mass testing, contact tracing and isolation at the community level for those who test positive, is the only safe way out of lockdown, but protecting individuals’ privacy remains of the utmost importance.

The Liberal Democrats have been clear that as long as there is absolute transparency when it comes to what information is collected, how long it is stored for, and who has access to this data, the Government can mitigate the concerns people have.

Ministers must get a grip of test and trace system if they are to keep people safe from coronavirus. They must do everything they can to not only protect people’s data and keep the public’s trust, but ensure we get an effective app up and running as soon as possible.

Government’s school funding plan shows no understanding of challenges facing schools

Responding to the publication of the Government’s funding allocations for schools in 2021-22, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Layla Moran said:

The Conservatives’ spending plans show no understanding of the challenges facing schools in September. They have asked schools to open as normal when our Test and Trace system is faulty. Teachers must try to reverse the harm to children’s learning, development and mental health, when many disadvantaged children have disappeared off schools’ radars entirely during lockdown.

In the face of this crisis, spending plans announced last year are utterly unfit for purpose. All the Government has added is a catch-up premium worth just £80 per pupil per year, and a tutoring fund. It’s simply not enough to pay for the small group teaching that Ministers say our children need.

The pandemic requires us to invest in education at all levels on an unprecedented scale. That’s why Liberal Democrats have launched a five-point plan to re-open schools safely, provide laptops to those who need them and close the disadvantage gap, so that we can give every child a great start in life.

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