Tag Archives: water industry

Mark Valladares

16-18 May 2025 – the (long) weekend’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Sun 18th May 2025 - 10:15 pm
  • Davey on European Political Community Summit: PM needs to be “bold and ambitious” but EU leaders need to “play ball”
  • EFRA committee report: Government “must listen” and “ditch tax”
  • Greene blasts incompetence at the Water Industry Commission
  • Greene: If SNP won’t ban conversion practices, they should let me do it

Davey on European Political Community Summit: PM needs to be “bold and ambitious” but EU leaders need to “play ball”

Ahead of the European Political Community Summit, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The Prime Minister must be bold and ambitious, using today’s talks to set out his stall for Monday’s vital ‘reset’ summit.

Between securing a youth mobility scheme, agreeing a comprehensive defence pact and making progress on building a bespoke customs union, he has the opportunity to deliver genuine growth and security for our country.

EU leaders need to play ball too. In the face of Trump’s unpredictability and Putin’s barbaric imperialism, it’s vital that we deepen our cooperation across trade and defence – and prevent talks stalling in a quagmire of petty disputes. A proper deal between the UK and EU will benefit us all.

EFRA committee report: Government “must listen” and “ditch tax”

Responding to the EFRA committee’s report saying that the Government must rethink the family farm tax, Tim Farron MP, Liberal Democrat Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Spokesperson, said:

The Government’s disastrous family farm tax has been a hammer blow to many farms up and down the country. The EFRA committee is absolutely right to call for a pause to rethink this dreadful tax.

Lib Dems have been hounding the Government from the very start to axe the family farm tax and protect those farmers already hanging by a thread after years of being failed by the Conservative party, with a botched Brexit deal, rocketing bills and plunging incomes.

It’s about time the Government started listening to farmers — and that starts by admitting they were wrong, listening to this report and ditching the family farm tax.

Greene blasts incompetence at the Water Industry Commission

Responding to a new report from the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee which notes that a ‘catalogue of failures’ led to the inappropriate and unacceptable use of public money at the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) and calling on the Scottish Government to review its systems for identifying concerns with public bodies to ensure any issues are caught at an early stage, Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Jamie Greene MSP said:

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Mark Valladares

30 January 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 30th January 2025 - 11:00 pm
  • Water bills: bill payers fronting up the costs for these firms failings is “scandalous”
  • Ed Davey on Brexit 5 years on: Trump Presidency shows UK must lead in Europe to boost security and unlock growth
  • NHS 2025 mandate: lack of ambition “falls so far short of the mark”
  • Nearly 6,000 crimes still going unsolved every day
  • £56m lost to online shopping fraud up 20% compared to last year
  • Welsh Water price rise – customers paying the price for Government incompetence
  • Cole-Hamilton highlights SNP failure on fuel poverty

Water bills: bill payers fronting up the costs for these firms failings is “scandalous”

Responding to water bills rising by £123 a year on average, Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

It is absolutely scandalous that customers will now have to pay through the nose for the shocking failings of water companies. The whole thing stinks.

The government has gone nowhere near far enough in clamping down on these greedy firms and protecting people’s pockets from them.

Their Water Bill has a gaping hole in it after failing to back a Liberal Democrat amendment which would have ensured that creditors, not bill payers would front up the cost of bailing out these broken companies.

Ministers have to realise this endless cycle of failure and customers paying for it will continue until Ofwat is ripped up and replaced by a new regulator that will clamp down on these firms once and for all.

Ed Davey on Brexit 5 years on: Trump Presidency shows UK must lead in Europe to boost security and unlock growth

Commenting on the fifth anniversary of the UK leaving the EU, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The UK needs to lead in Europe and the world. It’s clear we cannot rely on Donald Trump – a man who has threatened to invade a NATO ally – to secure our continent. Strengthening ties of diplomacy and security with the EU is urgent.

We must repair the trading relationship with our neighbours that was so badly ruined under the Conservatives. Their deal has been an utter disaster for our country – for farmers, fishers and small businesses – caught up in red tape.

So far the Labour Government has failed to show the urgency and ambition needed to fix our relationship with Europe. Ministers must be in a parallel universe if they think we can grow the economy without boosting trade with our nearest neighbours.

A new UK-EU customs union deal will unlock growth, demonstrate British leadership and give us the best possible hand to play against President Trump.

NHS 2025 mandate: lack of ambition “falls so far short of the mark”

Responding to the Government’s 2025 mandate to NHS England, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

This should have been a line in the sand for our NHS. The normalisation of patients dying in corridors and people waiting endlessly for desperately needed care must end.

The previous Conservative Government’s shameful neglect brought us to this point but it is so disappointing to see this latest mandate from the Labour Government fall so far short of the mark.

There is no mention of the crisis in maternity or giving patients a legal right to see their GP within a week, as the Liberal Democrats have been calling for for years now.

It appears the Government has accepted a managed decline of our NHS, not rebuilding it to be the envy of the world as it once was. It is only patients who will bear the brunt of the Government’s refusal to step up properly.

Nearly 6,000 crimes still going unsolved every day

The Liberal Democrats are renewing calls for the government to implement proper community policing as new statistics reveal the extent of unsolved crime in the year ending September 2024.

The figures were revealed by the Home Office’s own statistics on crime outcomes, released earlier this morning.

2,136,252 crimes went unsolved across England and Wales in the year ending September 2024 – equivalent to 5,852 crimes going unsolved every day. This accounted for nearly 40% of all crimes recorded that year.

Meanwhile, just 363,843 crimes resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed – accounting for less than 7% of all cases.

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Mark Valladares

22 October 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 22nd October 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Borrowing and debt figures: Burden must not fall on hard working households
  • Water Commission: More urgency needed to reform industry
  • Over one million 12 hour A&E waits this year as Lib Dems call on Chancellor to “winterproof” the NHS at the Budget
  • Braverman: Conservative leadership candidates must rule out shadow cabinet role
  • Jardine Introduces Bill to Improve Support for Bereaved Children
  • Cole-Hamilton: A&E in crisis as winter looms

Borrowing and debt figures: Burden must not fall on hard working households

Commenting on the latest figures on the public sector’s level of borrowing and debt, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

Today’s figures highlight the difficult position of our public finances after years of mismanagement under the previous Conservative Government – but this can’t be an excuse for the Chancellor to make the wrong decisions at the Budget.

We need to see urgent investment in our NHS and public services which have been reduced to their knees and bold action to fix our crumbling schools and hospitals.

The burden of fixing the Conservatives’ mess mustn’t fall on hard working households, but on the big banks, social media companies and oil and gas giants that can afford to pay a small amount of their soaring profits to get our public services back on their feet.

Water Commission: More urgency needed to reform industry

Responding to the government announcing a new Independent Water Commission, Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

Far more urgency is needed from the government on tackling the disgraced water industry, which has been allowed to get away with endless environmental scandals for too long.

Even before this Commission begins, the government should be getting on with introducing a new regulator with real teeth and power to get hold of these profiteering firms.

Whilst a review of the industry is welcome, it should not be used as a tool to kick the can down the road on immediate reforms.

Sadly, the government’s approach is still a job half done. It is time to put an end to profit before the environment in the water industry, and an end to this national scandal.

Over one million 12 hour A&E waits this year as Lib Dems call on Chancellor to “winterproof” the NHS at the Budget

  • NHS braced for another winter crisis as figures reveal a 20% rise in 12 hour A&E waits so far this year
  • Worst hit areas have seen a six-fold increase in 12 hour A&E waits compared to last year
  • Lib Dems warn this is a “life or death” issue and call on government to announce new ring-fenced fund in the Budget to end winter crises in the health service

Over one million patients have faced waits of 12 hours or more in A&E in England so far this year, up a fifth compared to the same period last year, new data uncovered by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

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Mark Valladares

19 September 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 19th September 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Improving maternity care must be a key priority for the new government
  • Rennie responds to new Audit Scotland college report
  • Cole-Hamilton urges First Minister to act on antisocial driving
  • Cole-Hamilton attacks “vast” pay off to water industry boss

Improving maternity care must be a key priority for the new government

Responding to the Care Quality Commission’s report into maternity care services, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care Spokesperson, Helen Morgan said:

The ongoing postcode lottery of maternity care must end. That means raising standards across the board and making sure that no mother or baby is put at unnecessary risk.

Unsafe staffing levels and practices can have tragic consequences, as so many families across the country have experienced first hand.

Despite several reviews and inquiries, this new CQC report makes clear that much more progress needs to be made.

Improving maternity care must be a key priority for the new government as it seeks to address the broader crisis in our healthcare system.

Rennie responds to new Audit Scotland college report

Responding to a new Audit Scotland report which warns that colleges may not be able to offer the same learning experience to students as in the past and that further staff cuts are on the horizon, Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie said:

College budgets have been first in line for the axe for years now. Figures from the Scottish Funding Council show that the SNP cut resource funding for colleges by 4.8% in the 2024-25 budget, hot on the heels of a real-terms reduction in funding of 8.5% over the previous two financial years.

The SNP’s neglect of further education has contributed to our wider economic malaise and it makes clear that ministers do not see colleges, their staff and students as a priority.

Colleges have a key role to play in providing people with the skills they need to flourish in key sectors like insulating homes, food and drink, tourism, social care and nursery education.

Scotland won’t reach its economic potential without a thriving college sector.

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Mark Valladares

21 March 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 21st March 2024 - 10:00 pm
  • Interest rates: Families are still facing a mortgage cliff edge
  • Khan ‘failing’ on Met Police reform – Lib Dems slam mayor’s record on first anniversary of Casey report
  • Cole-Hamilton challenges Yousaf on SNP Government’s climate record
  • Rennie responds to poverty statistics
  • Water Industry Commission for Scotland branded an embarrassment

Interest rates: Families are still facing a mortgage cliff edge

Responding to the Bank of England’s decision to keep interest rates at 5.25%, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

This is cold comfort for millions of homeowners who still face massive hikes in their mortgage bills after Liz Truss crashed the economy. Many families still face a mortgage cliff edge despite this news.

Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget and the Conservative party’s economic vandalism has put intolerable pressure on people’s finances.

This Conservative government has no good story to tell on the economy.

The only way to break this cycle of stagnation and financial hardship is to kick this out of touch government out of office. Rishi Sunak needs to stop his desperate attempt to cling on to power and call an election.

Khan ‘failing’ on Met Police reform – Lib Dems slam mayor’s record on first anniversary of Casey report

A year on from the publication of Baroness Casey’s damning report on the Met police, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has made “no or only slow progress on key issues”, according to analysis by the Lib Dems.

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Recent Comments

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