28Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey on NI tax: Stop faffing about and scrap hike

Davey on NI tax: Stop faffing about and scrap hike

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Government's planned rise in NI contributions from 1st April, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey MP said: "The Government needs to stop faffing about and just scrap this deeply unfair and untimely tax hike. "Every day eye-wateringly high energy bills are arriving through letterboxes, while the prices of other basics like food are soaring too. Rishi Sunak's tax hike will be the last straw for millions of people. "This out of touch Conservative Government must get a grip. It is time Ministers got out of their Downing Street bunker and focused on helping the British people, rather than just looking after themselves.”
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06Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Worst possible time for unfair and disproportionate NI tax hike

Worst possible time for unfair and disproportionate NI tax hike

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports that Jacob Rees-Mogg called for the forthcoming National Insurance hike to be scrapped during a Cabinet meeting, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said: "This was an insult of a hike to every struggling tax payer from the day it was announced. Where was Jacob Rees Mogg then? "People are already feeling the pinch from soaring heating bills, rising inflation and stagnant wages. This is the worst possible time to hike taxes that will disproportionately hit low and middle income families. "The Tories must scrap this unfair tax that will kick people and businesses when they're already down."
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23Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Social Care vote: Another broken Tory promise

Social Care vote: Another broken Tory promise

Parliamentary news
Responding to tonight's vote on the Health and Care Bill in the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: “Tonight, the Conservatives have rammed through half-baked proposals which break a promise to struggling families and makes savings exclusively from the least well off. “Far from levelling up, these changes double down on inequality between the rich and poor. Now, struggling families face the double whammy of tax hikes and potentially losing their home to fund spiraling care costs. "Liberal Democrats opposed these unfair and divisive plans and will continue to fight for a fair and long term solution which will address the social care crisis facing families every day."
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22Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Dacre: PM’s best efforts have backfired spectacularly

Dacre: PM’s best efforts have backfired spectacularly

Parliamentary news
Responding to the news that Paul Dacre has withdrawn from the race to become the next chair of Ofcom, Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport Jane Bonham Carter said: "The corruption and cronyism doesn't stop at the gates of Parliament. Yet again the Prime Minister has tried to change the rules to get what he wants, and it has backfired spectacularly. "The Liberal Democrats always said Paul Dacre was not the man for the job, as was confirmed the first time he applied and was deemed unappointable. That hasn't changed in spite of Boris Johnson's best efforts to go the extra mile for his friend and hijack an independent appointment process. "From the Owen Paterson sleaze scandal to this botched fix-up, the Conservatives have shown that they…
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16Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Pensioners betrayed by broken Tory promise on triple lock

Pensioners betrayed by broken Tory promise on triple lock

Parliamentary news
Responding to the rejection of an amendment to the Social Security Bill which would prevent the ditching of the pension triple lock, Liberal Democrat Work & Pensions Spokesperson Wendy Chamberlain MP said: "Pensioners will not forget this triple lock betrayal. "The Government have ploughed ahead with their manifesto-breaking plan, by rejecting a fair and sensible solution that would have saved the triple lock. The result is a downgraded rise in the state pension just as a cost-of-living crisis begins to bite. It is clear this Conservative Government is completely out of touch. “The Prime Minister never misses a chance to talk about rising wages as a result of Brexit, yet at the same time calls this rise an anomaly to justify betraying pensioners. So which is it? Because it cannot…
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14Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government makes 10 U-turns on Covid passports in one year

Government makes 10 U-turns on Covid passports in one year

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to finally rule out the illiberal, anti-business vaccine passports once and for all after they were included as part of “Plan B” in the Coronavirus winter plan. The Liberal Democrats have also slammed the Government for flip-flopping 10 times on Covid passports from November 2020 to their latest announcement today. The winter plan states that in the event of a Covid surge, vaccine passports would be legally required at all nightclubs, indoor settings with 500 or more people, outdoor settings with 1000 or more people, and anywhere with 10,000 people or more. Commenting Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: “It is time for the Conservatives to end their chaotic flip-flopping and rule out these illiberal, unworkable vaccine passports once…
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13Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Vaccine passports U-turn: Victory for the Lib Dems

Vaccine passports U-turn: Victory for the Lib Dems

Parliamentary news
Reacting to the Health Secretary's announcement that the Government are abandoning the vaccine passport scheme, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Home Affairs Alistair Carmichael MP said: "This is a victory for the Liberal Democrats and all those campaigners who stood up for our civil liberties against these deeply illiberal and unworkable plans. "The Conservatives have needlessly sown confusion among businesses for months by threatening to introduce Covid passports, and will not be forgiven for it. "After this inevitable U-turn, the Conservatives must now see sense and scrap the unnecessary and draconian Coronavirus Act altogether."
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18Nov 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrats welcome Conservative climbdown on school meals scandal

Borough news, Parliamentary news
The Oldham Liberal Democrats have welcomed Boris Johnson’s recent climbdown over the provision of school meals to the children of England’s poorest families. The Conservative Government has pledged £396 million of targeted support for 1.7 million children over the Christmas, Easter and Summer school holidays. The Prime Minister conveyed the good news in a telephone call on Saturday with campaigning footballer Marcus Rashford OBE. The Liberal Democrats brought a motion to the last meeting of the Oldham Council (4 November) in support of Marcus Rashford's campaign to tackle holiday hunger and child poverty in England. On hearing the welcome announcement, Saddleworth North Councillor Garth Harkness, who proposed the motion, said: “We congratulate Marcus Rashford on his successful campaign to turn around government policy on this issue. Only days before, Tory…
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14Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Lib Dems welcome Government’s “screeching u-turn” on Huawei

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports that the UK's mobile providers will be banned from buying new Huawei 5G equipment after 31 December 2020 and they must remove all Huawei 5G equipment from their networks by 2027, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Daisy Cooper said: “Liberal Democrats welcome this screeching u-turn from the Conservative Government. It is the right thing to do on grounds of national security and human rights and for our industrial strategy, but it's disappointing it took US action to make the Government to do the right thing. "The Government should now invest in developing this kind of technology here in the UK. Ministers must also prioritise maintaining strong partnerships with our European allies and Five Eyes to ensure any security risks are dealt with swiftly.…
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