03May 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government must verify Iran reports and set our citizens free

Government must verify Iran reports and set our citizens free

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports from Iran on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Layla Moran MP said: “Reports from Iran, that the UK Government must verify, spell out what we already suspected – that the cruel and heartless regime has been using Nazanin as a bargaining chip over unpaid debts. Just this morning Dominic Raab suggested the situation was more complicated than this. It isn’t. “The UK has already accepted it owes the debt to the Iranian government, so if they haven’t already done so I urge them to pay and set our citizens free. And if they have now repaid the debt, they should confirm that and they must do everything in their power to return Nazanin to the UK immediately and redouble their efforts to secure the…
Read More
27Jan 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Cancel debt to aid recovery

Cancel debt to aid recovery

Parliamentary news
Following the International Development Committee's calls for the cancellation of developing countries' debt due to the coronavirus pandemic, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Layla Moran said: "Developing nations are facing a deadly combination of crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic - between increasing food insecurity, stretched medical supplies, disrupted education and more. Cancelling developing countries' debt would provide much needed relief during this unprecedented time. "The Conservative Government must prove it is committed to helping the world's poorest, and leaving no one behind. "Liberal Democrats will continue to continue to advocate for the world's poorest and press the Government to reinstate 0.7% of Gross National Income as development assistance, which we enshrined in law."
Read More
19Jun 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Debt response must be green recovery plan

Parliamentary news
Responding to news that public debt has risen to over 100% this month, the first time since 1963, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “This level of public debt hasn’t been seen in generations, but nor have we experienced such a devastating pandemic that has demanded such necessary spending.  “Many families will rightly worry what comes next. The Conservatives must not slash and burn our public services in response - that would harm our society and harm prospects of growing our economy out of this debt.  “The best response to this debt is a massive green recovery plan so we can provide the green jobs and the green growth to pay off the debt, get people into employment and tackle the climate emergency at the same time.”
Read More
03Apr 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

NHS debt write off “win” must come with testing and PPE investment

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron has claimed a campaign victory as the Government annouces it will write off over £13bn of NHS debt and he has called for investment in Covid-19 testing and PPE for NHS staff. The announcement comes after former Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, revealed last year through a freedom of information request that £607,404,854 worth of interest on outstanding debt was paid by NHS Trusts to the Department for Health and Social Care in the previous five years. Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron said: “It should not have taken an international pandemic crisis for this to happen but it is very good news all the same. “On top of these debts were huge interest rates that robbed our local hospitals of millions of pounds every year.…
Read More