03Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Budget: Crushed hopes for small businesses

Budget: Crushed hopes for small businesses

Parliamentary news
Christine Jardine MP, Treasury Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, reacted to the budget: “Small businesses across the country remain on the brink, while millions of workers remain excluded from Government support altogether. "Small businesses were looking to the Chancellor to give them a lifeline - something to give them hope of getting through the next few months. Instead for many, the Chancellors paltry proposals for small business support will have crushed those hopes. “From beauticians to launderettes, florists to café owners - small businesses in our communities and the millions who depend on them are left looking over a cliff-edge. The Chancellor had the opportunity to save them today, but instead he fell far short of what is needed. “We needed a plan today which was ambitious for the small…
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03Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Budget betrays children, parents and teachers

Budget betrays children, parents and teachers

Parliamentary news
Daisy Cooper MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education, reacted to the Budget: “It’s simply astonishing that the Budget has nothing to tackle child poverty, nothing for children or young people or their early years education or schools. “Tens of thousands of childcare providers are at risk of closure, whilst school finances are at breaking point. "The Chancellor's Statement needed to give children and young people the opportunities to regain the learning time they have lost over the last year. "He has failed to extend free school meals permanently to ensure no child living in poverty goes hungry, he’s failed to give nurseries and early years providers any certainty and he’s failed to deliver much-needed extra funding for schools to help meet the additional costs of being open safely during the…
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03Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Furlough extension: Compensate rent for small businesses on the brink

Furlough extension: Compensate rent for small businesses on the brink

Parliamentary news
Christine Jardine MP, Treasury Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, responded to the Government reportedly planning to extend the furlough jobs scheme until September. The Liberal Democrats are proposing a German style revenue loss scheme to compensate small businesses for fixed costs incurred during the pandemic.* Christine Jardine MP, called on the Government to go much further than extending the jobs furlough: “We are facing a once in a generation shock to our economy and we need a recovery which works for small businesses and the millions of people they employ. "We need a clear long term strategy to support people out of this, and not just another knee jerk reaction to extend furlough, when its not for long enough or in a way that suits small businesses who need help…
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02Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Heartless aid cut to Yemen damages UK’s reputation

Heartless aid cut to Yemen damages UK’s reputation

Parliamentary news
Layla Moran MP, Lib Dem Foreign Affairs and International Development Spokesperson, has described the Government’s decision to cut direct aid to Yemen as “short-sighted” and “appalling”, asking whether this is what should now be expected from the UK, “leaving other, more compassionate countries, to pick up the slack”. During an Urgent Question in the Commons, Layla also said that the “enormous cut, in a year when 400,000 children under five might starve to death, is not just heartless but also damages the UK’s international reputation.” Moran noted that the UK’s decision to cut aid, weeks after announcing over £1bn in new arms sales licences to Saudi Arabia, is the exact opposite of the action taken by the Biden administration in recent weeks to halt arms sales and increase aid .…
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02Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
‘Could do better’, Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader’s verdict on so called full school opening plans

‘Could do better’, Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader’s verdict on so called full school opening plans

Borough news
With one week to go, Conservative Government plans to reopen schools fail to pass muster, says Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE. “Whilst we all want to see all our children back at their desks, a return to school must be safe for our children, our teachers and our other school staff,” said Councillor Sykes. “Parents will rightly want to have the assurance that the government is not simply rushing into things just to satisfy a deadline on the Prime Minister’s ‘roadmap’ and that our children’s health will in no way be compromised by a March 8 return to the classroom.” The Oldham Liberal Democrats believe that the government has a whole series of questions to answer before it can pass the test: How can we be sure that…
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02Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Beijing 2022 boycott: Government response shows lack of regard for athletes

Beijing 2022 boycott: Government response shows lack of regard for athletes

Parliamentary news
Jamie Stone MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Sport, has criticised the Government’s response to his request in Parliament for a commitment to supporting athletes who choose to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing. Foreign Office Minister Nigel Adams said it was a matter for the British Olympics Association and individual sports people. Jamie Stone MP said: “China is responsible for genocide. We know they run so-called re-education camps where they try to eradicate the Uyghur culture and conduct forced sterilisation on Uyghur women. “I know some athletes are deeply troubled by this 21st century genocide happening in China. Many of them are wonderfully talented athletes with a serious chance of winning big, so this will be a tough dilemma for them. “I…
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02Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Pressure tells as Government agrees changes to Domestic Abuse Bill on intimate image threats

Pressure tells as Government agrees changes to Domestic Abuse Bill on intimate image threats

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence, Parliamentary news
After tens of thousands of supporters contacted the Government in support of a change to the Domestic Abuse Bill, to outlaw threats to share intimate images, the Conservatives have agreed that it should form part of the forthcoming Domestic Abuse Bill.  Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani, who was one of many to write to the Home Office calling for the legislation, was delighted to hear of the change. He said: “We need to change the UK’s culture around domestic abuse. This is another step in breaking down the taboos and attitudes which have let this situation fester for so long.” The lockdown has focused attention on domestic abuse, with rates dramatically increasing, but even before the start of lockdown, it was already endemic. According to Government figures, in the…
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01Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrats table Council budget amendment to make Oldham ‘Healthier, Greener, and Cleaner’

Liberal Democrats table Council budget amendment to make Oldham ‘Healthier, Greener, and Cleaner’

Borough news
Councillor Chris Gloster, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance and Green, is looking forward to presenting the budget amendment of the Liberal Democrat Group to next week’s Budget Council (Thursday 4 March, 6pm). “The Oldham Liberal Democrats want to make further efficiencies in civic centre bureaucracy to squeeze out more money for our priorities, and those of the public – more cash to spend on front-line services,” said Councillor Gloster. “As we begin to emerge from the nightmare of COVID-19, we wish to look at building back better in our Borough by focussing on making Oldham healthier, greener and cleaner.” The Liberal Councillors are proposing to repurpose part of Labour’s capital investment programme and find more money from cutting bureaucracy and waste elsewhere in the Council’s budget to: Invest £18 million…
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01Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government aid cuts to Yemen appalling and heartless

Government aid cuts to Yemen appalling and heartless

Parliamentary news
Responding to the announcement that the Government is cutting UK aid spending to Yemen, Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and International Development, said: "It is appalling and heartless that the Government has cut UK aid to conflict-ridden Yemen. "Yemen is facing the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. Children are being denied an education due to the conflict. The coronavirus pandemic is spreading in the country. "UK Aid has helped millions and stands as a testament to the best of British values. Now is not the time to reduce our commitment to support the world's most vulnerable."
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01Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Chancellor must back live events, say cross-party MPs

Chancellor must back live events, say cross-party MPs

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Digital, Culture, Media, & Sports spokesperson, Jamie Stone MP, has led a group of 34 MPs and Peers in calling for the Chancellor to include Government-backed insurance for live events in his forthcoming Budget. The Chancellor has come under increasing pressure to underwrite insurance cover for the live events industry amid warnings that the festival summer season could be cancelled without sufficient Government support. The cross-party letter warns that unless the Chancellor heeds the warnings from industry experts to facilitate the reopening of the sector, he could be responsible for plunging “the nation deeper into an existing jobs and mental health crisis.” After sending the letter, Jamie Stone MP commented: “This cross-party effort demonstrates that the issue of live events impacts every part of the country. The industry…
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