28Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Schools White Paper: Half-baked proposals miss the mark

Schools White Paper: Half-baked proposals miss the mark

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have slammed the Schools White Paper as “half-baked” as it launches today, saying they have “no ambition or imagination”. The Party has moved to criticise the proposals after they focused on restructures and the National Tutoring Programme rather than diverting more funding towards catch-up for children who have been hit hard by lost learning during the pandemic or helping children to build their skills and experiences. Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP has said the proposals “completely miss the mark” and do not come close to righting the “wrongs” of the Department for Education over the course of the pandemic, such as botched school reopenings and a failure to get laptops to children who needed them. The Liberal Democrats are calling for an extra £10 billion to go…
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28Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Zahawi in denial over Covid in schools

Zahawi in denial over Covid in schools

Parliamentary news
Responding to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi's comments on Sunday Morning today, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said: "Zahawi is in denial about the level of Covid infections in schools, and his complacency is adding insult to injury for every child and parent. "This Government has let down and abandoned our children time and time again over the past two years and history looks doomed to repeat itself. It's clear they have no plan for dealing with rising numbers of infections and absences. "Schools deserve a cast-iron guarantee that they will be given the resources they need to ensure no child will miss out on learning. Government incompetence cannot be allowed to disrupt their education further than it already has."
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25Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

P&O: Shapps must answer questions in Parliament over November meeting

Parliamentary news
Responding to news that the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps met with DP World in Dubai in November 2021 and that he was warned that P&O would be needing to make changes to their business, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Business, Trade and Transport, Sarah Olney MP said: "Grant Shapps has serious questions to answer about what he knew and when about P&O's plans to shamefully sack its workers. "The Transport Secretary must come before Parliament to provide the urgent answers that P&O workers and their families deserve. "It's looks increasingly like Grant Shapps was asleep at the wheel, and missed vital opportunities to intervene and protect people's livelhihoods. If that is the case, he would surely have no choice but to resign."
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25Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Lib Dems table amendment to reduce Sunak’s £2.1bn tax raid by increasing NI threshold rise now

Lib Dems table amendment to reduce Sunak’s £2.1bn tax raid by increasing NI threshold rise now

Parliamentary news
Chancellor’s decision to delay NI threshold changes until July to cost workers extra £2.1 billion this year.Lib Dem amendment would bring forward the changes to April 6th, saving a typical worker £80.Lib Dems warn that “every day of delay will cause more pain for families on the brink.” The Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to bring forward the rise in the National Insurance threshold to April 6th, helping to minimise the impact of Rishi Sunak’s tax rises on millions of families. It comes as MPs debate the Bill to increase the National Insurance threshold today in Parliament. The Conservatives’ manifesto-breaking rise to National Insurance will come into force on April 6th, hitting families with a tax rise of around £360 just as energy bills go up over 50%. Meanwhile, the…
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24Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Patel must stop her assault on British rights and freedoms

Patel must stop her assault on British rights and freedoms

Parliamentary news
Following votes in the House of Lords to restore amendments protecting the right to protest, that were overturned by the Government in the Commons last month, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: “Today the Liberal Democrats have struck another blow against the Conservatives’ anti-democratic attempts to silence any opposition and trample people’s fundamental rights. “Now that Peers from all parties have defeated Priti Patel’s draconian proposals for a second time, surely Conservative MPs must now think again. The Government should listen to police officers and the public, and stop their assault on British rights and freedoms. “The right to peaceful assembly and protest is a crucial part of the UK’s democratic society. Liberal Democrats will always fiercely defend it.”
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24Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Sunak’s small print reveals £44 billion tax bombshell by 2024

Sunak’s small print reveals £44 billion tax bombshell by 2024

Parliamentary news
Rishi Sunak’s tax hikes will lead to a £44 billion bombshell by 2024, equivalent to almost £1,600 per UK household. The stark figures were buried in the small print of today’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) report accompanying the Spring Statement. It finds that the net impact of the tax policies announced by Rishi Sunak since March 2020, including today’s tax changes, will mean tax receipts are £43.8 billion higher in 2024-25. The OBR also reveals the impact of Rishi Sunak’s stealth tax and freezing of income tax thresholds, which will cost taxpayers £17.5 billion a year. By 2025-26, 2.8 million low earners will be dragged into paying income tax and two million middle-earners will be dragged into the higher rate because of the freeze. Leader of the Liberal Democrats…
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24Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Ban Gazprom from supplying energy to UK businesses

Ban Gazprom from supplying energy to UK businesses

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have called on the UK Government and the energy regulator Ofgem to ban Russian oil and gas company Gazprom from supplying energy to UK businesses. The company is licensed by the energy regulator Ofgem to supply gas and electricity to UK businesses - including schools, hospitals and local authorities. Liberal Democrats peer Jonny Oates today asked Government ministers in the House of Lords if they are planning to rescind Gazprom’s supply licence and to place the Gazprom supplier into “special administration”, in effect nationalising the company. This process was used to protect the customers of Bulb Energy, when the company collapsed last year. Liberal Democrats have also called for a Windfall Tax on oil and gas companies, including Gazprom’s trading arm, which issued a £179 million dividend…
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22Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Millions lost on failed PoliceWorks system – who will pay?

Millions lost on failed PoliceWorks system – who will pay?

Borough news
Responding to the news that the PoliceWorks system – the failed part of GMPs iOPS computer system costing millions of pounds – will be scrapped, Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani called for those responsible to be held accountable. Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “We have waited years for GMP and the police and crime commissioner to finally step up and acknowledge this massive failure. Now they have accepted it, who is going to carry the can? “We have just seen a substantial increase in the Mayoral precept for every Council Tax payer in Greater Manchester. Is that money going straight from everyone’s pockets to cover this catastrophic investment in a failed IT system?” Councillor Al-Hamdani, who has raised the iOPS system at the last two Oldham Council meetings after repeated failures to…
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22Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Spreading the love in Grotton, Springhead and Lees

Spreading the love in Grotton, Springhead and Lees

Borough news, environment
New artwork has gone up in Lees, Springhead and Grotton, celebrating the beautiful villages and the people in them. Councillors Sam Al-Hamdani and Mark Kenyon funded the new signs, after as a Parish Councillor, he tried to have artwork put up when the Tour of Britain came through Saddleworth, only to discover that there were no fixings in place in the villages to be able to do it. Sam said: “I think it’s really important to be able to visibly celebrate the best of our villages and special events, and putting these up is a small but very visible thing we can do to make this happen. The signs, which have gone up in the centre of Lees, Springhead and Grotton, currently show sunset over Leesbrook Mill, the linear park,…
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22Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Childcare prices rise £600 in a single year

Childcare prices rise £600 in a single year

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat analysis of the figures in the 2021 Coram Childcare Report and the embargoed 2022 Coram Childcare Report show a £596.83 rise for parents paying for 50 hours a week. The Liberal Democrats said the figures showed the Conservatives are neglecting “cash-strapped young parents” who are seeing their income squeezed even more by the cost of living crisis. The Liberal Democrats are calling for young families to be provided with free, high-quality childcare for children from 9 months until they begin school. Commenting on the figures, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson, Munira Wilson MP said: “The huge increase in costs of childcare is hitting cash-strapped young parents who are already facing a cost of living crisis. “The UK already has some of the highest childcare costs in the world. Parents…
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