04Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Minor bus lane infringement ‘a cash cow that must be stopped’

Borough news
Shaw Liberal Democrat Councillor and Deputy Leader Chris Gloster has written to the Leader of Oldham Council asking for £50 fines levied on drivers for a minor bus lane infringement to be reversed. In his letter, Councillor Gloster calls for this ‘cash cow’ to be stopped. Bus lanes in and around Oldham help ensure public transport passengers get to their chosen location on time, encouraging more users to choose public transport rather than drive reducing congestion and helping to make Oldham greener. Bus lanes are monitored by cameras which detect when private motorists use them at times when they are reserved for buses. Offenders are routinely issued a fine for infringements. Councillor Gloster was however recently perturbed to learn from two of his constituents that on occasions the local authority…
Read More
04Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Tories ‘governing like the mafia’ with calls for Standards Commissioner to resign

Tories ‘governing like the mafia’ with calls for Standards Commissioner to resign

Parliamentary news
Reacting to suggestions from Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on Sky this morning that the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner should resign, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP said: "The Conservatives are governing like the mafia. "They are targeting those who uphold the rules rather than those who break them. "These shameful attempts to drag the Standards Commissioner through the mud have to be called out for what they truly are - an attack on our democracy."
Read More
03Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government defeated over broken triple lock promise

Government defeated over broken triple lock promise

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats joined with peers from across the political divide to defeat the Government’s decision to ditch the pension triple lock. The Conservatives pledged to maintain the triple lock in their 2019 manifesto. The commitment ensures that the state pension will rise in line with inflation, wage growth, or a base 2.5% - whichever is higher. However, they have since reneged on their promise - a move which will mean the average pensioner loses out on between £370 and £485 a year. This is in part due to inflation being expected to rise to between 4-5%. The Liberal Democrats have opposed this cut and endorsed the amendment from Baroness Altmann, a Conservative peer, which passed in the House of Lords by 220 to 178 tonight. The amendment also includes…
Read More
03Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Chancellor’s City of London Plan is half-hearted Treasury spin

Chancellor’s City of London Plan is half-hearted Treasury spin

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Government's plans to ask large UK firms and financial institutions to show how they intend to hit climate change targets, Liberal Democrat Leader and former Secretary for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey MP said: “If we do not force fossil fuel money out of the City of London, we will never stop climate change in the UK or the wider world. “The Chancellor’s plan, that net zero is not to be mandatory for the world’s largest polluters financed in London, is a serious mistake. “Billions of pounds of the world’s fossil fuel money flood through the City of London: half-hearted plans and Treasury spin are simply not going to change that.”
Read More
03Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Government’s defence of Owen Paterson will damage trust in politicians

Parliamentary news
Commenting ahead of the House of Commons vote today that will see Conservative MPs move to block the suspension of former minister Owen Paterson, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP said: "Owen Paterson’s focus on the Commissioner herself rather than the office has been reprehensible. The Government supporting him in that is shameful. This was a committee with a Conservative majority of MPs that clearly concluded he had broken the rules. The report agrees that there were deliberate rule breaches and no rescue amendment should be supported today. "Climate change and coming out of the pandemic are just two issues where trust in politicians is essential. Owen Paterson and the Government’s defence of him will inevitably damage what little trust is left."
Read More
01Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Slashing Air Passenger Duty to create same CO2 emissions as 2.3m extra train journeys

Parliamentary news
The Conservatives’ plans to cut air passenger duty on domestic flights will see a significant spike in CO2 emissions equivalent to 2.3 million extra train journeys, analysis by the Liberal Democrats shows. It comes as world leaders meet for today’s crucial COP26 summit and after the Chancellor failed to give a single mention to the word climate in his Budget speech last week. The Liberal Democrats are calling for the Government to cancel the slashing of Air Passenger Duty and invest in zero-carbon domestic flights instead. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that reducing Air Passenger Duty will see an extra 410,000 passenger journeys on internal UK flights. The average UK domestic flight generates 223kg of CO2 equivalent, meaning that this policy will lead to a 91 million kg increase…
Read More
01Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
PM needs to start acting like ‘Global Britain’

PM needs to start acting like ‘Global Britain’

Parliamentary news
Responding to Boris Johnson's speech at COP26, Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Former Secretary of State for Climate Change, Ed Davey MP, said: “Boris Johnson has blustered his way to COP26 and it is starting to show. This is the most important conference to take place on our shores in a generation, and we all need it to succeed. “That means putting aside his differences with other western leaders, particularly our friends across Europe, and working together to force China and others to act. For COP to succeed, the Prime Minister needs to stop just talking about 'Global Britain' and start acting like it. “For a good COP, we need British leadership and united Western pressure on China, Saudi Arabia and Brazil. For a bad COP, all we need…
Read More
29Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Mortgage borrowers face biggest rise in interest payments since financial crisis

Mortgage borrowers face biggest rise in interest payments since financial crisis

Parliamentary news
British mortgage owners face the biggest hike in interest payments since the financial crisis, the Liberal Democrats can reveal. Buried in the Office of Budgetary Responsibility's Budget documents is a stark forecast showing that mortgage interest payments are set to rise by 13% in 2023, reaching a peak of 14.8% in the second quarter of that year. The unprecedented increase could see mortgage owners hit with eye-watering bills. Analysis by the Liberal Democrats shows that an average mortgage borrower on a standard variable rate of 3.26% will see their monthly mortgage payments go up by £42 a month, or £510 over a year. For a typical average mortgage borrower on a fixed rate mortgage of 2%, payments would go up by £25 a month or £300 a year. The Liberal…
Read More
27Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrats say there will be less heartache if flooding funding upfront

Liberal Democrats say there will be less heartache if flooding funding upfront

Borough news
Paying home and business owners in flood areas grants up-front to make their properties ‘resilient’ is “common-sense and will save a lot of heartache” claims Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani. Homes in Shaw and Saddleworth have previously been flooded, and with climate change resulting in warmer and wetter weather there is an increased likelihood of further flooding in future years. Councillor Al-Hamdani and his Oldham and Saddleworth Liberal Democrat councillors want to see the government do more to support home and business owners living with the risk by paying grants up-front rather than after disaster has befallen them, and they are bringing the issue as a motion to the next meeting of Oldham Council (3 November 2021). Commenting, Saddleworth West and Lees councillor Al-Hamdani, who is proposing the motion, said:…
Read More
27Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrats call on energy minister to make COP26 pledge for community energy – power for the people!

Liberal Democrats call on energy minister to make COP26 pledge for community energy – power for the people!

Borough news
The Leader of the Oldham Liberal Democrat Group, councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has written to the new Energy Minister asking him to pledge the government’s support for the Local Electricity Bill during COP26. The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021. Here the participant nations will agree how to accelerate their actions to address climate change in accordance with their commitments as signatories to the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Councillor Sykes and his Liberal Democrat colleagues wants the new minister, The Rt Hon Greg Hands MP, to support the Local Electricity Bill, currently going through Parliament, as a government priority. Commenting, Councillor Sykes said: “We would like the UK…
Read More