27Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Grant Shapps “passing the buck” on fuel shortages

Grant Shapps “passing the buck” on fuel shortages

Parliamentary news
Reacting to suggestions made by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps that fuel shortages are a crisis "manufactured" by the public and "one of the road haulage associations", Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Business, Trade and Transport Sarah Olney MP said: “Grant Shapps is shamefully passing the buck for the Government’s own failures. “The Conservatives have repeatedly ignored calls from businesses to address the shortage of drivers. It is a bit rich for ministers to now blame the public and the road haulage industry for the mess we find ourselves in. “The Transport Secretary should focus on getting a grip of this crisis instead of trying to duck responsibility.”
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24Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey on energy firms going bust: Conservatives asleep at the wheel

Davey on energy firms going bust: Conservatives asleep at the wheel

Parliamentary news
Responding to two energy suppliers going bust this afternoon, Leader of the Liberal Democrats and former Secretary of State for Energy, Ed Davey MP, said: "The Conservatives have been asleep at the wheel and the consequences could not be more damaging. "Energy prices are soaring just as we reach the winter months. For the millions of people hit by tax hikes, universal credit cuts and spiralling prices, this crisis could not have come at a worst time. "It begs the question, what on earth were the government doing all this time? They seem at odds with the regulator and now suppliers are collapsing due to inaction from Ministers. It is vulnerable people and cash strapped households that will feel this the most. It feels more and more like a winter…
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24Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
NHS and care workers to face £900 million tax bill under National Insurance hike

NHS and care workers to face £900 million tax bill under National Insurance hike

Parliamentary news
Nurses, care home staff and other health and social care workers will pay over £900 million more in tax under Boris Johnson’s increase to National Insurance, new research reveals. Analysis by the House of Commons Library commissioned by the Liberal Democrats estimates that those working in health and social care will pay 12% of the £7.4 billion expected to be raised from employees through the tax rise. The estimate also doesn’t include those working in health and social care who are self-employed, meaning the real figure is likely to be even higher. The Liberal Democrats said this showed the government was launching a “tax raid on NHS and care home heroes” who have been on the frontline of the pandemic. The research also shows the expected tax hike that will…
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24Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
BP driver shortages: Tories must scrap arbitrary immigration rules

BP driver shortages: Tories must scrap arbitrary immigration rules

Parliamentary news
Reacting to the news that BP has closed some of its petrol stations due to a shortage of lorry drivers, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Business Sarah Olney MP said: “The Conservatives are asleep at the wheel as labour shortages grind people’s lives to a halt. “Allowing a fuel shortage due to a lack of drivers is unprecedented and poses a huge risk, not just for businesses but for everyone relying on a car to go to work or take their kids to school. “The Government must treat this crisis with the urgency it deserves. They need to abandon their anti-immigration ideology that brands key workers as ‘unskilled,' and scrap their arbitrary salary thresholds to get more drivers back in the UK.”
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21Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
ARAP: Interpreters stranded in Afghanistan face year long wait

ARAP: Interpreters stranded in Afghanistan face year long wait

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have called out the ‘glacial pace’ of the Afghan interpreters relocation scheme. New analysis conducted by the Liberal Democrats shows that, at the current pace, Afghan interpreters left stranded in the country risk facing a year long wait for their checks to travel to the UK to be cleared. Since 28 August, just 50 applications to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme have completed Home Office checks which enable them to be relocated to the UK. With 850 applicants waiting for checks to be completed, at the current rate the backlog will not be cleared until November 2022. Following reports of a Ministry of Defence data breach, revealing the personal details of some of those who have passed checks but are yet to get out…
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21Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
US trade deal failure another broken manifesto promise from Boris Johnson

US trade deal failure another broken manifesto promise from Boris Johnson

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have accused Boris Johnson of “yet another broken Conservative manifesto promise,” after the Prime Minister admitted that a trade deal with the United States is unlikely to be concluded anytime soon. Boris Johnson yesterday told reporters that “I wouldn’t hold your breath” on the prospects of a UK-US trade deal, adding that Joe Biden “has a lot of fish to fry.” The Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto stated that the party would have 80 per cent of UK trade “covered by free trade agreements within the next three years, starting with the USA.” Liberal Democrat Trade Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP commented: “For years we were told one of the biggest prizes of Brexit would be a trade deal with the United States. “Yet Boris Johnson has effectively admitted…
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20Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government must ‘not let the sun go down’ on the UK performers

Government must ‘not let the sun go down’ on the UK performers

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrats have backed calls from Sir Elton John for the UK Government to urgently resolve the growing crisis facing the UK cultural sector. At their national Conference today, the party has unanimously backed calls for swift action to address the red tape and paperwork that is stopping UK artists, performers, and musicians from being able to tour and perform in Europe. Sir Elton has been a vocal critic of the Government’s failure to resolve this issue, which was caused following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU without a full scheme in place to enable paperless travel for performers. Earlier this year, Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Paul Strasburger hosted a meeting between Sir Elton and Lord Frost, the Government’s chief Brexit negotiator and now Minister for EU Relations, to discuss…
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20Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey announces radical flagship Catch-Up Voucher policy at Lib Dem Conference

Davey announces radical flagship Catch-Up Voucher policy at Lib Dem Conference

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has announced a new flagship Education policy on the third day of the party's conference - Catch-Up Vouchers. The Liberal Democrats are calling for a £15 billion package of education catch-up funding, as recommended by the Government’s former Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins. As part of this, the party is calling for a £5 billion programme of Catch-Up Vouchers for every school child, putting the money directly into parents’ hands to spend on whatever their children need most: tutoring in reading, writing or maths; music lessons; swimming classes or other physical education. This idea of a three-year programme of education Catch-Up Vouchers would become the world’s biggest ever parent-listening exercise. These Catch-Up Vouchers would be doubled and in some cases tripled, for children in…
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20Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Ed Davey on energy crisis: Taxpayers risk footing bill for government failures

Ed Davey on energy crisis: Taxpayers risk footing bill for government failures

Parliamentary news
Commenting on the gas energy crisis, Liberal Democrat leader and former Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: “The Conservatives have taken their eye of the ball by failing to insulate millions of people’s homes and diversify our energy supply. Now taxpayers risk having to foot the bill for the Conservatives’ energy policy failures over the last six years. “We now need urgent action to end this crisis and prevent families having to choose between eating and heating this winter. “Today ministers must restore calm to the market and consider creating a Northern Rock style energy company to take on customers of companies that have gone under. “But we also need a massive home insulation programme so we are prepared for the next crisis. The Liberal Democrats are demanding that all UK…
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20Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Lib Dems call for radical new approach to Israel/Palestine conflict

Lib Dems call for radical new approach to Israel/Palestine conflict

Parliamentary news
The Lib Dems have called for more trade with Palestine and Israel, more resources for peace and upholding of international law by ceasing trade with illegal settlements. Liberal Democrat members have today passed a motion at party conference calling for a new approach to the Israel/Palestine conflict. The motion, the first on Israel/Palestine at Lib Dem conference since 2017, reaffirms the party’s call for immediate recognition of the state of Palestine alongside calling on the UK Government to commit further resources to peace. The Liberal Democrats have become the first UK political party to formally support the creation of a peace fund for the region to build trust between Israeli and Palestinian communities, modelled on similar schemes previously used in Northern Ireland. The motion sees party members call for increased…
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