07Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Scrap ‘grossly unfair’ postcode lottery for energy bills

Scrap ‘grossly unfair’ postcode lottery for energy bills

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have today called for the scrapping of the regional differences in electricity and gas bills, which sees some households paying £124 more for their gas and electricity just because of where they live. Party leader Ed Davey said Boris Johnson's failure to scrap the differences showed he isn’t serious about “levelling up the country.” The UK is broken up into fourteen different pricing regions where it costs different amounts to get electricity and gas to people’s homes. This leads to people in the North of Scotland, Wales and South West England paying more for their gas and electricity bills than other parts of the country. Analysis by the Liberal Democrats based on those who use a high amount of energy - shows that households in North Wales…
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07Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Kwasi Kwarteng repeats Boris Johnson’s misleading claim that crime is falling

Kwasi Kwarteng repeats Boris Johnson’s misleading claim that crime is falling

Parliamentary news
Kwasi Kwarteng has this morning repeated dishonest comments made by Boris Johnson claiming crime has fallen in the UK, when it has actually increased by 14%, on BBC's Sunday Morning Show. He said that the Prime Minister was right to say that crime has gone down, because "on the doorstep people are saying progress is being made." The Liberal Democrats accused the Business Secretary of having "doubled down on a blatant lie." The UK Statistics Authority last week officially rebuked Boris Johnson and Priti Patel for misleadingly claiming that crime had fallen, following a letter of complaint by Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael. The misleading figures excluded fraud and computer stats which have soared by 47%, leading to an overall 14% rise in crime. The Liberal Democrats have…
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04Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Johnson and Patel misled on crime stats, official watchdog rules

Johnson and Patel misled on crime stats, official watchdog rules

Parliamentary news
The Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir David Norgrove, has ruled that Boris Johnson and Priti Patel "misrepresented" crime statistics and presented them in a "misleading way". It comes after Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael reported the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary to the watchdog for falsely claiming that crime had fallen by 14% between September 2019 and September 2021, when the exact opposite had happened. Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael MP, said: “This is a damning verdict from the official watchdog. Yet more distortions from Boris Johnson and his Cabinet to play down the extent of crime. “When the Government’s record on crime is so bad that both the Prime Minister and Home Secretary feel the need to fiddle the figures, it is clear we…
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02Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Partygate: Lib Dems table Bill to force Boris Johnson to admit if fined over Covid breaches

Partygate: Lib Dems table Bill to force Boris Johnson to admit if fined over Covid breaches

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are proposing a Bill to force Boris Johnson and any other government ministers to reveal whether they have been issued with a fine for breaching Covid rules. Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP will be presenting the Ministerial Disclosure Bill to the Commons this afternoon. Analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found Boris Johnson could face fines of up to £12,300 for the six gatherings currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Police which is currently suspected of having attended. If Boris Johnson receives a fine, there is currently no legal mechanism to force him to reveal this to the public. Under the terms of the Liberal Democrat Bill, Boris Johnson and any other government minister who was fined for a breach of Covid rules would…
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02Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Lib Dems report Johnson & Patel over false crime stat claims

Lib Dems report Johnson & Patel over false crime stat claims

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have reported both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary to the statistics watchdog for falsely claiming a reduction in overall crime levels. Alistair Carmichael, the party’s Home Affairs Spokesperson, has written to Sir David Norgrove, Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, about comments made by Boris Johnson in the House of Commons yesterday and by Priti Patel in a Home Office press release last week. During his statement on the Sue Gray investigation, Johnson claimed “we have been cutting crime by 14%”. In a press release on Thursday, Patel said “This Government continues to cut crime through our Beating Crime Plan”. Both claims are directly contradicted by the latest official crime figures, published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday. They show “a 14% increase…
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02Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Levelling up: Yet another of Boris Johnson’s empty slogans

Levelling up: Yet another of Boris Johnson’s empty slogans

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Government's new levelling up plan, Liberal Democrat Communities and Local Government Spokesperson Tim Farron MP said: "These promises will ring hollow in communities that have been neglected by the Conservatives for decades. “Families are facing a cost of living crisis and Tory tax hikes are just months away. They need support now, not rhetoric about far off targets in 2030. "The Government has failed to invest in some of the most deprived regions, in catch up funding for our children and in faster broadband for rural areas. "Levelling up has been exposed as yet another of Boris Johnson's empty slogans."
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01Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey: Boris Johnson must not use taxpayers’ cash for legal advice

Davey: Boris Johnson must not use taxpayers’ cash for legal advice

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has demanded that Boris Johnson must not be able to use taxpayers’ cash to fund his legal advice over the police investigation into law-breaking parties held in Downing Street. Ed Davey has written today to Treasury Solicitor Susanna McGibbon, who oversees the Government Legal Department, calling on her to ensure Boris Johnson does not receive taxpayer-funded legal advice or representation from government lawyers in relation to his alleged breaches of Covid laws. The letter adds that it would be “completely unacceptable for taxpayers to bear the cost of the Prime Minister trying to defend himself from these allegations.” The Government Legal Department had total spending of over £264 million in 2020-21. The Metropolitan Police yesterday confirmed they are investigating eight gatherings believed to have breached…
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01Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
PM’s trip to Ukraine: too little, too late

PM’s trip to Ukraine: too little, too late

Parliamentary news
Responding to the news that Boris Johnson is to travel to Ukraine to meet with president Volodymyr Zelensky for talks the day after he missed a call with Vladimir Putin, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Layla Moran MP said: “Britain deserves so much better than having Boris Johnson represent us on the world stage. He’s been missing in action while war looms in Europe - and while he might be playing catch-up now, it’s too little, too late. “This is the man who picked pleading with his backbenchers over talking tough to Vladimir Putin. He’s spent the last month phoning wavering Tory MPs when he should have been meeting foreign leaders. “Boris Johnson’s lies make him unfit to hold the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He is…
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01Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey: PM must “come clean” if fined by police

Davey: PM must “come clean” if fined by police

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports Number 10 won't say if Boris Johnson and others in Downing Street are fined by the police over law-breaking parties, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: "This stinks of a cover up by Number 10. Even Richard Nixon believed a country deserves to know whether their leader is a crook. “Boris Johnson must come clean with the public and resign if he's broken the rules and been fined by the police. We cannot allow justice delayed to become justice denied."
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28Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Failure to publish Sue Gray report in full would be an “insult to the bereaved”

Failure to publish Sue Gray report in full would be an “insult to the bereaved”

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has written to Boris Johnson demanding he publish the Sue Gray report in full, alongside any accompanying evidence such as photos, emails and messages. The letter warns that any attempt to use the Met Police as an excuse to “whitewash” the report will only cause more public anger, including among tens of thousands of bereaved families furious with Boris Johnson for holding rule-breaking parties in Number 10. The letter states that nothing should be left out or redacted from the report unless that has been specifically requested by the police. The Liberal Democrats also highlight how government ministers have referred to the Sue Gray report over 130 times in Parliament in recent weeks, including 22 times by Boris Johnson himself. The letter adds that government…
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