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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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
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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25Feb 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Budget must include refugee commitment as resettlement plummets

Budget must include refugee commitment as resettlement plummets

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Chancellor to fund an “ambitious, 10-year commitment” to resettle vulnerable refugees from conflict areas in his Budget next week, as new official figures show the number brought to the UK plummeted by 85% in 2020. The Home Office’s latest Immigration Statistics, published today, show that just 823 refugees were resettled in the UK in 2020 – compared to 5,612 in 2019 – after the Government suspended the UK’s resettlement schemes in March and has not reopened them. Meanwhile, the number of people granted asylum in the UK fell by 40%, from 12,561 in 2019 to 7,546 in 2020. The number of children granted asylum is also down by 48% from 3,846 to 1,988. Responding to the figures, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair…
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11Feb 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrats proposals to make Oldham ‘Healthier, Greener, and Cleaner’ presented

Liberal Democrats proposals to make Oldham ‘Healthier, Greener, and Cleaner’ presented

Borough news
Councillor Chris Gloster, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance and Green, had his first opportunity to present the Liberal Democrat budget amendments to fellow Councillors on the Performance Value-for-Money Committee for the first-time last night. The committee is responsible for scrutinising spending and saving proposals in advance of this year’s Budget Council meeting on 4 March. Kindly commended on ‘a grand job’ by Committee Chair, Councillor Riaz Ahmed OBE, Chris was also able to respond to a series of challenging questions from members on this cross-party committee on the detailed report he had produced with assistance from professional Council finance officers. The Liberal Councillors want 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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06Feb 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Our pledge to make Oldham Borough “healthier, greener and cleaner”

Our pledge to make Oldham Borough “healthier, greener and cleaner”

Borough news
The Oldham Liberal Democrats will be proposing in their amendment to Labour’s 2021-22 Council Budget measures to make Oldham a ‘Healthier, Greener and Cleaner’ Borough. They have found cash to invest in: three much needed new health centres for Shaw and Crompton, Saddleworth, and Chadderton;make Oldham Council greener and more energy efficient;improve pavements;and tackle speeding, anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping and dog-fouling across communities. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance and the Green agenda, Councillor Chris Gloster, will be first presenting the Liberal Democrat’s Budget Amendment to the Council’s Performance and Value for Money Committee when it meets on 9 February, for pre Council scrutiny before tabling it for consideration by the Full Council when it debates the budget on 4 March. Over the next five…
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05Oct 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Chancellor’s speech will have disappointed millions in need

Chancellor’s speech will have disappointed millions in need

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have claimed the Chancellor's speech at the Conservative Party's virtual conference will have "disappointed millions who were hoping to hear how he plans to help them through this crisis." Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Christine Jardine said: “The Chancellor’s speech will have disappointed millions who were hoping to hear how he plans to help them through this crisis. “Instead of an extension to furlough, measures to help the millions excluded from help or a boost to universal credit, we were instead given little more than a stump speech to aid Rishi Sunak’s career. “The country needs concrete measures now to support the millions of people who are worried about their jobs and their family’s financial futures.”
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23Sep 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Short-term plans no replacement for full Budget

Short-term plans no replacement for full Budget

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Chancellor's decision to cancel the Autumn Budget, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine said: “If ever there was a time when we needed an Autumn budget to outline long term plans, this is it. Millions of people who are worried about their jobs, their future, and how we will transition into a green economy want to know if this Government has a plan, and what it is. "The Treasury's short term plans are one thing, but people rightly want to know where they are heading. The Chancellor must give a clear answer to questions about where the furlough bridge is leading. At the moment, thousands of people and businesses are looking at a financial cliff edge. They need reassurance. "The Chancellor must give people certainty about the…
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09Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Lib Dems: Consequences of Chancellor ignoring our high streets already clear

Parliamentary news
Responding to the reports that two of the UK's largest high street retailers, John Lewis and Boots, have announced a combined cut of 5,300 jobs, Liberal Democrat Business Spokesperson Sarah Olney said: “The scale of today’s layoffs show the true extent of the crisis facing British high streets. The Conservative Government had the chance to provide real relief for our high streets in yesterday’s summer statement, but instead the Chancellor did nothing for the vast majority of businesses outside of hospitality. "We cannot allow the Government to forget that behind each job loss statistic lies a household struggling to make ends meet. These job losses will devastate our communities and leave families wondering how they are going to get by in the months to come. "The coronavirus crisis has left…
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