25Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Agnew resignation: Buck stops with Sunak over lost Billions

Agnew resignation: Buck stops with Sunak over lost Billions

Parliamentary news
Responding to the resignation of Treasury Minister Lord Agnew over Covid loan fraud, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said: "Will the last Boris Johnson supporter left turn off the lights? “With two Ministerial resignations in two months and dozens of Tory MPs on the brink of handing in their letters into 1922, this is truly a Conservative government paralysed by chaos. "It is outrageous this Government has allowed fraudsters to steal billions of taxpayer's money, especially when households are facing unfair tax hikes. “The combination of ‘arrogance, indolence, and ignorance’ which Lord Agnew referred to cannot be allowed to continue. “The buck stops with Rishi Sunak. He must explain how he’s going to get back these billions he allowed to be stolen from our schools, hospitals and police…
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28Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Covid air filters for all classrooms half the cost of PM’s Royal Yacht

Covid air filters for all classrooms half the cost of PM’s Royal Yacht

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats estimate that putting an air purifier in every classroom in England would cost around £140 million, around half the price of Boris Johnson’s pet project - the new £250 million Royal Yacht. The cost would also be a fraction of Government expenditure on a botched Test and Trace system and dodgy PPE contracts. At present, Government guidance suggests that teachers should open external windows and internal doors to improve “natural ventilation” and schools “should balance the need for increased ventilation while maintaining a comfortable temperature” - difficult to do during the cold winter months. With criminal record checks acting as a brake on moves to get retired teachers to return to the classrooms, and barely half of teenagers yet to receive one jab, the dangers of schools…
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19Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Frost resignation: The rats are fleeing Boris Johnson’s sinking ship

Frost resignation: The rats are fleeing Boris Johnson’s sinking ship

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports Lord Frost has resigned from the government, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Layla Moran said: “This shock resignation is a sign of the chaos and confusion at the heart of this Conservative government. "The rats are fleeing Boris Johnson's sinking ship as he lurches from crisis to crisis. "Even the prime minister's once loyal supporters are now abandoning him, just as lifelong Conservative voters are switching in their droves to the Liberal Democrats. “At a time we need strong leadership to get us through the pandemic, we instead have a weak prime minister who has lost the support of his allies and the trust of the British people.”
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19Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liz Truss Brexit appointment: PM setting up leadership rival to fail

Liz Truss Brexit appointment: PM setting up leadership rival to fail

Parliamentary news
Responding to the news that Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will take over Lord Frost's Brexit responsibilities following his resignation, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Layla Moran MP said: “The Tories are tearing themselves apart under Boris Johnson. The Prime Minister is more interested in setting his leadership rivals up to fail than doing what’s right for the country. “Liz Truss has shown time and again that she doesn’t care about the national interest - she’s only interested in appealing to Conservative party members. That is a disgrace. “Under David Frost, our relations with Europe were already teetering on the brink of a trade war. Families and small businesses up and down the country will now be seriously worried about what the future holds for our trade with Europe.”
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15Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey: North Shropshire by-election now a “coin toss” between Lib Dems and Conservatives

Davey: North Shropshire by-election now a “coin toss” between Lib Dems and Conservatives

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has said the crucial North Shropshire by-election tomorrow (Thursday 16 December) is now a “coin toss” between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives. The once ultra-safe Conservative seat is now under serious threat, amid local anger about ambulance waiting times, farmers being let down and rural communities feeling taken for granted by Boris Johnson’s Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats knocked on over 23,000 doors last weekend with over 1,000 volunteers on the ground during the final week. On eve of the poll today, Liberal Democrat candidate Helen Morgan was joined on the campaign trail by five of the party’s MPs. Even a close second for the party would deal a major further blow to Boris Johnson’s authority in what should be one of the safest Conservative seats…
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14Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
PM ‘moving the goalposts’ on booster jabs

PM ‘moving the goalposts’ on booster jabs

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Department of Health rowing back on the Prime Minister's promise for everyone to 'get their booster before the New Year', Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: "Boris Johnson’s panicked announcement has once again caused chaos and confusion. Last night he promised people they could get a booster before the New Year, now ministers are moving the goalposts and saying people will only be offered one by then. “Their failure to prepare properly now means that NHS websites have crashed, lateral flow tests are running out, and everyone working to get people vaccinated have been left scrambling to fix a mess of the government’s own making. “Many patients are worried about what this means for their treatment in the coming weeks and whether they’ll actually be…
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14Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Javid snubs meeting with West Mids ambulance trust despite warnings

Javid snubs meeting with West Mids ambulance trust despite warnings

Parliamentary news
The Health Secretary Sajid Javid has ignored requests for a meeting with his local ambulance trust in the West Midlands, despite warnings that record delays are posing a “catastrophic risk” to patients in the region. Board documents from the trust reveal that the Health Secretary was invited to a meeting over four months ago but has still not replied. It comes despite the local trust warning that record handover delays at the region’s hospitals are putting patients at risk of severe harm or even death, as it moved its risk rating to the highest possible level for the first time ever. The trust recently apologised to one 95-year old woman who was left waiting for 11 hours on the floor of her home for an ambulance with a suspected broken…
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04Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
PM panic visit to North Shropshire a cynical attempt to gloss over decades of neglect

PM panic visit to North Shropshire a cynical attempt to gloss over decades of neglect

Parliamentary news
Commenting on Boris Johnson's visit to North Shropshire, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: "The Prime Minister turning up in North Shropshire is nothing less than a panic visit, two weeks out from the election because he’s scared of an upset. "His visit will be seen for what it is - a cynical attempt to gloss over the fact that people are worried sick about ambulance wait times and feel taken for granted. "The people of North Shropshire are ready to send a message to Johnson’s government: their local health services have been failed, local farmers are being failed, and Shropshire couldn’t be further away from his levelling up agenda. “We need to send this Prime Minister a message that he can’t just jump in…
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01Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Carers taken for granted by Conservative Government

Carers taken for granted by Conservative Government

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Government's new white paper proposals on social care, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey MP said: “Carers and their loved ones deserve far more support, but with these proposals the Conservative Government is taking them for granted yet again. “More than 1.5 million people are missing out on the care they need. To pretend you can fix that with no new funding, and without addressing the huge shortage of staff, is just insulting people’s intelligence. “Boris Johnson has broken promise after promise on social care. He’s hitting people with an unfair tax rise while failing to protect people from losing their homes. “Social care is far too important for another Boris bodge. Let’s finally have the serious cross-party talks we need to agree a long-term solution…
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19Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Damning NAO report shows PM must apologise for pandemic failings

Damning NAO report shows PM must apologise for pandemic failings

Parliamentary news
Responding to the National Audit Office report on the Government’s failure to prepare for the Covid-19 pandemic, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said: “This is a damning report that reveals a comprehensive failure from government to prepare adequately for the pandemic. “That failure has cost many lives and contributed to an economic collapse the scale of which we are yet to understand. Most hurt of all will be a generation of school children left behind by the Conservatives who still refuse to make more funding available to help pupils catch up. “The Prime Minister must apologise for this failure and acknowledge that an apology is only the beginning of the process. We need an immediate full inquiry and he must make £15 billion available for children to catch up…
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