18Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Integrated Rail Plan: Consolation prizes for millions after broken Conservative promise

Integrated Rail Plan: Consolation prizes for millions after broken Conservative promise

Parliamentary news
Responding to early details of the Government's Integrated Rail Plan before its unveiling, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: "If Boris Johnson says he crashed the car into a ditch over his handling of Tory sleaze, then he's careered off the tracks with this miserable rail plan. "In breaking a promise he made to half of England, he's made a complete mockery of his so-called levelling up agenda and left Britain with a rail system that is decades behind the times. "Millions of people across the Midlands and the North will be waking up to hear they've been thrown a few consolation prizes that'll do next to nothing in solving the capacity issues on their railways. "It just goes to show that this Conservative Government is out of…
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16Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Tory sleaze U-turn descends into farce

Tory sleaze U-turn descends into farce

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Government's failure to endorse a Standards Committee report on rule breaches by former Conservative MP Owen Paterson, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP said: "This is a total farce. First, the Government scheduled this motion so there would be no chance for debate. Now, the motion hasn’t passed. "It’s insulting that, after two weeks of this scandal, the Government couldn’t even perform their sleaze U-turn successfully. This tells you all you need to know about the state of the Conservative Party. "It’s vital that the Government brings this back before MPs as soon as possible. Every day that goes by without this being repealed, the more embarrassing this whole affair becomes. We must move forward."
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14Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey: PM has wasted COP26

Davey: PM has wasted COP26

Parliamentary news
Commenting on the conclusion of a deal at COP26 in Glasgow with only a commitment to 'phase down' the use of coal, Liberal Democrat Leader and former Secretary of State for Energy Sir Ed Davey MP said: “It sadly looks like the Prime Minister has flunked the chance for the UK to lead real progress in the fight against the climate crisis. His COP has barely been worth excess emissions caused by the flights to Glasgow. “We now need an urgent action plan to sort out the mess: we simply cannot sit and wait for COP27 and then COP28 after that. We need a global leaders’ summit within months to get China round the table and put the fossil fuel industry on notice once and for all. “Over the last…
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12Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Zahawi ignoring school meal shortage crisis at his front door

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP has written to the Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi accusing him of ignoring the school meal shortage crisis after it had been revealed schools are being told to stock up on food.  ITV has reported that ISS, one of the UK’s largest canteen suppliers, has written to its school catering staff to advise them to stock up on food to ensure pupils can be fed through the winter months. It comes after months of warnings about the potential shortage crisis.  In a letter to Zahawi, Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey MP said that parents have already “endured so much and worked so hard during the pandemic.” He added, “For far too many children this is their one hot meal of the day and for…
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12Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey: Pandemic report shows “unimaginable crisis of leadership”

Davey: Pandemic report shows “unimaginable crisis of leadership”

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Science and Technology Select Committee's report on the government's handling of the pandemic, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “This report chronicles an almost unimaginable crisis of leadership in slow motion. As every mistake was made, experts and politicians, including the Liberal Democrats, warned this incompetent government. “Whether it was the snail's pace reaction in the early months of the spread, the failure of test and trace or the failure to pay self isolating people properly, the Conservatives were begged to change course. They either refused or acted too late. “Perhaps the saddest and most abiding image of the pandemic was families watching a loved one’s funeral over a computer. As this report confirms there were far more funerals than there needed to be, far…
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06Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Green electricity: PM full of “bombast and bluster”

Green electricity: PM full of “bombast and bluster”

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have called out Boris Johnson for being full of “bombast and bluster” on green electricity, pointing to the Government’s poor record on renewables. The Prime Minister plans to use his keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference to announce that all of Britain's electricity will come from renewable sources by 2035. But a recent analysis by the Liberal Democrats found that UK renewables growth is actually at its slowest rate since 2010. The UK also recently fired up old coal power plants to meet the nation’s electricity demand, as gas prices have soared. Wera Hobhouse MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Climate Emergency and Energy, said: “Yet again this Government is guilty of chasing headlines whilst failing to take the necessary action to achieve what they claim they…
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06Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
EU HGV driver visas: Sticking plaster solution is dismal failure

EU HGV driver visas: Sticking plaster solution is dismal failure

Parliamentary news
Responding to the news that the Government has only received 127 visa applications from EU HGV drivers, Liberal Democrat Business Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: "The Government's sticking plaster solution to recruit drivers at the last minute has been exposed as a dismal failure. "Ministers knew that their new immigration rules were worsening the HGV driver shortage for months, yet they sat on their hands and waited until it was too late. This lack of leadership has let down all those people still struggling to fill up their tank and go about their daily lives. "The Government must urgently treat this crisis with the urgency it deserves. They need to stop branding HGV drivers and other key workers as "unskilled", and allow them to work here for a longer period…
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06Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey: Boris Johnson is living in a parallel universe

Davey: Boris Johnson is living in a parallel universe

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Prime Minister's speech at the Conservative party conference, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “Boris Johnson’s speech was the most out of touch display by a Prime Minister in decades, he has created a cost of living crisis which he refuses to fix. “The Conservative Party conference may as well be happening in a parallel universe. Johnson pretends that somehow long queues at the petrol station and empty shelves in the supermarket are all part of his cunning plan and blames anyone he can for the wreckage he is causing: UK businesses, journalists and the British public. “People across the country are working hard and making big sacrifices, yet the Prime Minister refuses to offer any meaningful support. Instead he's hitting millions of working families…
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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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