Conservative failure – Page 4 – Saddleworth Liberal Democrats

24Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

BP driver shortages: Tories must scrap arbitrary immigration rules

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.”

17Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

22,000 fraud cases dropped by the police last year, new figures show

Parliamentary news

The Liberal Democrats have accused the Home Secretary Priti Patel of being “asleep at the wheel” in the fight against fraud, after the party revealed that over 22,000 investigations into fraud cases were dropped by police last year. Analysis of Home Office figures shows that between April 2020 and March 2021, 22,420 fraud cases were closed without a suspect being identified, an increase of 20% on the previous 12 months. Only 9% (4,853) of all the 51,870 cases closed in 2020/21 resulted in a suspect being charged. The Liberal Democrats are demanding an urgent government strategy to tackle the fraud epidemic, support victims and catch the criminals responsible. Online fraud has soared during the Covid pandemic, with internet banking fraud more than doubling between 2019 and 2020. Those falling victim…

03Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Another ‘Winter of Discontent’ looms due to Tory failure

Parliamentary news

Reflecting on the series of crises that are erupting under the Conservative Government, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Treasury Christine Jardine MP said: "The Government has spent months lurching from crisis to crisis, and the consequences will be felt by normal families as we head towards Christmas. "From driver shortages to the lack of food on shelves, to huge backlogs in our NHS and courts, it is clear Boris Johnson is steering us towards another Winter of Discontent. "His Government is wilfully exacerbating the problem by pulling away furlough and taking away the Universal Credit uplift, which will hit the worst off in society hardest." "This all comes amid rising Covid cases as children return to schools. History tells us this dithering, incompetent Government will fail to get a grip…

03Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Continued wait for EU replacement cash means Conservative government ‘short-changing Oldham’, says Sykes

Borough news

Oldham Liberal Democrats are disappointed that promised government cash to replace the development grants previously provided by the European Union is too little and still hasn’t arrived. In the last round of European funding (2014-2020), the ten Greater Manchester authorities received £322.75m [European Regional Development Funding (ERDF) (£176.78m) and the European Social Funding (ESF) (£145.97m)]. Over each of the six years this represented £53.8m per year. In 2017, the Conservatives promised to replace these funds with a new UK Shared Prosperity Fund once the UK exited the European Union. Ministers now say they plan to launch this in 2022 and in the meantime have made only £220 million available this year through a stopgap UK Community Renewal Fund. Local authorities have been invited to bid, with those councils in greater…

02Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Raab should get on a plane or hand in his notice

Parliamentary news

The Lib Dems are calling on Raab to get the next flight to Pakistan, Tajikistan or Uzbekistan to meet with his Foreign Minister counterparts. He must fly to the region immidiately to ensure British nationals and refugees can safely cross land borders. Layla Moran MP, Lib Dem Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, said: "Dominic Raab should get on a plane or hand in his notice. He needs to fly out to countries neighbouring Afghanistan and ensure British nationals and refugees can escape the Taliban. "If the German Foreign Minister can do it, then so can he. Today he sent 15 British officials to these countries, yet can't be bothered to go himself. He's continuing to pass the buck on leadership. "He has wasted months and refused to stand up for Britain…

28Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Create safe passage corridor in next 24 hours

Parliamentary news

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has called on the Prime Minister to create a safe passage corridor for Afghans in the next 24 hours. He said: “The deaths of British people and many others in this appalling terrorist attack breaks our hearts. My thoughts are with the families of the victims in this awful moment. "The Government must do everything it can to secure a safe passage corridor in the next 24 hours to get all those fleeing the Taliban and the terrorists out of Afghanistan safely.”

27Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Urgent Inquiry into UK exit from Afghanistan needed

Parliamentary news

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an urgent inquiry into the Government’s handling of the evacuation of UK Nationals and Afghans from Afghanistan as the last British flight leaves Kabul. In a letter to Boris Johnson, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey MP branded the UK withdrawal from Afghanistan as “the biggest British foreign policy disaster since the Suez Crisis”. He also challenged the Prime Minister to come clean on several outstanding issues, including Dominic Raab going on holiday as the Taliban advanced, how many Afghans had been left behind in the UK’s rush to withdraw and what actions the Prime Minister took over the last two years to persuade first President Trump, and then President Biden, not to withdraw US troops. The Liberal Democrat Leader argues a short but immediate…

23Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Raab must go

Parliamentary news

The Liberal Democrats have called on Dominic Raab to resign as Foreign Secretary. Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, said: "Dominic Raab must resign today. If he does not, the Prime Minister should finally show some leadership, and sack him. "Right now, there are interpreters across Afghanistan who are surrounded by the Taliban and fearing the worst. "All the Foreign Secretary had to do was leave the beach and pick up the phone. He did not. "He has shamed Britain and is no longer fit to represent our country. “Dominic Raab wasn’t just asleep at the wheel. He was wilfully complacent and will go down as one of the worst Foreign Secretaries in history. "He has personally overseen the biggest foreign policy disaster in our lifetimes, and…

18Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Gun licensing: Shouldn’t have taken tragedy for Patel to act

Parliamentary news

Responding to Priti Patel’s announcement that the Government will bring forward statutory guidance on firearms licensing, Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson for Home Affairs Brian Paddick said: “It shouldn’t have taken the tragic shootings in Plymouth for the Home Secretary to finally strengthen gun licensing checks. “Experts have been calling for new statutory guidance for six years, and Parliament legislated for it more than four years ago. Priti Patel’s failure to introduce it until now is unforgivable. “The first duty of the Government is to keep people safe. That means acting quickly and decisively on expert advice, not waiting for the next tragedy to force it into action.”

18Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Probation report: Invest in drug treatment to cut crime

Parliamentary news

Responding to HM Inspectorate of Probation’s report exposing the lack of specialist drug treatment for people on probation, Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP said: “The Conservatives abject failure to tackle the causes of crime is making our communities less safe. “We know that effective drug treatment – both in prison and in the community – is crucial for stopping people from reoffending. We know that drug-related crime costs taxpayers £9 billion every year. So why won’t the Government invest what is needed to treat drug addiction and stop more people becoming victims of crime? “Sadly, Conservative Ministers are spending too much time trying to sound tough on crime, and not doing what will actually work to prevent it. “To break the cycle of reoffending, we must turn prisons…

Tag: Conservative failure