10Sep 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government must make Covid test available to all that need one

Government must make Covid test available to all that need one

Parliamentary news
Responding to the press conference by the Prime Minister, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “The Government is making the right decision to strengthen the coronavirus guidelines in England. Clearly rapid testing by spring would be a welcome advancement. “However, the Government must take immediate action to increase the level of testing available right now. It is simply not acceptable that people are being asked to travel for several hours for a test, or are unable to book a test at all. “Ministers must also put forward financial plans for people and businesses that continue to be heavily affected. As the Coronavirus will continue to force many businesses and self employed to stop working, thousands of jobs are at risk. "The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government…
Read More
03Sep 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Education Secretary must come clean about what he knew, and when

Education Secretary must come clean about what he knew, and when

Parliamentary news
Speaking after the Chair of Ofqual told MPs today that it was a "fundamental mistake" to believe a controversial algorithm initially used for A-level and GCSE results would "ever be acceptable to the public", Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: “The A level scandal caused untold distress and anguish for too many young people. "It is now clear as day that the Education Secretary stubbornly refused to heed warnings about this approach and that the decisions which led to this fiasco were firmly in his hands. "Pupils and parents need to have confidence that children and young people can return to full time education and stay there. Instead, this Government just keeps lurching from one crisis to the next. "After shamelessly hanging officials out to dry, the Education Secretary…
Read More
03Sep 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Three in 10 still not being contacted to isolate

Three in 10 still not being contacted to isolate

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Government missing its 80% target for a tenth consecutive week, with more than 3 in 10 close contacts of people testing positive for COVID-19 not being contacted, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Munira Wilson said: “With children going back to school, the priority has to be keeping people safe. Instead, Ministers have failed to deliver a comprehensive strategy to test, trace and isolate every case of coronavirus. "It is utterly unacceptable. The public deserves to know what is going wrong. That’s why the Liberal Democrats are calling for an independent inquiry to be launched now so we can learn lessons to prevent further spread of the virus."
Read More
30Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Missed test and trace targets show need for inquiry

Missed test and trace targets show need for inquiry

Parliamentary news
Responding to figures revealing the Government's test and trace system has missed its 80% target for a ninth consecutive week, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Munira Wilson said: “With students going back to school and autumn arriving, the priority must be keeping people safe as lockdown is eased. "Despite it being months since we went into lockdown, 1 in 4 close contacts are consistently not being contacted. The Government must take a serious look at its efforts to deliver the comprehensive strategy to test, trace and isolate every case of coronavirus that is needed to keep people safe. "Given the multitude of mistakes made by this Government throughout the pandemic, an inquiry must be launched now so that all levels of Government can learn lessons to prevent further spread of the…
Read More
26Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Boris Johnson put saving his advisor above the national interest

Boris Johnson put saving his advisor above the national interest

Parliamentary news
New survey data from the Office for National Statistics shows that the Dominic Cummings scandal eroded people’s belief that the UK would emerge more united from the coronavirus crisis. The proportion of people believing that Britain would emerge from the pandemic “very or somewhat united” fell from 49% the week before the Cummings scandal broke, to 43% the week after, and has fallen further since to 28%. Meanwhile, the proportion saying we will be “very or somewhat divided” jumped from 31% to 38% when the scandal broke, and now stands at 55%. Responding to the figures, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “Despite the enormous toll that the coronavirus crisis is taking, the British people have shown a powerful desire to pull together as a country. We…
Read More
23Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government must extend support to protect local jobs, Lib Dems warn

Government must extend support to protect local jobs, Lib Dems warn

Borough news, Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to continue furlough support until it is safe and extend support to those who have so far been excluded by the Government. Acting leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey MP, who is asking the public to join the party's campaign to protect workers, warned that the Government must not "undo the work and threaten mass unemployment." According to government statistics published this week, 32,000 of people in Oldham have benefited from the job retention scheme. Government statistics also show a further 8,900 people in Oldham are receiving financial support through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, following a successful campaign by the Liberal Democrats. However, the party has warned some of the worst hit are the country's self-employed workers, three million of whom…
Read More
21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government continue to threaten economic recovery

Government continue to threaten economic recovery

Parliamentary news
Responding to ONS figures that show retail sales rose above pre-pandemic levels in July, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “This will be welcome news for so many people working on our high streets who would have spent several months worried about their job. "However, we are not out of the woods yet. The Government is yet to bring forward a proper plan for high streets in locally locked down areas, so people are likely to go through more tough times. “The Government also continues to threaten our economic recovery with its damaging Brexit policy. The fact that we could still leave negotiations with the EU with a bad or no deal means that many high street businesses will still be very concerned about what the future…
Read More
21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
“Shameful” that bereaved families of NHS and care workers risk losing access to welfare benefits

“Shameful” that bereaved families of NHS and care workers risk losing access to welfare benefits

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have warned it is "shameful" that bereaved families of NHS and care workers who die of coronavirus risk losing access to welfare benefits if they receive payments under the government's Covid-19 compensation scheme and called on Ministers to "scrap this senseless rule immediately." The Government has confirmed that families who receive the £60,000 payout under the scheme will no longer be able to claim for universal credit, housing benefit or pension credit, as they would be in breach of capital limits. Layla Moran led the cross-party campaign calling for the introduction of the Covid-19 compensation scheme for families of NHS and care workers who lose their lives to coronavirus. Figures she uncovered in July revealed only 19 families had benefited so far from the scheme, despite there…
Read More
21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Extending eviction ban nothing more than kicking the can down the road

Extending eviction ban nothing more than kicking the can down the road

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports that the eviction ban in England will be extended until 20 September, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said: “No-one should face losing their homes while this deadly virus still hasn't been properly brought under control. "Extending the eviction ban by just a mere month is nothing more than kicking the can down the road. It is a dereliction of duty. "For families who have been days away from the threat of eviction, this news will go down like a bucket of cold sick. "The Government must get real on renters right and immediately ease worries by extending the ban until there is a proper long-term solution for people who have found themselves in crisis."
Read More
21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Local testing long overdue, but we need no repeat of shambolic start in Shaw

Local testing long overdue, but we need no repeat of shambolic start in Shaw

Borough news
The Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, is pleased that Covid-19 testing will finally be delivered from mobile testing units located in district centres across Oldham. But he condemns the chaos caused by the failure of the promised Shaw local testing unit to turn up on the first day, or arrive on time on the second day, or turn up without full kit on another day and left early on another day. Councillor Sykes said: “It was a total shambles. We were promised a testing unit in Shaw on Tuesday last week (4 August) – it failed to show. And we were promised another on Friday of last week (7 August) – it arrived two and a half…
Read More