10Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Demand for urgent hospitality summit to rescue pubs and restaurants facing collapse

Demand for urgent hospitality summit to rescue pubs and restaurants facing collapse

Parliamentary news
Ahead of new Covid restrictions coming into effect, Liberal Democrat MPs have called for an emergency hospitality summit to save businesses on the brink. With some restaurants already losing half their Christmas bookings, and footfall levels in many towns and cities due to drop off, there is an urgent need for action. Businesses are increasingly worried about the coming months, with today's GDP figure rising by just 0.1% and tax rises to hit smaller businesses hard in the new year. Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP and the party's Business Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP, have written to the Business Minister demanding action. Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper MP said: "Boris' botched and rushed announcement of more Covid restrictions without offering any new support for our hospitality sector is a scandal.…
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09Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Covid pass app crashes days before vaccine passports introduced

Covid pass app crashes days before vaccine passports introduced

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports the NHS Covid pass app has already crashed following the announcement the government will introduce Covid passports from next week, Liberal Democrat Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: “The government’s Covid ID cards plans have already descended into a shambles on the same day they were announced. “This chaos is leaving people unable to access the Covid pass app, just days before they will need to start using it to attend events. Ministers must fix this mess now before people are shut out of events simply because the government’s app doesn’t work. “It shows that Covid passports are not only illiberal but unworkable. The Conservatives may be able to organise a party in Number 10, but they can’t roll out Covid ID cards without them…
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09Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
PM accused of “rank hypocrisy” as figures over 70,000 people have been fined for lockdown parties

PM accused of “rank hypocrisy” as figures over 70,000 people have been fined for lockdown parties

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have slammed Boris Johnson’s “rank hypocrisy” on the Number 10 Christmas party, after it emerged over 70,000 people have been fined by police for gatherings banned under lockdown rules. Figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council reveal 74,354 Fixed Penalty Notices were handed out for illegal gatherings under the various Covid regulations between March 2019 and the end of restrictions in July 2021. These were typically fines of £200, meaning people would have been fined around £15 million for holding illegal gatherings during the pandemic. 4,321 of those Fixed Penalty Notices were for gatherings that breached the Tier 3 rules, which applied to the whole of London when the Number 10 Christmas party took place last December. A total of 2,296 fines were handed out for all…
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09Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Plan B: Downing Street late to the party on work from home

Plan B: Downing Street late to the party on work from home

Parliamentary news
Responding to the government announcing 'Plan B' measures in England, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: "Once again, Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have shown that they think it’s one rule for them and another for everyone else. "It’s extremely damaging, and undermines public trust in this Government at a critical time. “Asking the public to work from home where they can is the right thing to do but once again, why has it taken so long to act? The Government’s own scientific advisors said that working from home would have the single biggest impact on reducing Covid cases, weeks ago. "The Liberal Democrats have been calling for this already, but yet again the Conservatives are late to the party on this - not something you can say of those…
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09Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Boris WhatsApp messages must be handed over to Simon Case investigation

Boris WhatsApp messages must be handed over to Simon Case investigation

Parliamentary news
The Cabinet Secretary has been urged to include Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages as part of the investigation into Christmas parties at Downing Street. The demand follows this morning’s revelations that WhatsApp messages from Boris Johnson suggested he misled Lord Geidt's investigation into Downing Street flat donations. Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse has called on the Cabinet Secretary to investigate if the Prime Minister attended illegal Christmas parties held on the 13th and 27th November, and publish full findings, including relevant WhatsApp messages. Commenting on the letter, Liberal Democrat Justice spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP said: “Simon Case cannot fail the British public. He must not be misled by Boris Johnson the same way it appears Lord Geidt was over dodgy donations. “The public must see justice is done on this, and…
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09Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Inquiry must look into all Downing Street parties

Inquiry must look into all Downing Street parties

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called for the Cabinet Office inquiry to be extended into all parties that took place in Number 10 last year, along with any that took place in other government departments. It comes after Boris Johnson confirmed at a press conference today that he has only asked Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to look into the party that took place on December 18 last year, not an earlier gathering that the prime minister allegedly attended on November 27. Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said: “Boris Johnson has already done huge damage to public trust. Now he’s making things even worse by dodging scrutiny about claims he attended other parties at Downing Street. “The official inquiry must be widened to look into all the parties held…
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08Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Davey: PM must fess up over Xmas party

Davey: PM must fess up over Xmas party

Parliamentary news
Responding to a new leaked video which shows the Prime Minister's former press secretary joking about a party in Downing Street last Christmas, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said: "People will rightly be furious with Boris Johnson, not just for holding a party during lockdown, but also for refusing to own up to it. Once again he shows it's one rule for us and one rule for him, with the Conservatives continuing to take people for granted. "Whilst millions cancelled plans and had to be alone at Christmas, unable to celebrate, or worse unable to say goodbye to a dying loved one - the Prime Minister was breaking his own rules to allow a boozy party in No10. "It's clear that Boris Johnson has never believed the rules apply…
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04Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Booster jabs: Government cannot afford any more delays and mistakes

Booster jabs: Government cannot afford any more delays and mistakes

Parliamentary news
Responding to the news that most under-40s are unlikely to be able to book their booster jab until the new year, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: "For months the government's booster programme has been a botch job. Millions of eligible people are still waiting for their booster. "On top of that ministers have have failed to fix the vital third jab roll-out for clinically vulnerable people, leaving thousands without this extra protection this winter. "Ministers must pull out all the stops to sort out this mess and speed up the booster roll-out in the coming weeks. The government cannot afford any more delays and mistakes."
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04Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government crazy to ignore SAGE advice on working from home

Government crazy to ignore SAGE advice on working from home

Parliamentary news
Responding to the latest SAGE advice on Omicron, which says that working from home is a "highly relevant" measure for reducing Covid cases, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: “How many times does SAGE need to recommend ‘working from home’ before the government actually listens? "Working from home is a cheap and simple way to reduce contacts and COVID transmission, and the government is crazy to ignore it."
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01Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Zahawi breaks yet another promise as school absences soar by 80,000

Zahawi breaks yet another promise as school absences soar by 80,000

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have accused Education Secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, of breaking more promises as new statistics from the Department for Education revealed 216,000 children have missed school over two weeks, a rise of 47%. Despite the Education Secretary’s promises to tackle these absences “head on” in October, these figures show 1 in 50 students have missed school during the last two weeks. This is in addition to his broken promises on “investing in schools” to beat Covid, with the Government only stumping up one-third of the recommended catch up funding. Zahawi also promised to “do far more for vulnerable children”, yet IFS figures show that the most deprived schools have been hit the hardest and the failure of the National Tutoring Programme. The party also says he has not listened…
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