07Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Elections Bill: Blatant assault on democratic rights

Elections Bill: Blatant assault on democratic rights

Parliamentary news
Ahead of tonight's vote on the controversial Elections Bill, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Home Affairs Alistair Carmichael MP said: “You don’t strengthen our democracy by making it harder for people to vote. “The Conservatives’ voter ID law is a blatant assault on our fundamental democratic rights, and Liberal Democrats will resist it all the way. “Between this and their attacks on the courts, the Human Rights Act and the right to peaceful protest, Boris Johnson and his Tory Ministers are desperately trying to stop people holding them to account for their disastrous policies. We won’t let them. “Instead of pushing ahead with their discriminatory and unnecessary voter ID law, Ministers should get behind our efforts to build a better politics with a fairer electoral system.”
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09Feb 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Abrahams approach to tax doesn’t add up

Abrahams approach to tax doesn’t add up

Borough news
Oldham East and Saddleworth's Labour MP Debbie Abrahams opposition to taxing online giants such as Amazon on Politics North West this weekend has been criticised by Oldham Councillor and tax campaigner Sam Al-Hamdani. When asked if she would support proposals to introduce an online sales tax, intended to combat tax avoidance and raise money for the Coronavirus response, Abrahams said: “Not at this stage.” She even pushed back against the presenter’s suggestion that: “There is nothing wrong with getting the online giants to pay their tax”, saying: “I wouldn’t want to be considering increases in taxation at this stage.” Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said that the MP’s response did not add up. “It shows a complete disregard for what is happening in the real world. While people running local…
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09Feb 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
New IPPR report shows Hostile Environment must go

New IPPR report shows Hostile Environment must go

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Institute for Public Policy Research’s new report, ‘Beyond the Hostile Environment’, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:“As this report shows, the UK’s immigration system is broken and it is hurting us all. The appalling Windrush Scandal should have been the end of the Hostile Environment, but despite their apologies the Conservatives have kept their cruel, discriminatory policies in force. “People who have every right to live in the UK are wrongfully denied healthcare, made homeless, detained and even deported. Public confidence in the system has been shattered. This has to stop. “We owe it to the victims of the Windrush Scandal to ensure that nothing like it ever happens again. That’s why Liberal Democrats are fighting to scrap the Hostile Environment and build a fair…
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08Jan 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Lib Dem peers fight to fix Government’s crimes bill

Lib Dem peers fight to fix Government’s crimes bill

Parliamentary news
The House of Lords will vote tomorrow [Monday 11th January] on Liberal Democrat amendments to add crucial safeguards to the Government’s Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill. The Bill puts into law for the first time powers for various public bodies – including the police and MI5, but also the Environment Agency, the Food Standards Agency and three Government Departments – to authorise undercover informants to commit crimes. As it currently stands, informants would be given complete immunity for crimes authorised under the Bill, rather than it being for prosecutors to decide that prosecution is not in the public interest. A cross-party amendment co-sponsored by Liberal Democrat peer Brian Paddick [Amdt 1] would remove immunity from the Bill, preserving the status quo. A separate Liberal Democrat amendment [Amdt 32]…
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14Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Rise in discrimination towards BAME people since lockdown must be tackled

Rise in discrimination towards BAME people since lockdown must be tackled

Parliamentary news
Responding to a University College London study that found BAME groups were most likely to report facing discrimination since lockdown began, Liberal Democrat Equalities Spokesperson Christine Jardine said: “Everyone should be free to live their lives without fear of discrimination, abuse or violence. Reports that Black, Asian and minority ethnic people have been most likely to experience discrimination since lockdown began is deeply alarming. “All of us with a public platform must stand up to those whose language and actions spread hate – whether based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or anything else. "The Home Secretary must step up and tackle this appalling trend head-on. That work must be part of a wider effort to tackle systemic racial inequality, which is why the Liberal Democrats are calling…
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03Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

BBC licence fee should be set by independent body, Lib Dems plan

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are to debate plans at their Autumn conference to ensure the BBC licence fee level is set independently next year after government cuts forced the BBC to end free TV licences for most over-75s. Liberal Democrat Culture spokesperson Daisy Cooper, who will move the motion at the Party's first digital conference, warned the Government must never again be allowed to "force the BBC into a corner where it has to choose between cuts to programming or raising these fees on the most vulnerable." The Party, which led a cross party group of 106 parliamentarians calling for a review of the decision to cut hundreds of BBC staff working across regional programmes, will put forward plans to protect the long–term future of the BBC.   They will call…
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13Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Lib Dems table Bill to introduce ‘X’ gender option on passports

Parliamentary news
Ahead of International Non-Binary People’s Day [Tuesday 14th July], Liberal Democrat Equalities Spokesperson Christine Jardine will present a Private Members’ Bill in the House of Commons to require the Government to introduce an ‘X’ gender option on passports. Christine Jardine’s ‘Non-gender-specific Passports Bill’, supported by Stonewall, would “require the Secretary of State to make non-gender-specific passports available to non-gendered, non-binary and other people who do not identify as, or exclusively as, male or female.” This change would bring the UK into line with other countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Denmark, Germany, India, Netherlands and New Zealand that already include non-binary gender options on passports, as well as 18 US states that allow residents to mark gender ‘X’ on their driving licence. In 2016, Parliament’s cross-party Women and Equalities Committee…
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