The comments made by Lucy Powell, the Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers, on 27 August 2020.
It beggars belief that the Government are threatening people like this during a pandemic. Forcing people to choose between their health and their job is unconscionable. Number 10 should condemn this briefing and categorically rule out any such campaign.
Comments made by Lucy Powell, the Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers, on 27 August 2020.
The UK’s world-leading automotive industry has been rocked by coronavirus and livelihoods are on the line. But Ministers won’t listen to reason and are refusing to recognise some sectors have been hit harder than others.
They must urgently target support at the sectors that need it with a focus on creating skilled, green jobs – and do right by the communities across the UK they promised to protect.
Anything less would be a betrayal of many communities which helped get Boris Johnson elected.
The comments made by Cat Smith, the Shadow Minister for Young People, on 28 August 2020.
This eye-opening [Good Childhood] report lays bare the stark pressures and difficulties faced by young people in the UK, compared to those in other European countries.
Young people and children have been left behind since long before the Coronavirus crisis. With children in the UK ranking lowest for life satisfaction across Europe, the Government remain utterly out-of-touch with the real struggles faced by young people.
The Government must finally provide a comprehensive measurement of children’s well-being in order to properly quantify changes and target resources.
The comments made on Twitter by Bill Esterson, the Labour MP for Sefton Central, on 27 August 2020.
None of this sanctimonious self justification. Ed Davey was a cabinet minister in Cameron’s government. He supported austerity, the Health and Social Care Act and Gove’s destruction of our schools system. The Lib-Dems were willing Tory accomplices and Davey was at the forefront.
The comments made by Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, on 26 August 2020.
Any way you look at it, this is an absolutely staggering appointment. On a personal level, it is shameful that Boris Johnson thinks this offensive, aggressive, leering, gaffe-prone misogynist is the right person to represent our country overseas.
And on a professional level, this is someone with no hands-on experience of negotiating trade agreements, who denies the climate change that we believe should be at the heart of our trade policy, and who clearly has no concept of the importance of Britain’s trade with the EU.
He was ousted by his own colleagues after just two years in power, and rejected by his own constituents just last year. They are the people who know him best, and wanted rid of him, yet here we are now, hiring him to negotiate our trade deals around the world.
It’s yet more breathtaking incompetence from a government that has turned it into an art-form.
The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Education Secretary, on 26 August 2020.
Under this Government civil servants have time and time again taken the fall for the incompetence and failures of Ministers.
Parents will be looking on in dismay at a government in complete chaos just a matter of days before children will return to schools.
Leadership requires a sense of responsibility and a willingness to be held accountable, qualities this Prime Minister and his ministers utterly lack.
The comments made by Anneliese Dodds, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 27 August 2020.
Effective local lockdowns depend on people self-isolating when they’re supposed to. Labour has been warning for months that the Government needs to make sure that people can afford to do the right thing, but once again Ministers have taken far too long to realise there’s a problem.
Just last week the Chancellor suggested there was no need to change the system for people who have to self-isolate. Now the Health Secretary – who confessed that Statutory Sick Pay in the UK isn’t enough to live on – thinks the solution is to offer people who aren’t currently eligible the same limited level of support.
It’s concerning that this will only apply to a limited number of areas with high rates of Covid-19. The instruction to self-isolate applies to everyone in the country, so everyone should get the support they need to self-isolate.
The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 27 August 2020.
Radically improving children’s health and wellbeing is a priority for Labour. This report is a stark reminder we are amidst a childhood obesity crisis and that we need concerted government effort to bring obesity levels down. But instead of prioritising immediate action, ministers are embarking on a risky reorganisation including abolishing Public Health England and now can’t even tell us who will be responsible for driving forward obesity work.”
The comments made by Sarah Jones, the Shadow Minister for Policing and Fire, on 27 August 2020. Jones was referring to new ONS crime figures.
These figures show an expected reduction in most offences during lockdown. However, it is concerning that violence recorded by the police is already returning to pre-lockdown levels.
After a decade of cuts to police and preventative services, we need real action from the Government to tackle the issues that drive violence on our streets.
The speech made by Ed Davey, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, on 27 August 2020.
I’d like to start by thanking my friend Layla Moran. Layla, you fought a passionate campaign, full of energy.
Since becoming an MP, you have inspired so many people, particularly young people. Your future is bright and I look forward to you playing a big role in my team.
To members of the Liberal Democrats, thank you for putting your faith in me and giving me the honour of leading a party I joined 30 years ago.
And I want also to thank a whole host of people who’ve run this campaign – whether in party headquarters alongside the Returning Officer, or in my own amazing campaign team.
The thousands of people who’ve volunteered time to campaign with me. Who’ve donated to my campaign. Who’ve championed our vision of a greener, fairer, more caring society.
I’d particularly like to thank Claire Halliwell, my Campaign Manager. Claire, you’ve been fantastic.
And of course Emily, my wife and our two beautiful children, John and Ellie. Thank you Emily for your amazing support, patience and love.
I am sure I am speaking for many people when I say that – for all the stress and uncertainty of the last few months – one positive has been the chance to spend more time with our families. And so I’d like to thank Ellie in particular, for appearing as a surprise cameo in so many of my zoom calls and online hustings.
I want to talk now about the future of the Liberal Democrats.
I joined this party 30 years ago. I met Emily here. I have made so many good friends here.
And with those friends, I have campaigned across our country, knocking on tens of thousands of doors, delivering hundreds of thousands of leaflets.
The reason I have done all this is simple.
I love our party.
I believe in it.
I stand for all the things the Liberal Democrats stand for:
Social justice, political reform, equality and protecting our environment.
I stand for fairness and for fighting to protect the rights of ordinary people.
I’m determined our Party backs a Britain that works with other countries across the world for peace and prosperity.
But, it is my love of our party that makes me recognise that we have to change.
We have to wake up and smell the coffee.
Nationally, our party has lost touch with too many voters.
Yes, we are powerful advocates locally.
Our campaigners listen to local people, work hard for communities and deliver results.
But at the national level, we have to face the facts of three disappointing general election results.
The truth is…
Voters don’t believe that the Liberal Democrats want to help ordinary people get on in life.
Voters don’t believe we share their values.
And voters don’t believe we are on the side of people like them.
Nationally, voters have been sending us a message.
But we have not been listening. It is time for us to start listening.
As leader I am telling you: I have got that message. I am listening now.
Whether you’re from the North, South, or somewhere in between
Whether you voted for Brexit or Remain, or just wanted the whole thing settled
Whether you voted Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, SNP or Plaid
My message for you is this:
I will travel up and down our country to meet you.
To hear about the things that matter most to you.
Your problems and fears, your hopes and dreams.
I will face up to uncomfortable truths.
And I will make your concerns my own.
Our country is going through one of the most extraordinary and difficult periods for generations.
The challenge of Covid will affect our country and the world for decades to come.
Millions of people are suffering.
As Leader of the Liberal Democrats, I want to reach out to help you and your community get through this.
Whether your concerns are your families’ health, your children’s education or your livelihood.
I want to understand the new future you want after all this – and help to deliver it.
So my job from today is to rebuild the Liberal Democrats to national relevance so we can deliver this future for you, for your family and for the people who need it the most.
None of this is going to be easy.
None of this is going to be straightforward.
And none of it is going to be quick or simple to achieve.
But I want the Liberal Democrats to represent the whole country, not just some people, and to stand for fairness and opportunity for all.
That is my commitment to you as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats.
The hard work starts today.