Tag: Liberal Democrats

The press release issued by the Liberal Democrats on 19 December 2022.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper has warned that the country is facing a “groundhog day” over issues with the supply of antibiotics needed to treat Strep A.

It comes as Health Minister Maria Caulfield admitted that there are temporary supply issues, during an Urgent Question in Parliament on Strep A secured by the Liberal Democrats.

Maria Caulfield admitted that the government had issued Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) several weeks ago, despite claiming at the time there were no issues with the supply of antibiotics.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to act now to address supply issues and ensure that every family can access the antibiotics they need over Christmas.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

“Parents across the country are worried sick about the sharp rise in Strep A infections and shortage of antibiotics in pharmacies. Some are travelling in desperation from pharmacy to pharmacy looking for antibiotics, while A&E departments are overwhelmed by anxious families unable to access the medical help they need.

“Why on earth did it take so long for the government to come clean over these supply issues, when health professionals have been raising the alarm for over two weeks?

“We seem to be stuck in a medicine shortage groundhog day, following problems with the supply of lateral flow tests and HRT.

“The response from Maria Caulfield today will do little to reassure parents. The government needs to act now to ensure every family can access the antibiotics they need over Christmas.”

The press release issued by the Liberal Democrats on 19 December 2022.

Responding to the High Court ruling the Rwanda asylum plan to be legal, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said:

“Whether or not it is lawful, the Conservatives’ Rwanda asylum plan is immoral, ineffective and incredibly costly for taxpayers.

“It will do nothing to stop dangerous Channel crossings or combat people smuggling and human trafficking; instead it will give criminal gangs more power and profits.

“The Conservatives are betraying the UK’s proud tradition of providing sanctuary to refugees fleeing war and persecution, and breaching our commitments under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

“Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money defending this policy through the courts, the Government should be focusing on stopping these dangerous crossings and tackling the smugglers and traffickers by providing safe and legal routes to sanctuary for refugees.”

The press release issued by the Liberal Democrats on 19 December 2022.

Commenting on this morning’s ral chaos which has seen services across London and commuter belt cancelled despite there not being a train strike, Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson said: 

“This is a kick in the teeth for commuters and our struggling hospitality industry.

“Most people can’t remember the last commute they did when the trains actually ran properly. Chaos, delays and misery are part of the daily struggle for those wanting to get into the capital, all despite paying for season tickets worth thousands of pounds a year.

“The Government needs to end this madness now. Ministers have been sitting on their hands for far too long whilst commuters suffer. It’s like they just don’t care about millions of people who simply want to get into the office or keep their business afloat.”

The press release issued by the Liberal Democrats on 19 December 2022.

Responding to the Oliver Dowden media round, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said:

“In the week before Christmas we need more humanity not less from Oliver Dowden and his Government.  Sitting down with the nurses and discussing pay is the obvious move right now.  Instead he spent this morning playing scare tactics with the public and playing politics with the strikes.  This Government has spent the past year giving tax breaks to the banks and leaving the NHS and nurses struggling, this has to change to get a fair deal for everyone.”

The press release issued by the Liberal Democrats on 19 December 2022.

It All Adds Up energy campaign: Urgent investment in insulation needed

“The Conservative government has doubled people’s energy bills and failed to insulate millions of leaky homes. This all adds up to a tougher winter ahead for families and pensioners struggling to get by,

“Advice and tips are all very well, but we also need urgent investment to insulate people’s homes and cut energy bills in the long term. That is the only way we will tackle the climate emergency, cut emissions and cut people’s bills.”

The press release issued by the Liberal Democrats on 16 December 2022.

Responding to the publication of the Government response to the consultation on environmental targets which weakens a number of targets, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Environment, Tim Farron MP said:

“Once again, the Conservative Government has demonstrated just how short-sighted and irresponsible they really are.

“The Environment Secretary has a duty to protect our planet for future generations, but has once again kicked this responsibility into the long grass.

“Weakening these targets is an embarrassment and a betrayal. The Government must u-turn immediately.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

1. Link to the Government Response to the Environmental Targets Consultation

The press release issued by the Liberal Democrats on 15 December 2022.

The Liberal Democrat’s have accused Ministers of “failing patients on a monstrous scale” in response to new figures that reveal 29,000 hours were lost waiting to handover patients from ambulances to A&E last week alone.

The figures, published today by NHS England show that 34% of all patients arriving by ambulance from Monday 5th to Sunday 11th December waited for more than 30 minutes to be handed over to A&E: 25,182 out of 74,823.

12,534 patients were waiting for more than an hour, 17% of the total and 49% more than in the same week last year. That’s despite the total number of ambulance arrivals having fallen by 11% year-on-year.

Excluding the first 30 minutes, handover delays cost ambulances across England a total of 29,139 hours last week.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said:

“Ministers are failing patients on a monstrous scale, with thousands of people spending thousands of hours stuck in an ambulance outside a hospital.

That’s thousands of hours with paramedics out-of-action, unable to respond to emergencies – a big part of the reason that so many people wait hours for an ambulance after calling 999.

“The Conservatives have driven our health and social care services into the ground for years, and this is the result.

“The Liberal Democrats have put forward a clear plan to tackle these shocking delays and stop our NHS slipping from crisis into catastrophe this winter. The Government must act now to tackle workforce shortages, fix the social care crisis and end the shortage of hospital beds.

The press release issued by the Liberal Democrats on 13 December 2022.

The press release issued by the Liberal Democrats on 13 December 2022.

Today, Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords are using a rare Parliamentary procedure called a ‘Fatal Motion’ to try to block the new Voter ID regulations.

A ‘Fatal Motion’ is the strongest possible opposition we can have to legislation and now is absolutely the right time to use it.These regulations would mean that photo identification would be required in order to vote – something that millions of people in the UK do not have.

These changes are supposed to stop voter fraud, but in 2019 there was just one conviction for in-person voter fraud in the entire country. Liberal Democrat Council Leaders have also been raising these concerns with the Government. We cannot allow the Government to undermine the fundamental principles we stand for as Liberal Democrats.

They are nothing more than the Conservative Government’s thinly veiled attempt to suppress the votes of people across the UK.To beat the Conservatives in tonight’s vote, we need Labour to back our motion. If they support us then we will defeat the Government – but, worryingly, they’re yet to confirm that they’re going to come on side.

Whatever the case, they can’t stop us from standing up for what is right.

Tonight, we will oppose these harmful laws, and ensure these Trumpian measures have no place in British democracy.

The press release issued by the Liberal Democrats on 1 December 2022.

Rural communities and businesses are being consistently neglected and let down by this Conservative Government.

The cost-of-living crisis is hitting rural areas hard, but the Conservatives have rejected Liberal Democrat calls for a cap on the cost of heating oil and an expansion of the rural fuel duty relief scheme.

They are undermining British farmers with the chaos and uncertainty around the roll-out of the new environmental land management schemes, and have sold them out by signing trade deals with Australia and New Zealand that undermine the UK’s high food standards.

They are doing nothing to solve the big staff shortages in agriculture, hospitality and tourism – key sectors of our rural economy.

They have let ambulance delays and GP waiting times soar out of control, and are allowing thousands of criminals to get away with stealing farm equipment, heating oil and lead from roofs.

Meanwhile, from Cornwall to Cumbria, more and more second homes sit empty, while people cannot afford to buy homes from their families. And rural areas lag behind urban ones when it comes to superfast broadband and 4G.

That neglect has to end. It’s long past time the Government recognised the importance of rural communities and started tackling the challenges they face.

So today, Ed Davey has called on Rishi Sunak to appoint a new, cross-departmental Minister for Rural Communities. In his keynote speech at the Country Land and Business Association (CLA)’s annual conference today, Ed said:

“We need to start with a change to the way the Government thinks about rural communities.

“Siloing off ‘rural affairs’ in DEFRA plainly isn’t working. It leads to the neglect we are now witnessing of rural communities across government.

“Why aren’t rural businesses a priority for the Department for Business? Why isn’t rural transport a priority for the Department for Transport? Why aren’t rural health services a priority for the Department for Health? Why aren’t rural schools and colleges a priority for the Department for Education? Why isn’t rural connectivity a priority for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport?

“In part at least, it’s because they all think ‘That’s DEFRA’s problem’.

“Meanwhile, within DEFRA, ‘rural affairs’ is relegated to being just one of nine responsibilities of a single Minister in the House of Lords. That’s not good enough.

“So today, I’m calling on the Prime Minister to appoint a cross-departmental Minister for Rural Communities, to make sure that rural voices are heard across Whitehall when decisions are made. So that rural communities aren’t forgotten or ignored by any part of government ever again.”