Liberal Democrats Your exclusive briefing is here 🔶



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Your Latest Briefing from the Liberal Democrats in Parliament



Dear John,

The Liberal Democrats have achieved a great deal in Parliament over the past
few months and our MPs and Peers are ready to drive through more change in
Parliament’s next session, which will follow the State Opening of Parliament on
7th November.

Much has changed since our last parliamentary briefing. Most notably, we had
the election of our new MP Sarah Dyke! Sarah is already working hard for the
people of Somerton & Frome, championing her constituents’ views in the Commons
and holding the Government to account.

If you haven’t heard Sarah’s maiden speech yet, you can do so here:



Watch ➜ <[link removed]>



⏲️ Watch time: 11 mins



Here are some recent contributions and achievements from Lib Dems in
Parliament. 🔽






The Israel-Gaza conflict




The horrifying conflict in Israel and Gaza has been top of the agenda in
Westminster since Hamas’ appalling terrorist attack on 7th October.

Layla Moran (MP for Oxford West and Abingdon) is the first
British-Palestinian MP and has immediate family in the West Bank and extended
family in Gaza, giving her a powerful voice on this subject. Layla spoke about
standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Jewish community, sharing a common
grief, and seeking consensus:



Watch ➜ <[link removed]>


⏲️ Watch time: 1 min


Ed Davey (MP for Kingston & Surbiton) affirmed that Israel unquestionably has
the right to protect its citizens and target Hamas. He called for a temporary
humanitarian ceasefire: a pause in hostilities to allow the hostages to be
released and to get essential aid to Palestinian civilians:


Watch ➜ <[link removed]>


⏲️ Watch time: 1 min







The Israel-Gaza conflict




Meanwhile in the House of Lords, Lord Newby condemned the antisemitic
incidents in the UK which have tragically already increased following this
awful violence, and urged the Government to get far more aid into Gaza:



Watch ➜
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⏲️ Watch time: 5 mins


Lord Purvis of Tweed recalled the kibbutz he and other Liberal Democrat
parliamentarians visited last year, where 16 people were murdered on 7th
October. He spoke about the need to work even harder for a two-state solution
where both Israelis and Palestinians can live in security and peace.


Watch ➜
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⏲️ Watch time: 15 mins






Workplace Harassment Bill passed




We are delighted that Wera Hobhouse’s (MP for Bath) Private Members’ Bill on
workplace sexual harassment has now become law.

This legislation makes employers liable to their employees if they have not
taken reasonable steps to prevent harassment, effectively shifting the
responsibility for prevention from individual employees to employers.

The Bill aims to transform workplace culture, addressing the blight of
harassment that afflicts our society. Countless cases of workplace harassment
go unreported, often due to individuals feeling embarrassed or concerned about
the potential repercussions on their careers. Shifting the responsibility to
employers will confront this.

You can read the full Bill here <[link removed]> and
watch Wera’s speech on the bill via the following link:



Watch ➜ <[link removed]>


⏲️ Watch time: 1 min


Congratulations to Wera, Baroness Burt (who steered the Bill through the
Lords), and their teams on this outstanding achievement.







Defeating the Government on nutrient neutrality laws




At a time when our rivers, lakes, and seas are frequently polluted with
sewage, it is inconceivable that the Government would plan to cut environmental
protections.

But that’s exactly what they planned to do by scrapping nutrient neutrality
laws as part of their Levelling Up Bill. Doing so could have increased river
pollution and further degraded water quality.

Fortunately, our fantastic Liberal Democrat Peers helped to successfully
defeat the Government’s plans, meaning builders must continue to prove their
projects are ‘nutrient neutral’ in protected areas.

The Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson for Communities and Local Government
Baroness Pinnock
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said:

“This is a great victory against the Government’s plans to remove regulations
that protect British rivers from pollution… The Liberal Democrats will continue
to stand up for house building and the protection of our rivers. The
Conservatives must be held to account for their broken promises on the
environment."



Read more on BBC News ➜ <[link removed]>



⏲️ Est. reading time: 3 mins







Holding the government to account on crumbling schools




September saw Parliament return from the summer recess, but not all schools
got the same luxury. Many schools have been forced to close due to the risk of
crumbling concrete.

With at least three schools in her constituency possibly affected, Sarah Dyke
(MP for Somerton & Frome) used her maiden question to ask the Education
Secretary whether she would apologise for the stress the Government has caused
families due to their reckless cutting of repair bills:



Read ➜
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⏲️ Est. reading time: 1 min


Munira Wilson (MP for Twickenham) also quizzed the Education Secretary about
what she will say to schools following the Government’s refusal to provide any
new money to fix roofs:


Watch ➜
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⏲️ Watch time: 2 mins






Supporting proscription for terrorist organisations




The Government finally proscribed the Wagner Group as a terrorist
organisation in September. This is welcome progress, but we have been calling
for this for over a year.

During a debate in the House of Lords, Lord Purvis highlighted the damage
this delay has caused, and stressed that all elements of the Wagner network
should be proscribed as such to avoid loopholes, given the disparate nature of
the group:



Watch ➜
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⏲️ Watch time: 7 mins




Layla Moran MP also questioned why it took the Government so long to take
action on this in the Commons. Layla argued that lessons must be learnt, saying
that the Government should proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC) in Iran as a terrorist organisation now:



Watch ➜
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⏲️ Watch time: 6 mins








Challenging the Voter ID Scheme




Wendy Chamberlain (MP for North East Fife) challenged the Government’s Voter
ID law with an urgent question in the Commons.

The Electoral Commission’s report warned that disabled people, the
unemployed, young people and people from ethnic minorities all found it harder
to show the required ID, while more deprived areas had a higher proportion of
people turned away at polling stations.

You can watch the full exchange on the urgent question here:



Watch ➜
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⏲️ Watch time: 2 mins


We have been fighting this law strongly over the past year, with Helen Morgan
(MP for North Shropshire, and Lib Dem Spokesperson for Housing, Communities &
Local Government) delivering several speeches against it, including at
Conference, where we also passed amotion
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this needless and discriminatory scheme.

The law is just one of several measures the Conservatives have enacted to
give them an edge in elections.





On Broadcast



Here are a few highlights from our media rounds from the last month:



* Ed Davey MP - on ITV Tonight
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experience of being a young carer, and committing to the pensions triple lock on
Sky News
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.
* Layla Moran MP - on BBC Politics Live
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talking about the Israel-Gaza conflict.
* Munira Wilson MP - on LBC's Cross Question.
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* Wendy Chamberlain MP - on BBC’s Question Time
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We aren’t able to share everything that happens in Parliament every month, but
if you’d like to find out more about what individual MPs or Peers are working
on, be sure to check out their social media accounts or websites.

You can find out more about our MPs and Peers by visiting our website below.



Our MPs ➜ <[link removed]>


Our Peers ➜ <[link removed]>



As the next General Election approaches, it’s important we spread the word on
what Liberal Democrats in power can achieve so why notforward this email to
your friends and family so they too can see the important work we are doing?



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Best wishes,




Liberal Democrats




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