Your Latest Briefing from the Liberal Democrats in Parliament. |
| Dear John,
The country is crying out for an election, yet Rishi Sunak has bottled it for now.
Although we’ll have to wait a little longer to boot out this appalling Conservative Government, our MPs and Peers are wasting no time in this Parliament. From the Budget to the Rwanda Scheme, they’ve taken on the Government and its flawed policies throughout the past month.
It’s a clear reminder that with the upcoming local and general elections - it’s so important we elect more fantastic Liberal Democrats at all levels to deliver our Fair Deal.
Learn more about recent contributions and achievements from Lib Dems in Parliament below. 🔽 | |
| | | | The Conservatives’ Budget this March did nothing to grow our economy, fix the crisis in our NHS or help people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
Responding in the Commons, Ed Davey (MP for Kingston & Surbiton) held the Government to account over its ‘bottom-of-the-barrel Budget’ which included even more Conservative stealth taxes and cuts to public services: | | | | Sarah Olney (MP for Richmond Park and the Lib Dem Treasury Spokesperson) also scrutinised the Budget, detailing the unfairness of the Government’s tax measures and their failure to invest in our NHS to bring down waiting lists.
Sarah welcomed changes that Liberal Democrats had long campaigned for, such as reforms on child benefit and theatre tax relief: | | | | At Spring Conference, Sarah used her speech to share the Liberal Democrats’ economic vision and announce a new tax on big companies’ share buybacks to fairly fund our public services. You can watch the full speech here. | |
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| In March, the Government suffered 10 defeats on the Rwanda Bill during the House of Lords’ report stage, and another 7 losses during the subsequent back and forth between the two houses.
In a debate on the Bill’s amendments, Lord German asserted that Rwanda is not a safe country and that the votes clearly show the House agrees: | | | | Lord German also raised concerns about the age determination for asylum seekers, outlining the dire result if minors wrongly classified as adults are deported to Rwanda. | | | | ⏲️ Watch time: 4 mins | |
Addressing the NHS crisis | | | |
| During Prime Minister's Questions, Layla Moran (MP for Oxford West and Abingdon) underscored the hospital care crisis.
She recounted the harrowing ordeal of a constituent who endured a day and night wait without a hospital bed for a gall bladder operation. Shockingly, the operation couldn't proceed the next day as there were still no available beds. | | | | We will continue to hold the Government to account for their appalling NHS record. Such stories should be unheard of in the UK, but sadly they’re becoming more common. | |
Tackling the shortfall in local government funding | | | |
| Lord Shipley led a debate on local government finances which are facing extraordinary pressures. Council spending has fallen in all services except social care, leading to sustained council tax rises.
Lord Shipley called for local government funding reform, including more long-term thinking and reform to council tax. | | | | At Spring Conference, our motion on the funding crisis in local government made a number of recommendations, which you can read about here. | |
Standing up for farmers and boosting food security | | | |
| Sarah Dyke (MP for Somerton & Frome) led a debate on food security to raise awareness of the current crisis in British farming.
Many farmers are struggling financially, physically and mentally, and are being forced to close their farms. This makes our food security only more vulnerable if urgent action isn’t taken.
Sarah also criticised the Government’s recent flawed trade deals, which undercut our farmers on welfare and food standards. | | | | Outside of Parliament, Tim Farron (MP for Westmorland & Lonsdale) addressed the NFU Conference in February, criticising the Government’s trade deals for undermining our animal welfare and environmental standards. You can watch a clip of Tim’s speech here. | |
Addressing sportswashing by authoritarian regimes | | | |
| Lord Scriven led a debate on sportswashing, where some Governments use sporting events, teams or individuals to divert attention from their own actions; often human rights abuses.
Lord Scriven highlighted current examples, from Saudi Arabia’s ownership of Newcastle United to the Bahrain Grand Prix, and argued that sportswashing is a highly political issue and more needs to be done to provide tighter rules and regulations for sporting bodies. | | | |
| Here are a few highlights from our media rounds from the past month:
Ed Davey MP - on Sky News talking about sewage discharges.
Tim Farron MP - on BBC's Question Time.
Daisy Cooper MP - on BBC's Newsnight detailing our focus on health and social care.
Christine Jardine MP - on BBC's Politics Scotland discussing the economy and the cost of living crisis. | |
| As always, 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. | |
| As the next General Election is just around the corner, it’s never been more important to show people what Liberal Democrats in power can achieve. Why not forward this email to your friends and family so they too can see the important work we are doing? | |
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