Grayling's complacency on airline route access is breathtaking

 

Responding to reports that the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has admitted to members of the Airport Operators Association that no talks on route access have been undertaken in preparation for Brexit, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson Baroness Randerson said:

“Grayling’s complacency is breathtaking and is not shared by the aviation industry, who are at the sharp end of the uncertainty Brexit has created.

"Only last week the NAO reported on the lack of preparation at our ports and airports and the huge economic and security impact that is likely to have. Instead, the Tory Government is happy to muddle on leaving passengers with huge uncertainty. Liberal Democrats demand better.
 
“This Government have been saying that everything will be fine for over two years, but they have never attempted to grapple with the complex detail Brexit. This is why the Liberal Democrats are demanding a final say on Brexit with an option to remain in the EU.”

Chancellor ignores rising violence and worsening prison crisis

 
Responding to the Chancellor’s Budget today, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said:
 
“Given the sharp rise of serious violence on our streets and the worsening crisis in our prisons, it’s almost unbelievable that the Chancellor’s Budget contained not a single penny to tackle these problems. Merely promising to ‘review police spending power’ isn’t nearly good enough.
 
“Liberal Democrats demand better. We are calling for an extra £300 million a year to boost community policing and urgent investment to recruit more prison officers.”

Fiscal Phil's sticking plaster Budget

Responding to the Chancellor's Budget, Liberal Democrat Leader and former Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “This was all very modest stuff, with more in it for potholes than schools and the police. A standstill non-event.  “With growth remaining stubbornly low and Brexit weighing down our economy, it is clear the big problems are still to be tackled. It was a sticking plaster Budget, when major surgery lies ahead. “If we are to see an end to austerity, then we need a proper injection of cash - at least £19bn according to the IFS - in our public services. The Chancellor said he could end austerity without raising taxes, but that is highly unlikely in practice. “The Chancellor dined out on the borrowing improvements the OBR has given him, but these are overshadowed by the damaging impact Brexit will have on the UK's public finances. These costs, which could reach £80bn a year in the event of 'no deal', risk turning today's Budget into a sideshow."

Conservative government throws in the towel on halting climate change

Responding to Chancellor Hammond's Budget, former Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey said:  “This budget is grossly disappointing for those, like me, who care about fighting climate change and protecting the environment. The Chancellor has simply thrown in the towel. "The Tories have frozen fuel duty, slashed electric car subsides, committed £30bn to new road building and promise to continue at the same level subsidies to the oil and gas industry, while offering a measly £60 million to planting new trees, as if that will negate the damage they’re doing. "Liberal Democrats demand better. We would deliver a green budget, which promises more investment in renewable energy, not fossil fuels, borrowing to invest in infrastructure like rail, buses and electric vehicle charging points.”

Another year of the crack cocaine of fixed-odds betting terminals

Responding to the Chancellor's announcement today that the £2 maximum stake for Fixed-Odds-Betting-Terminals will not be implemented until October 2019, former Liberal Democrat Communities Minister Lord Foster said:

"We know with absolute certainty that this delay will see yet more lives ruined by these highly addictive machines. 

"Communities up and down the country see the damage that can be done when hundreds of pounds can be lost in minutes, if not seconds, day after day.  

"Families will be despairing tonight that a problem gambler that they care about faces another full year of living captive to these machines until the Government steps in and does the right thing."

Chancellor's Universal Credit spending barely recovers half the cuts of his predecessor

Responding to the Chancellor's Universal Credit plans from the Budget, Liberal Democrat DWP spokesperson Stephen Lloyd said:

“After stubbornly resisting for far too long, the Government has finally responded to pressure from the Liberal Democrats and put back some of the money into the Universal Credit Work Allowance, which they stupidly cut the moment we were no longer around to stop them. 
 
“However, the £1.7 billion per year the Chancellor committed to still does not make up for the £3 billion pa his predecessor George Osborne slashed from the benefit in 2015. We also heard nothing on ending the gratuitous benefits freeze early, or on making UC fairer for the self-employed. 
 
“UC’s serious design flaws were also not addressed, from long waiting times that are pushing people into indebtedness, to problems in how landlords are paid housing benefit. The pain caused by the roll-out of UC is not over yet.”

Brexit risks a repeat of the Windrush scandal for EU citizens

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey has warned Brexit “risks a repeat of the Windrush scandal for EU citizens” following the appearance of Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes before the Home Affairs Select Committee this afternoon.

 Under questioning, the Immigration Minister was unable to answer how employers would be able to tell the difference between EU citizens who have been living in the UK for five years or more – and are therefore entitled to settled status – and those who haven’t, and would therefore be subject to new controls.
 
The Home Office is currently trialling the scheme for applying for settled status, but it isn’t due to be fully open until March 2019. The Government has said that EU citizens have until 30th June 2021 to apply. However, the Minister said today that, in the event of ‘no deal’, new immigration controls – including employer checks of immigration status – will apply to EU citizens as of next year.
 
Following the exchanges, Ed Davey said:
 
“Millions of EU citizens in the UK have been living under a cloud of uncertainty for more than two years. Far from clearing up that uncertainty today, the Immigration Minister made it worse.
 
“We’ve already seen in the Windrush scandal how the Conservatives’ hostile environment checks can destroy the lives of people who have every right to be in the UK. The Government’s chaotic approach to Brexit risks a repeat of that scandal for EU citizens.
 
“Liberal Democrats demand better. Conservative Ministers must end this uncertainty and offer a way out of this mess entirely by giving the people a final say on the Brexit deal, with the option to remain in the EU.”
 

CPS guidelines must be reformed to tackle ‘sex for rent’

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Housing, today met the Ministry of Justice to call for the guidelines on prostitution to be updated to include digital platforms to help tackle ‘sex for rent’ crimes. Following the meeting, Wera Hobhouse said:    “The housing crisis is leaving many vulnerable individuals unable to afford their rent and at risk of exploitation. ‘Sex for rent’ crimes are not only vile, but completely illegal and the Government must do more to ensure those committing this crime are being brought to justice.   “The current Crown Prosecution Service guidelines for prostitution cover advertising in telephone boxes and newspapers, but not digital platforms. It is vital these guidelines are fit for purpose and police are given the tools they need to stamp out this crime.   “Updating these guidelines is long overdue and further inaction will leave some of the most vulnerable in our society with a choice of homelessness or exploitation.”

Government infrastructure plans lack future proofing

Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson Jenny Randerson has urged the Government to invest in "rail, low emission buses and electric charging points" as reports indicate the Government is set to announce new investment for roads in the Budget. 

Jenny Randerson said:

"While it is welcome news that the Government will finally set aside much needed investment for our roads, their infrastructure plan lacks any future proofing.

"With climate change an ever greater threat, Liberal Democrats demand better. Ministers should be focusing on a model shift away from car use to public transport. That means investment in rail, low emission buses and electric charging points."

Chancellor should work with EU on taxing tech giants

Responding to reports that the Chancellor is considering a tax on tech giants, Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable said:
 
“Tech giants have got away without paying their fair share for too long. That is why I have urged the Chancellor on numerous occasions to introduce a new tax, and he has accepted the argument.
 
“The Chancellor will know the EU has already indicated a new EU-wide agreement is doable. Instead of working in isolation, the Chancellor should be willing to work with our European allies and others around the world. Now is the time to deliver.”

Cable: Broken business rates system should be abolished

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable has warned that the Chancellor's business rates relief is nothing more than "hand-to-mouth support" and has called for the broken business rates system to be abolished. 

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said: 

"The UK high street is suffering the worst year on record, with in-store sales falling and hundreds of thousands of jobs lost. 

"While I welcome any relief, hand-to-mouth support for businesses simply isn't sustainable. Liberal Democrats demand better. There needs to be a fundamental change to the system. 

"We must create a level playing field between the high street and online retailers. That means scrapping the broken business rates system and replacing it with a tax on land values that would boost investment and cut taxes for businesses in nine out of ten English local authorities."

Government dragging its feet on helping Chagos islanders

Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine MP has today demanded the Government address the immigration struggles of Chagos islanders, after the British Indian Ocean Territory (Citizenship) Bill was blocked from advancing for the second time.  The Bill, which has cross party support, was objected to at its initial Stage 2 reading on Friday 16th March 2018 and has now been blocked in the House of Commons for a second time. The Home Affairs Committee report on the Windrush generation recommends that the Government support the British Indian Ocean Territory (Citizenship) Bill and “allow anyone who can prove that they are descended from a person born on the Chagos Islands to register as a British overseas territories citizen and thereby have a right to remain in the UK”. Christine Jardine said: “The Government cannot kick the can down the road on Chagossians’ futures forever in the hope it won’t be noticed. We will not let them repeat the mistreatments of Windrush.  “The Home Secretary has promised to consider this appeal for months now. He must immediately confirm whether the government will support the BIOT Bill and quash the worries of the descendants of those evicted from Chagos, who can’t return home and can’t meet the steep costs of citizenship. “This is is the Windrush scandal all over again. This Conservative Government has neither learned nor changed.”

Government wasting hundreds of millions on short term sentences

Responding to new statistics on the number of people going to prison on short-term sentences, Liberal Democrat spokesperson Ed Davey said: “The Justice Secretary has admitted that short-term sentences don’t work, and yet we are still spending hundreds of millions of pounds to lock people up for a matter of months.   “Even worse, the Government is now trying to create new mandatory short-term sentences, which will tie judges’ hands and worsen prison overcrowding while failing to actually prevent crime.   “The Liberal Democrats demand better. We are opposing the Government’s new mandatory sentences, and calling for a presumption against short prison sentences and greater use of tough community sentences, which have been shown to be more effective at reducing reoffending.”

Minister must answer for ‘secret’ fracking meeting

Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson Tim Farron has today called for the Climate Change Minister, Claire Perry, to make a statement to Parliament to explain why she held an unrecorded meeting with fracking companies. The Liberal Democrat MP also wants the Climate Change Minister to explain her proposed plan to relax rules designed to halt fracking operations given Cuadrilla has been forced to suspend fracking at their Lancashire site after a 0.8 magnitude earthquake was recorded. Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron said:  “The public will expect questions to be asked about the Climate Change Minister and her ‘secret’ meeting with fracking companies. We need to know who Minsters are being lobbied by and what they discussed, otherwise there can be no confidence in the Government.  “Given the Climate Change Minister has also proposed a plan to relax rules designed to halt fracking, the public have a right to know why. Lib Dems put those measures in place to safeguard communities, as has been the case in Lancashire.  “The Liberal Democrats demand better. The Climate Change Minister must give a statement to Parliament and be held to account by MPs.”

Chancellor must use budget to boost community policing

Responding to a report from the Home Affairs Select Committee called 'Policing for the future', Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said: “Unnecessary Conservative police cuts have already made our streets less safe. The Home Office’s own analysis shows that police cuts have likely contributed to the rise in serious violent crime, yet the Conservatives continue to squeeze forces’ budgets.   “The Liberal Democrats demand better. We’re calling on the Chancellor to use his Budget to give police forces an extra £300 million a year to recruit more officers and boost community policing.”   “If the Chancellor refuses to give police the funding they need, he should make sure that some of his extra money for the NHS is used to improve health services for people in mental health crisis, to stop the burden falling on police officers.”

Hostile environment hinders fight against modern slavery

Responding to the Government's modern slavery report, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said: 

“Theresa May once rightly called modern slavery ‘the great human rights issue of our time’, yet her own policies are playing into the hands of slavers.
 
“Her hostile environment makes it harder for victims to come forward, cuts to the police and the Border Force have left fewer officers on the frontline, and now Brexit threatens the cross-border co-operation that puts traffickers behind bars.
 
“Liberal Democrats demand better for the victims of modern slavery. We will end the hostile environment, invest in the police and the Border Force, and fight to protect our cross-border crime-fighting tools.”
 

Lamb: PM should follow Trudeau and legalise cannabis

Responding to the news that Canada has legalised the recreational use of cannabis, former Health Minister Norman Lamb said: “Theresa May should follow Justin Trudeau’s lead in this liberal and sensible approach to legalising cannabis. As the former Home Secretary, she should know full well that the Government has lost control of drug-related crime in this country; and that the criminal market is causing violence in many communities.     “An independent expert panel, which I set up in 2015, estimated that by legalising cannabis in the UK we could raise up to £1 billion annually in taxes, money that could be invested in policing, health and education.   “The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to legalise cannabis and take the market out of the hands of criminals, so that we can properly protect young people from the risks of buying cannabis on the streets.”

Tories must not be allowed to run out the Brexit clock

Responding to Michael Gove’s comments that there might not be a Brexit deal until December, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake said: 

“The Conservatives are making a mess out of Brexit.

“Theresa May is trying to run out the clock and push Parliament into a bad deal, or no deal at all. The future of this country must not come down to diplomatic filibustering.

“MPs must not allow this form of legislative blackmail. Instead they must give the people the final say on Brexit and an option to remain in the EU.” 

Swinson and Cable call on Hammond to work with EU on taxing tech giants

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Jo Swinson MP has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling on him to throw his weight behind a new EU tax on tech giants. 

Leader Vince Cable has co-signed the letter, which urges Philip Hammond to use the Budget to set out how he will incorporate the EU's initiative into any Treasury initiative to tax big internet firms. 

Following reports that a new European tax on internet companies could be agreed by the end of the year, Jo said:

“I urge the Chancellor to focus his energy on making this EU-wide tax happen. This is a golden opportunity that we cannot afford to miss.

“Tech giants are getting away with not paying their fair share of tax because we make it easy for them.

"The time to act is now if we want to create a level playing field for businesses in the UK and give our struggling high streets a much needed boost.

“Britain is always at its best when it brings countries together in a common cause. If we want to tax tech giants we must work together with our European allies and others around the globe.”

Action on climate change must replace yet more chat

Responding to news today that the Government will ask the Climate Change Committee for guidance on reaching net zero carbon, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson and former Leader Tim Farron said:  “We’re well past the time for talking. Driven by ideological compulsion rather than facts, the Conservatives have lurched drastically away from supporting green technologies.  “This has created the uncertainty that has caused businesses to put their money elsewhere. Investment in solar, wind and other renewables in the UK slumped by 56% - billions of pounds - last year, while the rest of the world’s spending grew.  “No more chat, no more prevarication. The Conservatives must get on with the job and provide necessary support to green technologies, as the Liberal Democrats did in government.”