GOVERNMENT MUST INCLUDE ALL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS IN DOMESTIC ABUSE BILL. LIB DEM PRESS RELEASE 21st OCT

Government must include all violence against women and girls in Domestic Abuse Bill

Responding to a report from the Home Affairs Select Committee into domestic abuse, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said:

The Government’s Domestic Abuse Bill is urgently needed, but the Liberal Democrats agree with the Committee that it should go beyond domestic abuse to cover all violence against women and girls. The Government must ensure that all victims are listened to and supported throughout the criminal justice system.

But changing the law will make little difference without the resources to actually help victims of violence and abuse. We need more funding for refuges and rape crisis centres, as well as a new national rape crisis helpline. And we need to reverse Conservative cuts to the community policing that helps to keep us all safe.

95% COMPLETION OF A SHAMBLES WILL NOT BRING CONFIDENCE TO ANYONE. LIB DEM PRESS RELEASE 21stOCT

95% completion of a shambles will not bring confidence to anyone

Responding to reports that the PM will tell parliament the Government has negotiated 95% of the Brexit deal, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake said:

Considering the mess the Government has made of Brexit the fact 95% of the shambles is complete is unlikely to bring confidence to anyone.

Not only has the PM failed to come up with any real solution to the Irish border, a concrete plan for trading in services or a functioning customs arrangement, it seems the percentage chances of a deal getting through parliament is less than 5%.

On Saturday over half a million people marched in London for a people’s vote. Whatever the Government thinks it has negotiated, the country demands a final say on the deal with an option to remain.

RESEARCH SHOWS HARD BORDER FOR NI PUTS LIVES AT RISK. PRESS RELEASE 21stOCT

Research shows hard border for NI puts lives at risk

Research by the Liberal Democrats and PoliticsHome has shown how crucial a soft border is between Ireland and Northern Ireland, specifically in relation to emergency service call-outs.

A series of freedom of information requests has shown that 182 ambulances and 270 fire engines crossed into the Republic during 2016-17 in response to 999 calls, highlighting how a hard border could potentially leave people with far slower emergency responses if the UK leaves the EU in a no-deal Brexit.

Commenting on these findings, Liberal Democrat Northern Ireland spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:

This research shows just how essential smooth border traffic is in Northern Ireland, and why it is so essential for Theresa May and the EU to sort this mess out.

These call-outs are likely in many cases to be matters of critical importance, life or death potentially. Every second counts. Nothing should jeopardise cross-border cooperation and if it is lost, that will rightly doom May’s legacy.

The Liberal Democrats demand better. The Prime Minister must get back round the table with the negotiators, she has got to deliver a deal which works for Northern Ireland and the border communities on both sides in order to ensure there is no collateral damage to her calamitous Brexit.

RABB MAKING UP POLICY AS HE GOES ALONG. LIB DEM PRESS RELEASE 21 Oct

Raab is making up Brexit policy as he goes along – Brake

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab told The Andrew Marr Show today that the proposed 21-month Brexit transition period could be extended by three months.

Raab also said a Brexit deal must be agreed by the end of next month.

Responding, Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake said:

Dominic Raab seems to be making up the Conservatives’ Brexit position as he goes along. It’s difficult to see what major difference an extension of three months could possibly make.

The Conservatives have form on using sticky plaster solutions to problems that require major political surgery. Raab should listen to the 700,000 people who formed one of the biggest marches in British history this weekend and hold a People’s Vote to get us out of this mess of the Conservatives’ making.

VINCE CABLE – SUSPEND ARMS SALES TO SAUDI ARABIA. LIB DEM PRESS RELEASE OCT 20th

Cable: Arms sales to Saudi Arabia “embarrassingly compromising”

Responding to Saudi Arabia’s claim that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a fight in its consulate in Istanbul, Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable said:

This situation gets murkier and murkier – Saudi Arabia seems to have forgotten about a death in its own consulate.

The UK’s heavy reliance on Saudi Arabia for arms sales is embarrassingly compromising in these circumstances.

The government should have already suspended arms export licences to Saudi Arabia given the outrages in Yemen. This reinforces the argument for loosening the bonds to the regime.

12% RISE IN KNIFE CRIME PROVES GOVERNMENT MUST END FORCES BUDGET CUTS. LIB DEM PRESS RELEASE 18th OCTOBER

12% rise in knife crime proves Government must end forces’ budget cuts

Responding to the release of Government statistics which show a 12% rise in knife crime, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said:

The Tories always tell us that the Government’s first duty is to keep people safe. On their own terms, they are failing.

Unnecessary Conservative police cuts have left fewer officers on our streets and made communities 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 for our communities and our police. We will end the Conservative cuts and invest an extra £300 million a year to recruit more officers, boost community policing and reverse the rise in serious violence.

EXTENDING TRANSITION PERIOD ANOTHER EMBARRASSING CLIMBDOWN. LIB DEM PRESS RELEASE 18th OCTOBER

Extending transition period another embarrassing climbdown

Responding to the news that Theresa May is open to extending the transition period, Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake said:

Theresa May once argued that we didn’t need a transition period at all. Admitting that an extension is on the table, and the billions it would cost, is yet another in a long list of embarrassing climbdowns for this Tory Government.

The blame for this mess falls squarely at the Prime Minister’s feet. Over the last two years, her Government has failed to find solutions to the Irish border, failed to protect businesses and put the Good Friday Agreement at risk.

This Conservative Government is in chaos. MPs from across parties must stand with the Liberal Democrats and fight for the people to have the final say over Brexit, including the option to remain.

GOVERNMENT MUST FREEZE FARES AND SORT OUT RAIL FIASCO. LIB DEM PRESS RELEASE 17th OCTOBER

Govt must freeze fares and sort out rail fiasco

Commenting as chaos intensifies at Paddington station, former Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said:

The chaos on the railway at Paddington station once again shows the urgent need for the Government’s rail review. It’s hard to believe that testing a new train was allowed to happen on the busiest part of the network in the middle of the working week, surely this could be better thought-out.

If Paddington Bear had arrived today, he wouldn’t have been greeted by a new family, but crowds of frustrated people awaiting a rail replacement bus service.

We need an urgent freeze on fares while Government sorts this fiasco, a proper automatic compensation scheme and assurances there are enough marmalade sandwiches to placate understandably angry commuters.

TORIES MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO RUN OUT THE BREXIT CLOCK. LIB DEM PRESS RELEASE 17th OCTOBER

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.

PM SHOULD FOLLOW TRUDEAU AND LEGALISE CANNABIS. LIB DEM PRESS RELEASE 17th OCTOBER

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.P