Lib Dems table amendment on Single Market to Queen’s Speech

Britain must stay in the Single Market to protect jobs

The Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to the Queen’s Speech calling for Britain to stay the single market and customs union.

The party is now calling on both Labour and Conservative MPs to support the amendment and inflict a historic defeat on the government, forcing Theresa May to soften her extreme approach to Brexit.

An amendment to the Queen’s speech last year was accepted by the government after it received cross-party support.

Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake commented:

“We’ve already seen living standards fall and prices rise since last year’s Brexit vote.

“But this is nothing compared to the pain that would be caused by Theresa May’s extreme version of Brexit.

“Tearing up Britain’s membership of the world’s largest market would mean fewer jobs, higher prices in the shops and a long-term blow to our prosperity.

“We will not give up the fight to protect our economy by staying in the Single Market and Customs Union.

“I am urging all like-minded Labour and Conservative MPs to be on the right side of history and back this amendment.”

Success for Campaign to ban Letting Fees

Letting agents fees look set to be banned in this year Queen’s Speech following pressure from the Liberal Democrats.

The fees cost on average £223 per tenancy but under the new plans they will be banned and tenants will be given the opportunity to recover illegal fees imposed upon them.

Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, Olly Grender, who has led a campaign against the fees, said:

“I am absolutely delighted that the ban on letting fees set out in my Private Members’ Bill is now being proposed as law. It’s time we made them a much greater priority, including by introducing a public register of rogue landlords.

Government Drops Plans to Scrap Free School Lunches

Theresa May is expected to have dropped plans to scrap free school lunches for infant pupils from today’s Queen’s Speech.

It comes after the Liberal Democrats strongly criticised the Conservatives during the election campaign over the plans which would have deprived 1.7 million children of free school lunches, including 700,000 living in poverty.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary Layla Moran said:

“I’m glad Theresa May has bowed to pressure and agreed not to scrap free school lunches.

“This is a victory for families across the country. Thousands of children living in poverty will now continue to receive a free nutritious meal a day.

“I am proud of the role the Liberal Democrats played in first introducing free school lunches and then protecting them from Theresa May.

“We will now fight to ensure the Conservatives rein back on their plans to extend grammars and reduce school funding.”

Liberal Democrats announce Shadow Cabinet

Tim Farron appoints new Shadow Cabinet team

After a hectic General Election, the Liberal Democrats nationally and here in Bury are ready to begin work as the opposition.

Liberal Democrats have announced a new Shadow Cabinet. The party which gained seats in the election now have 12 MPs in the House of Commons.

Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said: “I am delighted to announce our new shadow cabinet team, which brings together a wealth of experience. The party has people with a range of skills from within government, business and the charity sector.

“Together we will provide the strong opposition Britain needs to stand up to this Conservative government.”

Leader – Tim Farron MP
President – Baroness Sal Brinton
Deputy Leader – Jo Swinson MP
Exiting the European Union; International Trade; First Secretary of State – Tom Brake MP
Chancellor – Vince Cable MP
Foreign Secretary – TBD
Home Secretary – Ed Davey MP
Health Secretary – Norman Lamb MP
Education Secretary; Young People – Layla Moran MP
Communities and Local Government; Refugees – Wera Hobhouse MP
Culture, Media and Sport – Christine Jardine MP
Work and Pensions – Stephen Lloyd MP
Scotland – Jamie Stone MP
Chief Whip; Northern Ireland – Alistair Carmichael MP
Exiting the European Union (Lords) – Baroness Sarah Ludford
Energy and Climate Change – Baroness Lynne Featherstone
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Baroness Kate Parminter
Business and Industrial Strategy – Lord Chris Fox
Defence – Baroness Judith Jolly
Transport – Baroness Jenny Randerson
International Development – Baroness Shas Sheehan
Equalities – Baroness Lorely Burt
Justice – Jonathan Marks
Wales – Baroness Christine Humphreys
Europe/ALDE Liaison – Catherine Bearder MEP
London – Caroline Pidgeon AM
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats – Kirsty Williams AM
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats – Willie Rennie MSP
Leader in the House of Lords – Lord Dick Newby
Chief Whip in the House of Lords – Lord Ben Stoneham

Support for Carers Week 2017

This wee (12-18 June 2017) is Carers Week – an annual annual campaign week to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK.

The campaign is brought to life by thousands of individuals and organisations who come together to organise activities and events throughout the UK, drawing attention to just how important caring is.

This year the campaign is focusing on Building Carer Friendly Communities. Communities which support carers to look after their loved ones well, while recognising that they are individuals with needs of their own.

The Liberal Democrats in Bury signed the pledge to support Carer Friendly Communities supporting carers to have the recognition and support that they need and deserve.

More information about Carers Week events here.

Download a research report to find out why Carers UK are calling for and how we can all help build Carer Friendly Communities.

More information about services for Carers in the Bury area here.

Taking lunches from 6,255 Primary School Children in Bury

Up to 907 children living in poverty across Bury will have their lunches taken away under Theresa May’s plans to abolish universal free school lunches for infants, Liberal Democrat research has revealed. In total 6,255 children in Bury are set to lose out under the plans.

Those families losing out are expected to have to pay around £440 per child per year for their school lunches.

The Liberal Democrats have also calculated that under Conservative costings of just under 7p per child’s breakfast.

Commenting on the figures, Bury South Parliamentary Candidate Andrew Page said:

“This will mean greater inequality and struggling families having to pay hundreds of pounds on lunches a year.

“The Conservatives’ promise of a free breakfast is cynical and clearly not designed to reach all children. They have set aside a meagre 7p per breakfast per child, the price of half a boiled egg or just one slice of bread with 12 baked beans.

“The Liberal Democrats will stand up against this mean-spirited vision of Britain and extend free school lunches to all primary school children.”

During the Coalition, the Liberal Democrats introduced universal infant free school meals for all pupils in reception, year one and year two. Prior to that, when free lunches were means-tested, the Children’s Society estimated that half of all school aged children living in poverty – 1.2 million – were not accessing free school meals In total, more than 1.7 million children will lose out on a free lunch under the Conservatives’ plans.

Aisling Kirwan, founder of the Grub Club, claims that a nutritious breakfast costs at least 25p per pupil on average, though this only provides porridge with milk. A more filling portion costs 85p.

Care charges – “dementia tax” could hit 76% of homes in Bury

76% of homes in Bury could be eligible for sale to meet Theresa May’s so-called ‘dementia tax’, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

The figures are based on the value of homes sold so far this year across Bury, where 76% are over £100,000 (based on house sales so far this year). The threshold, set at £100k estate value would cover 9 in 10 houses in England. This is a conservative estimate as this is based of the value of homes rather than entire estate values which will often be higher as they include savings and other assets.

The Prime Minister has now said that there will be a ‘cap’ on care costs, but refuses to say what the cap will be. If the cap was set at £200k, over half the the value of the average home would be at risk of being wiped out in 40% of English constituencies.

We believe that politicians need to be honest about how much money we need to spend on health and care services, particularly for a population that includes more older people. The Liberal Democrats are calling for a penny on income tax to boost funding for the NHS and social care by £6 billion a year.

Every elderly person who needs care should receive it in the best place for them. People shouldn’t have to worry about losing everything they’ve worked hard for to pay for crippling care cost. Nobody should be forced to sell their home to pay for their care needs.

Help us put a stop to the care tax by signing this petition. Stop the ‘Dementia Tax’

Lib Dems will invest £27 million to protect school funding in Bury

The Liberal Democrats have announced they will invest £27,055,827 more in schools and colleges in Bury over the next parliament.

The funding for Bury would reverse cuts to frontline school and college budgets, protect per pupil funding in real terms and ensure no school loses out from changes to funding arrangements.

£1,534,076 of the funding would be spent on protecting the Pupil Premium, introduced by the Liberal Democrats to help the most disadvantaged children.

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Bury North, Richard Baum, said:

“Children in Bury are being taught in overcrowded classes by overworked teachers – but Theresa May doesn’t care.

“Under the Conservatives, funding per pupil is set to see the biggest cuts in a generation, while billions of pounds are being spent on divisive plans to expand grammars and free schools.

“This extra £27,055,827 of funding would ensure no school and no child loses out.

“We will reverse crippling Conservative cuts to school budgets and invest to ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed.”

Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said:

“A landslide for the Conservatives would allow Theresa May to take parents across the country for granted and cut our schools to the bone.

“Only the Liberal Democrats can provide the strong opposition Britain needs to stand up for Bury.

“Vote for the Liberal Democrats and you can change Britain’s future.”

More information:
The Liberal Democrats will invest £6.9bn more in our schools and colleges over the next parliament, to ensure no school and no child loses out. A breakdown of local figures on additional funding by local authority can be found here.

Over the course of the Parliament, we will:
Protect per pupil funding in real terms in schools (£3.31bn)
Protect further education per pupil funding in real terms (£660m)
Ensure no school loses out from the National Funding Formula (£1.26bn)
Protect the pupil premium in real terms (£415m)
These plans will be fully costed in the Liberal Democrat manifesto, which will be launched in due course and set all our spending plans out in more detail. This will include reversing the Government’s proposed funding for new grammar schools.

A report by the National Audit Office has found school budgets will be slashed by £3bn in real terms by 2019-20 – the equivalent to reducing spending by 8 per cent per pupil, under current government plans (link)

Lib Dems penny for NHS would raise £21.6 million extra for Bury

The Liberal Democrats have announced they would plug funding gaps for the NHS and social care by putting a penny on income tax, in their first major manifesto commitment of the election campaign.

The tax would raise an additional £21.6 million for Bury, with £14 million for the NHS and £7.6 million for social care each year.

This is the party’s flagship spending commitment and its first major policy announcement for the election. The Liberal Democrats manifesto will also set out a ‘five-point recovery plan’ for NHS and social care services in their manifesto.

At least 70% of Brits would happily pay an extra 1p in every pound if that money was guaranteed to go to the NHS, an ITV poll found last October.

Liberal Democrat parliamentary Candidate for Bury South, Andrew Page, said:

“Right now in Greater Manchester we are seeing patients lying on trolleys in hospital corridors, urgent operations being cancelled and the elderly being denied the care they need.

“The Liberal Democrats are prepared to be honest with people and say that to secure the future of the NHS we will all need to chip in a little more.

“A penny in the pound would allow us to invest in improving local NHS services and ensuring the elderly receive the care they deserve.

“This Conservative government has left our health and care services chronically underfunded – and while the crisis gets worse they just don’t seem to care.

“We cannot continue asking the system to deliver more and more, without giving it the resources to do so.”

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson and former health minister Norman Lamb said:

“The NHS was once the envy of the world and this pledge is the first step in restoring it to where it should be.

“A penny in the pound to save the NHS is money well spent in our view.

“But simply providing more money on its own is not enough and that’s why this is just the first step in our plan to protect health and care services in the long-term.”

More information:

The Liberal Democrats manifesto will set out a ‘five-point recovery plan’ for NHS and social care services. This will include a 1% rise on the basic, higher, additional and dividend rates of income tax in the next financial year raising around £6bn per year, which will be ringfenced to be spent on NHS and care services and public health.

A regional breakdown of how the £6bn would be distributed, based on current funding allocations for both the NHS and social care, can be found here

Lib Dems Commit to End Rough Sleeping

The Liberal Democrats have become the first major party to commit to ending the “national scandal” of rough sleeping across Britain, including across Greater Manchester.

The latest figures show there were 189 people sleeping rough in Greater Manchester in 2016, many are young people and many believe these figures to be only the tip of the iceberg.

The Liberal Democrats have set out a series of measures to end rough sleeping, including introducing a Housing First provider in each local authority that would put long-term homeless people straight into independent homes rather than emergency shelters.

The news comes as a coalition of homelessness charities, including Centrepoint, Crisis, Homeless Link, Shelter and St Mungo’s, have called on political parties to commit to end rough sleeping in Britain.

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Bury South, Andrew Page, said:
“It is a national scandal that so people are sleeping on the streets in 21st century Britain.

“By increasing support for homelessness prevention and properly funding emergency accommodation, we can end rough sleeping across Greater Manchester and across the country.

“We will ensure our local authority has at least one provider of Housing First services, to allow long-term homeless people to live independently in their own homes.

“The evidence suggests that supporting people and giving them long-term, stable places to stay is far more successful in tackling homelessness than constantly moving them to different temporary accommodation.

“Under this government, homelessness has soared and young people have been stripped of housing benefit, threatening to make matters even worse.