15 Most Recent Stories From British Liberal Democrat News

Mon 17th Nov 2008:

Brake: Less talk and more action needed to tackle knife crime.

The Liberal Democrats have published plans to tackle the growing problem of knife crime in London. The document, entitled Less talk, more action, highlights several key proposals for reducing knife crime, including: Putting 10,000 extra police on the streets, around 2,000 of which would be in London, paid for by scrapping ID cards Ensuring each Safer Neighbourhood Team includes a trained, dedicated community support officer to identify and work with the young people who are most at risk through schools, youth groups and outreach work Creating a Greater London Youth Volunteer Force to make it easier for young disadvantaged people to volunteer. Activities would be relevant to young people but also teach them important skills Commenting, Liberal Democrat London Spokesperson and Member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Tom Brake MP said: "Thanks to a decade of Labour, Britain now has the highest rate of youth incarceration and the lowest age of criminal responsibility in Europe. "The number of stab wounds for under 16s has gone up 62% in the past five years while admissions to hospital for stab wounds for 16-18 year olds have also jumped. "Between 1995 and 2005 there was an 86% rise in the number of 15 to 17 year-olds in custody. "Labour has completely failed to rehabilitate offenders, leading to sky-high levels of repeat offending."

Crack down on adults who buy alcohol for minors - Brown.

Liberal Democrat Justice spokesperson Robert Brown MSP is calling for adults who buy alcohol for minors to face tougher penalties.

Scott condemns HBOS scaremongering.

Commenting on Lord Stevenson’s statement that nationalisation or the Lloyds’ takeover were the only options for HBOS, Tavish Scott, leader of the Liberal Democrats said:

Fri 14th Nov 2008:

Big rise in number of people who declared themselves bankrupt.

The number of people who declared themselves bankrupt in the last three months was more than 13,500, up 7% since 2007. A total of 13,653 people in England and Wales petitioned for bankruptcy in the three months to the end of September, the second-highest number recorded by the Ministry of Justice since 1995. Commenting on the news, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "It's now clear that more and more people are being stretched to breaking point. "We are heading ever deeper into recession and with news that the Eurozone is now going the same way, this is clearly part of a major world slump. "With the cost of credit remaining sky high, millions of hard-pressed families are struggling to keep their heads above water. "It is critical that we offer help now to the millions struggling to make ends meet, by cutting taxes and working with the banks to reduce the cost of borrowing and doing all they can to keep people in their homes."  

Scott demands answers from Chancellor.

Tavish Scott, leader of the Liberal Democrats in Scotland has written to the Chancellor, demanding answers about the extent of the UK Government’s involvement with rival bids to the Lloyds takeover of HBOS.

Government must end Scottish Futures Trust delays.

Liberal Democrat Finance spokesperson Jeremy Purvis MSP has demanded an end to the SNP Government’s expensive and unnecessary Scottish Futures Trust (SFT).

Lib Dem Housing Summit to find real answers to housing crisis.

Tavish Scott, leader of the Liberal Democrats and Ross Finnie, Liberal Democrat Housing spokesperson are today (Thursday) holding a Housing Summit in the Scottish Parliament.

Government must publish energy efficiency plan.

Liberal Democrat Energy spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has demanded the Scottish Government end the lingering uncertainty over their plans to improve energy efficiency by publishing the promised energy efficiency action plan.

Lib Dem tax plan would stimulate Scottish economy.

Liberal Democrat Finance spokesperson Jeremy Purvis MSP has called on the Scottish Government to back Liberal Democrat plans for a cut in Income Tax to create a fiscal stimulus for the economy.

Health Secretary burying her head in the sand about repossessions.

Commenting after attending a cross party press conference to protest at the Scottish Government’s inaction to protect Scottish homeowners from repossession, Liberal Democrat Housing spokesperson Ross Finnie said:

Thu 13th Nov 2008:

Willott welcomes government Post Office Card Account u-turn.

Jenny Willott The Liberal Democrats have welcomed the Government’s decision to continue the Post Office Card Account (POCA). In a House of Commons statement yesterday, the Government confirmed it would end the tendering process and allow Post Office Ltd to keep the contract to distribute benefits to 4.3 million claimants until 2015. Jenny Willott, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, criticised the "huge stress" caused to POCA customers by the tendering process and the "waste of money involved". She questioned the Government's newfound commitment to the Post Office network, given the decision "to cancel the contracting exercise rather than award the contract to the Post Office." She asked: "Does it mean that the terms of the tender would not have allowed the Department [for Work and Pensions] to award the contract to the Post Office?" Jenny Willott's full response to the government statement was as follows: "I thank the Secretary of State for advance notice of the statement. I wish to make it clear from the outset that the Liberal Democrats are delighted at today's decision. It is good to see that the Department for Work and Pensions has listened to the vociferous opposition to the possible loss of the Post Office card account that has come from all parts of the House and from outside it. I understand that 2 million people signed a petition requesting that the POCA remained with the Post Office. Today's decision could also be seen as a response to the Liberal Democrat Opposition day debate on Monday. "Today's statement is a strange way of going about the decision. Cancelling the procurement exercise raises huge questions, some of which have been asked by the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Alan Duncan). I should be grateful if the Secretary of State clarified why the Department decided to cancel the contracting exercise rather than award the contract to the Post Office. Does it mean that the terms of the tender would not have allowed the Department to award the contract to the Post Office? To enable us to make our own decision on that, will he release the specifications, the invitation to tender or negotiate, and the descriptive documents, which the Government have refused to release up to this point - indeed, on Monday, he again said that he would not be able to release them. I would be grateful if he made them public now. "The Secretary of State said that he has decided to award a contract for the continuation of the POCA within the terms of the relevant EC regulations. If he can do that now, why could he not have done it before or why did he choose not to do so? I would be grateful if he clarified that point. The reasons that he gave for the decision relate to the current economic climate. What is it about that climate that means that the Government can now reconsider? This situation leads to the suspicion that as 1,500 jobs are being lost every day in the UK, he knew that the Government could not afford to close a further 3,000 post offices - at least - with all the accompanying job losses. Will he tell us exactly what has changed? "The Secretary of State also said that he believes that it is not the time to do anything to put the network at risk, particularly as post offices are often the only provider in rural and deprived urban areas - that is what the Liberal Democrats have been saying for the past two years, as have a number of Labour Members. As that was the case when the Government decided to put this out to tender - it remains the case - what has brought him around to our way of thinking and to deciding that now the Post Office does need to be saved? Why did he think last week that it was okay to risk the only providers in those deprived areas, but that now it is not okay to do so? "As the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Kate Hoey) said, the DWP has behaved appallingly so far on this matter; there has been delay after delay. This has been going on for nearly three years and the decision was 11 months overdue. That has caused huge stress for POCA customers, sub-postmasters and all who are concerned for their community facilities. Why has there been such a delay? It also raises issues about the cost of the process and the waste of money involved. Legal questions have already been posed about changing the competition rules halfway through the process, but this has been a waste of money not only for the bidders that did not receive the contract, but for the post offices and the Government. The Secretary of State has said that he will be providing compensation, but will he finally give us an estimate as to how much money has been wasted? Why is the amount of compensation considered to be commercially confidential? Nevertheless, I welcome today's announcement and the saving of post offices."

Job losses must be wake up call to Governments - Scott.

Commenting on the latest forecast from the Fraser of Allander Institute that 50,000 Scots could lose their jobs over the next two years as the recession bites, leader of the Liberal Democrats in Scotland Tavish Scott MSP said:

Scott urges support for Scotland to host Euro Championships.

Commenting on the Scottish Secretary’s intervention into the row over a Scottish football team for the London 2012 Olympics, Tavish Scott, leader of the Liberal Democrats in Scotland said:

Government must listen to concerns about elected health boards.

Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Ross Finnie MSP has urged the Scottish Government to support Liberal Democrat proposals to make health boards more accountable through greater input from elected Councillors.

Government Post Office u-turn good news - Carmichael.

Commenting on the Government’s decision to allow the Post Office to retain the contract for the card account, Liberal Democrat Shadow Scotland Secretary, Alistair Carmichael said: “This u-turn is very good news for post office owners and users across Scotland.

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