10 June 2020 – today’s press releases

  • Lib Dems propose support package for employers to keep workers safe as lockdown eases (to be published here tomorrow)
  • Davey: UK needs Green Recovery Plan to counter COVID-19 economic damage
  • PM must take charge and ensure deprived children aren’t left behind
  • Davey: PM must abolish suspicion-less stop and search
  • Davey statement after call with the PM
  • Govt must commit to inquiry into handling of COVID-19

Davey: UK needs Green Recovery Plan to counter COVID-19 economic damage

Responding to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report that predicts the UK economy will shrink by 11.5% and experience the worst economic contraction among developed countries due to the coronavirus, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

Coronavirus has proven to be a bigger threat to people’s jobs and livelihoods than even the financial crash. People are rightly worried about their jobs, their families and their communities. We must ensure no one is left behind.

The UK desperately needs a Green Recovery Plan. We can rebuild the economy and protect the environment by creating jobs through embracing new, green technologies.

The Prime Minister must also stop the double-whammy of a no-deal by ending the uncertainly and extend the Brexit transition period, protecting access to markets across Europe.

We can also now see, by international standards, the Government failed to prepare properly for a pandemic and has been slow to act. There must be an independent inquiry to review the Government’s actions.

PM must take charge and ensure deprived children aren’t left behind

The Liberal Democrats have called on Boris Johnson to take charge of the crisis facing schools and ensure disadvantaged children are not left behind, accusing Gavin Williamson of having “dropped the ball.”

It comes after the former Head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, this morning said the Government’s failure to consult with teachers over its plans was “absolutely astonishing.”

Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Layla Moran said

Parents and teachers have raised concerns from the outset about how to get pupils safely back into school, but Gavin Williamson has refused to listen. It’s no surprise this whole process has descended into a complete shambles.

Time and again the Education Secretary has dropped the ball, from refusing to extend free school meals over the summer to leaving thousands of disadvantaged children without laptops.

Boris Johnson must take charge and end the stubborn refusal to extend free school meals over the summer and provide laptops to all disadvantaged children who need them.

Davey: PM must abolish suspicion-less stop and search

Today Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has written to the Prime Minister calling on him to abolish harmful section 60 suspicion-less stop and search powers.

Black people are disproportionately likely to be stopped and searched by the police, and for suspicion-less stop and search the figures are particularly stark. Last year there were there were 4,858 searches of black people and 2,669 of white people, meaning that a black person is 47 times as likely to be subject to Section 60 Stop and Search as a white person.

Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

Under suspicion-less Stop and Search powers, a Black person is 47 times more likely to be stopped and searched than a white person.

On too many occasions stop and search seems to mean being black is enough to suspect someone of being a criminal.

Boris Johnson must abolish suspicion-less Stop and Search powers and end the pain and injustice they wreak on so many people from Britain’s black and minority communities.

Davey statement after call with the PM

Today Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey took part in a call between the Prime Minister and all the opposition parties.

Davey quizzed the PM on plans to help self-employed people, called the PM to extend the transition period, and to confirm whether there would be an independent inquiry on the Government’s handling of the Coronavirus crisis.

Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

Families and businesses need support and stability to get through this crisis. I asked Boris Johnson to provide more help for self-employed people, particularly those who have had no support so far. Taxi drivers, hairdressers, cleaners, childcare providers, and millions more self-employed people have seen their incomes evaporate as people rightly stay at home to save lives. They desperately need the Government to support them.

I also called on Boris Johnson to extend the transition period to try and give the economy some stability. The Government simply must get their priorities in order and put the national interest ahead of Brexit ideology.

Lastly I asked the Prime Minister to confirm there would be a full independent inquiry into the Coronavirus so that we can learn from the mistakes that have been made, and ensure our care homes and communities are never thrown into a crisis like this ever again.

Govt must commit to inquiry into handling of COVID-19

Responding to today’s COVID-19 update from the Prime Minister, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

Parents and teachers will be asking why the Prime Minister is talking just about theme parks and zoos when so many parents want to hear about the practical steps to reopen schools safely in the weeks ahead.

The fact remains that a comprehensive test, trace and isolate system is still the only way to keep people safe as we move out of lockdown. Yet the Government still hasn’t delivered on this, and apparently won’t be able to until September. Ministers can’t even provide figures for the number of people being tested day-to-day.

The Prime Minister needs to be utterly transparent about the barriers to opening schools, the limits to testing capacity and the issues affecting the test, trace and isolate system. As more and more questions are raised about key decisions throughout this crisis, Boris Johnson must now commit to an independent inquiry into his Government’s handling of this pandemic.