11 December 2019 – the overnight press releases

  • Swinson: One day left to stop Boris Johnson and stop Brexit
  • Welsh Lib Dems: Put a penny on income tax to transform mental healthcare

Swinson: One day left to stop Boris Johnson and stop Brexit

Liberal Democrat Leader Jo Swinson will today (Wednesday 11th December) deliver her final speech of the election campaign in Esher and Walton, urging voters to back the Liberal Democrats to stop Boris Johnson getting a majority and stop Brexit.

Jo will be attending a series of rallies with activists throughout to the day including in the Conservative-held seats of Esher and Walton, Guildford and Wimbledon.

Jo Swinson is expected to say:

My message today is clear. To stop Brexit, we must stop Boris Johnson. We have one more day left to do it.

To all my fellow Lib Dem activists up and down the country – I say this: keep going. Keep fighting for every vote.

And to everyone out there who has a growing pile of Lib Dem leaflets on their kitchen table: we can win where you live.

You can stop another Conservative MP being elected. You can stop Boris Johnson from getting a majority he doesn’t deserve. You can help us stop Brexit.

On Monday, Boris Johnson once again showed us the kind of leader he is going to be.

Faced with that heart-breaking image of Jack, he refused to look at it, to acknowledge it, even taking the phone out of the journalist’s hand and putting it in his pocket. As though that would somehow make it all go away. What a coward.

He doesn’t care about Jack, and if he wins a majority, he’ll spend the next five years not caring about you or your family either. He’ll spend five years running away from scrutiny. Avoiding inconvenient truths. Hoping that his power and privilege alone will keep him in Number 10.

Welsh Lib Dems: Put a penny on income tax to transform mental healthcare

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have today called for a penny to be put on income tax in order to properly fund health and social care and to transform mental healthcare in Wales.

The penny on income tax would directly fund health and social care in England, with Wales receiving its Barnett consequential of this spending.

This would give Wales almost £2bn extra over five years, an average of just under £400m a year.

We would urge the Welsh Government to spend this additional money on health and social care in Wales; with transforming mental healthcare in Wales our priority.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said:

The Welsh Liberal Democrats plan to raise income tax by a penny will unlock almost £400m more for health and social care services across Wales.

After years of unrelenting Conservative cuts, this desperately needed funding will enable us to transform our mental health services and ensure everyone gets the care they deserve.

With NHS services across Wales already experiencing severe staff shortages, leaving the EU will only make it harder to recruit the dedicated staff we need.

That’s why it’s so important we stop Brexit. We must protect the rights of EU citizens that do such vital work in our NHS, and invest in the future of our health services.