Northern Ireland It may be that the British lion may be learning how to wag its Irish tail instead of the reverse. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has negotiated a settlement of the Northern Ireland Protocol which has bedevilled UK-EU and UK-US relations and Britain’s standing in the world since the 2016 Brexit Referendum. The chief […]
Scotland
Why waiting times matter in mental health
18 weeks. That’s the target waiting time, often missed, from referral to being seen. From now in deepest darkest December to Mid April, what an age that is. It’s hard on adults. Arguably harder when that’s how long some of our most distressed young people have to wait for support. 18 weeks or 4 months […]
LibLInk: Christine Jardine on the perfect storm that shows up our bad Governments
In her Scotsman column this week, Christine Jardine looks at the “perfect storm” of food and fuel shortages, health service crisis, Covid and high energy prices we are facing at the moment. She argues that the show how bad both UK and Scottish Governments are – and we shouldn’t let them away with blaming Covid […]
Rennie: Tackle drug addiction with compassion and treatment, not imprisonment
Liberal Democrats care about people being able to fulfil their potential and getting the care and support they need to recover from illness and addiction. That’s why our Scottish manifesto highlights the need to take a public health approach to addiction. Scotland has the highest drug deaths rate in Europe, something which became very real […]
Rennie marks 10,000 deaths of people with Covid-19 in Scotland
Responding to Scotland having passed 10,000 deaths from covid-19, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: “When I think of 10,000 deaths, I think of 10,000 broken families and friends. I think of the pain and the loss. “For their sake we must learn the lessons of what went right and what went wrong. […]
Declare a mental health crisis say Scottish Lib Dem MSPs
Even if your circumstances have not been too adversely affected by the pandemic, chances are you have gone through some mental health challenges. Even people who were coping pretty well have found the dark and cold Winter lockdown pretty grim. And if you have had to suffer bereavement, loss or financial struggles along the way, […]
Sick absence figures reveal extent of strains on NHS staff as 45 million hours lost in Scotland alone
Last year, my husband spent 51 days in hospital. He received excellent care from compassionate and skilled staff at what was an absolutely terrifying time for us. That experience gave us an insight into the strains and stresses that the NHS faces. The most common refrain from staff was that it was so stressful and […]
Willie Rennie’s Christmas Message: Scottish Lib Dems stand up for better mental health, education and police services
Embed from Getty Images Here is Willie Rennie’s Christmas Message: May I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. 2017 was the year the Liberal Democrats turned the corner. We started winning elections again with more MPs and in charge of more councils. I believe that winning is not just good for the Liberal Democrats but is […]
The Press Pack: A round-up of Lib Dem media comments – 22 August 2017
Here’s a roundup of media comments made by Lib Dem parliamentarians and spokespeople today. GP numbers Norman Lamb slammed the Government for failing to deliver more GPs: The government’s promise to recruit 5,000 more GPs by 2020 lies in tatters, with fewer GPs now than when this pledge was first made. “The pitiful increase we have seen […]
The Press Pack: A round-up of Lib Dem media comments – 22 August 2017
Here’s a roundup of media comments made by Lib Dem parliamentarians and spokespeople today. GP numbers Norman Lamb slammed the Government for failing to deliver more GPs: The government’s promise to recruit 5,000 more GPs by 2020 lies in tatters, with fewer GPs now than when this pledge was first made. “The pitiful increase we have seen […]