Prepare for an oil price war in 2022. The combatants are OPEC and a consortium of top energy consuming countries including the US, China, UK, Japan, India and South Korea. All of these countries have built up huge strategic oil reserves in case of emergency such as war or another 1973-style OPEC oil embargo. The […]
26 November 2021 – today’s press release
Government must reverse £30m aid cuts to Southern Africa to help tackle new variant The Liberal Democrats have demanded that the government reverse aid cuts and launch an emergency Covid support fund, to help countries in Southern Africa contain the new variant spreading there. Analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found that the UK is […]
North Shropshire Tory candidate: health provision is a commodity and NHS staff not heroes
No one is surprised that the state of our health services has emerged has a major battleground in the by-election. Nationally, GPs and hospitals have been buckling under the strain of dealing with Covid-19 and the backlog of diagnoses and treatment. Here in Shropshire, our hospitals have suffered decades of mismanagement, pipedreams and scandals. The […]
Daisy Cooper: Ambulances are on high alert across England
A month ago Daisy Cooper submitted a question to the Government, and she has only just received a reply. Her question was: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many ambulance trusts have moved into REAP Level 4 in the last six weeks; and how many in total are at […]
World Review: America and China, Austrian vaccination and India’s farmers
It has been an interesting week for Sino-American relations and China in its own right. It started with the two countries agreeing to cooperate on climate change policies. There were no details in this proposed pact, but a start had been made. This was followed by a three-hour virtual summit between Joe Biden and Xi […]
Brexit preparations hindered a government unprepared for pandemic
A report from the National Audit Office published this morning reveals Brexit preparations hindered the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic how badly prepared the government was a major health emergency. : This pandemic has exposed a vulnerability to whole-system emergencies – that is, emergencies that are so broad that they engage the entire system. […]
World Review: COP26, sleaze, Africa at war and Covid
COP26 negotiators have as of this writing (Friday) entered the final stages of a draft agreement. It’s not great news for Planet Earth. So far, the gathered pledges will reduce temperature rises from the current 2.5 degree level to 2.4 degrees centigrade—well short of the 1.5 degree limit which climatologists say is the maximum the […]
European health policy and the Conference on the Future of Europe
On the 23rd of October, the Liberal Democrats Abroad and the Liberal Democrats European Group held a discussion session with Irish Senator Timmy Dooley about the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe’s contribution to the Conference on the Future of Europe. Mr Dooley underlined the importance of hearing British views on Europe’s future, to […]
Lib Dems attack ministers on Covid as Ed Davey urges beefed up Plan B
Today’s i newspaper features Sir Ed Davey’s call for the government to bring in a beefed up version of Plan B as a matter of urgency to avoid a winter lockdown. Daisy Cooper also criticises the new Minister for Vaccines and Public Health for keeping a low profile. In the Commons yesterday, Layla Moran challenged […]
Munira Wilson calls for emergency SAGE Meeting
Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Munira Wilson has demanded that the government hold an emergency SAGE meeting to discuss soaring Covid cases. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies has stopped meeting weekly and most recently met on 22 July, 9 September and 14 October. The call comes as it emerges that government scientists have not met […]