National Archives - Mansfield & Ashfield Liberal Democrats

Conservative Budget Chaos

5th October 2022/in National, News /by Martin Howes

Many households across Mansfield and Ashfield are already struggling with the rising costs of food and energy bills. Now Liz Truss’s refusal to raise tax thresholds is set to leave the average household £290 worse off next year.

The Conservatives’ botched plans are leading to mortgage interest rates rises.

People across the constituencies of Mansfield, Ashfield and Sherwood are feeling ignored by the Conservatives. It’s time that MPs Ben Bradley, Lee Anderson and Mark Spencer stood up for local people and opposed what their Conservative Government is doing.

Liberal Democrats have a better plan. We would increase taxes on oil and gas company profits and use the money to give more support to households. We would protect local businesses by extending support on energy costs.

Liberal Democrats would cancel the cut in corporation tax paid by large businesses, investing more in our public services instead. We would rescue our NHS by recruiting more doctors, dentists and paramedics, supporting existing staff and cutting waiting times.

The Conservatives’ Cost of Living Crisis

2nd May 2022/in National, News /by Martin Howes

With eye-watering price increases and massive tax hikes, many people in Mansfield and Ashfield are struggling to make ends meet. We’re suffering from the biggest drop in living standards on record.

Rishi Sunak has broken manifesto promise after promise. He has introduced 15 tax rises on families and businesses over the last two years. While Sunak is telling us to tighten our belts, he’s wasting more of our money than any other Chancellor – ever. £10 billion wasted on unusable PPE, over £4.3 billion written off due to Covid fraud and a £4 billion tax cut handed out to big banks.

While energy bills are rising, oil and gas producers are making huge, unexpected profits. Liberal Democrats would introduce a windfall tax on the oil and gas companies’ massive profits.

We’d use proceeds of the windfall tax to increase the Warm Home Discount, double the Winter Fuel Allowance and roll out an emergency home insulation programme. We would also support small businesses and help energy-intensive industries to decarbonise.

Liberal Democrats are fighting for the fair deal that Britain deserves.

Another Broken Promise

15th September 2021/in National, News /by Martin Howes

Mansfield’s MP Ben Bradley and Hucknall’s MP Mark Spencer have voted to increase national insurance, reducing the take-home pay of working people. Lee Anderson, MP for the Ashfield constituency, expressed some concern but failed to vote against the increase.

The increase goes against the Conservatives’ manifesto promise not to raise taxes. As a result local families and small businesses will be left paying hundreds of pounds more each year.

Local Lib Dem campaigner Martin Howes commented:

“We’re told that the money will go towards the NHS and social care. However, the government’s inadequate plans will not fix the ongoing social care crisis.”

The Conservatives cannot claim to be a low tax party. They are now the party of broken promises.

Lib Dems: ‘School Cuts’ data shows funding still an emergency

30th September 2019/in Hucknall, National, Sherwood /by Leon Duveen

Responding to the relaunch of the National Education Union’s ‘School Cuts’ website, which reveals that more than 15,000 schools will have less money per pupil in real terms in 2020 than they did in 2015, Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary Layla Moran said:

“The Conservatives continue to fail our children. This data removes the wool that Boris Johnson tried to throw over our eyes – that he is making parents and teachers wait for the money their schools desperately need.

“Whilst he peddles catchy soundbites, teachers are still faced with impossible decisions on which support staff to cut or which basic supplies not to buy.

“The money in the Spending Round won’t reach all schools until next September. Even then, it will probably take until around 2022 for the cuts since 2015 to be reversed. That’s seven years wasted – the length of time a child is at primary school.

“Liberal Democrats demand better for our children’s futures. We need an emergency cash injection this year to reverse school cuts, so that teachers have the resources they need to help their pupils succeed in life.”

Swinson: Corbyn is a Brexiteer at heart

23rd September 2019/in Hucknall, Jo Swinson, National, Sherwood /by Leon Duveen

Responding to the news from Labour Party conference that it would not back Remain in a People’s Vote, under the guidance of Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson said:

“Jeremy Corbyn has again shown a total lack of leadership on Brexit and settled on yet another fudge on the biggest issue facing our country. Jeremy Corbyn has repeatedly had the opportunity to put the full force of the Labour behind a Remain position, but he has once again shown today that he is a Brexiteer at heart.

“He is determined to negotiate a Brexit deal if Labour win an election, despite all the evidence that there is no Brexit deal that is good for our economy, our NHS and our security. By refusing to say how the Labour Party would campaign in a second referendum, Jeremy Corbyn is letting down the millions of people who want to see the UK remain in the EU.

“The Liberal Democrats are the only main party going into the next election promising to end the Brexit chaos. If the Liberal Democrats win the next general election, then we will use that democratic mandate to revoke Article 50 on day one and stop Brexit.”

Thoughts on the Lib Dem Conference

21st September 2019/in Conference, Hucknall, National, Sherwood /by Leon Duveen

I couldn’t make Conference this year because of work commitments but I did manage to catch some of it on BBC Parliament. Watching the debate on Europe on Sunday morning was definitely a highlight, including the fantastic speech 13 year old Niamh O’Connell from Reading. You can watch the debate here from 3:06:00 (Niamh’s speech is from 3:22:00)

However Conference, like the Lib Dems, is about much more than Brexit. The debates covered a wide range of issues. from Railways to the removing the Home Secretary power to remove British Citizenship; from tackling Climate Change to supporting tourism in the UK. You can read all the motions passed in Bournemouth on the main Lib Dem Website.

Obviously, Jo Swinson’s first speech to Conference (from 4:24:00) as leader was eagerly anticipated and she didn’t let us down. Electrifying and clear, she laid out just why she has the ambition to lead us back into Government, even be the Government in the near future.

You can tell how scared both the Tories & Labour (as well as the other extremist parties) are of Jo by the level of vitriol and lies being aimed at her and the Lib Dems. We must be brave and hold firm to our principle so when the General Election comes (and come it will either later this year or early next year) we will reap the benefits of being the one Party with a clear, understandable and defendable position of how to take the UK forward and out of the Brexit mess.

Archive for category: National