Boris Johnson’s government has set out a disastrous agenda which will force through a hard Brexit, undermine our public services, destroy opportunities for our communities and cripple living standards.

Brexit will hinder our ability to safeguard our NHS and reduce our capacity to tackle the climate crisis. 

The fact that radical climate action has been ignored is a hallmark of a government which is setting all the wrong priorities.

Boris Johnson has the votes to secure much-needed legislation to reduce emissions such as: 

• insulating our homes
• investing in renewables
• increasing uptake of electric vehicles

But he clearly just doesn’t care about our planet. 

The Liberal Democrats will continue to scrutinise this Conservative government, hold Boris Johnson to account and fight for the liberal, inclusive, compassionate society we want to see.

The CBI has revealed that Britain’s factory sector has suffered its worst quarter since the financial crisis, and financial experts warn the pound is likely to weaken in 2020, both as a result of Brexit uncertainty.

This news is yet more evidence that Boris Johnson’s government looks set to crash our economy thanks to his disastrous Brexit plans.

Whether its putting people’s livelihoods on the line in our factory sector, or increasing prices with the pound weakening in 2020, it is clear that Boris Johnson’s promise to unleash Britain’s potential is nothing more than empty rhetoric.

We haven’t even left yet. 

But the damage to communities right across the UK is already being felt, not to mention the no deal threats he is now trying to force into law.

The Liberal Democrats will continue to oppose Brexit and hold the Conservative government to account for the damage they look set to unleash.

The Liberal Democrats have warned that the Conservatives are failing to guarantee the rights of all 3.6 million EU citizens in the UK, as new official figures show just over a third of EU citizens have been given Settled Status by the end of November.
 
The latest EU Settlement Scheme Statistics, published today by the Home Office, show more than 140,000 EU citizens applied to live and work in the UK after Brexit in November compared to more than half a million submitted in October.
 
The Liberal Democrats have also raised concerns over the number of applicants receiving neither Settled or Pre-Settled Status. Today’s figures show 361,900 people are still waiting for a decision, with 2,592,800 applications received but only 2,230,900 concluded.

361,900 people left in limbo over Christmas, not knowing if they’ll be forced to leave the country they live in.

Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine said:
 
“Too many EU nationals are deeply anxious about their right to stay. Many of them fill vital roles in our health service and our schools. It’s disgraceful for the Conservative government to leave them in legal limbo like this.
 
“Boris Johnson continues to break his promise to automatically guarantee the rights of EU citizens in law. Thousands of EU citizens are set to miss out on Settled Status and be left vulnerable to the Tories’ Hostile Environment.
 
“The Liberal Democrats will continue to stand up for EU citizens by opposing Brexit. We will fight to guarantee their rights to live and work in the UK.”

Boris Johnson plans to remove the safety net in the Withdrawal Agreement by making it illegal for Parliament to extend the transition period beyond December 2020.

This pushes the UK closer to a no-deal Brexit that will wreck our economy, our NHS, our efforts to combat climate change, workers’ rights, and much more.

Liberal Democrat interim Leader Ed Davey said:

“This Tory Government’s reckless approach to Brexit will send the country straight off the no-deal cliff.

“The only way Johnson can meet the December 2020 timetable is by giving up all his previous promises to Leave voters and agreeing to all the demands of the EU.”

“Liberal Democrats will continue to stand up for Remainers up and down the country and oppose Brexit. People deserve better than a future where a Prime Minister willingly threatens jobs, the environment and the NHS.”

The new President of the Liberal Democrats is….

Mark Pack

Many congratulations to him on his election and commiserations to Christine Jardine. Both were superb candidates and fought an election in the best traditions of Liberal Democrat internal elections.

I’d also like to give my thanks also to the staff and volunteers who have been counting in Liberal Democrat HQ since early this morning and who have run this set of elections whilst also preparing for and playing their party in the General Election campaign.