Welcome to the ‘Twelve Lies of Brexit’, where we will be unwrapping the biggest porkies told by senior Leave politicians.

Today we stand together as a global community to mark World AIDS Day.

AIDS is a global health challenge and there are currently more than 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK. 

As a nation, we have made great strides in minimising the physical, psychological and societal impact of HIV. And thanks to the hard work of researchers, our understanding of HIV has grown significantly.

However, the shame, stigma, and isolation associated with HIV and AIDS has not gone away. No one should ever feel alone because of their HIV status, yet 1 in 5 people living with HIV in the UK say they feel this way.

We must be clear; there is no shame in an HIV diagnosis. There is no shame in getting tested. And there is no reason why HIV should stop you from living a full and happy life.

This year, the government committed to ending new HIV transmissions in England by 2030 yet support for people living with HIV has been eroded. Many people report feeling isolated and unable to find the help they need. And we are yet to secure universal access to HIV prevention medication such as PrEP. This not good enough.

This year’s theme, “Rock the Ribbon Together” is our collective opportunity to show our support for those living with HIV and AIDS and I’ll be wearing my ribbon with great pride.

I’d like to end by thanking the many researchers, activists, and doctors working to improve the lives of those living with HIV and AIDS. Let us all work together to end HIV transmissions for good.

New analysis has revealed how much UK police rely on vital EU crime-fighting measures.
Yet Boris Johnson’s reckless Brexit plans threaten to cut the UK off.

Over the past five years, UK police forces and prosecutors have used the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) to arrest over 6,600 criminal fugitives.

This includes:

• 140 for murder or manslaughter
• 136 for child sex offences
• 152 for rape
• 12 for terrorism

The research also shows that UK police accessed a crucial EU-wide crime database 603 million times in 2018. This database gives real-time access to records on wanted criminals, missing persons and lost or stolen items. This includes firearms and passports.

In short, if Johnson’s Brexit goes ahead:

• Up to 6,000 criminals could evade justice
• Our police would be locked out of EU crime database used 1.6 million times a day
• Brexit would undermine the UK’s ability to tackle terrorism and organised crime

Brexit would be a disaster for our safety.

Thousands of dangerous criminals could escape justice. Not only that, the UK’s ability to tackle terrorism and organised crime would be seriously undermined.

The only way to ensure vital police cooperation with Europe is by stopping Brexit.

We intend to do just that. Then, we will build a brighter future and keep our communities safe.

Boris Johnson’s interview with LBC exposed yet again how Boris Johnson can’t be trusted and is simply not fit for the office of Prime Minister. 

Whether it was on nurses, hospitals or Brexit, Johnson spent an hour lying through his teeth. We’ve highlighted ten of his mistruths… 

1. 50,000 new nurses

Johnson continues to peddle the Tory fantasy that they will recruit 50,000 new nurses. He clearly can’t do basic maths when 19,000 of this figure is comprised by nurses who already work in the NHS.

On top of this, figures earlier this week revealed that 1,116 EU nurses have left the NHS so far this year and EU staff at Johnson’s local hospital are feeling anxiety over their future here because of Brexit.

2. 40 new hospitals

The Tories are not going to build 40 new hospitals. Johnson admitted today that re-building an old hospital will be classified as a new one. The pledge is simply false.

3. Trade deals

Johnson claimed that there are up to a dozen trade deals ready to go after Brexit. Given the Conservatives have abjectly failed to rollover the trade deals it said it would over the past three years, he just cannot be trusted.

Liam Fox promised 40 trade deals, instead the Tories have only delivered 18.

4. Social care

Johnson claimed the £1 billion of funding the Tories have announced for social care will stop people having to sell their home to pay for care.

But this money is simply a sticking plaster for the day-to-day operation of our social care system which is at breaking point. He has no plan for a long-term solution.

5. Comments on single mothers

Johnson claimed that the quotations used of his insulting and offensive comments on single mothers were distorted, even though he has a history of misogynistic and sexist comments. He plays fast and loose with his words and it has real damaging consequences.

6. Free press

The day after the Tories petulantly threatened to review Channel 4’s licence, Johnson claimed he wants to protect a free press. The Tories have also refused to allow a Mirror reporter onto their campaign bus.

Trying to intimidate the media like this is straight out of Donald Trump’s playbook and has no place in an open and inclusive democracy.

7. Cutting business rates

Johnson said that the Tories will cut business rates in the next Budget, but his manifesto promises a review. Which is it? Liberal Democrats have promised to scrap business rates and replace them with a commercial landowner levy.

8. Working class people

Boris Johnson said he doesn’t care that Dominic Cummings thinks the Tories have a problem with working class people. It comes after a Spectator column from Johnson surfaced in which he called working class men “drunk, criminal and feckless.”

9. Police cuts

Johnson denied that the police cuts in London were the fault of the Conservative Government. But the Tories have drastically cut police numbers, leading the Home Office to admit that the cuts had “likely contributed” to the rise in serious violent crime.

10. Greggs

Boris Johnson previously said he was ‘made of Greggs’. But given he couldn’t name the price of a sausage roll, it would appear he’s never set a foot in one.   

Voters: there is another choice. The Liberal Democrats are the only party that can stop Boris, stop Brexit and build a brighter future. Join us today.

Every child deserves the best start in life.

That’s why children’s charities have asked every party leader how their policies will help children and generations to come.

Here are five things the Liberal Democrats will do to build a brighter future for every young person:

1. Stop Brexit

Brexit is a disaster for our young people. It limits our ambitions and our horizons.

Outside the EU, the UK can no longer take part in the Erasmus student exchange programme for schools, colleges and universities.

Brexit makes our children less safe. The European Arrest Warrant lets us track down people accused of crimes against children if they move abroad.

Brexit will make us poorer. If Boris Johnson wins this election, his ‘die in a ditch’ Brexit policy means we could crash out of the EU’s trading bloc in 2021. That would harm our economy and increase debt – meaning we have less to spend on our children and young people.

Only the Liberal Democrats will stop Brexit so we can spend our £50 billion Remain Bonus on public services, like our schools, and tackling child poverty.

2. Free childcare

Under the Conservatives, the gap between the performance of richer and poorer children at nursery school is widening.

They’ve turned their backs on families. Working parents can get 30 hours a week of free childcare, but only when their child turns 3 – and it doesn’t cover the school holidays. It’s been so underfunded that some providers have had to close.

Liberal Democrats will provide free, high quality childcare for every child from when their parents go back to work to the day they start school.

The Liberal Democrats’ plan includes 35 hours a week, 48 weeks a year, for every child from 9 months to school age.

We’ll pay childcare providers properly, so that every child has a high-quality place.

3. Reverse school cuts

Our schools and colleges should be world-class. But instead, they’re falling behind.

Teaching assistants are being sacked. Cash-strapped councils struggle to help children with complex needs. Some schools aren’t keeping their doors open for a full five-day week.

The Conservatives are failing our children. They have cut school budgets to the bone.

By stopping Brexit, Liberal Democrats can use the Remain Bonus to reverse school cuts with an emergency cash injection.

By 2024, we’ll spend £10 billion a year more on schools, so we can employ 20,000 more teachers.

Children should come home from school happy, healthy and with all the skills they need to succeed.

4. Invest in Children’s Centres

Local councils’ budgets have been slashed – but more children than ever need their support. Councils are spending more on helping children in crisis, so they’ve got less to spend on stopping children getting into crisis in the first place.

Children’s centres provide vital support for children and their families in the first years of life. They give advice to parents on how to manage behaviour. They give free post-natal checks for new babies. They’re a safe space for toddlers to play.

Liberal Democrats will support our most disadvantaged young children, by spending an extra £1 billion a year on children’s centres.

5. Support children in poverty

Under the Conservatives, almost 30% of children were in poverty in 2017/18.

The Tories botched the roll out of Universal Credit and they made brutal cuts to benefits in 2015.

Liberal Democrats will support children in poverty. We’ll scrap the two-child limit and the benefits cap and let families where both parents work keep more of their money.

That’s why the independent Resolution Foundation says that our manifesto does more to help child poverty than both Boris Johnson’s Conservatives or Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.

Under the Liberal Democrats, 600,000 fewer children will be in relative poverty than under Boris Johnson.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party that can win seats off both the Conservatives and Labour – so we can stop Boris Johnson, stop Brexit, and build a brighter future for our children.

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