Being a carer can be rewarding and full of love.

900,000 full-time unpaid carers rely on Carer’s Allowance

But it’s far from glamorous. It can be relentless and exhausting.

900,000 full-time unpaid carers rely on Carer’s Allowance – but at just £67.25 a week, it’s not nearly enough.

More than a third of those on Carer’s Allowance are struggling to make ends meet.

Many have been struggling for months, often relying on foodbanks to feed themselves and the people they care for.

Increasing Carer’s Allowance by 5p a day is an insult

The Government’s decision to increase Carer’s Allowance by 5p a day is an insult to the millions of people looking after their loved ones.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to immediately raise Carer’s Allowance by £1,000 a year.

I’ve been a carer for much of my life.

First as a teenager, nursing my mum during her long battle against bone cancer.

Later for my Nanna, organising her care and trying to make her last few years as comfortable as we could.

And now as a father, as Emily and I care for our disabled son John.

I know how tough it can be.

We are calling on the Government to immediately raise Carer’s Allowance by £1,000 a year.

Whether you are the parent of a disabled child, a young carer or you look after an elderly family member, Coronavirus has made it even tougher.

Most carers are spending even more time looking after loved ones during the pandemic.

Most haven’t been able to take a single break since it started. Most are simply exhausted.

I am determined that the Liberal Democrats will lead the way to a more caring society as we emerge from this pandemic.

Everyone has the right to feel safe where they live, and everyone who has been the victim of a crime deserves justice.

But for too long, this Conservative Government has been ignoring victims, failing the police and letting our communities down.

Last year, 1.8 million cases were closed without a suspect even being identified.

And that’s why, last year, 1.8 million cases were closed without a suspect even being identified.

Even before the Covid pandemic, too many people felt unsafe in their own homes or walking down their own streets. In fact half of all people never even see police patrols in their local area.

Conservative Ministers like to talk tough on crime, but they have failed to do what works to actually keep people safe. Their unnecessary police cuts have contributed to a rise in serious violence.

Police need the officers, resources and time to focus on preventing and solving crimes.

Police need the officers, resources and time to focus on preventing and solving crimes.

Instead, the Tories want to waste police time chasing centralised Whitehall targets and carrying out pointless, suspicionless Stop and Search.

That’s why today, the Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and known personally to local people.

We will do what works to build communities where people are safe and feel safe too.

The Leader’s Award, awarded to Prue Bray

Prue has a long history of dedicated service to the Party including being elected to various offices at Local, Regional and State structures that require demonstrating high levels of knowledge, skills and dedication in order to carry out their responsibilities.

She has been PPC for Wokingham and is currently a Councillor there; RCC for South East Region; Chair of ECC 2016 – 2019; member of RPC for some years and became Chair of RPC in 2020.

In all these roles she has demonstrated a high standard of organisational skills and work ethic combined with a thorough grasp of her brief. Her roles have demanded tough decisions and the ability to manage the pressures that accompany this. Her commitment to high standards and expectations of herself and others has been delivered through patience and concern for others. She has been generous in her time, giving advice and support to others whenever called upon.

Prue is a never-failing source of wise counsel. She is always willing to put her long experience in the Party to use in advising others, and is invariably patient, exceptionally hard-working, a true leader and embodies all the values of Liberal Democracy.

Congratulations to Prue!

The Bertha Bowness Fischer Award, awarded to Rebecca ‘Becky’ Grubb

Becky joined the party recently and instantly threw herself into things. She was Secretary of her University Branch in Cambridge, in which capacity she was a huge galvaniser of events, and helped grow the membership. She campaigned vociferously for the local party, as well as organising other campaigners. She was due to stand for election to Cambridge City Council before the pandemic struck. After graduating, she started volunteering in Ed Davey’s office, where she broke records for emails logged and going above and beyond the call of duty.

Simultaneously she was elected Non-portfolio Officer for the Young Liberals in which capacity she has used to conduct an enormous review of all young branches in the country, creating a team, calling and interviewing branch chairs. This wide-ranging review of 73 branches was an enormous extra body of voluntary work. 

Becky’s story is an important one for several reasons. Firstly she’s been a young graduate in an incredibly hostile environment for young people, during this pandemic and under the economic circumstances. She has risen to that challenge with an extraordinary quantity of voluntary work which led to her finding a job and a place in the party. In the circumstances she could be forgiven for thinking, once in a job, she could relax a bit. But she hasn’t let up, she’s kept working hard and she’s taking on more and more responsibilities in trying to help the party.

Secondly, she’s shown real grit in starting a new job during the pandemic, taking on the challenges of being a constituency assistant without ever having met any of her colleagues in person.

Thirdly, since she joined the party she’s always understood that nurturing its members as individuals is the path to them delivering for the party, growing and is liberalism in action. 

Congratulations to Becky!

The Albert Ingham Award, awarded to Andrew ‘Andy’ Wylie

Andy Wylie is retiring as agent for Watford Liberal Democrats after 40 years of activity in the current party and before that in the SDP in Watford. He has served as a volunteer agent in Watford elections since 1996 and has presided over more than 200 successful election campaigns, including borough, county and mayoral elections. He was agent to Dorothy Thornhill when she won Watford’s first Elected Mayoral contests in 2002, and for subsequent winning Mayoral campaigns. His time as a successful election organiser stretches back to 1986 when he managed the campaign that led to the then SDP/Liberal Alliance gaining its first seat on Watford Borough Council and has played a vital role in the local party’s continuing success.

Andy was also a councillor himself for 17 years, and a cabinet member for the first 10 years of Dorothy Thornhill’s administration, initially for housing and then for finance. As such he played a vital part in turning around a council that had been rated under Labour as one of the worst in the country into a successful, efficient and forward-looking local authority.”

Andy’s attention to detail and thoroughness in carrying out the formal duties of agent has meant that we are always in safe hands with the election legalities. He has never pretended to be the all-round-election supremo, although he was an early user of election software and is a doughty committee room organiser. Andy has been a great team player, always encouraging campaigners to bring their own strengths and abilities to the team, whether leaflet-writers, social media experts, or action day organisers. He has enabled energetic and successful campaigning to happen while ensuring the nuts and bolts of the campaign are secure.

Andy is very much an unsung hero – he has never sought any national profile within the party. Yet his assiduousness, thoroughness and efficiency as election agent has been greatly valued by all those in whose election he has played a significant role. It is a measure of Andy’s sense of duty that although he has recently moved away from Watford, he is continuing to serve as agent for this year’s local elections and to help with training whoever takes on these duties in the future.

Congratulations to Andy!

Thank you to all the agents who have got our candidates nominated!

Today, I’m delighted to be launching the Liberal Democrat manifesto to Take London Forward.

I will be laying out some of the big changes that are part of my plan, including:

Embracing changes brought about by the pandemic:

What would have been ten years of steady change has been accelerated in a year by the pandemic.

The rise of online shopping. The shift towards homeworking. What would have been ten years of steady change has been accelerated in a year by the pandemic.

So we face a choice. Do we try to reverse these big changes? Run promotional campaigns telling people to get back to the office?

Or do we embrace change? Make a plan for it and make it work for Londoners.

A plan for a new Flexible Travel Card:

The Liberal Democrats will move with the times, introducing a flexible travel card.

The office isn’t dead, the daily commute is. So why is it that the shortest travel card we can currently get is a seven-day pass?

The Liberal Democrats will move with the times,introducing a flexible travel card.

This will give Londoners the option of buying a four-day pass, saving flexible workers £520 a year and making it more affordable for them to work in the office when they need to.

Converting offices to homes:

If people are spending less time in the office, then businesses are inevitably going to see it as an opportunity to reduce the space they need.

This is a once in a generation opportunity to finally fix our housing crisis. More of the same won’t do.

We must challenge ourselves to convert these spaces into quality, affordable, zero-carbon homes.

Rejecting the Silvertown Tunnel on environmental grounds:

The Liberal Democrats will say no to the Silvertown Tunnel.

It’s the Mayor’s dirty little secret… an expensive, polluting new road project that will drive a hole through our zero-carbon ambitions and take funds away from public transport projects we need.

The Liberal Democrats will say no to the Silvertown Tunnel. No to building more polluting roads. And back investment in clean, green public transport projects.

We can make our streets safer again.

Bringing back proper Community Policing:

The current Mayor has closed half the police stations in London. We will call a moratorium on police station closures and look to reopen as many of the over 30 closed police stations as communities demand.

By doubling the number of neighbourhood police officers, reopening police stations closed by Sadiq Khan, and putting the focus on building relationships in the community, we can make our streets safer again.

We must bring back proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and known personally to local people.

We have a Mayor who has wasted his five years in office, seeking re-election on the basis that he’s not the Conservative candidate.

London is a vibrant, diverse, liberal city. The Conservatives can’t win here.

So if you feel let down by Labour and the current Mayor, send them a message. Tell them you want more. Tell them you want change. Tell them you want something better.

London needs a plan for its future.

The Liberal Democrat plan to Take London Forward embraces change and puts jobs, homes and clean air at the heart of our recovery.#Luisa4London pic.twitter.com/F4SBe8nxEQ

— Luisa Porritt (@LuisaPorritt) April 15, 2021