Liberal Party leader Cllr Steve Radford recently visited both Old Swan and Breck Road Post Offices in Liverpool with his colleague Alan Tormey.
 
There was a nonstop flow of customers, and as so many bank branches are closing it is vital to save these facilities. The party also sees an opportunity to utilise local churches to deliver banking services as is done at All Hallows Centre in Allerton.

Please sign the 38 Degrees online petition, titled Protect our Post Offices! calling for the withdrawal of plans to close 115 Post Offices.

The Liberal Party notes the ongoing protracted crisis involving the long-term financial viability of the privatise water utility Thames Water.

The UK’s privatised industry has now extracted more than £85 billion in profits over the last 30 years, whilst leaving the industry with over £60 billion of debt, over £16 billion with Thames Water.

The Liberal Party maintains that all UK water companies should be brought back into public ownership, starting with Thames Water who’s predominantly foreign owners have effectivity written off their holdings and refused further financial support.

Any such return to public ownership should be at no costs to the UKs taxpayers and the current shareholders should be bailed into any scheme. All future profits would be re-invested in providing an efficient and environmentally responsible water industry and protection for the environment.

Commenting on the Labour party’s decision to increase university tuition fees, Liberal Party leader Cllr Steve Radford asserted:

“After condemning tuition fee increases as immoral and socially divisive, when in power they immediately increased them.

Is there any pledge or campaign they undertook worth a carrot?

To increase equality of opportunity and upskill the economy we Liberals have argued many of the exemptions from inheritance tax should be reduced to fund an education or business startup grant for young people.

We need an economy that goes for growth and expands opportunities for all”.

Cllr Steve Radford
Leader of The Liberal Party

The Liberal Party acknowledges the re-election of Donald J Trump as the 47th US President.

We congratulate the winner of the election and express the wishes that both candidates’ will be willing to work together in the interest of the people of the USA and for peace in the world.

The Liberal Party calls for the creation of a Cornish Assembly, recognising the region as a Celtic nation in its own right.

The region boasts a cultural and linguistic heritage which justify its elevation to the same level of devolved government as in Scotland, Wales, and NI.

Such a body would have administrative authority over the region, with the Duchy of Cornwall subservient to its authority on matters of local and economic development and management.

In light of the recent announcement by the Chancellor that the government will have to plug a £22 billion black hole and the subsequent budget on the 30th of October 2024, The Liberal Party notes with concern some of the announcements made by the Chancellor in the lead up to the budget.

The Liberal Party Economics Spokesperson Kayed Al-Haddad outlines an alternative 4 step approach to tackling the financial black hole and dealing with the state of the public finances.

The document is now available on the front page of our party website.

The Liberal Party believes that this Octobers Autumn Budget by the chancellor should be an opportunity get the UK working and bring about much needed reforms to taxation and the business environment.

We believe the £22 billion blackhole in government finances has been used as a distraction to justify cuts to the winter fuel payment, the refusal to lift the two-child benefit cap or combat child poverty.

The government’s gloomy assessment of the economy is having a detrimental effect on business and consumer confidence, harming investment and spending and a more positive but realistic vision must be delivered.

The party does not begrudge public service works a long overdue pay rise but fully acknowledges that it will put pressure on budget in the public sector without adequate funding.

We believe modest adjustments to tax rebates, allowances and exemptions would provide the chancellor with adequate funds to do so without necessarily raising income tax.

The Liberal Party notes with great concern reports that OFWAT, the water regulator is planning to allow water utilities to increase bills more than originally disclosed to the public, with an estimate of £94 between 2025 and 2023, a rise of 21%.

The UK water industries is widely recognised as having taken more than £70 billion in profits since privatization whilst leaving the industry crippled  with debts of over £60 billion and struggling to fund vital infrastructure investments.

The industry also stands accused of  allowing potentially illegal wastewater discharges blighting our countries waterways and beaches.

The Liberal Party has a long-standing policy of bring the UK water industry back into public ownership which has been reaffirmed at our annual Assembly.

We believe all monies generated from the provision of water services should be re-invested in this country and not directed abroad to foreign owners with no direct links to this country and its environment.

The Liberal Party notes the recent release of 1000 remand prisoners as the government wrestles with the ongoing issues of overcrowding in the UK prison system.

Any custodial sentence without adequately funded rehabilitation does not break the cycle of re-offending and only inflates the prison system with a revolving door of offender, many with drug or mental health issues better suited to community treatment.

A substantial part of the prison population also includes offenders recalled after breaching their parole conditions, which is an issue exacerbated by underfunding in the probation services.

We believe better use could be made of community sentences which break the cycle of re-offending by compelling attendance at a fixed time and location, restricting offenders’ opportunities to re-offend.

We also believe for many low-level offences a properly targeted fine, weekend curfew’s or other reasonable and proportional restrictions on their activities act as a deterrent to further offending.

The Liberal Party notes increased speculation that the impending Autumn Budget will see an increase to employer NI contributions.

We believe that any such move will simply add costs to business’s as well as discourage employment at a time when the governments gloomy assessment of the economy is already having a detrimental effect on business and consumer confidence.

Modest adjustments to tax rebates, allowances, exemptions and the taxing of profits moved offshore would equally provide the chancellor with the funds to balance the budget and invest in the economy without necessarily raising NI or income tax.

The Liberal Party believes that this Autumn Budget should be an opportunity to get the UK working and bring about much needed reforms to taxation and the business environment.