East Devon Liberal Democrats

Building a Brighter Future

With a stronger economy and fairer society across East Devon and beyond

Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Spokesperson for East Devon

Eleanor Rylance

You really do matter

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Students tell us how important this is.

Please support your local groups and frontline professionals to keep our communities safe. Help those that are isolated, for example Guardian article 14th March 2020

Here is the card created by Ms Wass in Cornwall

Postcard t offer help

And here is the advice by Eden Projects Communities

I hope there will be support groups organised throughout East Devon, and I'm sure our members and supporters will be participating.

Eleanor is District Councillor for Broadclyst.

Nationally our MPs are doing what they can to support and ensure the prime concern of government is to keep citizens safe. That means constructive scrutiny of decisions and support for necessary actions. The best decisions are ones that have been looked at from all angles, communicated clearly, and implemented well in a timely fashion.

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Click here to see what Liberal Democrats believe

Finger on the pulse: national party updates

The Liberal Democrat Coronavirus Update

Article: Mar 25, 2020

Coronavirus demonstrates how valuable our public service broadcasters are

Responding to the news that the BBC News is to suspend its plans to cut 450 jobs, Liberal Democrat DCMS spokesperson Daisy Cooper said:

"It is in times like this that our public service broadcasters demonstrate most clearly just how valuable they are. The BBC is right to ensure it remains properly staffed.
The Weekly Whip

Article: Mar 25, 2020

Welcome to the Weekly Whip. Your one-stop shop for Lib Dem Parliamentary updates, covering the week that was and the week to come.

For up to date information from the Lib Dem Whips Office, follow us on Twitter: @LibWhips

Weekly Whip w/c 23rd March

In the last week ahead of Recess; Westminster Hall debates were suspended, and select committees will now continue over video conferencing. Given the ongoing pandemic, we went early to Recess on Wednesday.
The Liberal Democrat Coronavirus Update

Article: Mar 24, 2020

Ed Davey challenges government to roll out support package for self-employed

Today Ed Davey, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats, challenged the Chancellor to "move as fast as possible" to roll out a financial support package for the five million self-employed people in the UK.

In an Urgent Question in the House of Commons, Ed Davey highlighted that the self-employed, who are excluded from current financial support for businesses and employees, are under "real stress" and are "literally running out of money" as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
We must support the self-employed

Article: Mar 24, 2020
Last week, the Government set out a package of financial measures to support UK workers, highlighting just how threatening coronavirus is to our economy and our society.

As soon as these measures were announced, Liberal Democrats stated our concerns that far too little was being provided to help the self-employed through this crisis. Days later, and no new support has been announced by the Government.

Each day the govt fails to protect the self-employed, many get closer to irreparable damage to their livelihoods.

We, with cross-party support, have written to Rishi Sunak calling for urgent action to support the 5 million self-employed people in the UK. https://t.co/nDU6VF8zMS
- Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) March 24, 2020

There are five million self-employed people in the UK. These are our construction workers, our childminders and our delivery drivers.

Each day that we fail to take action to protect the self-employed, millions of people remain worried and unsure of how they are going to support themselves or their families. Leaving them with no reliable safety net is unacceptable.

Ministers cannot keep hiding from the insecurity these individuals have been put in by the coronavirus crisis. It is not good enough to say it is "operationally difficult" to pay them.

The Liberal Democrats have put down amendments to the Government's coronavirus legislation to support the self-employed. They are:
- increasing the weekly rate of Statutory Sick Pay from £94.25 to £220
- guaranteeing 80% of self-employed individuals' earnings, up to £35,000
Our approach to the emergency Coronavirus Bill

Article: Mar 23, 2020

Today, MPs will debate the Government's emergency Coronavirus Bill.

The Coronavirus crisis is an unprecedented threat, leaving the most vulnerable in our communities at risk. People across the country are rightly worried about their loved ones. This is a national emergency and emergency powers are clearly necessary to keep individuals and communities safe from the virus.