Welcome to the web site of South Central Region Liberal Democrats.
South Central Region covers the counties of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and this site contains information about the Liberal Democrats across the region.
Public sector net borrowing soared by £2bn in June compared to a year earlier, as debt costs rose due to higher inflation, figures published today have revealed.
Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable commented: "This rise in borrowing is a direct consequence of the dramatic fall in the pound since last year's Brexit vote. Instead of the £350m for the NHS that was promised, people's living standards are falling and borrowing is going up.
Vince Cable MP became the new leader of the Liberal Democrats at an event in Westminster on Thursday afternoon.
In his speech he descibed the gaping hole in the centre of British politics which the Liberal Democrat party has an opportunity - and a national duty - to occupy. Both the Tory and Labour parties have been captured by ideological zealots, driven by a hatred of Europe or a hatred of capitalism. They have, he said, effectively abandoned economics.
The country has become polarised and divided as never before. The moderation, the common sense and mutual respect which characterises British politics at its best is currently totally missing. Our party should occupy that space. We can meet that challenge.
Ambitious for our country; ambitious for our party
Vince Cable believes that we are the only party that can represent the millions of liberal-minded people alarmed by the direction this country is taking: people, whether they voted remain or leave, who hate the intolerance, xenophobia and division unleashed by the Brexit vote. He wants the Liberal Democrats to be at the centre of political life: a credible, effective party of national and local government, and a voice of sanity on Europe.
To achieve this, we will have to fight for every vote and every seat. It can be done: we have a record membership and the enormous energy that thousands of new members have brought to the party. Vince believes that we have the ability to give that energy a lead, to hit the headlines and to make our party relevant again.
To build a better Britain we need to give people powers over the decisions which affect their lives, including Brexit. We need to build an economy which is successful and gives everyone a stake and everyone a chance. We need properly funded and effective public services, we need to hold out the prospect of a better future for young people and we need to fix Britain's broken politics, to give everyone an equal say. That is Vince Cable's agenda for the future.
Vince Cable's record
Vince has been active in the party for over 35 years. He has fought ten general elections and been the MP for Twickenham from 1997 to 2015 and then from 2017 to the present day. This June he was re-elected with the largest majority of any Liberal Democrat MP.
As Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, he reformed the banks and created the world's first Green Investment Bank and the British Business Bank. As a cabinet minister he relaunched the apprenticeship model of training, created the Catapult network of innovation centres, boosted the science budget, introduced shared parental leave and stronger protection against monopoly, launched a successful campaign to get more women on company boards, protected adult community learning.
On Brexit
Vince thinks Brexit may never happen. He maintains when people see the economic costs they will turn against it and a cross-party coalition of opponents to Brexit may develop. Cable said, "the whole question of continued membership will once again arise" if people's living standards worsened and unemployment rose. A Survation poll recently pointed to 53% of people backing a referendum on accepting or rejecting the final Brexit terms.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has today (Wednesday 20th July) published the findings of its inspection of all specialist mental health services, giving the most complete picture ever of the quality of mental health provision for people in England.
Inspectors said they found too much poor care and far too much variation in both quality and access across different services. This is particularly concerning given the increasing demand for mental health services, meaning that more people risk receiving care that is not good enough - or no care at all.
Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary Norman Lamb commented:
"The evidence is overwhelming that mental health services are at breaking point in many parts of the country. Too many people are left waiting intolerably long for the treatment they need, while others get no help at all.
"My fear is that the safety and access concerns identified by the CQC will become increasingly widespread unless services are given extra resources to cope with growing demand.
"The independent regulator has thrown down the gauntlet with its warning that there is too much poor care and unequal access to mental health services. How the Government responds will be a test of its commitment to achieving genuine equality for those who suffer from mental ill health."
This week West Berkshire Council announced plans for financial "task forces" to be sent into the district's struggling schools to help heads manage their budgets. They are also threatening to charge any school that requires 'the task force intervention'.
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Judith Bunting, Parliamentary Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats in Newbury, said: "This is another shockingly negative move from the Conservatives on West Berkshire Council. They present this issue as if our schools are failing, In reality, the actions of West Berkshire Council and the Conservative Government mean that many local schools have not only suffered significant cuts to their funding, but at the same time are being expected to provide more services around children's mental health and other matters."
The Liberal Democrats have accused the government of insulting teachers and of having a "tin ear" to public opinion after giving a below inflation pay-rise to teachers.
Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson and MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, said:
"Giving teachers another below inflation pay-rise is frankly an insult to these incredibly hard working and dedicated professionals. The message coming loud and clear from Theresa May's government is that it simply does not value the profoundly important work teachers do to help our children achieve their potential.
"It is no secret that more and more teachers are being forced out of the profession they love, because they are being put under impossible pressure, while watching their pay fall in real terms, yet ministers seem happy to ignore this mounting crisis.
"Theresa May has just shown she is tin-eared with a heart of stone."
