Only around £197k of the government's £300m business rates relief fund has actually been allocated, Liberal Democrat research has revealed, despite businesses being hit with higher rates over four months ago.

Unique and Special

Judith Bunting, local parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats, said that many small businesses in West Berkshire lobbied her about the unreasonable changes during the recent election campaign. Now the delay in paying out the small business rates relief threatens local business we all depend on.

Please sign Cllr Macro's petition asking for West Berks Council to reverse its decision to charge its residents to dispose of Soil, Rubble, Ceramics, Plasterboard and Tyres at their Recycling Centres: please click here.

I call upon West Berkshire Council to reverse its decision to charge residents to dispose of soil, DIY waste (rubble, ceramics, plasterboard) and tyres at their Recycling Centres from 4th September 2017. This is a service valued by residents who feel that it should be provided from their Council Tax contributions. These charges are likely to cause a significant increase in flytipping, which will be to the detriment of residents, wildlife and the environment. Clearing up the flytipping will incur expenditure by the council and by landowners.

Responding to warnings by Supreme Court President Lord Neuberger, that UK judges need more clarity over the role of the European Court of Justice after Brexit, Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake commented:

"Judges have already been branded 'enemies of the people' for daring to challenge Theresa May's plans to force through an extreme Brexit with no accountability.

"Now the Government's inability to set out clearly how, whether or when ECJ rulings should be taken into account risks leaving judges in the firing line yet again.

"The Government must provide greater clarity in the Repeal Bill over the role the ECJ will play post-Brexit.

"We must not let the Conservatives' obsession with ending the jurisdiction of the ECJ lead to a chaotic Brexit that would maximise damage to British jobs and families.

"That should include abiding by European Court of Justice rulings when this is required to ensure free trade with the EU and continued cooperation against crime and terrorism."

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."