Conservative infighting threatens to wreck Britain's financial services industry
The government must urgently spell out its aims from the second phase of EU negotiations and on transitional arrangements, the Lords EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee has warned.
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Gov must urgently review impact of Universal Credit on the self employed
Commenting on ONS figures released today showing an 82,000 fall in the number of self-employed workers, Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions spokesperson Stephen Lloyd MP said:
“Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned by this huge drop in the number of people working for themselves, reversing a shift towards increasing self-employment and entrepreneurial risk-taking.
100 Days Until Local Elections
Today marks 100 days until local elections in Tower Hamlets and across London.
This is an important moment for Tower Hamlets. Our local communities are struggling to cope with harsh cuts imposed by the Conservatives from Westminster, and our Labour council are just making things worse — failing to use what powers they do have. Whatsmore, our borough is stung time and time again with corruption allegations.
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IMF figures reveal UK is under-performing in the world - Cable
Commenting on the lMF's latest global forecast, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable, said:
“It is clear that Britain is under-performing relative to much of Europe, the USA and the rest of the world. It is especially unfortunate that the UK is entering an extended period of economic stagnation just as the rest of the world experiences a growth burst.
Liberal Democrat Councillor calls on Council to bring empty homes into use
Councillor Andrew Cregan called on the Council this week to use existing power to bring empty homes into use, after a Liberal Democrat Freedom of Information Request discovered that 500 homes across Tower Hamlets have sat empty for more than 6 months, and 117 have sat empty for two years or more.
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"No excuse" for ambulance waiting times
1667 patients in Tower Hamlets have faced waits of half an hour or more in ambulances outside A&E this winter. Of these 286 faced a wait over an hour.
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Missed collections over Christmas and New Year
A number of people have reported that their rubbish and/or recycling wasn’t collected on the promised day over the Christmas and New Year period. This left waste and recycling in the street, with some bags ripped open by foxes.
We think it’s time the contractor - Veolia - was held accountable for delivering poor service on the Island.
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Votes tonight show Gov won't get an easy ride on the EU Withdrawal Bill
A Lib Dem amendment that would have forced the Government to publish impact assessments of either an agreement or no deal before a meaningful vote on the deal in Parliament has received cross party support in a vote today.
The Government narrowly avoided defeat, with 320 votes to 301.
Update from Limehouse Community Safety meeting
350 + turnout to last night’s community safety meeting, organised by the Limehouse Community Forum (LCF).
Mayor Biggs, Commander Williams, DS Mike Stubbins, Inspector Fran Reynolds, Cllr Begam and Anne Corbet from Tower Hamlets were on the panel, chaired by Conor McDonnell, Limehouse’s Ward Panel Chair.
To give some early context to the purpose of the meeting and why it was called so promptly into the New Year is down the recent spike in violent crime and anti-social behaviour. This new crime wave led to the creation of Operation Naga and DS Stubbins informed the community that 35 crimes had been linked in recent weeks. Victims range from as young as 12, up to 60. However, only 5 arrests have been made since the launch of Operation Naga.
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Caroline Pidgeon Weighs In on Tower Hamlets Corruption
Liberal Democrat Member of the London Assembly, Caroline Pidgeon, writes to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Force following allegations of corruption in Tower Hamlets
In December Tower Hamlets was in the news for all the wrong reasons again. On 10 December The Times reported on "secret recordings apparently connecting a Labour council to an alleged £2m corruption scandal" (BBC, 10 Dec 2017).
A police investigation was launched, but following the failings of the investigation into the 2014 elections in Tower Hamlets, fears were raised that the bribery case may not be properly investigated. In light of this Caroline Pidgeon has written to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police seeking clarity.
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