In recent weeks the Liberal Party has received several e-mails critical of Ed Davey, the leader of the LibDems for his response to the Horizon Post Office Scandal.
As Minister for Postal Affairs in the Coalition government and now leader of the LibDems Ed Davey met Mr Bates in October 2010, but has yet to explain his reluctance to meet campaign groups or ask probing question of the post offices management and civil servants.
We would like to reaffirm that the Liberal Party claims continuity with the pre-1988 Liberal Party. and is in no way linked with Ed Davey or the LibDems, a party with which we now have little in common.
Our party was perpetuated by a dedicate group who believed the merger between the SDP and Liberal Party was an unworkable compromise, which contributed to the Coalition Government and the imposition of a stringent policy of austerity in 2010.
We believe those affected by the failures of the Horizon IT system must be exonerated and compensated in the name of justice and probing question asked of all those involved in the scandal from its onset in 1999.
The Liberal Party urge’s the government and parliament to fast-track recognition of the injustice done to so many subpost-masters by instituting an all-embracing cancellation of their flawed convictions and to implement a fast track compensation scheme.
We believe that the government must investigate seriously the claim civil servants misled ministers on an industrial scale by scrutinising all civil service ministerial briefings on the issue and making that evidence public as well as information supplied to ministers by the senior management of the post office.
The party however notes that 4 years after the first convictions were overturned in this long running case of the miscarriage of justice, it has taken an ITV drama, Mr Bates v The Post office to galvanise parliament to act.
We also recognise this case is not exceptional. For example, the case of victims of contaminated factor 8 blood have not been universally compensated after decades of neglect.
The Liberal Party notes with great sadness the aftermath of widespread flooding after the recent heavy rainfall which has left homes and land underwater.
The party believes that recent extreme weather is another warning of climate change, and that urgent action is required to mitigate such extreme events both nationally and locally.
Urban planners need to discourage housing developments that encroach onto floodplains and taken action to increase urban drainage which is increasingly reduced by over developments and the loss of gardens which soak up the water.
In rural area’s action need to be taken to contain excess hillside runoff with tree planting, the restructuring of rivers carry away the water efficiency and to invest in floodplains to disperse the excess.
Flood water is often contaminated with sewage as water companies continue to discharge into rivers to release the build up of water within the drainage systems.
This is an unwelcome practice which OFWAT and the environment agency should be working to eliminate as it adds to the damage from such flooding events.
Previous Press Releases can be found here.
Liberal Party leader Cllr Steve Radford thoughts on the recent SNP Election controversy, joined by the chair of the Liberal Party NEC, Cllr Charles Shaw.
The Video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW2aJdEmqN8
Cllr Steve Radford and Cllr Charles Shaw reflect on the war in Ukraine a year on.
The Video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0HBLxuRjk0
