News
Kirsty Williams Comments on Referendum Wording
Thursday, 02 September 2010 15:22
Commenting on the report of the Electoral Commission into the wording of the proposed referendum on law making powers for the Welsh Assembly, Kirsty Williams AM, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said:
"The UK Government has acted swiftly to ensure a referendum on law making powers takes place as early as possible. The Liberal Democrats in Government at Westminster are now delivering on our 100 year old commitment to devolve real power from Westminster to the Welsh people.
"It is right that an independent commission should comment on the wording so that we have clearest possible question. Whatever the final wording, the Welsh Liberal Democrats will want to work constructively with progressives in all parties to secure a 'yes' vote."
100 Days: The positive impact for Welsh people of the Liberal Democrats in Coalition
Wednesday, 18 August 2010 13:08
Commenting on the 100th day of the Westminster Coalition Government, Kirsty Williams AM, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said:
After thirteen years of Labour government, Wales was left with a third of children living in poverty, a wider gap between rich and poor than under the Conservatives and the lowest social mobility in Western Europe.
Securing the economic recovery and getting people back into jobs is paramount for the Coalition Government. Tackling Labours huge deficit is essential to restoring growth in the economy and giving people hope for the future.
The Government has acted swiftly to ensure a referendum on law making powers takes place as early as possible. The Liberal Democrats in Government at Westminster are now delivering on our 100 year old commitment to devolve real power from Westminster to the Welsh people.
A large number of key Liberal Democrats policies are now being implemented in Wales as a result of Liberal Democrat influence in Government. These include everything from fairer taxes and benefits, cleaning up our politics, to prison reforms and fairer pensions.
Examples of Liberal Democrat policies now being pursued by the Government include:
- An increase in the income tax threshold will lift 50,000 people in Wales out of income tax altogether and put £200 extra money in the pockets of hard working families.
- 100,000 people in Wales are eligible for the increase in Child Tax Credits of £150 announced in the budget as part of the drive to tackle child poverty.
- Restoring the pensions link with earnings, which was scrapped by the Conservatives and shamefully retained by Labour. The Governments triple-lock guarantees that the state pension will increase in line with earnings or prices or 2.5% - whichever is higher and will benefit 615,000 pensioners in Wales.
Lower paid public sector workers in Wales (earning less than £21,000) have been protected from wage freezes and been given a £250 increase for the next two years, benefiting 89,000 public sector workers in Wales.
£22 million wasted training teachers who don't teach - Randerson
Wednesday, 18 August 2010 13:04
More than £22m has been wasted by the Welsh Assembly Government on training teachers who do not go on to teach in Wales.
New figures released today by the Welsh Liberal Democrats have revealed that between 2004/05 and 2007/08, Wales trained an excess of almost 3000 teachers, at a cost of over £7500 per surplus teacher.
Few steps are being taken to tackle this as only minor reductions in teacher training intake targets have been made for 2010/11.
Commenting on the figures, Jenny Randerson, Welsh Liberal Democrats Shadow Minister for Education said:
"At a time when budgets are increasingly stretched, it is wasteful and irresponsible for the Labour/Plaid government in Wales to spend taxpayers' money on teachers that Wales does not have vacancies to employ.
"The Government were advised in the 2006 Furlong Report to cut the number of training places in half but this advice has not been heeded. The Education Minister stated in 2008 that she would be supporting a reduction of 50 per cent of training places in primary and 25 per cent reduction in secondary training places, but this saving has not taken place.
"With education spending already £500 per pupil less than in England, Wales can ill afford to be subsidising the English education system. In maths, for example, we have trained 133 teachers at a cost of £1.1 million who are not teaching in Wales at all.
"Labour in London has saddled us the largest budget deficit in UK peacetime history. Meanwhile in Wales, they have wasted £22 million on a programme to train teachers who don't teach."
Free up money to help struggling households – Veronica German AM
Friday, 13 August 2010 14:54
Veronica German AM for South Wales East spoke today of the need for the Labour-Plaid Government to review the rules and the funding of their flagship mortgage rescue scheme following the news that parts of South Wales East have the highest number of mortgage repossession claims in Britain.
Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil are in the top four in the league table of mortgage repossessions, highlighting that this is still a major problem in Wales.
The £9 million mortgage rescue scheme put in place by the Welsh Government has exhausted its funding less than halfway through the financial year and although an additional £2 million has been found for it, the new rules that have been put in place mean that very few people will now be eligible for help.
The new criteria state that the applicant (or a member of the household) must have a disability and that their home must have been adapted before they can benefit from it. Yet, information from the Welsh Government reveals that only 16 of the 336 approved applications since 2008 would have met the new criteria leaving open the prospect of a huge underspend on the new money whilst families have their homes repossessed.
Veronica German said: I think it is absolutely ludicrous that people in South East Wales are not able to get some desperately needed help because they do not qualify under these new, far too narrow, criteria
I dont doubt that people with adapted homes need support, but the reality is that this money will go unspent whilst struggling families all over South Wales East will not get the help they deserve.
The Labour-Plaid Government needs to address how the scheme operates and how much money is put into it. It is inexcusable for this £2 million to remain unspent whilst families are losing their homes.
This is an important scheme and it is completely wrong that is has to be frozen so early in the financial year when there is such need for it.
Unacceptable NHS Wales waiting times -Veronica German
Thursday, 12 August 2010 14:21
More than 10,000 patients in Wales are having to wait more than 26 weeks for hospital treatment, according to the latest figures for June.
Out of 274,515 on the waiting list, 10,154 patients had to wait more than six months.
Veronica German, Welsh Lib Dem Shadow Health Minister said:
Its very worrying that the Labour-Plaid government cant get to grips with the amount of time patients have to wait for treatment.
"We know that waiting lists go down when money is poured in, however, with difficult financial times ahead for NHS Wales and the country as a whole, the Health Minister has to come up with a strategy to ensure that patients arent waiting unacceptable periods of time for treatment.
More information can be found here.
First Minister risks dividing the Yes campaign before it gets off the ground - Kirsty Williams
Tuesday, 10 August 2010 09:39
The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams, has warned the First Minister that he is in danger of dividing the Yes campaign before it even gets off the ground.
Carwyn Jones recently used a speech at the Eisteddfod, purporting to support a Yes vote, to link the referendum on law making powers with the need to review the Barnett funding formula.
Kirsty Williams has today written to the First Minister, warning him that a strong cross party campaign will be needed in order to win the referendum in 2011 and seeking his assurance that he will avoid hijacking the referendum issue for party political advantage in future.
Kirsty Williams AM, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said:
I am dismayed that Carwyn Jones has used his position as First Minister to introduce an inaccurate and partisan claim into what should be a united campaign. In making such statements, without discussing them with the leaders of other parties who support a Yes vote, Carwyn Jones is danger of dividing the Yes campaign before it even gets off the ground.
The Barnett formula system of funding is widely discredited and delivers a poor deal for Wales. But it is Labours formula invented by Labour and sustained by successive Labour governments.
"The issue of Barnett review is separate to the debate on strengthening law making powers for Wales.
"The UK Government has acted swiftly to ensure a referendum on law making powers takes place as early as possible. The Liberal Democrats in Government at Westminster are now delivering on our 100 year old commitment to devolve real power from Westminster to the Welsh people and we want to work constructively with progressives in all parties to secure a yes vote."
“Inept” spending decisions threaten climate change action – Kirsty Williams
Thursday, 29 July 2010 13:53
Welsh Liberal Democrats have branded as "inept" the £3.5 million of Welsh Government money spent in the last three years on climate change awareness instead of programmes that directly reduce carbon emissions.
Research by the Welsh Liberal Democrats has shown that the Welsh Government has spent £900,000, £1,100,000 and £1,400,000 in each of the last three years on promoting climate change awareness.
Grants include £20,000 over two years for an annual newspaper supplements on climate change and over £0.5 million a year to the Sustainable Development Commission and Cynnal Cymru.
Welsh Liberal Democrats estimate that this could have paid for around 1000 improvements to homes in fuel poverty through the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme - making an immediate impact on carbon emissions.
Commenting, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Kirsty Williams, who is also the Shadow Sustainability Minister, said,
"The last few years have seen an unprecedented amount of public awareness of climate change from films, celebrities and the voluntary sector.
"When money is this tight, we shouldn't be spending so much public resource on awareness campaigns, when we could be spending it on effective schemes which have a real impact on carbon emissions."
Assembly Member expresses concern as Mortgage Rescue Scheme is suspended in Wales
Wednesday, 26 May 2010 10:12
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, Peter Black has expressed his concern at the decision by the Assembly Government to suspend the Mortgage Rescue Scheme in Wales.
The news came out after an email was sent to Local Authorities and Housing Associations requesting that no further applications are submitted, until further notice. Mr. Black is now seeking an explanation from the Minister for Housing to justify the suspension of a very successful scheme.
Liberal Democrat policies announced in Queen’s Speech
Tuesday, 25 May 2010 14:36
The policies include:
- Making the tax and benefits system fairer and simpler, including a significant increase in the personal allowance and an ambition to increase it to £10,000
- Restoring the earnings link to pensions
- Greater freedoms for teachers over the curriculum
- Measures to improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses
- Support for low carbon energy production
- Financial services regulation to learn the lessons of the financial crisis
- Fixed term parliaments of five years
- A referendum on the Alternative Vote
- The right to sack MPs guilty of serious misconduct
- Reform of party funding
- Moving towards a wholly or partly elected House of Lords, elected by proportional representation
- A Bill to restore freedoms and civil liberties, through the abolition of Identity Cards and repeal of unnecessary laws
- Giving greater powers to councils and giving neighbourhoods and communities more control over planning and housing decisions
- Ending child detention
- Fair compensation for Equitable Life victims
- Enabling the creation of a national high speed rail network
- The modernisation of the Royal Mail
- Flexible working and promotion of equal pay
- Strengthening the voices of patients and the role of doctors in the NHS
- A commission on long-term reform of social care
- Cutting Quangos and government bureaucracy
- Implementing the recommendations of the Calman Commission
- A referendum on further powers for the Welsh Assembly
A full list of Bills and other items from the Queen's Speech is available at:
http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/topstorynews/2010/05/queens-speech-2010-3-50297
Kirsty Williams comment on Conservative-Liberal Democrat programme for Government
Friday, 21 May 2010 14:59
Commenting on the release of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat programme for government, Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said:
"Along with the benefits the people of Wales will see from a Conservative-Liberal Democrat UK government, like lower taxes for workers and a fairer pension settlement for older people, these commitments in this document demonstrate the clear contrast between this active government and the idleness of the past 13 years of the Labour government.
"Making sure that housing powers are devolved to the Assembly, supporting further electrification of the railways and setting up a Commission to look at funding for Wales are all issues the Welsh Liberal Democrats have been fighting for and I am pleased that the UK government has shown commitment to Wales and Welsh devolution by announcing these commitments today.
"This agreement comes a day after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg reaffirmed the UK government's commitment to giving Wales a referendum of further law-making powers in his speech on political reform.
"This progressive coalition government has clearly shown that it is serious about tackling the deficit, the biggest issue facing Wales and the rest of the UK. However, it has also shown that it is going to treat the people of Wales and Britain like adults once again after 13 years of Labour's arrogance."
WAG must look at its spending as we face difficult financial times - Kirsty Williams
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 10:57
The Labour-Plaid government must review its spending as we face spending cuts in the years ahead, thats the message from Kirsty Williams today.
Figures from a Permanent Secretary letter to Kirsty Williams show that over the last three years, £2,321,560 was spent on bonuses for Senior Civil Servants.
In light of the significant pressures on public finances and the economy still in the early days of recovery, the Labour-Plaid government must look at every aspect of its spending.
In 2009, the Northern Ireland Assembly announced that Senior Civil Servants would not receive a bonus.
Liberal Democrats in coalition government will bring benefits to thousands in Wales.
Wednesday, 12 May 2010 10:35
Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats has today congratulated leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg on becoming the Deputy Prime Minister in a coalition government in Westminster and has criticised the Labour party for never taking seriously the negotiation talks with the Liberal Democrats.
The Liberal Democrats have entered government on the basis of principle and after securing major concessions on their key priorities. The Liberal Democrats main priority of changing the tax system, helping hundreds of thousands of workers across Wales, has been accepted.
Paddy Ashdown outlines plans for better pay and homes for troops.
Monday, 03 May 2010 12:30
On a visit to Brecon and Radnorshire to meet serving and former service personnel, Lord (Paddy) Ashdown set out plans to improve family homes for the Armed Forces and make troops pay fair.
Liberal Democrats would double the number of forces family homes refurbished each year and ensure that no service man or woman goes into harms way on less basic pay than a new recruit to the police force.
Action would also be taken to ensure the Armed Forces have enough of the right kit through a Strategic Security and Defence Review, to take place shortly after the election.
Children must have a fair start in life – Williams and Willott
Thursday, 29 April 2010 19:40
Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Jenny Willott, Cardiff Central parliamentary candidate today visited Cafe Junior in Cardiff to talk to parents about their key priorities of giving children the best start in life and provide more support for families.
Cafe Junior is a place where parents can relax while children are encouraged to play in a creative and imaginative way.
Welsh Liberal Democrat priorities include:
- Introducing an £80 million fund to increase schools funding for the most disadvantaged children.
- Allowing parents to share the full allocation of maternity and parental leave between them.
- Tax breaks for working parents would mean £1,400 extra in their pockets every year
- Maintaining the commitment to end child poverty by 2020
Wales needs a credible and workable plan to create and protect jobs in Wales – Kirsty Williams
Tuesday, 27 April 2010 12:02
Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats has challenged the Labour-Plaid government to come up with a credible and workable plan to create and protect jobs in Wales after recent figures show yet another disappointing rise in unemployment.
Last week, Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, was in Cardiff detailing how the Liberal Democrats would create green and sustainable jobs in the first year of a Liberal Democrat government by providing an immediate financial stimulus package.
Kirtsy Williams and Roger Williams visit small business in Crickhowell.
Tuesday, 27 April 2010 09:29
Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Roger Williams, Welsh Liberal Democrats Shadow Secretary of State for Wales and Brecon and Radnorshire candidate visited a small rural business yesterday in Brecon to highlight their party's commitment to provide support and encourage the private sector in Wales.
Graig Farm produces award winning organic apple juice and the farm recently diversified to provide self-catering holiday accommodation.
To help small businesses, the Welsh Liberal Democrats want to force the banks to lend to viable businesses, support investment in the roll-out of superfast broadband and encourage closer links between universities and private business to ensure that Wales' best ideas are contributing our economy.
Help, not hinder academic excellence in Wales – Williams and Rippeth
Friday, 23 April 2010 10:41
Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Wrexham parliamentary candidate Tom Rippeth today visited Glyndwr University to highlight the party's long standing commitment to abolishing tuition fees for all students and to ensure that Welsh businesses benefit from ideas developed in Welsh Universities.
The visit also draws attention to how important the role first-time voters will have in deciding the outcome of the election. The Electoral Commission announced that the number of people registering to vote has increased and a high proportion of those were young people.
Kirsty Williams comment on 2nd Prime Ministerial debate
Friday, 23 April 2010 09:44
"Nick Clegg was articulate and passionate in last night's debate with policies that stuck a chord with many people across Wales. His performance last Thursday was strong but last night's debate proved that all is to play for in this election.
"People right across the country want a change from the old, out of touch and tired Labour and Conservative politics that has dominated this country for the last 65 years. Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats are the only ones who will deliver the change that people want."
Welsh Lib Dems launch priorities for rural Wales
Thursday, 22 April 2010 12:48
The Welsh Liberal Democrats will today claim that Labour has neglected rural Wales and a change is needed at Westminster to ensure fairness in rural areas as they launch their manifesto in Ystrad Meurig, Ceredigion, today.
The document, called A fair deal for rural Wales , outlines key priorities for issues such as rural transport, conservation and housing as well as delivering change that works for farmers.
Priorities include:
- Ending the Post Office closure programme.
- Giving community control over bus services and second homes
- Helping farmers by regulating supermarkets
- Making the planning system democratic.
Unemployment up as Brown makes tick box visit to Wales – Kirsty Williams
Wednesday, 21 April 2010 13:13
Kirsty Williams, the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats has today criticised the Labour Prime Minister for having the gall to come to Wales promising jobs for the future on the day when latest unemployment figures show an increase in Wales.
The leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats also criticised the Prime Minister for taking the people of Wales for granted after having taken two weeks to come to Wales to campaign and speak to Welsh voters.
Page 1 of 19
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>