Broadland Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrat gain this week in Scotland was part of the final contests of the year. Which means we can also tally up the net score for each party during 2020. It's the Lib Dems who come out on top:

• Liberal Democrats: net 4 seats gained
• SNP: net 1 seat lost
• Labour: net 2 seats lost
• Conservatives: net 2 seats lost

Welcome to the Weekly Whip. Your one-stop shop for Lib Dem Parliamentary updates, covering the week that was and the week to come.

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Weekly Whip w/c 23rd November

Monday 23rd November

The Prime Minister's announcement on Monday did not quite go to plan. After his statement to the House on Coronavirus, delivered virtually from Downing Street, the PM's connection dropped out and the Secretary of State had to stand in his place, fielding questions from around the Chamber.

The coronavirus crisis has shone a new spotlight on the issue of child hunger, with demand for food banks soaring and almost a fifth of households with children unable to access enough food in the first weeks of lockdown.

The Government has repeatedly overlooked the needs of children from low-income families.

Yesterday, on Carers Rights Day, we launched our campaign Stand Up for Carers - calling on the Government to immediately raise Carer's Allowance by £1,000 a year.

After the Chancellor's Spending Review earlier this week, it's more important than ever that we support the incredible work that carers do.

Unpaid carers are doing a remarkable and important job in very difficult circumstances. They deserve our support.

But many carers are facing extreme financial hardship.

900,000 full-time unpaid carers rely on Carer's Allowance - but at just £67.25 a week, it's just not nearly enough.

Carer's Allowance is just £67 a week. It's just not nearly enough.

Countless families are facing serious financial hardship. More than a million people have lost their jobs and the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic will continue to be felt throughout the next year.

We are also facing serious challenges in deep-seated inequality and the climate emergency.

With the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the Chancellor needed to ensure today that no one is left behind. That was the litmus test, and he has failed

In a year when our NHS and care staff, teachers, police officers and many others have gone beyond the call of duty, a pay freeze reveals just how callous the Chancellor truly is.

Roderick Lynch - Chair of Lib Dem Campaign for Race Equality

The death of George Floyd has put race and racism firmly on the political agenda. Black Lives really do matter, or do they?

Whilst people are grieving on the streets, the authorities were working behind the scenes to use legislation to curtail their protesting. Corporate companies and local governments have jumped on board the Black Lives Bandwagon with slogans and statements, however, we need to see deeds not words.

We must do all we can to protect people forced to flee their homes to escape war and persecution.

That's why, back in September, all Liberal Democrat MPs wrote to the Chancellor and Home Secretary calling for a new long-term commitment to resettle vulnerable refugees in the UK.

The UK has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need.

This week FPC met with an unusually light-looking agenda but we still managed to talk for two and half hours! We received an excellent presentation from Mimi Turner, Director of Strategy, Messaging and Research. Mimi talked us through the scale of the task ahead of us in terms of understanding how the Party fares when voters are asked whether we share their values; whether we'll do what we say; whether we're perceived as wanting to help ordinary people get on in life; and whether they see us as competent and capable.