In one of her first votes in Parliament, Rachel Gilmour has supported a King’s Speech amendment which would see new action on the cost of living in addition to healthcare and sewage spills.
The Liberal Democrat amendment called for more to be done to support families with the cost of living and tackle poverty, including by introducing a national food strategy, extending free school meals to all children in poverty, and by scrapping the two-child benefit cap, and to ensure that rural communities and farmers receive adequate support.
The Liberal Democrat amendment to the King’s Speech also focused on improving the health and care system and fixing the sewage scandal.
The Conservatives and SNP both failed to vote for the measures put forward by the 72-strong Liberal Democrat grouping in Parliament.
Rachel said: “One of my first votes in Parliament was to support our amendment that put stronger policies in place to fix the health and care crisis, get our economy back on track and end the sewage scandal.
“This is all about delivering a fair deal and change for the better, and despite our amendment not being accepted I will do my utmost to ensure the Government listens to our concerns.”
ENDS
Notes:
Full text of the Liberal Democrat amendment to the King’s Speech:
‘but, while welcoming measures aimed at upholding standards in public life, which have been neglected under UK, Scottish and Welsh governments in recent years; humbly regret that the Gracious Speech does not include sufficient measures to address the crisis in health and care, such as the introduction of a legal right to see a GP within seven days, a guarantee for cancer patients to start treatment within 62 days from urgent referral, free personal care in England, better support for carers, and a cross-party commission on social care; and calls on the Government to stop the scandal of sewage dumping against which the previous Government failed to take action, including by replacing Ofwat with a new regulator, to support families with the cost of living and tackle poverty, including by introducing a national food strategy, extending free school meals to all children in poverty, and by scrapping the two child benefit cap, and to ensure that rural communities and farmers receive adequate support, and to reform the system for parliamentary elections by replacing first-past-the-post with proportional representation, so that every vote counts.’
