Ed Davey: Chancellor must drop tax rises and cut VAT
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey used his Spring Conference speech in York on Sunday 13 March 2022 to call for stronger international cooperation to counter the threat posed by Putin's Russia. He also called on Rishi Sunak to reverse tax rises and cut VAT to help tackle the cost of living crisis.
On Ukraine, Ed Davey said:
"If we are to stop Putin, we must remember the simple truth demonstrated so clearly these past few weeks. We are stronger when we act together.
"We must fight now for that safer, more Liberal world. To reverse this Government's cuts to our armed forces and work with our allies, so Putin understands that free nations will stand united against him. For far tougher sanctions, where Boris Johnson's Government has been way too slow, and much too weak.
"For a co-ordinated humanitarian response to all refugees fleeing war and terror, whether from Ukraine, Syria or Afghanistan. Where we never again have a Home Secretary turning away the innocent victims of a tyrant's bombs."
On Boris Johnson and Conservative MPs:
"The lawbreaking and lies of this Prime Minister are matched only by the cowardice and complicity of Conservative MPs. They ducked their responsibility to kick Boris Johnson out of Downing Street and chose to keep as Prime Minister a man who broke the laws he made.
"The Conservatives love to claim others are soft on crime, the truth is they're soft on a criminal in Number 10. The Tory party of the past is turning in its grave. Decent lifelong Conservatives are repulsed by this Government.
"And what angers everyone, whatever their views, is that these Tory MPs think they can get away with it. The Conservatives think they can take you for fools, just as they take your votes for granted. But they won't get away with it."
On being proud to be British:
"When I look at everything people do for each other, when I speak to parents making big sacrifices for their children, when I hear from young carers struggling to take care of their parents, it makes me so proud to be British.
"When I travel the country and see the beautiful countryside that inspired Wordsworth and Barrett Browning, Thomas and Scott, when I walk around towns and cities like York, with so much extraordinary history and breathtaking architecture, I am filled with patriotism.
"I love my country. And it is because I love my country that I despair of this government."
On tax and the cost of living crisis:
"It's time the Chancellor listened, and understood how inflation and his tax rises are hurting people hard. So, Rishi Sunak: Drop your unfair tax rises. Scrap the National Insurance hike. And unfreeze the income tax thresholds. Do it in your budget next week.
"But with the war in Ukraine pushing up the price of oil and gas, and energy bills poised to surge even higher, the Chancellor must go further still to help hard-pressed families and businesses.
"That's why I'm calling on him to cut VAT to 17.5% percent, right now. A fair tax cut worth six hundred pounds per household. Helping with the cost of living, instead of adding to the pain.
"That's the help people across our country need. Not Sunak's damaging tax hikes. Liberal Democrats cutting taxes, fairly. Conservatives raising taxes, unfairly."
On children's mental health;
"I've heard from many parents who have watched their child's mental health get worse over the last two years, whether because of the lack of social activities, and so much time kept apart from friends. A generation of Zoom birthday parties, because they followed the rules.
"So today, I'm calling on the Government to expand access to mental health treatment for children and young people - with new maximum waiting times, to build on the first ever targets for mental health introduced by Liberal Democrat Health Minister Norman Lamb.
"By recruiting and training more psychiatrists to deliver them. And, crucially, putting a dedicated, qualified mental health professional in every school, so every child and every parent has someone they can turn to for help."