In our new film, Ed Davey sets out a vision for a fair deal for future generations.

Boris Johnson’s failure to defend children’s education meant that his Government spent the same amount in one month on Eat Out To Help Out as in a whole year for our children’s school catch-up.

We’re offering a new bulk-buy deal for England on digital advertising to show the film to voters in your area.

Boris Johnson’s failure to defend our children’s education meant that his Government spent the same amount in one month on Eat Out To Help Out as in a whole year for our children’s school catch-up.

Imagine a future where our children’s education is a priority.  Where schools raise their mental well-being and their maths grades.  Where they can excel at English and find their talent for music or sport.  Where they grow into happy, healthy, adults.

We all fear that in the end, it will be our children who have paid the price of this pandemic.”

Ed Davey

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a £15 billion package of education catch-up funding, as recommended by the Government’s former Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins.

As part of this, the party is calling for a £5 billion programme of Catch-Up Vouchers for every school child, putting the money directly into parents’ hands to spend on whatever their children need most: tutoring in reading, writing or maths; music lessons; swimming classes or other physical education.

We heard that loud and clear on the doorsteps of Chesham and Amersham – a  typical “Blue Wall seat.” They told us that too often this Government hasn’t listened, has taken people for granted, has ignored the people who work hard, and pay taxes.   

When we won the Chesham and Amersham by-election, people told us Boris Johnson was taking them for granted. They told us our victory was the first time in years they’d been listened to. Britain needs a party prepared to listen.

It is time Boris Johnson’s Conservatives stopped taking people for granted, time people got a fairer deal, time we guaranteed a better life for future generations.

What a conference we’ve had!

From motions to keynote speeches to training, there was something for everyone and the quality of debate was, as ever, excellent.

We also got a huge amount of press coverage. Our stunning win in Chesham and Amersham has put us back in the spotlight – and the media are beginning to see that only we can dismantle the Tory Blue Wall.

Here’s just a few of the stories we secured this weekend:

In 2019/20, 4.9 million women were victims of sexual assault in England and Wales. This statistic is appalling. We must put an end to this. 

The justice system is failing victims of domestic abuse. Only 2.4% of reported rape cases end in convictions. Out of 139,000 rapes estimated by the ONS, only 58,848 were reported to the police. 

Sexual harassment is even in our schools. A third of 16-18 year old girls report unwanted sexual touching at school.

These crimes cannot be allowed to continue. 

Online fraud has risen by a third in the pandemic. We must ensure justice is delivered to victims and need to tackle this endemic of scams and frauds head on.

The push to a virtual world in the pandemic has increased the rate of online fraud and scams. Hackers and fraudsters take advantage and prey on people over the internet.

These criminals trick innocent victims into transferring them money through “push payment scams”. The banking industry is not being held accountable. It could do more to prevent these scams and support victims who slip through the net.

We need to put a stop to this. We must do more to stop those criminals taking advantage of an increasingly virtual world.

Our government has failed to properly resource the police. Only 3% of reported fraud offenses were investigated fully by the police last year. This is a systemic failure. The public should be able to trust that as victims of crime they will be compensated.

We deserve to live in a society free from fraud and scams.

That’s why we are calling to:

• Name and shame the banks with the worst record at prevent fraud and reimbursing victims
• Set minimum standards for all banks on preventing fraud
• Replace the voluntary industry code for preventing push payment scams with a mandatory code which includes reimbursing victims
• Create a national warning system for scams where individuals can check and report suspicious activity

Read the motion in full

As Liberal Democrats we champion a free and fair society. Online fraud and the continuing distress and fear it causes is a threat to this. We must tackle these crimes head on.