Despite the massive effort people have made to fight coronavirus it’s clear that the road to recovery is going to be rockier than we first feared.

With millions of workers worried about their livelihoods, the British people deserve a Government that listens to their concerns and does everything in its power to protect them. Sadly, this isn’t the case.

The Conservatives have continually promised to back British farmers throughout the Brexit process, but their failure last week to uphold our high food standards reveals just how hollow those promises were.

Our high agricultural standards must be protected in international trade deals and after the transition period.

Farmers across the country are incredibly worried about the future – they’re worried that the UK is about to be flooded with poor quality food and drink, undercutting their high quality produce.

The Conservative voted against protecting our farmers and food standards last week, bringing us a step closer to this worrying reality.

The Liberal Democrats will continue to stand up for our farmers. If the Government doesn’t protect our food standards, they will only sow more uncertainty and worry for our farming industry.

We strongly believe that our high agricultural standards must be protected in international trade deals and after the transition period.

That’s why today, our Liberal Democrat Peers will be fighting to stop the Government from undermining British Farmers.

Our Lords will be fighting for a National Food Strategy, better climate policies and to give the Trade Commission teeth with statutory footing and the ability to report on the agricultural and food impacts of every international trade agreement.

By voting against food standards and animal welfare in the #AgricultureBill, the Tories have sold out British farmers – all so that they can secure easier trade deals post-Brexit.

Liberal Democrats stand with farmers across the UK and will continue fighting to protect them. pic.twitter.com/HoyZR7NuwA

— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) October 13, 2020

Conservative MPs have rejected all 10 cross-party amendments to the Government’s Immigration Bill passed by the House of Lords earlier this month, including three from the Liberal Democrats.

Today, Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael led cross-party opposition to the Government’s Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill, calling a vote against the legislation in the House of Commons.

Writing in the Independent ahead of the debate, Alistair set out our concerns:

“The Bill gives vast powers not only to the security agencies but also to a questionable collection of public bodies. There are no real limits, weak safeguards and inadequate oversight.

“The Bill has no limits on the types of crime that could be authorised. Murder, torture – it is all on the table as written. Nor is there any independent approval of a decision to authorise a crime – or even a requirement for police or prosecutors to be informed about it at all…

It is essential that there is a clear legal basis for the actions of government agents. It has been lacking for far too long.

The Tories are using their majority to ram through things that no responsible Government should do

This Bill, however, is not fit for purpose. Parliament must stand up to this disturbing government overreach, and anyone who cares about the rule of law must oppose this Bill as it stands.”

The Liberal Democrats voted against Third Reading, but most Conservative MPs backed it and Labour abstained, so the Bill passed by 313 votes to 98.

Following the vote, Alistair said:

“This is a dangerous Bill from a Conservative Government that is careless with our rights and freedoms.

“We all understand the need for MI5 and the police to authorise undercover agents to do things that would, in normal circumstances, be illegal. If the Government had restricted itself to that, it would have resounding cross-party support.

“Instead, the Tories are using their majority to ram through things that no responsible Government should do. They are trying to award far too broad powers to far too many parts of government, with virtually no safeguards.

“That’s why the Liberal Democrats worked cross-party to try and fix this law. With the Government blocking our amendments, we had no choice but to vote against the Bill.”