Dundee Liberal Democrats - www.dundeelibdems.scot

This committee knows that to get ourselves back to winning ways, we need to be ambitious going forwards and honest about the recent past.

In that vein, this month we discussed the internal investigation we commissioned into the Liberal Democrat response to the Unite to Remain campaign, and its structural and electoral implications for the Party.

Orkney MSP Liam McArthur will lead a debate in the Scottish Parliament tomorrow, calling again on the Scottish Government to provide bursary support to student paramedics.

Student paramedics are now required as part of their training to undertake around 2,500 hours of shift work, similar to student nurses and midwives. Unlike the latter, however, student paramedics are not eligible for bursary support, only loans that are repayable and often inadequate to cover living costs. This is despite Ministers acknowledging the critical workforce challenges currently facing the sector.

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 19th October

Monday 19th October

Before we moved onto the main business of the day, we had two Ministerial Statements.

Scottish Liberal Democrat Lords are today leading the fight to safeguard the devolution settlement by presenting a major amendment to the Internal Market Bill, aimed at breaking the "constitutional stand-off", as the House of Lords begins detailed consideration of the Bill.

Scottish Liberal Democrats have lodged the significant amendment, which will be debated on Monday, that would suspend the Bill's implementation until agreement has been reached on the operation of internal market frameworks.

Responding to comments made my John Swinney on the Scottish Government's strategy to get students home for Christmas, Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie said:

"I am so pleased that the Scottish Government are, at last, looking at mass asymptomatic testing for students. Students were let down at the start of the last term with the botched return, virus outbreaks and local lockdowns, the Scottish Government cannot afford to do that again.

If ever there was a time for us to act in support of Hong Kongers, it is now.

Many Hong Kongers have suffered grave persecution at the hands of the Chinese Regime.

With repeated reports of police brutality, the UK has a moral and legal duty to stand with Hong Kongers and ensure no one is left behind to suffer under the Chinese Communist Party.

Responding to the outline of new tiered restrictions set out by the First Minister today, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has stressed the need for "hope and clarity" about people's ability to move between different tiers of restrictions.

Willie Rennie said:

"The Scottish Government has got 3 days to convince people that this strategy has got hope and clarity at its heart and the ability to lift us safely out of this second crisis.

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.