Dundee Liberal Democrats - www.dundeelibdems.scot

"The Prime Minister cannot say one thing in Brussels and another in Britain. She needs to face down the right-wing Brexiteers in her party in order to guarantee the talks actually move forward. Above all she still needs to protect citizens' rights to ensure they are not a casualty of a no-deal Brexit, and the European Union must also do more to make this happen.

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Carolyn Caddick has today warned that a Scottish National Investment Bank must have the support and resources to "pack a punch" after the failure of previous SNP economic initiatives to have an impact.

The First Minister today launched a public consultation on the details of the bank's operation.

Meanwhile, prices in the shops increased by 3.3% compared to last year, the largest annual rise since March 2012.

Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable commented:

"This fall in retail sales shows shoppers across Britain are feeling the Brexit squeeze.

"A toxic combination of rising prices and stagnant wages is severely constraining household spending.

"Year on year retail growth is also looking weak compared to previous years.

"Given the UK's unhealthy over-reliance on consumer spending, the government must clarify where future economic growth is going to come from."

"Labour's Brexit blank cheque was cashed in by Theresa May six months ago, after Labour MPs were ordered to vote through Article 50 with no conditions.

"Today is a chance for Labour to announce to EU leaders they will now fight to stay in the single market and customs union, and support a referendum on the deal.

"This report shows that a whole section of society are being failed by this government and remain permanently trapped in low-paid work.

"This is only being made worse by the Conservatives' pursuit of an extreme Brexit that is damaging businesses, pushing up prices and hitting the poorest hardest.

"We urgently need to invest more in education, including adult learning, to improve social mobility and help people escape from poverty.

"Employment rules must be made fit for the 21st century, to strengthen rights and increase security for workers."

Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions spokesperson Stephen Lloyd MP said:
"The government has shown contempt for parliament by yet again seeking to ignore votes that happen to be inconvenient. Parliamentary votes are meant to matter, this is not a debating society.

"None of this changes the fact that the government's Universal Credit proposals are a slow motion car crash. The government lost the argument, and now it has lost the vote.
"Ministers must now re-consider these proposals that will draw millions into poverty. Parliament has spoken, the government has a duty, a moral duty, to now listen.

These are empty, hypocritical words from Theresa May. EU citizens, many in a state of panic, who have already waited 15 months to have their rights protected, will be deeply disappointed.

The only acceptable solution is for the agreement on citizenship rights to be ring-fenced, giving both EU citizens here and British citizens in the EU, the peace of mind that, no matter what happens in the rest of the negotiations, their lives will be prioritised and protected.

If citizens' rights really are her first priority, the prime minister should immediately agree to separate them out, and openly challenge the other EU leaders to agree.

Responding to the news that the Scottish Government has agreed to give children in Scotland equal protection from assault, Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

"Scottish Liberal Democrats have regularly demanded the so-called "justifiable assault" of children be brought to an end. It is a source of national shame that this defence still exists and it is welcome that SNP ministers will now get with the times and abolish it.