The Liberal Democrats will introduce an additional month of paid parental leave especially for fathers to encourage greater sharing of parental responsibilities.
The policy will build on our achievement of introducing Shared Parental Leave in order to ensure that new parents can make the decisions which work best for their family.
After a fantastic campaign for the Surrey County Elections we're pleased to report that Will Forster has been re-elected in Woking South with a huge majority.
Commenting on this Will said, "Pleased to have been re-elected with a much increased majority in South Woking - my local residents are clearly far from happy with the Tories".
Planned benefit cuts by the Conservative government combined with soaring inflation will leave nearly 3 million working households an average of £2,500 a year worse off, according to analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
Low inflation over the last two years has meant the government's freeze on most working-age benefits has only amounted to a 1% real cut so far.
Conservative councillor for Walton South, Christine Elmer leaves the Conservative Party and switches her allegiance to the Liberal Democrats.
Having spent 11 years working for the Conservatives, Walton South councillor Christine Elmer, has joined the Liberal Democrats party today. She announced her departure on Twitter saying:
Tim Farron has ruled out doing any coalition deals with Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn after the election.
Every Liberal Democrat vote and every Liberal Democrat MP elected is a challenge to Theresa May's Hard Brexit agenda. In the next parliament we will fight to stop a disastrous Hard Brexit, keep Britain in the Single Market and make sure people have their say on the final Brexit deal in a referendum with remain as an option.
Revelation that ministers realise Brexit a mistake - Farron responds
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has seized on revelations from Ireland's top Brexit official that the British government now realises Brexit is a mistake.
John Callinan, the Republic's most senior Brexit official, is quoted as saying that British ministers now recognise privately that Brexit is "an act of great self-harm", and that their strategy has become one of "minimising that self-harm". From his frequent exchanges with British ministers and officials, Callinan also reveals that the Conservative government is deeply divided on Brexit.
Tim Farron said:
"These reports confirm what many of us have suspected. The Liberal Democrats have warned from the get go that Brexit is a monumental act of self-harm.
"The Chancellor is clearly terrified as he wonders how on earth he can possibly fill an estimated £200bn Brexit black hole in the UK economy over the next 15 years.
"The scandal is why Theresa May is still blindly pursuing a hard Brexit when she knows the evidence is now overwhelming that you can't have a hard Brexit and a successful economy, or the decent public services that rely on wealth creation.
"The question now is whether Theresa May is prepared to do the right thing and face down the Brexit ultras in her cabinet. That is the only way she can keep Britain open, tolerant and united."
The Liberal Democrat General Election campaign has got off to a flying start as new members have seen the party double in size since May 2015.
In the short time since the snap General Election was announced the Liberal Democrats have gained over 2,500 new members. Here in Woking we gained nearly a member an hour!
The average UK household has lost £21.31 in the past three months as supermarket prices rise due to Brexit inflation, research by Kantar Worldpanel has found.
The research found supermarket prices jumped by 2.3% in the 12 weeks to March 26, with the price of staples including butter, fish, tea and skincare all rising.
A Liberal Democrat motion designed to kill the Government's attempts to severely restrict disability benefits has been lost after Labour peers failed to support it.
The move follows an announcement by the Government that they will be tightening the criteria for claimants of Personal Independence Payments (PIP) which could see diabetics and those with mental illnesses stuck without support.
