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Two senior Liberal Democrat ministers have refused to criticise the Conservative chancellor for misleading voters about how he would protect disabled people from his planned benefits freeze. Both Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, and Steve Webb, the pensions minister, […]
A Liberal Democrat minister has cast doubt on Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) claims that it does not collect or analyse accounts of disability benefit-related deaths. The comments of pensions minister Steve Webb at his party’s annual conference in Glasgow […]
The deputy prime minister’s promise to make mental health one of his party’s top policy priorities in fighting the next general election has sparked praise and anger from disabled campaigners. Nick Clegg said mental health would be “smack bang on the […]
Liberal Democrats have rejected calls for their party to pledge rises in social care spending that match those on the NHS, if it wins the next election. During a debate at this week’s Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow on the “core […]
A disabled peer could be set to become the first wheelchair-user to head a major UK political party. Baroness [Sal] Brinton is campaigning to become president of the Liberal Democrats, and is up against three other candidates. One survey of party […]
The disabled activist who chaired the committee that drew up the Liberal Democrat’s raft of new equality policies has told the party that they offer a “vision for a fairer society with opportunity for all”. Belinda Brooks-Gordon told her party’s annual […]
A Liberal Democrat government would aim to reduce the stress caused to disabled people by multiple assessments, ensure ministers stop talking up the issue of benefit fraud, and provide more personalised, locally-based employment support. The party wants local authorities to be […]
The chancellor has been accused of misleading voters, after he pledged that disability benefits would not be affected by a two-year “freeze” on social security. George Osborne told a delighted Conservative party conference in Birmingham this week that working-age benefits would […]
The new Conservative minister for disabled people has insisted that his department is right to ignore reports of deaths linked to the loss or non-payment of disability benefits. Mark Harper said he did not accept that the Department for Work and […]
Conservative ministers and MPs have attempted to persuade visitors to their annual conference that the party’s sweeping welfare reforms are helping to support disabled people back into work. Welfare reform minister Lord [David] Freud even bragged at one fringe event that […]