Alison Bennett's Monday Mail: Lib Dem Conference
Last week, Lib Dem Conference came to Brighton. On Monday, Ed Davey visited Oldland Mill in Hassocks where we met the volunteers who have painstakingly refurbished the mill that dates from 1703. Ed and I took part in replacing a stile with local volunteers from The Monday Group. A big thank you to everyone who helped with Ed’s visit and to Howard and Jenny Corney from Court Garden Vineyard for providing the refreshments.
Back in Brighton I had meetings with a number of charities, businesses, and campaign groups, as well as having the chance to celebrate our success in electing 72 MPs in the general election.
Amongst those meetings at Conference was time spent with Dr. Sharone Lifschitz the daughter of Oded Lifshitz who is one of the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas.
I heard her describe how her elderly parents were taken, her mother’s release, and how nearly a year after the 7th October attacks, how her 84 year old father is still being held. A second event that I was able to join was the annual Palestine Reception where I spoke to Tayab Ali the Director of the International Centre for Justice in Palestine. I found both of these meetings moving, and this reconfirmed for me that the Liberal Democrats’ position that has consistently called for the hostages to be freed, an immediate bilateral ceasefire and a two state solution is the only way towards peace.
Care and Carers
Following Conference, Ed Davey announced his new Frontbench Spokespersons. I am honoured and humbled to have been asked by Ed to take on the Care and Carers portfolio.
Care matters because at some point in our lives most people will need to be cared for or will be called on to care for their loved ones. Despite this, caring is something that has been pushed to one side and overlooked by successive governments. The human and financial costs of not having a care system and support for carers is immense. We must strive to have a care system that treats people with dignity, respects those who care, and works hand in glove with the NHS to make sure that health and social care needs are both met.
The price of the housing crisis
Finally, something to read from yesterday’s Sunday Times (subscription required). The forgotten families who have to live in old office blocks looks at what it is like to live in temporary accommodation, and how extending permitted development rights to include the conversion of offices into flats has resulted in poor quality accommodation, described in the article as the ‘slums of tomorrow’.
For those of us who are lucky enough to have a secure home, it is easy to overlook the scale of homelessness, and the desperate situation of thousands of families who find themselves in unsuitable temporary accommodation for years at a time through no fault of their own. This Times investigation is well worth spending some time reading.
Getting in touch
My parliamentary email address is: alison.bennett.mp@parliament.uk. If you need my help, please get in touch and I will do my best to help, but whilst I am still recruiting, it will take longer than usual to respond.
Best wishes,
Alison
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