I want to lead the Liberal Democrats because I am ambitious about our future.
I believe we are the only party that can represent the millions of liberal-minded people alarmed by the direction this country is taking: people, whether they voted remain or leave, who hate the intolerance, xenophobia and division that the Brexit vote unleashed.
After the tragic events at Grenfell Towers local Liberal Democrat Councillor, Sandra Dunn, has questioned Spelthorne's MP to enlist his support for strengthening local fire safety. She recently wrote to Kwasi Kwarteng as shown below:
I was going to ask you a question at last week's LOSRA meeting but unfortunately you were not able to attend due to your duties in Parliament so I am taking the opportunity to email you the question as I feel it is a very important one and needs addressing.
Liberal Democrat county councillors have called for a thorough review of fire safety in Surrey following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in North Kensington. At least 80 people were killed in the blaze, with an unknown number of people still missing and unaccounted for. Surrey Fire & Rescue Service attended the incident to provide assistance to the London Fire Brigade, due to the sheer scale of the disaster.
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have expressed their concern over the removal of any mention of Cross Rail 2 from the Conservative manifesto in the forthcoming General Election, casting doubt over their commitment to the project.
The proposed Crossrail 2 plans would connect north London to Surrey, with interchanges at rail routes through to Shepperton and Epsom, as well as linking up with Crossrail 1 stations in central London.
The Tories seem to think - if we ignore any difficult question - we don't have to tell the public the truth. If they cannot tell us even the most basic things why should we trust them at all.
Theresa May seems to be hiding their real agenda from the public.
The Tories cannot tell us anything about their plans and they are doing it on purpose. They hope to secure a colossal majority and then to take the country for a ride. We cannot let this happen - our schools, hospitals and social care are at risk
A new survey for The Independent has found the majority of the public is now in favour of banning the most-polluting vehicles from city centres.
Some 51 per cent of respondents agreed with this suggestion, with only 15 per cent against and the remainder not expressing a view, pollsters ORB said.
Commenting on the reports which shows the public back the Liberal Democrat policy of banning the most-polluting cars from city centres, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary Jenny Randerson said: "The air we allow our children to breathe is toxic and is leading to a national health crisis.
With the announcement of the Conservative manifesto today, Theresa May has shown her true colours. I've scarcely seen a colder, more mean-spirited agenda in my entire career.
There's no doubt about it: the Nasty party is back. The Tories are hitting families from cradle to grave by snatching school lunches from children and homes from the elderly.
The Liberal Democrats have launched their manifesto for a brighter future.
Change Britain's Future is a plan for a fairer Britain where people are decent to each other, with good schools and hospitals, a clean environment and an innovative economy.
Nothing is more important to our children's future than Brexit. A bad Brexit deal, with Britain outside the single market, will wreck the future for our children, our economy and our schools and hospitals. That's why at the heart of the manifesto is a commitment to give the people the final say on the Brexit deal in a referendum.
The Liberal Democrats have announced they will invest nearly £7bn more in schools and colleges over the next parliament.
The funding would reverse cuts to frontline school and college budgets, protect per pupil funding in real terms and ensure no school loses out from the National Funding Formula.
Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary Sarah Olney said: "Children are being taught in overcrowded classes by overworked teachers - but Theresa May doesn't care.
My argument today is simple: our country cannot thrive without a strong economy.
And a strong economy is incompatible with a hard Brexit.
The pound has been falling since the prospect of the referendum was announced in mid-2015, and with average earnings growth set to stall later this year, consumers are inevitably going to feel the Brexit squeeze.
I want to lead the Liberal Democrats because I am ambitious about our future.
