£1bn DUP deal could have paid for 13 teachers in Bournemouth

The government's £1bn deal with the DUP could have paid for at least one extra teacher for every secondary school across the UK, including 13 more teachers in Bournemouth, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

Official figures show there are 4,169 state-funded secondary schools in the UK and that the average cost of employing a teacher is £44,500. This means if the additional £1bn had been distributed evenly among the UK's schools, each would receive £240,000, enough to hire one additional teacher over the next five years.  

This would have meant an additional £2.88m of spending on schools in Bournemouth, enough to hire 13 teachers, or more than one extra teacher for every secondary school in the area.

Brexit one year anniversary – Brexit starts to bite says Farron

As we mark the anniversary of the Brexit referendum vote today (Friday), Tim Farron said the consequences are growing more apparent.

Today (22nd June) the High Court ruled that the government’s imposition of the benefit cap on lone parents of under-twos is unlawful and has resulted in “real misery”, said the Liberal Democrats.

Many of these parents find it impossible to work alongside their caring commitments, defeating the purpose of the cap which is designed to incentivise work. A minimum of 16 hours of work a week is required to evade the cap.

Bournemouth Parliamentary Candidates, Phil Dunn and Jon Nicholas have welcomed news that Theresa May appears to have dropped plans to scrap free school lunches for infant pupils from tomorrow's Queen's Speech.

Now that it has emerged that the cladding on the Grenfell Tower is already banned in this country, we demand answers and accountability for the utterly needless loss of life in last week's fire. The inquiry that follows this horrific event must be open and transparent with those responsible brought to book.

How many more buildings up and down the country are covered with this deadly cladding?
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/18/cladding-on-grenfell-tower-banned-in-uk-says-philip-hammond

Flammable cladding used on Grenfell Tower must be banned

The Liberal Democrats have called for the type of cladding used on Grenfell Tower to be banned in the UK, after it emerged the material is currently banned in US buildings over 40 feet for fire safety reasons and is classed as flammable in Germany.

Fall in real wages shows Govt must end public sector pay freeze

As stated in our recent election manifesto, Bournemouth Liberal Democrats Jon Nicholas and Phil Dunn are calling for an end to the public sector pay freeze which currently means that workers are taking home less and less in real terms as inflation rises.

Data released by the Office of National Statistics today shows that average wages grew by just 2.1% in the three months to April, well below the 2.7% rate of inflation in that month, according to the Office for National Statistics. That means after adjusting for inflation, wages fell by 0.6%

The Liberal Democrat General Election candidates in Bournemouth and Poole have today made a pledge to constituents never to hold a second job if they are elected to Parliament on 8th June.

• Phil Dunn, candidate for Bournemouth West, is currently a secondary school teacher.

• Jon Nicholas, candidate for Bournemouth East, is a conflict management consultant.

• Mike Plummer, candidate for Poole, is a lecturer in Business and Management at Bournemouth and Poole College.

All three candidates have today pledged to devote 100% of their time to their constituency, Parliamentary duties and public service should they be elected. Neither candidate would accept paid employment outside of their role as an MP, beyond voluntary, unpaid or public service roles.

93% of homes in Bournemouth could be eligible for sale to meet Theresa May’s so-called 'dementia tax', research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

Jon Nicholas and Phil Dunn have urged residents, irrespective of their party affiliation, to join a campaign to stop the Conservative social care plans which would saddle those with long-term illnesses with crippling care costs after their death.

Following the horrific attack on children and young people at the Manchester Arena last night, we have suspended all our election campaign activities until further notice out of respect for the casualities, their friends and families.

Our thoughts are with them all