Your Latest Briefing from the Liberal Democrats in Parliament.

One year on from his inauguration, US President Trump has brought turmoil to the liberal, international order that has kept us safe for decades.

Trump’s actions in Venezuela earlier this month, kidnapping Nicolás Maduro, were a clear violation of international law, making the world a much more dangerous place.

Such unilateral action empowers dictators around the world, from Vladimir Putin to Xi Jinping, signalling they can do whatever they like to other countries.

Responding to the events, Ed Davey set out why Trump’s actions were so dangerous:

But Trump’s reckless acts did not stop there.

His demands for control of Greenland and his threat of sanctions on countries, including the UK, who have stood by Greenland and Denmark’s sovereignty, risked destroying NATO.

In response, Ed said we should join our European allies and threaten retaliation if he didn’t drop his demands:

Although Trump has now u-turned on his tariff threat, it shows we cannot entrust our economy or our security to the whims of an erratic US President.

Since his inauguration, the Liberal Democrats have been the only party saying we should stand up to Trump because the only way to deal with a bully is through strength. We must stand tall with our neighbours to face down this unpredictability and protect our national interest.

Social media companies are exposing children to addictive algorithms and harmful content online - and profiting greatly from it. Parents deserve clear safeguards and children deserve better protection.

This week, we launched a new campaign to introduce a film-style age-rating for online platforms to protect children online.

This would ban harmful social media for under 16s and rate platforms hosting extreme content 18+. However, unlike blanket bans, it would still allow access to useful sites like educational websites and family messaging services.

On Wednesday, Liberal Democrats backed a successful cross-party amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to put pressure on the Government to act on this issue.

With Labour voting against it, the Government clearly hasn’t got the message. We must keep up the pressure so the Government changes course and does what is necessary to protect children online.

Please sign our campaign to keep children safe online, and share it with your friends and family:

or direct them to: https://www.libdems.org.uk/ageratings

Following a long campaign by Sarah Olney MP, the Government has agreed to put forward an amendment to the Sentencing Bill which will enable victims to access parts of their court transcripts for free.

Sarah’s campaign began after one of her constituents was charged thousands of pounds to obtain transcripts of their trial. Sarah called for the Government to waive court transcript fees for victims of crime, putting forward an amendment to the Victims’ Bill in 2023.

A pilot scheme was made permanent by the Government last May, a huge win for Sarah’s campaign, giving victims of rape and sexual assault free access to the judge’s sentencing remarks.

But this week, the Government has committed to extending this to victims of all crime, implementing a significant part of what Sarah’s 2023 amendment was calling for.

There is more to do, but this is a huge win for victims, helping them get the justice and closure they deserve, while correcting a deep unfairness in the justice system.

This month, Ed Davey launched our campaign to end the A&E corridor crisis at a press conference in Central London.

30,000 people are waiting over 12 hours in A&E every week, with thousands stuck on trolleys in hospital corridors for hours on end, in pain and discomfort, and without privacy or dignity; many people are even dying there.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Ed Davey told the story of Sandra, a 71 year old with bladder cancer, who spent 31 hours in A&E waiting for a hospital bed:

To resolve the corridor crisis, we must stop so many people being forced to go into A&E in the first place.

Our plans would ensure everyone can see a GP within seven days, or 24 hours if urgent, and we’d provide more care and support for people at home, so they don’t have to be stuck in hospital when they’re well enough to leave.

We’d also help thousands more people leave hospital, by investing in social care beds and step down care, and by supporting carers and hospices.

All this would be paid for by scrapping the government’s plan to hand an extra £3 billion a year to pharmaceutical giants, just to appease Donald Trump.

Please sign our campaign to end the A&E crisis and share it with your friends and family:

or direct them to: https://www.libdems.org.uk/12hours

This week, Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords secured a number of wins to better support young people who grew up in care.

Young people leaving care are much more likely to live independently from a young age and face greater financial responsibilities without a safety net. They often feel unequipped, unprepared and unsupported, leaving them at greater risk of facing financial hardship and insecurity.

To confront this, Baroness Tyler’s amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill called for those leaving care to have better access to financial support and literacy.

Start time: 16:44:09

Subsequently, we were delighted that the Government agreed to take Baroness Tyler’s proposals forward through their own amendment.

Britain’s railways are broken, with delays and cancellations causing immense hassle and stress for passengers, all while they face skyrocketing fares.

This week, Olly Glover MP, our Transport Spokesperson, introduced his Rail Passengers’ Charter Bill to Parliament to improve customer experience and enshrine on board comfort and value for money into law.

The Charter would guarantee customers necessities like adequate seating, on-board refreshments, wifi, charging points, reliable phone signal, clean and accessible toilets and storage.

It would also improve accessibility of trains and train stations for those with disabilities and ensure passengers receive automatic compensation for delays.

When introducing his Bill, Olly highlighted the importance of finally putting passengers first:

Start time: 14:48:52

The Bill is due to have its Second Reading in February.