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10 Things Delayed by Brexit

by Steve Beasant on 18 December, 2018

This botched Brexit has paralysed Parliament and important work is not being done. Here are ten things delayed because of this Brexit mess.

The following article was written by Tom Brake and published on Dec 17 on the Lib Dem Website.

Palace of Westminster.

1. NHS 10 Year Plan

Our NHS badly needs support and everyone knows it. The Prime Minister was meant to put forward a ten year plan for the health service this year.

That didn’t happen. Instead she has been forced to scramble for backbench support for her broken Brexit deal and run around Europe trying to grab last minute concessions.

Brexit is a real danger to our NHS because of staff cuts and fewer resources – now more than ever we should have a plan to support the NHS.

2. Immigration White Paper

The Government’s Immigration White Paper was originally due 18 months ago but still hasn’t been published.

Theresa May claims her Brexit deal is about ending free movement, but she refuses to spell out what that really means: a lot more red tape for British businesses and a national shortage of NHS workers, carers and builders.

3. Fixing universal credit

Despite serious problems with Universal Credit, the Conservatives have failed to cut the long waiting times that are pushing people into destitution or fully restore the funding they cut back in 2015.

The billions of pounds allocated for Brexit preparations could instead have been used to fund UC and help the most vulnerable in society.

4. Tackling the housing crisis

Britain is in the midst of a housing crisis.

People across the country are unable to get onto the housing ladder and house-building is lagging well below targets.

The Government has fundamentally failed to address this problem. The Brexit shambles has distracted the Conservatives, meaning the British people are stuck with a system that reinforces inequalities.

5. Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill

2 million people suffer domestic abuse each year and action is urgently needed.

The Tories promised legislation to tackle this evil and protect victims in their manifesto and in last year’s Queen’s Speech. The consultation closed at the end of May, but there’s still no sign of the Government’s draft Bill.

6. Social Care Green Paper

The Social Care Green Paper has now been delayed a total of six times.

This is outrageous. Social care in this country needs serious attention to ensure we are supporting people who require help. Instead, because of delays in the NHS plan we have seen zero progress on social care, as Conservative MPs instead bicker over the Brexit deal.

7. Environment Bill

This bill will establish an environmental body to enforce our environmental law if we leave the European Union.

This is an absolutely crucial part of Brexit planning. Without this body, our strong environmental standards could start to slide, and people are unable to hold the Conservative government to account when it comes to reducing air pollution.

8. Agriculture Bill

This is essential to protecting our farmers. Leaving the EU has huge repercussions for our farmers, and yet the Government has done little to protect our agricultural sector.

As a result of very slow progress on the agriculture bill, our farmers face a huge amount of uncertainty for years to come, and we risk massive disruption to our economy

9. Helping British Business

Business rates are broken.

However, the Conservatives refuse to conduct a fundamental review of the system, instead just applying a sticking plaster by reducing them slightly in this year’s budget.

Brexit would seriously hurt British business, and the fact that the Conservatives cannot do their job and fix business rates shows how badly their botched Brexit has paralysed the country.

10. Prison Reform Bill

Britain’s prisons are in crisis. They are overcrowded and understaffed. Riots, drug use and violence against staff have all become far too common.

At last year’s election, the Government abandoned legislation to reform prisons and improve rehabilitation. Without reforms, the crisis will only continue.

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