Half of England and all of Wales in drought with crops failing and hosepipe bans in force. The Environment and Climate Change Committee warned in May. Its chair, Shas Sheehan, says parties must stop treating net zero as a political football. www.ft.com/content/643c...

Letter: Stark warning from the environment committee chair

From Baroness Sheehan, House of Lords, London SW1, UK

ft.com

Britain can't wait for an Autumn Budget. The government must drop their red lines, get round the table with our European neighbours to kickstart our economy before it's too late.

Around 3.6 million couples in the UK live together without marrying, and most have almost no protection if they separate. Jonathan Marks, Lib Dem Justice spokesperson, is making the case for a law that finally gives cohabiting couples a fair deal.

Questions about money will rightly go on for years until Farage faces the consequences of his actions.

Ed Davey has cared for his mother, his grandmother, and now his son. As cross-party talks on social care begin, he argues it can be fixed by finally putting the millions of unpaid family carers at the heart of any deal.

Ed Davey sets out how he would fix social care, and why family carers have to come first. Full interview in The Sunday Times: www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

The scenes of wildfires across the UK and Europe are deeply worrying. It's clear this problem isn't going away. All political parties in our country need to understand this now.

Ordinary people are asked to decide someone's fate in a courtroom, usually with no training and little support. A new House of Lords inquiry chaired by Don Foster is now taking evidence on how jurors are supported. The call for evidence is open until 6 September.

Justice and Home Affairs Committee launches new inquiry into support for jurors in England and Wales - Committees - UK Parliament

The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee has today launched a new inquiry into support for jurors in England and Wales, along with an accompanying call for evidence to inform its work.

committees.parliament.uk

Gianni Infantino has dragged football's reputation through the mud. Now he's selling off FIFA's rotting husk to the highest bidder. It's time to give Infantino the red card and build a new global footballing body built on accountability and transparency that puts fans first.

Good meeting. Lots of work ahead.

I feel hopeful about the talks today on fixing our broken care system but this is just the beginning. A solution is desperately needed. I will always stand up for family carers through this process.

People with a learning disability still die 20 years earlier than everyone else. As the prime minister calls for cross-party action on social care today, Paul Scriven has already made that case in the Lords, driven by the death of his nephew Myles at 31. @paulscriven.bsky.social

After 22 failed attempts to sort the social care crisis. The 23rd must now deliver. It's time to put family carers first, guarantee free personal care, and end catastrophic care costs. @AlisonEBennett.bsky.social

Caring has been central to my life, and the lives of millions across the country. I'll be meeting the Prime Minister today to discuss how we can finally find a solution to the care crisis. We need to do things differently. I really hope we are on a journey to fix this.

We’re already spending £35bn a year on a broken social care system. All political parties should recognise the urgent need to fix the social care crisis. @LaylaMoran.bsky.social

Rebuilding Britain's armed forces takes money the country doesn't have. We want the public to be able to invest in it directly. Julie Smith, defence spokesperson, is calling for defence bonds to raise up to £20bn, open to savers and big investors alike. parliamentnews.co.uk/the-time-is-...

The time is right for defence bonds | Parliament News

A change of Prime Minister. A change of Chancellor. A change of Defence Secretary. Time too for a change in how we fund Defence expenditure, perhaps?

parliamentnews.co.uk

Holidaymakers should not be punished by a bungled, malfunctioning border system that is completely out of their control. Andy Burnham needs to pick up the phone to European leaders – and persuade them to suspend the EES until at least September

Holidaymakers should not be punished by a bungled, malfunctioning border system that is completely out of their control. Andy Burnham needs to pick up the phone to European leaders – and persuade them to suspend the EES until at least September.

Before he was Prime Minister, Andy Burnham called the review of the gambling laws long overdue and said government had to do more to protect people from the industry. Don Foster read those words back to ministers and pressed them to act on children's gambling harm.

Litigation funding has stopped being about access to justice and become an investment market sitting inside the courts. Sharon Bowles, Lib Dem peer, wants the FCA to regulate it, and says ministers keep avoiding the question of who enforces the rules.

Let the Financial Conduct Authority regulate third-party funders

The UK is a leading hub for litigation funding — putting the City watchdog in charge of this self-regulated market would reduce the risk for consumers

thetimes.com

Medical records were destroyed decades ago but infected blood victims are still being asked to prove the exact date they were infected. Sal Brinton, Lib Dem victims spokesperson, pressed the government to drop a demand that is stalling claims and leaving families waiting. @salbrinton.bsky.social

Who in government owns AI safety? As of this week, nobody can say for certain. Tim Clement-Jones, Lib Dem science, innovation and technology spokesperson, forced ministers to answer that question in the Lords today.

Undercover officers used intimate relationships as a tool of surveillance, deceiving women into years-long partnerships under false identities. Sally Hamwee's personal members bill would make it a criminal offence. Read about it in the Law Society Gazette: www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-a...

There are gaps in the law that most people assume were closed years ago. Today, three private members' bills brought forward by Liberal Democrat peers get their first full debate in the House of Lords.

Five new Liberal Democrat members of the House of Lords have been announced, bringing decades of experience in farming, the NHS, economics, campaigning and clean energy into Parliament.

Millions of family carers put loved ones first every day. They deserve far better support and recognition. @eddavey.libdems.org.uk

Ann Widdecombe's death should remind us that people in public life deserve to serve without fear, Dee Doocey told the Lords. She warned young people are being put off politics by fear of being attacked for it, and called for police to have space to establish the facts.

Farage isn't fighting for Britain. He's fighting for the highest bidder.

We need to introduce Algorithmic Impact Assessments for recruitment and hiring algorithms, so that employers and platforms are required to test for bias

Disabled and elderly airport passengers should never be separated from their carer during assistance. @salbrinton.bsky.social is fighting for an amendment to guarantee it in the Civil Aviation Bill.