MP Sarah Olney said that Liberal Democrats are 'hungry for change'

In an interview with LFF, Sarah Olney said members are hungry for political change and that inequality must be at the centre of all party policy right now.

Commenting on the Spring Budget, Olney, who is the Lib Dem Business, Energy and Industry Strategy Spokesperson and MP for Richmond Park, said it was ‘timid’ and failed to address current issues.

She said the key to economic growth going forward is addressing inequality and gaps to accessing opportunities.

“Inequality is the back drop to everything. Without doing more to tackle inequality, we can’t move forward,” said Olney.

“Every political party is committed to economic growth, that’s the key thing we must achieve to move the country forward. But we need to start with the people who are currently unable to work, people who are unable to access opportunities because that’s where the opportunity for growth lies, with those in the inequality gap.

“The Conservatives are not committed to that in any shape or form, but we absolutely are.”

As a working mother, Olney said she welcomed the Chancellors childcare policy however reflected that he seemed to have ‘borrowed a large part’ of it from the Liberal Democrats childcare proposal in their 2019 manifesto.

“I like to thing we started it, then Labour started talking more about childcare and finally the Tories have brought it up. But there are flaws in the proposal.

“What we really need to see in order for this to work is an investment in the expanding of childcare training and a commitment to seeing standards maintained across childcare settings and the most important thing is that childcare providers are recompensed at least at cost level.”

Liberal Democrats are ‘hungry for change‘

Olney said there’s a huge appetite for change among Liberal Democrat members who are ‘fired up’ ahead of the next election.

“There’s a really hunger for change and a frustration among Liberal Democrats that we can’t get rid of these Tories sooner.

“Between now and the general election, Lib Dems are going to work as hard as they can in our target seats, we’re so ready to go.

“It’s odd being at our first conference in three and a half years but equally we know we haven’t got much time until the general election, so all eyes are pointing in that direction.”

Olney slams government stance towards striking workers  

Commenting on the government’s handling of strikes and public sector pay rises, Olney said demonising striking workers was ‘completely the wrong approach’.  

She went on to condemned the government’s ‘combative’ and ‘dividing’ reaction to strike action and said the Lib Dems would have got around the table sooner.

“In a context where headline inflation is 10.1%, whilst food inflation is running at 17%, you cannot deny that people have got a legitimate ask if they want a pay rise.

“So to demonise working people is completely the wrong approach.”

She added: “I’m not going to say there’s so much money that we could have afforded this if we did things differently, we are in a tight fiscal spot, but that’s largely because the Tories have been so incompetent at handling the economy.

“We are still seeing the effects of the mini budget and that has really constrained the choices they can make, but also because the Tories created such chaos last autumn, everything Jeremy Hunt does now has to be cautious. There is no room for bold action because of the mess they’ve made.”

Olney blamed Tory infighting and the effects of Brexit from preventing real change taking place.

She said: “There’s been so many wasted opportunities over the last few years and it’s not just Brexit and the war in Ukraine, it’s also the Tories infighting, not being able to decide what to do.

“There are so many straight forward and necessary things that just haven’t been done and that’s what’s holding us back.”

(Photo credit: Liberal Democrats)

Hannah Davenport is trade union reporter at Left Foot Forward

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